12/25/2008 News For: Cigna Health Care InformationGerald McEntee: Health Care Reform Needs a Public Option If we fail to insist on a public health insurance option as part of any health care reform legislation enacted in Congress, we won't have the kind of change that America voted for in November. Newspapers Examine Health Care Issues Prompted By Current Economic Recession Two newspapers recently published articles that examined the health care issues faced by many individuals as a result of the current economic recession. Summaries appear below.Raleigh News & Observer: The News & Observer on Monday examined the problems with medical costs that many individuals face amid the current economic recession. Pennsylvania gov's top health care aide to leave HARRISBURG ? The director of Gov. Ed Rendell's efforts to expand health insurance to low-income children and adults, help doctors pay their malpractice bills and modernize Pennsylvania's health care system is stepping down. Pa. gov's top health care aide to leave HARRISBURG ? The director of Gov. Ed Rendell's efforts to expand health insurance to low-income children and adults and modernize Pennsylvania's health care system is stepping down. Advice about Child Care Tuesday, December 23, 2008 4:52 PM CST The writer usually tries to deal with public health information in this column, but recently the medical literature has been publishing a number of articles about the care and feeding of children. Obama's Health Care Meeting in Tallahassee Local medical physicians and residents discussed what changes they would like to see in the national health care system. Early Glance: Managed Care companies NEW YORK Shares of some top managed care companies are down at 10 a.m.: Aetna fell $.10 or .4 percent, to $26.09. CIGNA fell $.29 or 1.9 percent, to $15.22. Massachusetts Health Officials Approve Guidelines For Subsidized Health Plans That Are Intended To Drive Down Costs The Massachusetts Health Insurance Connector Authority Board on Saturday approved guidelines for contracts with managed care companies that include incentives for cutting costs and patient-protection provisions, the Boston Globe reports. The guidelines will apply to state-subsidized Commonwealth Care health plans, which cover 162,000 residents whose incomes are too high to qualify for Medicaid. A Less Healthy Health Insurance Sector The U.S. economy is in a recession, and the health insurance industry has not proved immune to what ails the nation. With joblessness on the rise, volatile financial markets, and consumer income either flat or falling by most measures, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Nov. 3 revised the outlook on the managed care industry to negative from stable. The impact of the deteriorating economy, ... Health care switch saves $400K Recently, the town switched health insurance carriers to produce a one-time savings of $114,000. |




