Thought leadership on the use of innovation to solve health care access, quality, and funding issues.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–UMB Healthcare Services, a division of UMB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: UMBF), announced today the launch of three comprehensive toolkits to help employers successfully implement and communicate high-deductible health plans (HDHP) with health savings accounts (HSAs). Developed in partnership with Benz Communications, a leading HR and benefits communication strategy boutique, the UMB Toolkits provide [...]
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Med-Vantage® Inc — a healthcare software solutions company, offering innovative and distinctive solutions for consumer transparency, provider performance management, and personal health management — today announced the release of their Member Out-of-Pocket-Cost Estimator. BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is the first customer to launch the solution, delivering it as a standalone tool as well as [...]
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When Americans engage in health-smart habits such as participating in health coaching and disease management programs, substituting generic medications for brand name drugs and avoiding unnecessary trips to the emergency room, their total medical costs went down 15 percent — an average $358 per person in the first year — according to a new multi-year [...]
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Of those offering CDH plans this year, 56 percent are now using the HSA model, 35 percent of organizations are using the Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA) model, and 9 percent use both.
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The massive healthcare reform bill unveiled today by top House Democrats contains a couple of provisions that will impact those with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Section 531 of the bill limits nontaxable reimbursements from Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for drugs and medicines. After December 31, 2010, except for insulin, a prescription will be required in order [...]
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Last Wednesday night when Republican Congressman Joe Wilson of South Carolina angrily pointed towards President Barack Obama and shouted, “You lie!” he took the wind out of the sails of a planned Republican protest. After the speech to a joint session of Congress, East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Tyler) and other Republicans participated in a [...]
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Over the Labor Day weekend, President Obama, noting that millions of Americans do not have enough savings to cover their retirement, announced a package of initiatives to spur increased savings. He suggested four administrative actions, which do not require new legislation from Congress, intended to make it easier and more automatic for people to put [...]
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An annual census by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) of U.S. health insurance carriers released this week shows that the number of people covered by health savings accounts/high-deductible health plans (HSA/HDHPs) totaled 8.0 million in January 2009.
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A group of hospital officials in Pennsylvania came out this week with statements saying that consumer-driven health plans are making people sicker, not healthier, and hurting the financial health of hospitals. According to a news story that originally appeared in The Patriot-News, Carolyn F. Scanlan, the president and CEO of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association [...]
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