Payer

Federal officials have extended the Pre-Existing Conditions Insurance Plan through March 31, according to a Kaiser Health News report.

CMS has issued a final rule on regulations specifying how states can use federal Medicaid funds under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to pay for home and community-based services.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, health insurer Humana has indicated it expects the extension of health plans that don't meet the reform law's requirements to result in a more adverse risk mix than expected for people getting coverage…

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing yesterday to consider how various Medicare, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program and human services payment provisions should continue in the event of a permanent Medicare sustainable growth rate repeal.

Supplemental coverage plans that shield enrollees from cost-sharing increase drive up medical utilization and, subsequently, Medicare spending, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas and the University of Chicago.

Early observations from several Medicaid expansion initiatives suggests states that expand eligibility this year will see a gradual increase in enrollment, with the first enrollees in comparatively poor health, according to a Health Affairs study.

Catholic Health Initiatives, based in Englewood, Colo., is reportedly in the process of buying QualChoice, a health insurer in Little Rock, Ark., according to an Arkansas Business report.

Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, Calif., hopes to finalize the details of a new agreement with health insurer UnitedHealthcare within a couple of weeks, according to a Marin Independent Journal report.

Hospitals and health systems in the U.S. have been facing a new challenge lately: taking on risk. Many organizations are taking on risk through new contracts with payers, but others are taking risk-baring to another level: becoming a provider-sponsored health…

More than 100,000 people deemed eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program through HealthCare.gov still remain unenrolled in those programs because of technical issues with the site, according to a report from The Washington Post.