The Latest: Trump budget pick clears 2 committees

The Senate budget and homeland security committees approved South Carolina GOP Congressman Mick Mulvaney for a vote by the full Senate. The move came over the opposition of Democrats who warn of his support for cutting rising costs of Medicare and increasing the age for claiming Social Security benefits.

2016 Year in Review: University of Michigan V-BID Center

Since its inception in 2005, the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design has led efforts to promote the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative health benefit designs balancing cost and quality. A multidisciplinary team of faculty, including A. Mark Fendrick, MD and Michael E. Chernew, PhD, who first published and named the VBID concept, have guided this approach from early principles to widespread adoption in the private and public sectors.

Millions expected to lose health insurance with repeal

More than 20 million people are expected to lose their health insurance coverage within a year following President Donald Trump’s executive order to repeal the Affordable Care Act Jan. 20. According to a report conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , the uninsured rate had fallen to the lowest level on record since the ACA was passed in 2010. In addition, millions of Americans with employer, Medicaid, Medicare or individual market coverage benefited from the protections of the act.

Obamacare enrollment deadline Tuesday

… boost in enrollment this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reports. In mid-December, enrollment in health exchange plans was up 3 percent from the same time period the previous year. U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, proposed a …

Story from NorthCountryNow.com

Proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, have Canton-Potsdam Hospital and Community Health Center of the North Country officials concerned that cuts could have a negative effect on local healthcare. In the November general election, the Republicans won majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, plus the presidency.

Obamacare Repeal Could Threaten Provisions That Help Older Adults

Republican lawmakers meeting in Philadelphia this week say they want their replacement of Obamacare to be done by spring. There is no consensus on a plan yet, but several Republicans in Congress have already circulated proposals that could reduce or eliminate features of the federal health law that have benefited older Americans.

Ready for Medicare? Not Until You Read This

… ed, consider this: According to a 2014 study from the Insured Retirement Institute, “A 65-year-old male in excellent health can expect to live to age 87, while the same male in poor health (e.g. high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and tobacco use)

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The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings is stable. Additionally, A.M. Best has affirmed the FSR of B+ and the Long-Term ICR of “bbb-” of Memorial Hermann Health Insurance Company .

Nonpartisan Report Offers Menu of Options to Policymakers for…

In an ambitious new report , the National Academy of Social Insurance provides detailed, evidence-based analyses on a range of policy options for modernizing the nation’s social insurance system. The Report to the New Leadership and the American People on Social Insurance and Inequality takes stock of policy challenges facing the social insurance infrastructure, then discusses potential new directions that policymakers might take to strengthen the programs.

Area health care leaders in the dark about industry’s future

The uncertainty of health care under a new president was among the topics discussed Thursday at the 2017 State of Healthcare Forum. JOHN GODBEY/DECATUR DAILY Area health care professionals are trying to better manage the existing health care system while guessing about future changes now that a new administration has taken office in Washington, D.C. “If we don’t figure out how to ration health care, the cost of premiums could be $3,000 a month,” said David Spillers, chief executive officer of the Huntsville Hospital Health System.

Hospital Readmissions for COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exerts a major strain on the American healthcare system, mostly due to the high number of hospitalizations and emergency department visits associated with exacerbations.1 Generally, COPD is a treatable and manageable disease process for many patients in the early stages. However, the disease presents many morbidity and mortality issues that complicate management and care.

Senate Democrats, GOP at loggerheads over ACA repeal, HHS nominee

Senate Democrats on Tuesday grilled Rep. Tom Price, MD , President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, on a host of healthcare issues, but most prominently regarding Republican intentions to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Price was on the hot seat for four hours during a Senate Finance Committee hearing considering his nomination for HHS Secretary.

Senate Democrats, GOP at loggerheads over ACA repeal, HHS nominee

Senate Democrats on Tuesday grilled Rep. Tom Price, MD , President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, on a host of healthcare issues, but most prominently regarding Republican intentions to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Price was on the hot seat for four hours during a Senate Finance Committee hearing considering his nomination for HHS Secretary.

The CBO doesn’t deal in ‘alternative’ facts

President Trump during a reception with congressional leaders on Monday at the White House. Federal deficits are expected to rise for the first time in nearly a decade, driving up the federal debt to almost unprecedented levels, according to an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office .

What to consider with ’55-plus’ living

… deal.” a Finances: Sure, a fancy fitness center and a golf course are nice – but is the community in good financial health? You should review the financial records of the homeowners’ association and the minutes of monthly meetings. How big is the …

Prepare For Medical Costs In Retirement

How much money do you think that you need to retire? There are many assumptions involved in answering that question, but one assumption is the greatest of all: how much money will you need for your health care costs? Fidelity projects that a 65-year old couple who retired in 2016 should expect an average cost of $260,000 over twenty years, and that excludes any nursing home costs . Too often, seniors are worried about medical expenses draining their funds and forcing them to become a burden to their families.

Trump budget pick: Cut benefit programs; tax hikes on table

Budget Director-designate Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee. Budget Director-designate Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Budget Committee.

Official confident Trump could clear Kansas Medicaid program

Susan Mosier, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, speaks to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, responding to a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that Kansas’ Medicaid program is “substantively out of compliance” with U.S. law. less Susan Mosier, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, speaks to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, responding to a report from the Centers for Medicare … more TOPEKA, Kan.

Judge blocks Aetna’s $37 billion deal for Humana

A federal judge Tuesday blocked the merger of two health insurance giants, Aetna and Humana, upholding the Justice Department’s verdict that the proposed $37 billion deal would hurt competition. U.S. District Court Judge John Bates wrote in his opinion that the proposed merger would have decreased competition substantially in the Medicare Advantage market in 364 counties.

Federal judge swats Aetna-Humana insurer combo

… renewal payment, enter a vacation stop, report a missed delivery, or submit a complaint. A federal judge has rejected health insurer Aetna’s plan to buy rival Humana Inc. for about $34 billion and become a major player in the market for Medicare …

Federal judge swats Aetna-Humana insurer combo

A federal judge has rejected health insurer Aetna’s plan to buy rival Humana Inc. for about $34 billion and become a major player in the market for Medicare Advantage coverage. U.S. District Judge John Bates says in an opinion filed Monday that he largely agrees with federal regulators who contended that such a combination would hurt competition.