News For: Blue Care Wy WyomingBlue Shield of California Awards $29.5 Million in Pay-for-Performance Programs in 2008 As part of its ongoing commitment to providing high quality affordable health care, Blue Shield of California announced today that it is awarding $29.5 million in performance bonuses to medical groups and IPAs in California. Nearly half of the payments are part of the Integrated Healthcare Association IHA pay-for-performance program, which rewards providers for the quality of their health ... Aetna Makes Health Care Cost Information Available to More Members with the Expansion of Aetna's Industry-Leading ... Americans are taking on more financial responsibility for their health care and, as a result, need access to a robust suite of tools and information in order to make informed decisions. To support and encourage members to be informed health care consumers, Aetna NYSE:AET today announced the expansion of its health care transparency initiatives to additional markets including Connecticut; ... Access to Care program requests county, city help with deficit Access to Care, a nonprofit program that helps uninsured adults with free medical care in Summit County, is running out of money. Minnesota poor suffer disparity in medical care, study confirms Doctors are less likely to provide proper medical care to low-income Minnesotans enrolled in state health plans than to patients with private insurance, according to a first-of-its-kind report. Massachusetts lawmakers pass legislation to attract more primary care physicians to state as wait times for ... The average wait time for an appointment with a primary care physician in Massachusetts this year increased to 36 days from 34 days in 2007, according to an annual study by the Massachusetts Medical Society, the AP/Boston Herald reports AP/Boston Herald, 9/22. AARP holds health care seminar Several groups in the medical field met in Syracuse Tuesday for a health care seminar sponsored by AARP. The seminar featured a forum discussion with doctors and nurses on how to ensure affordable health care for all Americans. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas adds long-term care Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is expanding its portfolio of insurance offerings to include LTC Blue, a long-term care product designed to help individuals protect their assets and secure their independence. Hospital unveils new helicopter with 'all the bells and whistles' The same type of helicopter used in the French Alps for search-and-rescue missions and by the U.S. Army for some of its operations just became the newest aircraft in Wyoming Medical Center's Life Flight program. Rise in health care premiums outpaces inflation and wages Washington — Premiums for job-based health insurance are up 5 percent in 2008 and have more than doubled since 1999, a growth rate that far outpaces inflation and the increase in workers' wages over the same period, according to an annual survey of employers. Meanwhile, a growing number of workers at smaller firms are getting less coverage for their money as health plans with high deductibles ... Michele Swenson: Like On Wall Street, Current Health Care Policy Privatizes Profit And Socializes Risk The excesses of the health insurance industry resemble those of Wall Street and the subprime housing market, typified by privatized profits for insurers and socialized risk for taxpayers and consumers. |




