| Planning for April 15, 2008
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Anthem's position in dispute with Alliance
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield takes the responsibility of providing quality and affordable health care seriously. This column is to share with the Greater Cincinnati community the objective facts around the potential disruption with the Health Alliance. First, please note the Health Alliance canceled Anthem's entire contract rather than choosing to remain in-network while negotiating future reimbursement changes. The Alliance is quick to point out that we are objecting to signing a new contract that would give them the same increase that they are receiving from the other insurance carriers locally, despite the fact that we are the largest insurer. We, in fact, did sign that agreement three years ago. As a result of that three-year financial agreement, the hospital reimbursement increases to the Alliance have been 12 percent, 12 percent and 9 percent, as compared to other large hospitals' increases and hospital consumer price index during that same period of 5 percent to 7 percent.
Vendor Notebook: Health Integrated teams with Health Plus
Health Integrated, Inc., a Tampa, Fla. -based provider of health and condition (disease) management programs, is partnering with Health Plus of New York to assist Health Plus members in managing certain chronic medical conditions through the Synergy Personal Health Management program. .
Suite Talk: April 10, 2007
Quinn Gillespie & Associates has hired Bonnie Hogue Duffy to be director and co-manager of the health care practice; it's a new position within the bipartisan PR firm. A veteran health care expert, Duffy has been director of federal policy for the Alzheimer's Association and director of health policy at the American Association of Health Plans (now called America's Health Insurance Plans). Prior to that, she worked in the Senate in a variety of posts. She was on the staff of the Special Committee on Aging, where she assisted Chairman David Pryor (D-Ark.) on Medicare, long-term care and health care reform. She was also the legislative assistant to Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and senior health policy adviser to the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. Duffy's position at the Alzheimer's Association is vacant.
High hopes, high price for immunity therapy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - If human blood is a valuable medical resource, then its derivative, immunoglobulin, is a precious commodity. The biological product, at about $100 per gram and up to $10,000 per treatment course, is among the most expensive therapeutic substances in the medical marketplace. And sufferers of any number of immunological diseases say that without regular intravenous immunoglobulin treatment, they would be severely disabled or worse. But the product's high cost - and its growing popularity for use against conditions as varied as baldness and infertility, autism and Alzheimer's disease - has insurers balking. Strict controls on reimbursement have left some patients without means to pay for the treatment. IVIG, as it is commonly known, is made up of antibodies derived from thousands of pooled blood donations.
Mabel-Canton tops L/P in season opener
Sam Stier walked to lead off the first inning for L/P, then stole second and third base. Mike Williamson followed with an RBI double to plate the first run of the game. But Williamson was left aboard, and M-C quickly erased the deficit. The Cougars banged out five hits in their first-inning barrage and the competitive part of the game was over. M-C later led 12-1 after the third inning. Stier was the pitcher for L/P and went the distance in the loss. "Sam struggled with his control in the bottom of the first inning with three walks to go along with those five hits," L/P coach Steve Baumann said. "We got off to a good start with the early run, but they put us away with the big hits." Zach Lind did the most damage off Stier. Lind had a triple to score three runs in the third inning.
Health insurance plan to face test at polls
Voters on Sunday decide on a proposal to introduce a single health insurance company in Switzerland and premiums based on income and wealth. The plan, which is supported by the centre-left but opposed by the centre-right as well as the business community, parliament and the government, is the latest in a series of attempts to cut increasing costs, notably health premiums. There are currently 87 private insurers providing mandatory coverage for basic health care for residents in Switzerland under a 1996 law. But health premiums have soared spectacularly over the past decade.More than 100,000 people are no longer covered because they haven't paid their premiums.The centre-left Social Democrats and the Greens say a single health insurance scheme would boost the efficiency of the system and allow annual savings of at least SFr300 million ($245 million) in administrative costs."The multitude of insurance firms creates nothing more than high costs, because they all provide the same service and try to win as many young and healthy clients," said Social Democratic Party president and parliamentarian Hans-Jrg Fehr.
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