Quantcast
Channel: Health Insurance Headlines on One News Page [United States]
Viewing all 22794 articles
Browse latest View live

PolicyGenius Launches Pawbamacare, Closing the Gap for the 99% of Uninsured Pets in the US

0
0
Pawbamacare.com Opens Today, Focused on Pet Insurance Education, Independent Comparison Shopping, and Giving Back to Pets in Need

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 06, 2014

More pet owners are buying pet insurance each year, with a 25 percent annual rise in 2013 alone, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA). Despite this, 99 percent of domestic pets remain uninsured, while vet fees continue to increase – up 85 percent between 2000 and 2011. Bringing transparency to the pet insurance market and making shopping easier, PolicyGenius – a digital insurance broker and multi-product platform – today launched Pawbamacare: the first independent pet insurance comparison shopping and education site.

“Pet insurance is the fastest growing category in the insurance arena,” said Jennifer Fitzgerald, CEO and Co-Founder of PolicyGenius. “But, pet owners like myself can be overwhelmed by the options, and there is a great deal of misinformation about the value and benefits that pet insurance can provide. With Pawbamacare, we’re simplifying things, educating our pet-loving audience and providing independent advice on the best pet insurance plans to fit all needs.”

Pawbamacare (http://www.pawbamacare.com) launches today: a one-stop-shop for pet insurance education and pet insurance shopping. The website features plain English guides explaining which pets need insurance; the types of veterinary care typically covered; policy features to look for; and full explanations of expenses and risks involved. Over the next 90 days, PolicyGenius will donate 10 percent of the proceeds from Pawbamacare to animal rescue organizations, such as Animal Haven in New York City, for all pet insurance sales made through the Pawbamacare website.

Through Pawbamacare, PolicyGenius hopes to raise awareness about the benefits of pet insurance and help the approximately 170 million uninsured dogs and cats in the US get the coverage they may need for happy and healthy lives.

The Pawbamacare digital marketplace offers independent advice on the best plans on the market through a three–step checkup process that takes only a few minutes. The first step includes a Q&A that narrows down the exact type of insurance needed, followed by a side-by-side comparison between the top plan options, and finishes by sending shoppers to purchase their selected plan at one of PolicyGenius’ pet insurance partner sites.

PolicyGenius has partnered with America’s top pet insurers including ASPCA Pet Health Insurance, Embrace, Healthy Paws, Pets Best, Petplan, and Trupanion and has exclusive discounts on many of the plans offered.

“PolicyGenius’ Pawbamacare campaign and commitment to raising awareness around pet insurance will help save pet lives,” said Tiffany Lacey, Executive Director of Animal Haven. “Pet owners don’t always have the financial means to pay for medical treatment for a pet’s accident or life-threatening illness, which we often see in our shelter. Buying pet insurance can save owners and their pets from potentially heartbreaking financial and health decisions.”

The Pawbamacare program is led by Spokesdog and Pawbamacare Director, Ruby Fitzgerald. The site features state of the union news updates, a ‘Bipetisanship’ blog and testimonials all populated by America’s concerned cats and dogs (and their human counterparts to speak on their behalf).

“With no political motivation, we knew we could build a program with the education and partnerships needed to get any pet covered, regardless of their fur, feathers or political affiliation,” said Ruby. “We’ll do a better job than the humans did with the same goal last year.” To see Ruby’s full PSA on Pawbamacare please visit the PolicyGenius YouTube channel.

About Pawbamacare
Pawbamacare was developed by the team at PolicyGenius to drive awareness and increased understanding about pet insurance. Through independent, plain English guides, pet owners can use the portal to research and cross-compare pet insurance options, facts and needs. PolicyGenius has partnered with America’s top pet insurers to compare and match the country’s top pet insurance plans with pet owners.

About PolicyGenius
PolicyGenius is an independent digital insurance platform. It was founded in 2014 by two former McKinsey veterans who saw a gap in the insurance industry and dedicated themselves to shifting the industry online, and into the hands of the consumer. Through its online tools, users can discover their coverage needs and explore the best solutions. The company also provides the only place online to shop for pet, life, and renters insurance under one roof. Reported by PRWeb 9 hours ago.

Absentee Senator Pat Roberts Survives Bruising Kansas Primary

0
0
On Tuesday night, the Tea Party lost its last, best chance to knock off an incumbent Republican U.S. Senator this year. By a margin of 48-41 percent, Kansas Senator Pat Roberts prevailed over Milton Wolf, a radiologist and first-time candidate who was mostly known for being Barack Obama's conservative second cousin.
Milton Wolf confronts Pat Roberts on July 30

Roberts appeared vulnerable earlier this year after questions were raised about his residency in Kansas, similar to what helped defeat veteran Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) two years ago. The New York Times reported in February that Roberts was renting space from a supporter in order to maintain his voter registration in Kansas, an address where neighbors hadn't seen him in years. He compounded his problems with a verbal slip last month, when he admitted in a radio interview that he returns to Kansas "every time I have an opponent."

And Wolf was extreme enough to be a credible Tea Party standard bearer. While parleying his family ties and far right wing views into frequent guest spots on Fox News and a column for the Washington Times, over the past few years Wolf repeatedly compared Obama and liberal Democrats to Hitler and the Nazis. He insisted "(Sarah) Palin indeed was right...death panels are all too real," about supposed secret provisions in the Affordable Care Act.

According to Wolf, the Act's requirement that people who choose not to buy health insurance be modestly fined (since by doing so, they risk burdening society with future emergency health care costs) was reminiscent of "Stalin's iron-fisted gulags." And he pledged to replace the ACA with his own "PatientCare" initiative, which would effectively destroy Medicaid by block-granting it to the states and changing it to a "premium-support plan" that would generously "afford the needy the ability to purchase their own private insurance."

These nut-job ideas helped him attract the support of Tea Party groups including former S.C. Senator Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives' Fund (now led by defeated Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli), who spent $580,000 backing Wolf; Fight for Tomorrow; the Madison Action Fund; and the Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, who paid for a last-minute ad falsely accusing Roberts of improperly "taking a special exemption from ObamaCare."But Roberts hit back hard and early, backed by his far superior campaign war chest. He refused to debate Wolf, which a week before the primary led to a memorable confrontation between the two when Wolf ambushed the Senator on the street prior to a campaign event.

Roberts' ads attacked Wolf over revelations that he had posted gunshot victims' X-rays to Facebook in 2010, accompanied by snarky, joking comments that Wolf was eventually forced to admit were "insensitive." And highlighted other missteps like Wolf's failure to vote regularly in local or state elections.Except for an ad questioning Wolf's conservative credentials with an out-of-context clip of him saying he wanted to see Barack Obama succeed, Roberts refused to argue over policies, instead making the primary a referendum on Wolf's personal character. It was the same playbook that worked for other incumbent Senators who successfully fended off Tea Party challengers this cycle, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who beat back a well-funded campaign by businessman Matt Bevin. And Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), whose defeated opponent is still challenging Cochran's 7,667-vote runoff win on June 24 in their ugly primary fight.

Wolf was a flawed candidate, but he held Roberts to under 50% of the vote. His failed primary challenge effectively made the case to many Kansas voters that Roberts has been in Washington for too long. Roberts first went to D.C. in the 1960's as a congressional aide, was elected to the House in 1980, and moved up to the Senate in 1996.

Recent polls have shown a closer-than-expected race between Roberts and his Democratic opponent in the fall, Chad Taylor, the sitting District Attorney of Shawnee County, the county that includes Topeka, the capitol of Kansas. The telegenic, 40-year old Taylor was first elected in 2008, and re-elected in 2012 after facing no opposition. He won his own primary Tuesday night by a margin of 53-47%, beating a former U.S. Senate candidate with statewide name recognition. Taylor was endorsed by the Kansas City Star, who called his candidacy "impressive," listed his priorities as "growing jobs and the economy," and said he "promises pragmatic, bipartisan work."Taylor has won accolades for eliminating his office's backlog of over 4,000 cases that he inherited from his predecessor. He made national headlines in 2011, when to draw attention to budget cuts, his office stopped prosecuting domestic violence cases, calling on the city of Topeka to provide funding. In a surprise response that was widely criticized, Topeka actually repealed its ordinance outlawing domestic abuse, which led Taylor to announce that his office would resume prosecuting such cases.

Last month, one SurveyUSA poll showed Taylor within five points of Roberts. This led Steve Kraske, political correspondent for the Kansas City Star, to declare that "something...dramatic is going on in Kansas politics," and said it "may be the closest a Democrat has been to a sitting Republican senator since Herbert Hoover bade farewell to the White House."

Roberts is facing other headwinds, too. Kansas is experiencing a Brownback backlash, after current Republican Governor Sam Brownback swung the state hard to the right once being elected in 2010. Brownback, a staunch religious conservative and longtime Koch brothers ally, formerly served beside Roberts in the U.S. Senate, and ran for President in 2008, dropping out before the primaries began. While in the Senate, Brownback co-sponsored the Constitution Restoration Act of 2005, which would have forbidden courts from ruling on matters involving church/state issues, and stated that judges who did hear such cases would be subject to impeachment and prosecution.

As Governor, Brownback has pushed through drastic cuts to state education spending. He declared that life begins "at fertizilation," and signed five anti-abortion bills, including a May, 2011 law that forbids insurance companies to offer health care coverage for abortions except to save a woman's life, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

He also blew a hole in the state's budget by by slashing the top income tax rates in Kansas. In response, last April the state's debt rating was downgraded by Moody's Investor Service.

All year, polls have shown a tight race between Brownback and his current challenger, Kansas House Minority Leader Paul Davis. Unhappiness with Brownback's term has led nearly 100 Republican current and former officeholders from Kansas to endorse Davis.

In his classic 2004 book *What's The Matter With Kansas?*, Thomas Frank explored the rise of anti-elitist conservatism, and how the radical right had managed to hijack populism in our country's heartland. It detailed how long before the Tea Party came to national prominence, the state's far-right conservatives were waging war with moderates for control of the Republican Party. Ten years later, extreme right-wing craziness and heartless social policies may have finally gone too far even for a bastion of red state America like Kansas.

Erik Ose is a veteran of Democratic campaigns in North Carolina and blogs at The Latest Outrage. Reported by Huffington Post 7 hours ago.

Jobs added in Texas for health care enrollment

0
0
A Florida call center company plans to add about 400 jobs in Central Texas to assist people seeking federal health insurance coverage. Reported by Miami Herald 6 hours ago.

Colorado sees 5th biggest drop in uninsured rate under Obamacare

0
0
Colorado ranks fifth among the states for the biggest reduction in the rate of residents lacking health coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act, according to a new survey from Gallup. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index report says 17 percent of Colorado's population lacked health insurance in 2013, and that percentage has now dropped to 11 percent, a 6 percentage point drop. Gallup makes the point that the 10 states that saw the biggest drop in uninsured rates under the health-care law,… Reported by bizjournals 6 hours ago.

6 Benefits Your Employer Is Legally Required To Offer

0
0
6 Benefits Your Employer Is Legally Required To Offer A few weeks ago, we highlighted the benefits of working at 17 companies with awesome employee perks, whose pot-sweeteners ranged from a month-long, paid international vacation to an in-house bowling alley.

But in addition to those extravagances, there's also a set of baseline benefits all employers are required by law to provide. For instance, businesses are required to give up to 12 weeks of work leave to employees who are suffering from serious health problems, giving birth, or caring for a sick spouse, child, or parent.

Ohio University's online MBA program made an infographic outlining some of these mandatory benefits. It also provides a few useful statistics about the American employers that give out additional benefits like pensions, health insurance, and paid vacation.

*SEE ALSO: Here's One Thing You Shouldn't Do When You Work From Home*

Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 6 hours ago.

The age of supply, not demand

0
0
The age of supply, not demand I had lunch last week with my old friend Aurel Kleinerman, an MD who also runs a Silicon Valley software company called MITEM, which specializes in combining data from disparate systems and networks onto a single desktop. Had the Obama Administration known about MITEM, linking all those Obamacare health insurance exchanges would have been trivial. Given MITEM’s 500+ corporate and government customers, you’d think the company would have come to the attention of the White House, but no. Lesson #1: before reinventing any wheels first check the phone book for local wheel builders Aurel, who is Romanian, came to the… [Continue Reading] Reported by betanews 5 hours ago.

Congress's Long And Sordid History Of Handing States Money With Strings Attached

0
0
Obamacare made health insurance subsidies contingent on a state creating its own insurance exchange; that mandate with financial strings attached is how Congress has imposed its will on states for decades. Reported by Forbes.com 5 hours ago.

Gallup: Despite Obamacare Mandate, 13.4% of Americans Don’t Have Health Insurance

0
0
By: 
Michael W. Chapman

* *

read more Reported by CNSNews.com 4 hours ago.

A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings of Fortegra Financial Corporation and Its Insurance Subsidiaries

0
0
A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings of Fortegra Financial Corporation and Its Insurance Subsidiaries OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A.M. Best has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A- (Excellent) from B++ (Good) and the issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a-” from “bbb+” for the life/health insurance subsidiaries of Fortegra Financial Corporation (Fortegra) (headquartered in Jacksonville, FL) [NYSE: FRF]. Fortegra’s life/health insurance subsidiaries are Life of the South Insurance Company (Nashville, GA), Bankers Life of Louisiana (Ruston, LA) and Southern Financial Life Insurance C Reported by Business Wire 4 hours ago.

Prop 45 Could Save Californians As Much As $1 Billion Annually On Health Insurance, Says Consumer Watchdog Campaign

0
0
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Proposition 45 is projected to bring up to $1 billion per year – $612 per family – in savings to California consumers reeling from years of devastating health care premium increases, according to a new analysis... Reported by PR Newswire 2 hours ago.

Health Care Premiums Increasing Less Than Expected, But Vary Widely

0
0
New data shows that health insurance premiums do not appear to be increasing as much as they have been since companies began adjusting to the new health care law last year. While the average is lower than expected, the variation is large. Some will pay much more while others will pay less. Reported by Christian Post 1 day ago.

Charles Koch Hijacks Martin Luther King Jr. To Pitch His Vision For Low-Wage America

0
0
WASHINGTON -- Conservative billionaire Charles G. Koch laid out his prescription for reviving the American economy on Wednesday in an op-ed published by USA Today.

In it, Koch argues that the economic recovery is hampered by "destructive regulations affecting whether and how business invests and employees work."

He's referring to regulations designed to protect workers' safety, ensure fair pay, provide for clean air and water, eliminate dangerous consumer products and other benevolent results. For a good sense of what America would be like without these protections, pick up a copy of Upton Sinclair's The Jungle.

But for Koch Industries, the company the Koch brothers inherited from their father and built into a global mega-energy conglomerate, those regulations are costly. Charles Koch complains about how "punitive permitting for large projects creates years of delay, increasing uncertainty and cost. Sometimes projects are canceled and jobs with them."

In May, Koch encountered one such headache, when a storage facility on the banks of the Detroit River was denied a permit to maintain mountains of toxic petroleum coke, which had already sent huge butts of poisonous dust over the citizens of Detroit.

Koch also believes in eliminating what he calls "the artificial cost of hiring." The example he uses is Obamacare's mandate for health insurance, but the subtext is his opposition to minimum wage laws.

The idea that minimum wage laws harm the poor is a lesson taught via video lecture by the Institute for Humane Studies, an "educational" group that Koch chairs. As The Huffington Post reported in July, another Koch-funded group, Youth Entrepreneurs, used that anti-minimum wage video to drive home the point to low-income kids enrolled in a public school entrepreneurship course.

This brings the reader to the third part of Koch's plan -- that American kids need to be more willing to toil in menial jobs. "The willingness to work, an essential for success, often has to be taught," Koch writes. He uses as an example that his father made him take dirty jobs at the family's company when he was younger. Of course, he was still a millionaire's son with a millionaire's son's future.

"Most Americans understand that taking a job and sticking with it, no matter how unpleasant or low-paying, is a vital step toward the American dream," he writes. That Koch chooses a word as innocuous as "unpleasant" to describe a bad job is telling. The realities of low-wage work are often far worse than "unpleasant."

Through Koch's personal lens, anything that stands between workers and the specter of imminent hunger, illness or homelessness "undermines people's will to work." This means supplemental nutrition programs, Medicaid and Medicare, the Earned Income Tax Credit and unemployment insurance. Koch believes these programs and others have "created a culture of dependency and hopelessness. This is most unfair to vulnerable citizens who suffer even as we say they are receiving 'benefits.'"

To drive home his point that people should be happy with their work, no matter how poorly paid or menial, Koch quotes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "If a man is called to be a street sweeper," King said, "he should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'"

But taking pride in one's work does not prevent a person from seeking fair wages or safe working conditions or equal opportunity. Near the end of his life, King helped organize the Poor People's Campaign to demand, among other things, greater government effort to fight poverty.

King is also unlikely to have approved of the millions the Koch brothers have poured into funding voter ID initiatives nationwide -- initiatives known to disproportionately undermine the ability of minorities to vote.

Read Charles Koch's op-ed in its entirety here. Reported by Huffington Post 22 hours ago.

Motorcycle Insurance for Used Bikes Now Quoted Online at Auto Company Website

0
0
Motorcycle insurance is now quoted online for used bike owners using the Quotes Pros tool at http://quotespros.com/motorcycle-insurance.html.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) August 06, 2014

Bike owners who own vintage or recently built motorcycles in used condition can now depend on an automated process for reviewing insurance policies online. The Quotes Pros company launched its motorcycle insurance lookup tool for preowned bike owners this month at http://quotespros.com/motorcycle-insurance.html.

The direct cost of policies that insurers underwrite is now displayed for a person who makes entry into the programmed search tool this year. Instead of collecting a driver's license data, the system collects a zip code that matches the current mailing address of a bike owner in the U.S.

"Looking up insurance rates using non-sensitive consumer data is a new way to provide a sense of security for the public," said a Quotes Pros rep.

The used motorcycle insurance policies that are calculated upon system use of the Quotes Pros website this year are not limited to state minimum coverage. Since some vehicle owners prefer more than basic coverage, a full coverage and accessories rates package can be requested in the system.

"The system we've built is automatically connected to national underwriters of insurance plans to make it simpler for a person to obtain the right level of coverage for an affordable price," the rep included.

The Quotes Pros company is in the process of updating its insurer database to feature more than motorcycle or strictly automotive based coverage policies. A consumer will now have the option to search for health insurance at http://quotespros.com/health-insurance.html.

About QuotesPros.com

The QuotesPros.com company is an independent source providing consumers with a defined method of sorting through insurance agency pricing using its streamlined tools. The company has a search staff who helps update the website to make it friendly to visitors. The QuotesPros.com website now features one of the easiest to use quotation platforms that discover rates drops and other packages that insurers are now promoting nationally. Reported by PRWeb 22 hours ago.

Cheap Insurance for Auto Owners Now Generated by State at Insurer Website

0
0
Cheap insurance is now one of the price packages explored by state using the Quotes Pros website at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html. Low cost state-by-state insurers are now presented.

Jacksonville, FL (PRWEB) August 06, 2014

The costs for an insurance package for a motor vehicle owner often depends on the area of the country where a car, truck or SUV is being used. The Quotes Pros company has established its cheap insurance finder tool by state at http://quotespros.com/auto-insurance.html to help drivers research state plans.

By focusing on insurers that underwrite at the state level, the QuotesPros.com company is expected to introduce a new wave of pricing plans to motor vehicle owners. The system for research now presented was recently updated to include insurers providing policies apart from liability plans.

"What an auto owner can now expect from using our system is a complete method of performing price research without having to give away certain aspects of vehicle data or personal information," said a Quotes Pros rep.

The cheaper policies that are now positioned in the locator tool that is now accessible are mixed with standard priced plans from companies across the United States. The current prices and discounts for full coverage, broad form, SR22 and motorcycle insurance are equally viewable this year.

"A person who has a need to review a policy for an exact price before paying for coverage can easily use our system to research a list of agencies," said the rep.

The Quotes Pros company has taken its location system national to expand the insurer types that the general public has access to on the Internet. The vehicle coverage plans that are searchable are in addition to the life and health insurance rates plans that are quoted at http://quotespros.com/life-insurance.html.

About QuotesPros.com

The QuotesPros.com company is setup to provide automated quotations for insurance packages direct for coverage seekers on the Internet. The company provides a free of charge tool to use that explores agencies on a national or state level. The QuotesPros.com company has a mission to continue providing information to the public concerning automotive price structures in the coverage industry each year. Reported by PRWeb 21 hours ago.

Cost of Motorcycle Insurance Now Comparable Through National Search Platform at Insurer Website

0
0
Cost of motorcycle insurance can now be compared using the search platform offered nationally at the Quotes Pros website at http://quotespros.com/motorcycle-insurance.html.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) August 06, 2014

Variances in the costs for insurance packages most often depend on the type of vehicle used in the automotive industry. The Quotes Pros company is now helping bike owners to find the cost of motorcycle insurance using its search platform developed for use at http://quotespros.com/motorcycle-insurance.html.

The search system is now providing a comparison option for any person who has an interest in reviewing rates supplied nationally by insurance agents. Both large and small agencies are now introducing pricing inside of the comparison tool to help owners of bikes choose policies wisely.

"The national comparison system that we've added to our expanded research tool uses a zip code that matches any of the 50 U.S. states to return price quotes to the public," said a Quotes Pros rep.

The searches that a person can conduct using the company system are now maximized to include basic and other policies that are complex. Since not all bikers have a need to quote liability insurance, the Quotes Pros tool is now allowing searches for prices tied to full coverage or loss replacement plans.

"The owner of a bike who plans to use our system this year now has a better range of information available when compared to calling an insurer by phone to discuss rates options," said the rep.

The Quotes Pros company relies on the price data that agents supply to continue providing resources for the public each year. As a way to expand the current lookup system, the company has initiated research options for health, life and renters insurance plans at http://quotespros.com/health-insurance.html.

About QuotesPros.com

The QuotesPros.com company offers a place on the Internet to review, compare or explore the direct policy rates for insurance policies. The company has recently included a range of state providers to help consumers find coverage at their local level. The QuotesPros.com company website has been improved this year to make it an easier procedure for evaluating insurers based on the area of the U.S. where a consumer currently lives. Reported by PRWeb 19 hours ago.

Millions of uninsured Americans exempt from ObamaCare penalties in 2016, watchdog report finds

0
0
A new congressional report has estimated that more than 25 million Americans without health insurance will not be made to pay a penalty in 2016 due to an exploding number of ObamaCare exemptions.  Reported by FOXNews.com 17 hours ago.

VantagePoint Healthcare Advisors Welcomes Cristine Vogel

0
0
Former OHCA Commissioner adds CON, ACA expertise to portfolio of consulting services

Hamden, Connecticut (PRWEB) August 07, 2014

VantagePoint Healthcare Advisors (VantagePointconsult.com) has increased their capability, adding depth and breadth to their team with the hire of Cristine Vogel, M.P.H., as a senior consultant. She will be assisting clients with strategic planning and marketing initiatives in response to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and with the Certificate of Need (CON) process. Her addition supports the continued expansion of VantagePoint services that support health care clients dealing with mergers and affiliations, compliance and other challenges requiring specialized expertise.

About this new infusion of talent, Susan Prior, VantagePoint President and COO, says, “We are delighted to welcome Cristine to our team. She has a comprehensive understanding of the CON [Certificate Of Need] process. Her work within Connecticut health systems and as the former Commissioner of the Office of Health Care Access, as well as her national work with the Affordable Care Act will bring a tremendous depth of expertise to our firm and to our clients.”

Cristine brings over 25 years of experience in the health care industry and a comprehensive knowledge of health care reform and health system planning. She is a proven thought leader and business strategist with expertise in matters related to the impact of the ACA on consumers, providers and health plans. In response to her new position, Cristine says, “It’s gratifying to find such a great fit for my experience within the VantagePoint mission. I have no doubt that we can provide truly effective solutions to clients in response to healthcare reform.” Further she adds, “I love that I’ll be working once more from a headquarters in Connecticut.”

As Commissioner of OHCA for seven years, she ruled on over 300 Certificate of Need decisions, chaired several cabinet-level committees, conducted and published numerous research articles on issues such as inpatient hospital utilization, preventable hospitalizations, and hospital financial challenges. In addition, she developed and testified on behalf of proposed legislation that impacted patient access, provider viability and overall health system quality. As the Governor’s Special Advisor for Health Care Reform, she was appointed as the lead person to implement the federal health care reform strategy and attended meetings organized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to initiate the designing of the Health Insurance Exchange for Connecticut. Recently she was providing consulting services related to the implementation of the ACA to state and federal government clients, providers and health plans.

About Vantage Point Healthcare Advisors

With offices in Connecticut and New York, VantagePoint provides financial and legal advisors, physician practices and healthcare organizations with a full range of consulting services, including Revenue Cycle Review, Credentialing, Compliance, Healthcare Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions. Their staff is comprised of medical industry experts, including certified compliance officers, coders and trainers, accountants, credentialing professionals, medical practice executives, and information technology specialists. Reported by PRWeb 14 hours ago.

Telemedicine and Its Impact in the Health Insurer World: What Experts Are Saying

0
0
Telemedicine provider MeMD has recently appointed two accomplished healthcare executives to join its advisory board. These healthcare experts give their insight on the shift to consumer-driven health plans, as well as, how the growing field of telemedicine offers healthcare insurers the opportunity to integrate on-demand access to quality care into their health plans.

Scottsdale, Ariz. (PRWEB) August 07, 2014

With the rising cost of healthcare, many health insurers and self-funded employers are adding telemedicine as a more affordable option for consumers seeking treatment for low acuity ailments. Many companies are leveraging telemedicine as part of an integrated health insurance network.

Leading telehealth service provider MeMD has expanded its advisory board to include two healthcare executives, Mel Stein and Stephen Rogers, who collectively bring over 80 years of experience in the healthcare field, both with notable successes working with health insurers. Stein is a policy-level Senior Executive with broad experience developing and leading health businesses, healthcare technology companies, and working with payer organizations. Rogers, a Senior Executive with hands-on expertise in business development, strategic analysis, and health administration, also brings years of demonstrated successes in the fields of managed care, health and life insurance, and online healthcare initiatives.

“What excites me most about telemedicine is that it’s a way to engage patients 24/7. It certainly allows for the opportunity to provide better access and options for healthcare,” says Stein. “The use of telemedicine helps reduce inappropriate Emergency Room and Urgent Care visits, in addition to providing care when people are not at their home locale, or when seeking a second opinion. I believe that as awareness of telemedicine continues to grow, it will become a standard component of all health benefit programs.”

With an advisory board possessing a depth of knowledge in the healthcare insurer world, Kevin Wallquist, MeMD’s President for Business, says he is confident that as a leading virtual care company, MeMD’s telemedicine solutions will expand how health plans and payers increase access to care. Together with Stein and Rogers, the MeMD executive team is aligning strategic initiatives to incorporate with health plans, and is demonstrating how the features of telemedicine are integrating into the health insurer world.

“Through high deductible plans and healthcare spending accounts, a lot of employers are moving to a fixed contribution plan where consumers are purchasing their own plans,” adds Rogers. “As self-funded plans leverage carriers as TPA (Third Party Administrator) services, this consumer-driven model will play an important role in placing a premium on telemedicine to reduce healthcare costs.”

As telehealth services continue to expand, health plans and insurers will be able to deliver better access to healthcare, while reducing costs. For more information on MeMD’s telemedicine model, contact Kevin Wallquist at kwallquist(at)memd(dot)me.

About MeMD
Leading telehealth service provider MeMD is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. MeMD is revolutionizing the healthcare industry by offering access to affordable, convenient, and secure web-based healthcare nationwide. MeMD combines proven telemedicine technologies with business model innovations to improve access to medical providers, reduce healthcare costs, and make the experience of seeing a physician convenient, enjoyable, and affordable – the way it should be. For more information, visit http://www.MeMD.me.

For the original release from MeMD, visit the MeMD Blog. Reported by PRWeb 14 hours ago.

Grace Century’s EMR project, Quantum Innovations, Inc. announces agreement with Healthcare Alliance Group, Inc. for use of its PWeR® Platform

0
0
Grace Century FZ LLC's EHR project, Quantum Innovations, Inc., has reached an agreement with Florida-based Healthcare Alliance Group, Inc. to adopt PWeR® 2.0 as its official health information technology provider.

Ras Al Khamiah, UAE (PRWEB) August 07, 2014

Grace Century FZ LLC, is pleased to announce that its healthcare project, Quantum Innovations, Inc. (“QI”), has reached an agreement with Healthcare Alliance Group, Inc., a Florida based Management Services Organization (MSO), to adopt PWeR® 2.0 (QI’s electronic health record or "EHR") as its official health information technology provider.

Healthcare Alliance Group is a MSO with a network of over a dozen primary care providers, and has recently reached a servicing agreement as a premier national Managed Care Organization (MCO), covering seven (7) counties within Florida for their Medicare and Medicaid members.

“Since we [Quantum Innovations] began our journey to build a premier healthcare technology platform called PWeR, we did it with the intent to go way beyond providing a static office based EHR, we built it in the cloud, and we built it to be a total solution to provide One Record…Total Connectivity™ across the entire healthcare ecosystem,” according to Noel J. Guillama, President of Quantum Innovations. “Today, we have taken a next-step in providing a community based platform dedicated to support providers’ in their quest for continuous and accountable care of their patients.”

“With our relationship with Healthcare Alliance, we will collaborate in many ways; Interconnectivity plays a significant roll and extends beyond the normal connections to laboratories, pharmacies, and insurance companies. PWeR is designed and expects to go much further to connect many of Healthcare Alliance’s providers to each other,” Guillama continued. “It will also connect the clinical and financial support teams at Healthcare Alliance as well as connect patients to their provider using the PWeR Patient Portal which is now in development. The relationship will also use our combined experiences to take PWeR to the operating level of an organization designed to support physicians in directing the care of the managed care patient. This relationship will also help QI develop its next evolution in connecting the financial and claims information to the clinical health information in real time with “total connectivity” – a truly unprecedented goal.”

This last item is designed to provide actionable data for providers and assist them in providing better care to their patients by using clinical data gained through the system while reducing waste and providing timely treatment.

“We have seen no system out there that is designed from the bottom up, like PWeR, to provide the connectivity across a care team. Not only do we think PWeR will give us a competitive advantage in our development, the initial interest from providers has been solid,” said Jesus Davila, the COO of Healthcare Alliance. “As the United States healthcare annual expenditures approach $3 trillion (USD), we are witnessing the beginning of the wave of over 77 million baby-boomers beginning to retire. Expansion of insurance with the recently enacted Accountable Care Act points to the desperate need to start using technology to help move the needle. We are excited by the opportunity to work towards a solution with PWeR.”

Scott Wolf, CEO of Grace Century, further commented, “We've worked hard for this monumental step of bringing, what we think to be, the 'Cadillac of platforms' in the mandate electronic medical field."

About Quantum Innovations and PWeR® 2.0
Quantum Innovations, Inc. is a subsidiary of The Quantum Group, Inc. and operates under a license from it to use the PWeR® trademarks, as well as numerous patents both issued and pending. Quantum Innovations seeks to provide technology solutions through PWeR 2.0, a 21st century healthcare technology platform and Meaningful Use certified EHR product. PWeR® stands for Personal Wellness electronic Record®. This 21st century technology solution is a new breed, intelligent healthcare information platform that hosts medical records and permits interactive use. Medical records follow the patient, giving every healthcare provider that sees a particular patient access to all the information needed to assist in their diagnosis and treatment plan. Providers are able to access a patient’s entire medical record in one glance. In critical situations or in providing treatment to patients on the PWeR 2.0 platform, providers will be enabled to access full medical histories and make educated treatment decisions based on accurate data. For more information about PWeR visit http://www.myPWeR.com.

About Healthcare Alliance Group, Inc.
Healthcare Alliance Group, Inc. is a Florida based provider network that helps providers manage care relationships in both the Medicare and Medicaid programs, initially in seven (7) counties in south Florida. First implemented in 1966, Medicare is a health insurance program for aged persons (65+) to complement the retirement, survivors, and disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act. The Florida Medicaid Program provides medical coverage for Florida residents who meet the program’s eligibility requirements including children, pregnant women, disabled adults, and seniors.

About Grace Century
Grace Century FZ LLC is an International Private Equity Consultant located in Ras Al Khaimah, just north of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. It specializes in conducting due-diligence for its group of international members, as well as assisting firms in the development and execution of “game changing” ideas in Life Sciences. Utilizing its vast network, Grace Century assists in capital formation, market penetration, joint ventures, and brand development. For more information, visit http://www.gracecentury.com.

Certain statements contained in this news release, which are not based on historical facts, are forward-looking statements as the term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are subject to substantial uncertainties and risks, in part detailed in The Quantum Group’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission 10-K, 10-Q, S-8, SB-2, S-1 and 8-K (and amendments thereto) that may cause actual results to materially differ from projections. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects,""plans,""will,""may,""anticipates,""believes,""should,""intends,""estimates"“could” and other words of similar meaning. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and, consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, without limitation, the ability of the Company to properly execute its business model, to raise substantial and immediate additional capital to implement its business model, to achieve revenue growth in fiscal year 2015, and to attract and retain executive, management and operational personnel. We have further risk in the deployment of our PWeR® technology platform and the continuing infrastructure development, hosting, security, sales and servicing; further potential complications by the utilization by our clients, technical and software setbacks, cost of development, as well as the capital to deploy it as well as pricing and competition pressures. We are subject to changes in federal and state government regulations dealing with our technology solutions that could have a material economic affect and cause interruptions of services. We are subject to contractual risk, expenses and compliance with our alliance partner(s) agreements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements. As a result, investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Noel J. Guillama, Chairman, Quantum Innovations, Inc.
1-561-904-9477 NGuillama@QuantumInnovations.com Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.

Pacific Resources Benefits Advisors, LLC Launches New Private Exchange Consulting Practice for Large Employers

0
0
Pacific Resources Benefits Advisors, LLC Launches New Private Exchange Consulting Practice for Large Employers CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pacific Resources Benefits Advisors, LLC has launched a new practice to provide independent, third-party assessment of private health insurance exchange options for Large Employers Reported by Business Wire 9 hours ago.
Viewing all 22794 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images