Healthcare costs

Aetna has signed on to the Synaptic Health Alliance, a group started by Humana and four other insurers earlier this year and which is also adding hospitals.

Telemedicine is an effective option for patients who have trouble getting to the doctor’s office, but complex state laws make it difficult to provide service to everyone.

The consumerization of healthcare establishes an environment where shopping for insurance should be similar to an online retail experience.

Jack Stoddard, a longtime healthcare executive, has been named as COO of the healthcare initiative.

Action by CMS could drive up premiums, force companies to stop offering coverage to needy consumers.

Several insurers in Maryland and Virginia are seeking double-digit percentage increases in monthly costs for individual medical plans in 2019.

Insurance payments will increase by double-digit percentages for Obamacare plans in most states next year.

Policyholders had difficulty finding care providers who’d accept their ACA plan insurance, and found that even doctors listed by the insurer as taking the coverage often didn’t.

The bill eliminates a tax penalty for Americans who don’t carry health insurance, a pillar of the Affordable Care Act.

The insurer will be able to roll out new mobile and desktop distribution platforms quickly by bringing its key partner closer, it says.

ACA mandate repeal and medical expense deductibility may jeopardize the legislation, legislators say.

Republicans are considering repealing the coverage rule in the Affordable Care Act as a way to pay for far-reaching changes in the tax code.

At a news conference Tuesday, the Republican senator said its vital to use the new legislation to end the health mandate.

Eliminating the Obamacare component is seen as a way to pay for tax cuts, but its removal could cause instability in the health insurance market.

A bipartisan deal to shore up Obamacare exchanges has “stalled out,” a top Senate Republican said Wednesday.

Trump decision to end cost-sharing subsidies will cost insurers $1B this year, says Michael Consedine.

The move is politically risky as it may force bipartisan effort in the Senate to craft legislation to shore up the ACA insurance exchanges.

More than eight in ten individuals who buy ACA plans also get help paying their premiums directly from the federal government.

The President opted for an executive order signed Thursday after he was unable to rally Republicans to overturn the health law.

Healthcare organizations such as Allina Health are working more closely with carriers to ensure that patient information is shared to improve care and reduce costs.