The Road Home for Health Care & Medical Benefit Solutions

The Leapfrog Group Announces Annual Top Hospitals List - Recognizes Hospitals for Their Achievement in Providing the Highest Quality Care in America

 Sixty-five hospitals have earned The Leapfrog Group’s annual “Top Hospital” designation, equaling 2010’s record-setting total. The “Top Hospital” designation, which is the most competitive national hospital quality award in the country, recognizes hospitals that deliver the highest quality care by p...

Is anybody surprised that enforcement of the "Red Flag Rule" (requiring "Creditors" to have a plan to prevent identity theft) has been postponed once again?  Link to one of many previous posts.  This time, the Federal Trade Commission postponed at the request of Congress. 

Here is the link: Friday's FTC Announcement

What charges are you supposed to pay if you have a PPO, POS. or an HMO type of insurance plan? Deductibles and copays, right? If you receive a bill from a non participating provider, you may be asked to pay more than your fair share of the bill. In some situations you may not even know you were receiving services from a non participating provider, or even had a chance to choose a provider, which is often the case when the doctor or hospital you did choose, uses the...

Tax-exempt hospitals do not have to pay federal income taxes. The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the value of these tax breaks at more than $6 billion a year.

Before 1969, the Internal Revenue Service required hospitalsto provide charity care to qualify for tax-exempt status. Since then,the agency has not specifically required charity care, but communitiesmust benefit in other ways.

Consumer groups and Patient Advocates can̵...

Recently the AMA filed class action lawsuits against Aetna, Cigna and Welpoint for underpaying out of network claims. The AMA was also recently awarded $350m against United Healthcare for the same allegations.

In recent years some of these same industry giants lost litigation related to denying claims for medical necessity. In those class-action lawsuits, physicians a...

The American Medical Association is among several medical societies that have filed a class action lawsuit against WellPoint, Inc., the largest health insurer in the United States.  The lawsuit, filed earlier this week in Los Angeles federal court, alleges that WellPoint colluded with others to underpay physicians for out-of-network medical services, resulting in patients paying an excessive portion of the medical bill. 

The AMA filed similar class action lawsuits...

What treatment does my doctor recommend, and do I understand it?
What are my other treatment options?
How do I choose the right care for my needs and pocketbook?
How to do I locate doctors, facilities and pharmacies?

As health-care costs continue to soar, millions of confused consumers are paying medical bills they don't actually owe. Typically this occurs when an insurance plan covers less than what a doctor, hospital, or lab service wants to be paid. The health-care provider demands the balance from the patient. Uncertain and fearing the calls of a debt collector, the patient pays up.

Critical illness coverage seen as small price to pay for peace of mind in tough times With tightened budgets a prevalent reality, employers are struggling to do more with less, including finding ways to offer the best value employee benefits packages. The increasing shift toward employees shouldering more costs, particularly for health insurance, can unfortunately leave many working Americans who face serious illnesses falling through financial c...

Did you know that your local Medicare contractor is a valuable source of news and information? They can quickly provide you with information pertinent to your geographic area, such as local coverage determinations, local education activities, etc. If you have not done so already, you should go to your local CMS website and sign up for e-mailing list. Many contractors have link...