Tokio Marine HCC – MIS Group Wins ITIJ Travel & Health Insurer of the Year Award

December 6, 2016, 6:17 am

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Travel medical insurance provider wins award from the International Travel Insurance Journal

Indianapolis, IN (PRWEB) December 06, 2016

Tokio Marine HCC – Medical Insurance Service Group, a provider of global travel medical insurance, announces today it has been awarded the prestigious Travel & Health Insurer of the Year award from the International Travel & Health Insurance Journal (ITIJ).

The ITIJ is a monthly magazine that provides updates and articles related to the travel insurance industry. Each year, the ITIJ conducts the nomination and voting process for its Industry Awards. There are nine award categories and an expert panel of ITIJ judges decide the winners. These winners are announced at the annual awards ceremony.

This year’s ceremony was held in Berlin, Germany on November 3rd. Tokio Marine HCC – MIS Group was selected as the winner due to their rich history of serving customers in over 180 countries, offering the best travel medical policies in the industry. Some unique benefits offered include crisis response and terrorism coverage, political evacuation coverage, and worldwide customer service to help with lost document recovery, translation services, currency exchange, and much more.

Tokio Marine HCC –MIS Group is honored to have been nominated and selected for this award. They will continue to offer superior products to customers while embodying the Japanese principal of Omotenashi, to selflessly serve their customers.

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About Tokio Marine HCC - MIS Group: Tokio Marine HCC - MIS Group is headquartered in Indianapolis, IND., and is a full-service company that offers international medical insurance and short-term medical insurance products designed to meet needs of consumers worldwide. Tokio Marine HCC - MIS Group is a subsidiary of Tokio Marine HCC, a leading specialty insurance group. Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.

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Dizzion Achieves HIPAA/HITECH Compliance for Secure Virtual Desktops

December 6, 2016, 6:20 am

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DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dizzion, Inc., a full-service end user computing (EUC) provider, today announced that it has been independently validated by cyber risk management advisors, Coalfire, who found that Dizzion’s control posture is in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Breach Notification Rule. Dizzion, having met HIPAA and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) requirements will assist healthcare Reported by Business Wire 6 hours ago.

AmeriHealth New Jersey’s Ryan Petrizzi to present at AHIP’s Consumer Experience and Digital Health Forum in Chicago

December 6, 2016, 8:05 am

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CRANBURY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AmeriHealth New Jersey Vice President of Consumer Markets and Product Development, Ryan Petrizzi, will visit Chicago this week to speak at America’s Health Insurance Plans’ (AHIP) 2016 Consumer Experience and Digital Health Forum. The program creates a space for decision makers in the health insurance industry to explore new digital health technologies and customer experience strategies that have the potential to better engage consumers, address their health nee Reported by Business Wire 4 hours ago.

Health insurance sign-up assistance Friday at Bayonne City Hall

December 6, 2016, 8:38 am

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Staff will be on hand this Friday at City Hall to help residents with health insurance enrollment under the Affordable Care Act Reported by NJ.com 3 hours ago.

Healthfirst Selects Casenet to Help Chart a Healthier Future For New Yorkers

December 6, 2016, 11:15 am

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The TruCare Population Health and Care Management Platform Selected To Deliver a Unified, Accessible View of Healthfirst Members

Bedford, MA (PRWEB) December 06, 2016

Casenet®, LLC, a leading provider of population health and care management solutions, announced today that Healthfirst has selected the Casenet TruCare® platform to improve the company’s delivery of population health management programs. Improving care delivery with the goal of enhancing outcomes will ultimately result in healthier Healthfirst members.

Healthfirst, the third-largest health insurer in New York City, has selected TruCare to enable improved management of its diverse populations by delivering a unified view of its members, enhancing efficiency in clinical operations, and ultimately boosting clinical outcomes and customer satisfaction for its 1.2 million members.

As Healthfirst continues to grow, it needs a scalable and flexible platform to help it address its member and provider needs more quickly and effectively.

“Healthfirst is committed to providing New Yorkers with access to high-quality healthcare while lowering healthcare costs,” said Melinda Thiel, Senior Vice President of Strategy Integration at Healthfirst. “The capabilities we gain by working with Casenet should help us achieve our goal of expanding population health initiatives in the areas of patient-focused care models, data analytics, and improved quality.”

“We are committed to continuously improving care and member satisfaction for the communities that depend on us,” said Rebecca Schwietz, Senior Vice President of Clinical Services at Healthfirst. “We believe that TruCare will enable our staff to be more efficient and effective thanks to the availability of timely and relevant information, and this will help foster improved health outcomes for our members.”

Casenet delivers a flexible and scalable population health management platform that will help Healthfirst respond more quickly to member and provider service requests, intercede more rapidly and manage care more appropriately. Using the TruCare Linx® ADT HL7 admissions data integration with its health information exchange (HIE), Healthfirst will be able to support transitions of care and readmissions programs more effectively. The Casenet TruCare platform will provide the necessary tools to truly integrate care administration with care delivery, while also providing flexible configuration to meet industry and regulatory requirements for high-quality care and outcomes.

“We are pleased to be working with Healthfirst to help them meet their market expansion and population health outcomes goals,” said Peter Masanotti, Casenet CEO. “By incorporating TruCare’s platform approach, Healthfirst will have a population health system that will automate their workflows, enable them to close regulatory gaps and improve the health outcomes of their growing member populations.”

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About Healthfirst
Healthfirst is a provider-sponsored health insurance company that serves more than 1.2 million members in downstate New York. Healthfirst offers top-quality Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Child Health Plus, and Managed Long Term Care plans. Healthfirst Leaf Qualified Health Plans and the Healthfirst Essential Plan are offered on NY State of Health, The Official Health Plan Marketplace. Beginning in 2017, Healthfirst is offering Healthfirst Pro and Pro Plus, Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO) plans for small business owners and their employees, and Healthfirst Total, an EPO for individuals.

For more information on Healthfirst, visit http://www.healthfirst.org.

Healthfirst Media Contact:
Bill McCann
212-801-1657
wmccann(at)healthfirst(dot)org

About Casenet, LLC
Casenet provides a comprehensive suite of extensible, enterprise care management software and services solutions for commercial, Medicaid, Medicare, TPA, provider/ACO and specialty provider organizations. These solutions enable our customers to improve care coordination and the quality and delivery of care through enhanced case, disease, utilization and home and community-based services management as well as tools for total population management. Casenet supports small to very large enterprise customers that require tremendous scalability, have many lines of business, and require comprehensive configuration for each targeted member population. Casenet solutions enable organizations to meet their unique requirements and adapt quickly to changing market and regulatory dynamics, identify and target populations having unique risk characteristics and deliver specific care management programs for those members — taking the first step toward better individual health and total population health management. For more information, visit http://www.casenetllc.com.

Casenet Media Contact:
Kelli L. Bravo, 781.357.2706, kbravo(at)casenetllc(dot)com

Learn more about TruCare®

Request a demonstration and find out how TruCare can improve your member health Reported by PRWeb 40 minutes ago.

Executive Director of The Hearing And Speech Agency Announces Retirement After 30 Years

December 6, 2016, 11:32 am

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HASA’s leader and first speech pathologist leaves nonprofit thriving in its 90th year. Susan Glasgow retires from The Hearing and Speech Agency where she served the hearing, speech and language needs of Baltimore's children and adults.

Baltimore, Maryland (PRWEB) December 06, 2016

After 30 years with The Hearing and Speech Agency (HASA), including 22 as its Executive Director, Susan Glasgow has announced her retirement from HASA at the end of 2016.

During Susan’s leadership, HASA has grown to annually serve more than 4,000 individuals and families with hearing and speech services. She has overseen the establishment or growth of HASA’s listening and spoken language program, speech-language therapy services, Gateway School programming, and sign language interpreting services.

“We will certainly miss [Susan’s] passionate, kind, diligent leadership,” said HASA Board President Aaron Marshall. “HASA is well-positioned to continue its success thanks to Susan, her management team and staff…who help HASA provide services and products that enable effective communication for individuals and families in our region.”

Some of Susan’s career highlights:· Susan established the first Listening and Spoken Language Program in the Baltimore metro area in 2004.
· She was instrumental in getting Maryland Newborn Infant Hearing Screening legislation passed in 1999 to ensure the testing of every newborn before leaving the hospital.
· Raised the capital and coordinated the design and build of a brand new campus in Seton Business Park in 2003.
· Susan was central in securing one of five prestigious Google grants providing $25,000 and a pair of Google Glass glasses to support students at HASA’s Gateway School with a variety of communication disabilities such as autism spectrum disorders, developmental delay, speech-language challenges or who are deaf or hard of hearing for the 2014-15 school year.
· Grew staff and programming from 35 employees and $2.3 million in revenues in 1994 to 80 employees and nearly $9 million in 2016.
· During her tenure, she celebrated milestone anniversaries for CIRS Interpreting (founded 1986), Hilgenberg Childhood Speech & Language Center (founded 1987), Gateway School (founded 1960) and The Hearing and Speech Agency (founded 1926).
· Under Susan’s leadership, HASA implemented VIBE, a biennial gala to raise funds for children and adults with communication challenges. VIBE fundraising events have raised nearly $400,000.

Additionally, Susan worked tirelessly to lobby for health insurance to provide hearing aids for children in Maryland and advocated for Medicaid to allow children to see community pediatric providers for audiology and speech pathology services.

In a letter to the community, Susan commented: “I am ready to turn over the position to the next fortunate person who gets what I think is a dream job with an amazing Board and staff, serving a fantastic organization and community.”

Susan is leaving HASA in a position of financial stability, having just paid off the mortgage on the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg facility, and securing nearly $9 million in total revenues.

An Executive Director search committee led by HASA Board President Aaron Marshall has convened, and a final selection for HASA’s new Executive Director will include input from many HASA constituencies including Susan, management and staff, and client families. Susan will remain a resource to HASA and its community during the transition.

The new Executive Director is expected to join HASA by first-quarter of 2017.

ABOUT HASA
The Hearing and Speech Agency (HASA) is a private, non-profit organization that provides hearing and speech services, offers an information resource center, and advocates for people of all ages with communication challenges. Services include hearing tests, hearing aid fitting, hearing aid repair, speech-language evaluations and therapy, listening and spoken language services, pre- and post-cochlear implant services, occupational and physical therapy, special education, sign language interpreting, sign language classes, Deaf awareness seminars, social work, and parent support groups. For more information, please visit http://hasa.org. Reported by PRWeb 24 minutes ago.

Hospitals Issue Dire Warnings About Repealing Obamacare Without A Backup Plan

December 6, 2016, 1:35 pm

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WASHINGTON ― The hospital industry has a warning for President-elect Donald Trump and congressional leaders: Eliminating the Affordable Care Act without first crafting a “replacement” would create major hardships throughout the health care system.

Hospitals traded billions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid payment cuts for expanded health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, reasoning it would be good for hospital finances to have fewer uninsured patients who don’t pay for their care. Congressional Republicans are leaning toward a plan that would repeal the law early next year, but delay enacting a new system for up to three years.

That won’t work, according to two influential hospital lobbying groups.

The American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals laid out their concerns in letters sent Tuesday to Trump, Vice President-elect Mike Pence, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who will become minority leader next year.

These groups are demanding that legislation repealing the law and creating an alternative pass simultaneously, or that Congress and the incoming Trump administration restore the funding cuts from the law.

Hospitals will be seriously threatened if neither action occurs, Tom Nickels, executive vice president for government relations and public policy, said Tuesday during a conference call with reporters.

“Repealing the ACA while leaving its Medicare and Medicaid cuts in place will have huge implications for hospitals and the patients they serve,” Nickels said. “Loses of the magnitude that we’re going to discuss cannot be sustained and will adversely impact patients access to care, decimate hospitals’ and health systems’ ability to provide services, weaken local economies that hospitals sustain and grow, and result in massive job losses.”

Hospital companies hold uncommonly large sway over lawmakers because the facilities they operate are vital elements of the infrastructure and economy of virtually every community in the United States. They are major employers and have a physical presence in every congressional district in the country. 


To think about going through another dramatic, sudden, rapid change for an organization that teeters on being able to stay alive and provide services is gut-wrenching.
Joann Anderson, president and CEO of Southeastern Health
This early and public admonition against the preferred GOP strategy to handle Obamacare repeal underscores how complex and messy the project promises to be, even though Republican leaders are trying to quickly fulfill a promise they’ve been making to voters since the Affordable Care Act became law in 2010.

Health care companies and others will lobby aggressively to protect their interests, which currently have a lot of overlap with those of the people who stand to lose their health coverage as a result of Affordable Care Act repeal.

And Republicans themselves have not fully united behind the “repeal and delay” strategy. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), for example, is cautioning his colleagues against undoing Obamacare without a new plan. On the other hand, the conservative House Freedom Caucus wants GOP leaders to eradicate Obamacare even faster.

Democrats in Congress and Obamacare supporters have vowed to fight repeal, and other segments of the health care industry have expressed concern about the ramifications of repeal without a clear path to a new system ― particularly since the GOP plans that have circulated to date would not cover as many Americans, despite Republican claims otherwise, and the party has never coalesced around a unified approach to health care reform.

Repeal would eliminate health coverage for an estimated 22 million people, and vague promises of an eventual successor to Obamacare will be of little consolation to powerful health care interests ― ranging from hospitals to physicians to health insurance companies to drug makers ― facing years of uncertainty about what might follow.

The two associations commissioned an analysis of the Affordable Care Act repeal legislation that President Barack Obama vetoed in January ― which is seen as the model for how Congress will proceed in 2017 ― and found that hospitals stand to lose more than half a trillion dollars between 2018 and 2026.

The consulting firm Dobson DeVano & Associates conducted the estimates, based in part on the Congressional Budget Office’s evaluation of the repeal legislation.

The CBO estimates that 24 million more people would be uninsured under that bill by 2026 and that the total number of Americans without health coverage that year would reach 50 million. At the end of last year, the uninsured rate fell to 8.9 percent ― an all-time low ― and 28.4 million lacked coverage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Broader health coverage and a lower uninsured rate have long been priorities for the hospital industry, which shoulders the financial burden when uncovered patients receive treatments and don’t pay their bills.

The American Hospital Association represents almost 5,000 hospitals, and the Federation of American Hospitals lobbies on behalf of publicly traded chains. Along with trade groups for municipal, children’s, teaching and Catholic hospitals, both endorsed the Affordable Care Act in 2010. It would be disruptive to undo the bargain inherent in the Affordable Care Act and force hospitals to contend with another round of sweeping changes after they’ve spent time and money adapting to Obamacare, according to Joann Anderson, the president and CEO of Southeastern Health in Lumberton, North Carolina

“A repeal and replace initiative is frightening,” Anderson said during the press call on Tuesday. “To think about going through another dramatic, sudden, rapid change for an organization that teeters on being able to stay alive and provide services is gut-wrenching. For us to be able to meet the needs of this community, we need to know what the replacement’s going to be.”

The hospital industry is confident lawmakers and the new administration will take their concerns seriously, despite the GOP’s eagerness to overturn the Affordable Care Act, Nickels said.

“People always listen to what the hospitals have to say. I think the story that you heard from Joann will be one repeated to senators and House members between now and when Congress reconvenes in January,” he said. “I think the new administration will also hear these stories”

Tellingly, the hospital groups stop short of insisting that Obamacare repeal-and-replace not result in massive losses of insurance coverage. Instead, they make it clear that they would be willing to accept that outcome as long as their financial concerns are accommodated.

In their letters, the hospital groups even point to legislation authored by Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) ― Trump’s pick for secretary of Health and Human Services ― as a potential alternative to a version of the Affordable Care Act repeal bill Obama vetoed.

“It continues to be critical that we protect coverage, but at the same time we have to ensure access to quality hospital care for today and tomorrow,” Chip Kahn, president and CEO of the Federation of American Hospitals, said during the press briefing.

Even achieving that would be difficult for Congress, however. The Affordable Care Act paid for roughly half of the expense of expanding health coverage by reducing spending on Medicare and Medicaid payments to health care providers like hospitals.

As a result, restoring those cuts would show up on the balance books as a major new federal expense. And there’s precedent for leaving the cuts in place for budgetary reasons: The plans Ryan conceived when he chaired the House Budget Committee always retained that lower spending.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 23 hours ago.

Health Insurance Group Gives Demands for Repealing Obamacare

December 6, 2016, 6:28 pm

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A leading insurance industry group told Congress on Tuesday they wanted the Trump administration and legislators to ensure low-income Americans receive some help to keep costs low in the event of an Obamacare repeal. Reported by Newsmax 18 hours ago.

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Repealing Obamacare to be first on Senate agenda in 2017

December 6, 2016, 2:49 pm

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Repealing Obamacare will be the first order of business in the U.S. Senate in January, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said on Tuesday. Republicans will replace President Barack Obama’s signature health insurance program that provides coverage to millions of Americans ... Reported by Raw Story 21 hours ago.

eBaoTech Congratulates AXA Tianping for Winning Gartner Innovative Digital Business Model Award

December 6, 2016, 9:24 pm

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SHANGHAI, Dec. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- eBaoTech, a leading digital solutions provider for the global insurance industry announced today that its client, AXA Tianping, received Gartner's Asia Pacific Most Innovative Digital Business Model Award by its Internet Insurance Initiative enabling the sales of personalized insurance products, backed by eBaoCloud.

The 2016 Gartner Financial Services Eye on Innovation Awards were announced at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2016, October 24-27, Australia. The awards recognize innovative use of technology-enabled capabilities to highlight "best-in-class" financial industry initiatives launched within the past 12 months and to offer insight as to developments in digital innovation.

AXA Tianping (AXATP) with full name of "AXA Tianping Property & Casualty Insurance Company Limited", currently is the largest foreign-capital property and casualty insurance company in China market. AXATP is determined to become an industry leader in China domestic e-insurance field.

As the insurance industry adapts in the digital age and China's insurance regulator is liberalizing the pricing model to allow insurers to provide more innovative auto insurance, AXATP was looking for a solution and partner to increase market share by leveraging digital technology in an open digital ecosystem. The underlying solution is eBaoCloud, a revolutionary engine to enable the insurance industry to go digital full steam.  On eBaoCloud, AXATP now is able to launch auto insurance products with scenario and customer based service, and create more cross-selling.

eBaoCloud offers all eBao Micro Services on a common platform and enables deep connectivity for typical ecosystem participants, including insurance carriers, brokers, agents, FinTech start-ups, etc. eBaoCloud can be adopted on SaaS, PaaS and other models. Since its launch in June 2015, more than 300 products by over 40 insurance carriers have been launched on eBaoCloud, from general insurance, life insurance to health insurance.

"It was our pleasure to work with eBaoTech's team in the past 12 months.  A team with full dedication and lots of creative ideas.  The proposal submitted for the Gartner Financial Services Eye on Innovation Awards was only one out those many great ideas.  Congratulation to the team.  You deserve the Award." AXA Tianping CIO Philip Yu gave high praise for the project.

"AXA Tianping is one of our first tenants on eBaoCloud. We are very excited that our joint innovations with client was recognized by global top IT research and consulting organization," added Woody Mo, CEO and President of eBaoTech Corporation. "We look forward to exploring and creating more innovative models with AXATP and providing continuous support and value to our client."

More information about the award: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3488017

*About AXA Tianping*

AXA Tianping is established by merger and acquisition between Tian Ping Auto Insurance Company Limited, originally the first auto-insurance-specialized company in China, and the wholly-owned subsidiary of the largest global insurance group AXA in China. It currently is the largest foreign-capital property and casualty insurance company in China market. The company offers a variety of insurance products, mainly including motor vehicle traffic accident liability compulsory insurance, commercial motor vehicle insurance, SME general insurance, home insurance, cargo insurance, liability insurance, short-term accident insurance, health insurance, etc.

*About eBaoTech**
*eBaoTech was founded in year 2000 with a mission to "make insurance easy". Today, with business in more than 30 countries globally, serving over a hundred carriers and numerous agents, brokers, and other ecosystem players, eBaoTech has become a global leader in insurance technology. 

eBaoTech offers two groups of solutions: eBao Cloud and eBao Software. eBao Cloud provides nearly real time capability of technology adoption for insurance industry. While eBao Software offers more traditional on premise implementation of software products for insurers and large brokers/agencies to optimize operation and support business growth. eBaoTech's hallmark is "Rapid Customer Success" (RCS), with a strong focus on delivering business value to its customers fast. Digital insurance is the central theme in the coming years and eBaoTech is well positioned to be a partner and enabler for insurance industry to accelerate technology adoption and move to digital age fast. For more information, please visit www.ebaotech.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20150727/0861506750LOGO Reported by PR Newswire Asia 15 hours ago.

New ez1095 ACA Software 2016 1095 Offers White Paper Printing For HR Accommodation

December 7, 2016, 1:04 am

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2016 ez1095 software has been updated to print on plain white paper for Human Recourses satisfaction. Test drive the 30 day no cost or obligation trial at http://www.halfpricesoft.com.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) December 07, 2016

ez10952016 Affordable Care Act (ACA) software application from Halfpricesoft.com has just been released for the upcoming tax season. The new version will allow for white paper printing for ease of use to all employers and Human Resource staffing. The 1095C, 1094C, 1095B and 1094B forms for the upcoming tax season have been implemented and approved by the SSA to print on plain white paper.

“ez1095 2016 software has been released for printing ACA forms 1095C & 1094C, 1095B & 1094B on plain white paper to assist HR staff.” said Dr. Ge, the founder of Halfpricesoft.com.

ez1095 2016 ACA form software is easy-to-use and flexible. Developer’s created this software to adhere to the requirements by the government to file forms 1094 and 1095 starting in 2016. ez1095 software’s graphical interface allows customers to set up company, add employees, add forms and print forms soon after download. Customers can also click form level help links to get more details regarding the software.

Potential customers can download and try this software at no obligation by visiting http://www.halfpricesoft.com/aca-1095/form-1095-software-free-download.asp

The main features include:· Print ACA forms 1095 and 1094 on blank paper with inkjet or laser printer.
· Print Form 1095 C: Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Insurance
· Print Form 1094 C: Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns
· Print Form 1095-B: Health Coverage
· Print Form 1094-B: Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Return
· Print recipient copies in PDF format.
· Support unlimited companies.
· Support unlimited number of recipients.
· Print unlimited number of 1095 and 1094 forms.
· Fast data import feature

Priced at just $195, ($295 for efile version) this ACA forms filing software saves employers time and money. To learn more about ez1095 ACA software, customers can visit http://www.halfpricesoft.com/aca-1095/aca-1095-software.asp

About halfpricesoft.com
Founded in 2003, Halfpricesoft.com has established itself as a leader in meeting the software needs of small businesses around the world with its payroll software, employee attendance tracking software, check printing software, W2 software, 1099 software and barcode generating software. It continues to grow with its philosophy that small business owners need affordable, user friendly, super simple, and totally risk-free software. Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.

GOP Obamacare Strategy Could Unravel Markets Quickly, Report Warns

December 7, 2016, 2:13 am

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Republicans who think their “repeal and delay” strategy for Obamacare won’t cause serious and immediate insurance disruptions should read a new report that came out early Wednesday morning.

The report, from the nonpartisan Urban Institute, predicts that state insurance markets will start to unravel almost immediately and that, as early as next year, the ranks of the uninsured will begin swelling. And if Republicans can’t come up with a replacement, the report says, the number of people without insurance could eventually rise by 20 million to 30 million people.

Both predictions represent worst-case scenarios. But the findings echo warnings that experts and industry groups have been making with increasing urgency ― that taking the health care law off the books quickly is likely to destabilize insurance markets and that even a conservative “replacement” for Obamacare is likely to result in a combination of many more uninsured and weaker insurance coverage on the whole.

Needless to say, this is not the kind of outcome that President-elect Donald Trump promised when he said he’d replace Obamacare with “great health care at lower costs” ― or what House Speaker Paul Ryan implied just this week, when he vowed that Republicans would ensure that “no one is worse off” during the transition to a new system.

How did the Urban Institute researchers come by their conclusions? They started by assuming that Republicans pass a bill similar to the measure Republicans passed last year, one that President Barack Obama vetoed. That bill would have stripped out the Affordable Care Act’s funding but allowed the Medicaid expansion and private subsidies for private insurance to remain in place through January 2018.

Republicans have vowed that the new effort at repeal would contain a similar continuation of coverage assistance, although now the extension would go through 2019 or even 2020. That extension is supposed to guarantee coverage for the more than 20 million people who now depend on Obamacare for insurance while giving Republicans time to craft a replacement. And this replacement, Republican leaders frequently say, will provide comparable or even better coverage for lower costs.

The report from the Urban Institute basically calls those promises worthless.

A big problem for the short term, the researchers warn, is that insurers aren’t likely to keep offering coverage for a market that’s going to vanish in two or three years. Many insurers have been losing money, sometimes big money, on their Obamacare plans. But some were making money and most had decided it was worth sticking around for the possibility of future profits. If the markets won’t exist past 2018 or 2019, then those profits will never materialize.

Another, potentially bigger problem is that the repeal-and-delay bill is likely to eliminate Obamacare’s individual mandate right away. The mandate is a penalty for people who don’t get health insurance. And without that mandate in place, the Urban Institute researchers warn, healthy people will be less likely to buy coverage, causing more insurers to lose money and inducing still more of them to leave the markets altogether.

Within a year, the institute’s researchers predict, deterioration in the markets will add more than 4 million people to the ranks of the uninsured. And it will only be a matter of time, the researchers warn, before most if not all carriers exit the markets altogether ― rather than stick around and try to insure a population so weighted toward people in poor health that it’s impossible to cover costs.

And that’s just the short-term prognosis. Once the two- or three-year transition period is over, the Urban Institute’s researchers project, the loss of subsidized private coverage and expanded Medicaid will cause the number of uninsured Americans to increase by 22.5 million ― essentially wiping out the coverage progress of the last few years. Even more could lose coverage, the report says, depending on what other changes Republicans make to the rules for insurance.

This is basically the same conclusion that the Congressional Budget Office reached when it analyzed last year’s repeal effort ― although the Urban Institute researchers provided some details on who these people are. Among other things, the researchers found, the vast majority would be from families with at least one household member who is working. A similar percentage would be people without a college degree.

The assumption running through these calculations is that Republicans never come together on a “replacement.” This is a plausible assumption. After six years of promising to coalesce around an alternative to Obamacare, House Republicans have managed only to agree on a set of principles, as opposed to actual legislation. And Senate Republicans haven’t even gotten that far.

The political reality is that crafting any alternative is bound to be difficult after a repeal bill passes, because a large contingent of Republicans opposes any significant role for the federal government in health care ― and, once a repeal bill eliminates Obamacare’s funding, this contingent (and to some extent all Republicans) will be reluctant to approve the new taxes necessary to finance serious coverage expansions.

Not coincidentally, the plans now circulating among conservative intellectuals and likely to form the basis of eventual legislation would all result in higher numbers of uninsured Americans, much weaker guarantees of insurance availability and benefits, or some combination of those factors.

These plans would also produce results that many conservatives would cheer. They would mean less government spending and lower taxes. Insurers could go back to offering bare-bones plans at bargain-basement prices. Prices for young and healthy consumers would come down, and the highly unpopular individual mandate would go away.

But the price of these gains would be many more people struggling with medical bills. The final numbers might not be as extreme as the ones in the Urban Institute report, but the change would be dramatic, far more than Republicans are willing to admit.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 10 hours ago.

Study: ‘Obamacare’ repeal-only would make 30M uninsured

December 7, 2016, 2:04 am

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study says the Republican plan to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law risks making nearly 30 million people uninsured. The analysis out Wednesday from the nonpartisan Urban Institute predicts heavy collateral damage for people buying their own health insurance independent from government markets like HealthCare.gov. The study warns that […] Reported by Seattle Times 10 hours ago.

Aditya Birla Health Insurance looks at 8-10% market share

December 7, 2016, 2:58 am

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Reported by newKerala.com 9 hours ago.

What to Watch: Health Care Trends for 2017

December 7, 2016, 8:38 am

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AgileHealthInsurance.com Provides Insights on What Lies Ahead for Health Insurance Reported by Marketwired 4 hours ago.

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Highmark Inc. Named a “Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation

December 7, 2016, 8:11 am

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Highmark is one of 22 companies headquartered in Pennsylvania to earn the distinction.

Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) December 07, 2016

In recognition of Highmark Inc.’s supportive and inclusive culture for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning employees, the company has earned distinction as a “Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality” from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Highmark qualified for the award for the first time by receiving the top score of 100 points in the 2017 national Corporate Equality Index, which benchmarks corporate policies and practices pertinent to LGBT employees, helping businesses to compare themselves to those that are leaders in diversity and inclusion.

Highmark is one of only 22 companies in the state of Pennsylvania to earn the top score and to qualify as a “Best Place to Work.” A total of 517 of America’s leading businesses earned the distinction announced by the Human Rights Campaign on December 5, with more than 900 businesses opting to participate in the survey.

“The ‘Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality’ designation recognizes our work and focus on behalf of our LGBTQ employees and the communities we serve, marking an important, positive milestone for Highmark,” said Dr. Lonie Haynes, vice president of diversity and inclusion for Highmark Health. “We are exceedingly proud of this acknowledgement by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for building a workplace that is open, inclusive and respectful of the right to equality. Our LGBTQ and many diverse employees provide unique contributions and help to ensure that we reflect the many diverse customers and communities that we’re honored to serve.”

Among the practices that earned Highmark the “Best Place to Work” designation are equivalent spousal and domestic partner benefits related to health, dental and vision coverage and legal dependent coverage; yearly collaboration with human resources to educate leaders and the workforce about understanding the LGBTQ community; sponsorship of community activities that engage and include LGBTQ employees and that continue to build community partnerships; and a robust LGBTQ business resource group (BRG) that helped to establish a successful model for several subsequent BRGs and has supported the marketing and sales efforts to LGBTQ persons.

“These businesses know that LGBTQ equality isn’t just the right thing to do, it makes them stronger in the global economy,” said Chad Griffin, president, Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Other significant achievements earned by the Highmark Health enterprise in 2016 include the “Best Place to Work” for people with disabilities recognition awarded through the American Association of People with Disabilities and the U.S. Business Leadership Network, and the “Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles” from the National Business Group on Health.

More information on the 2017 Corporate Equality Index is available at http://www.hrc.org/cei.

About Highmark Inc.
Highmark Inc. and its health insurance subsidiaries and affiliates collectively are among the ten largest health insurers in the United States and comprise the fourth-largest Blue Cross and Blue Shield-affiliated organization. Highmark and its diversified businesses and affiliates operate health insurance plans in Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia that serve 5.2 million members and hundreds of thousands of additional members through the Blue Card program. Its diversified businesses serve group customer and individual needs across the United States through dental insurance, vision care and other related businesses. Highmark is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. Highmark is an affiliate of Highmark Health, a leading, national health and wellness organization. For more information, visit http://www.highmark.com.

About the Human Rights Campaign Foundation
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation is the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community. The Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index was established in 2002 and is the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies and practices pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. http://www.hrc.org

### Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.

Is Health Care In America Really So Bad?

December 7, 2016, 9:14 am

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On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The intent of the law was to provide health insurance to all Americans while, at the same time, lower the health care costs for the people and the United States government. Although it seems counterintuitive, President Obama promised that the plan would lower the cost of health insurance premiums while at the same time, reduce government spending. It is hard to see how this promise could have been sincere, especially since the plan would have added over 30 million patients into the mix.

I think most would agree that health care in our country is expensive. In 2009, the United States spent 17.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), about $2.5 trillion on health care. This was the most spent for health care by any country in the world. We also spend more than any other country on defense. I think both of these things are good. We should be spending on health care and defense to maintain our way of life which I believe is the best.

Proponents of Health Care change make claims that despite spending more on health care than other countries, the United States lags behind in critical health care measures such as life-expectancy and infant mortality. However, a critical look at these measures shows that the United States is really not so bad.

While it is true that life-expectancy in the United States is less than about 30 other countries, it is likely related to the high homicide rate in America along with the high death rate from auto accidents, both of which are much higher than those found in other Western countries. If we factor out homicides and auto accident fatalities, then the United States has the longest life-expectancy. Homicides and auto related deaths, while concerning, should not count on our quality of health care analysis. (Glen Whitman, "Who's Fooling Who? The World Health Organization's Problematic Ranking of Health Care Systems," CATO Institute, February 28, 2008)

Infant mortality is defined differently depending on the country. Since the definitions differ, it is not surprising that the mortality rates differ. In America, a birth is counted as live if there is any sign of life, regardless of the birth weight or gestational age. This follows the World Health Organization (WHO) definition which defines a live birth as one where the infant, removed from the mother, "breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles." (Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Live Birth Definition)

In Switzerland, the baby must be at least 30 centimeters long at birth to be counted as a live birth (David Hogberg, Ph.D., "Don't Fall Prey to Propaganda: Life Expectancy and Infant Mortality are Unreliable Measures for Comparing the U.S. Health Care System to Others," National Policy Analysis, July 2006). Even if it's breathing and the heart is beating, a subsequent death will not be counted as an infant mortality in that country if the baby is shorter than 30 centimeters.

In France, there must be a medical certificate stating that the baby was born alive and viable. Without that certificate, a subsequent death will not count as an infant mortality. Also, in France and Belgium, babies born before twenty-six weeks are counted as deaths even if they fit the WHO criteria for live birth. (Bernadine Healy, "Behind the Baby Count." US News and World Report, September 24, 2006) It's obvious that using infant mortality rates as a measure of quality health care is a disingenuous argument for those claiming our health care system is not so good.

I believe that the cost of our health care is reasonable for what we get. It is the best health care in the world. Many of our treatments lead the way for both cure and palliation. Cancer treatments, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) care, and cardiac and vascular surgery advances are the best in the world. When Russian President Boris Yeltsin needed heart surgery, they sent for Dr. DeBakey's team from Baylor in Houston.

It is not unusual for other world leaders to send their families or themselves to our country for their own care. When I was a resident at the University of Chicago, it was not unusual for world leaders to take over a hospital floor while they were cared for at that facility. I was even reprimanded by the United States Secret Service when I mistakenly entered the area during one of my rounds.

Former Vice-President Cheney had a left ventricular assist device keeping him alive for quite a while until he was able to get a match for a heart transplant. He spoke to one of our surgical societies where he described his course. He was doing great and I could not see any detrimental effects of his prolonged illness. This type of care is available to all in the United States!

As a Cardiothoracic surgeon, I am frequently exposed to dangerous blood borne infections such as Hepatitis C and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). I was most fearful of Hepatitis C for which, until recently, there was no good treatment and the resulting death was from fulminant liver failure--not a pleasant way to go.

Now, there is a new drug, Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), to treat Hepatitis C and it is curative. It costs $80 thousand for a course of therapy but the illness would otherwise lead to death or to a liver transplant and further immunosuppressive drug therapy the costs of which would exceed the pills. It makes sense to use this new class of drugs but there is an on-going debate that the drug manufacturers are gouging the public. It is a breakthrough therapy where the developers are being chastised instead of honored. What a shame.

The high cost of drugs reminds me of when I was a young resident and surgeon. Tissue plasminogen activators (tPA) and other clot busters were being introduced as a way to treat patients with myocardial infarctions. The drug was expensive; over $2 thousand to save a heart attack victim. This was deemed exorbitant in the 1980's. Now it is the standard of care and no one is complaining about the costs.

Drug companies spend millions of dollars on research and development of new therapies and they take a huge financial loss for the drugs that do not pan out. However, when they do have a success like with Hepatitis C, then I don't have a problem with them charging high rates. This sends the right message to those involved in research and development that what they are doing will be rewarded if they are successful. We want the researchers to be advancing the science of medicine and this is the way to do it.

New endovascular techniques are allowing high risk patients to undergo complex aortic repairs and even aortic valve replacements. These patients would not have tolerated the difficult open procedures that would have been required in the past. With new aortic valves and aortas, many of these otherwise healthy individuals may live for another 10 or 20 years and the lives will be meaningful. Who wouldn't want that?

Mary Lasker was a health activist and philanthropist who raised funds for medical research. She helped found the Lasker Foundation. She has been quoted as saying, "if you think research is expensive, try disease." Sure it's expensive, but life and health are among the most precious things we have. Who wouldn't spend what is necessary to save a loved one or themselves? A Lasker Award is often a harbinger of the Nobel Prize in Medicine as, at least 86 Lasker Award winners have gone on to win the Nobel.

My grandparents used to tell us to get the best doctors if we were sick and the best lawyers if we were confronted with legal problems. You're looking for the best return on your investment and there is nothing more important than your life and health. It is said that there are problems that money can solve and then there are real problems. Perhaps we are spending more on health care because we are getting the best health care. I am OK with that and I think that most Americans would agree with me.

Dr. Weiman's blog is www.medicalmalpracticeandthelaw.com

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 3 hours ago.

APRIL : APRIL starts reorganising its international operations

December 7, 2016, 9:10 am

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Wednesday 7 December 2016

*APRIL starts reorganising its international operations*

The Board of Directors met today under the chairmanship of Bruno Rousset and approved the plan to reorganise the Group's operations in Switzerland and the United States. APRIL therefore begins to streamline its international operations, which was one of the priorities set in 2015 for the following years. These priorities mainly aim to restore the profitability of loss-making operations and drive sustainable growth.

Accordingly, in *Switzerland* APRIL has sold its assistance operations and initiated the run-off of its health insurance portfolios. In a market troubled by regulatory changes since 2012, the Group chose to focus solely on international student health insurance, a proven and recognised expertise in France that is now strongly exported around the world.

In the *United States* , the Group decided to outsource assistance claims handling for the Spanish and English-speaking countries of the American continent to a third-party service provider, selected primarily for its high quality of service. By refocusing on its travel insurance distribution business, currently at breakeven, via partnerships with travel insurance aggregators and online travel agencies, APRIL should benefit from a more flexible cost structure and thereby cut its losses.

These measures will lead to recognise an impairment on some assets amounting to €16m (including €13m in goodwill), with no impact on cash and €1m in restructuring costs for the current year. These operations represent the first step of the Group's international businesses reorganisation, a process that is expected to be carried on in 2017 with a less significant impact.

The impact of these measures in the Group's accounts should make up for most of the non-current operating expenses forecast for the year, which are estimated at around €20m.

They do not affect the forecast decline in current EBIT that was previously announced, which could reach the lower end of an 8-12% range for 2016 compared to the previous year.

 "These reorganisations stem from the priorities that were previously announced and allow us to redeploy our capabilities as we promote the exportation of our expertise. They are an important first step in streamlining our international operations and they foster the Group's strong commitment to long-term dynamics" Emmanuel Morandini, APRIL CEO, stated.

Upcoming releases:

- 24 January 2017 after market close: 2016 Full-year sales
- 8 March 2017 after market close: 2016 Annual results

This release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assessments or assumptions that were reasonable at the date of the release, and which may change or be altered due to, in particular, random events or uncertainties and risks relating to the economic, financial, regulatory and competitive environment, the risks set out in the 2015 Registration Document, and any risks that are unknown or non-material to date that may subsequently occur. The Company undertakes to publish or disclose any adjustments or updates to this information as part of the periodical and permanent information obligation to which all listed companies are subject.

* Contacts: *

*Analysts and investors*
Guillaume Cerezo: +33 (0)4 72 36 49 31 / +33 (0)6 20 26 06 24 - guillaume.cerezo@april.com

*Press*
Samantha Druon: +33(0)4 72 00 46 56 - samantha.druon@insign.fr

About APRIL

Established in 1988, APRIL is an international insurance services group with operations based in 31 countries in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and the leading wholesale broker in France. Listed on Euronext Paris (Compartment B), the Group posted sales of €798m in 2015. Its 3,800 staff members design, manage and distribute specialist insurance solutions (health and personal protection, property and casualty, mobility and legal protection) as well as assistance services, for private individuals, professionals and businesses, by pursuing the ambition APRIL set itself from the very beginning: to change the image of insurance and make it easier and more accessible. Driven by a strong entrepreneurial culture, the group bases its development on four values in support of its customers: building trust, pushing boundaries, innovating and keeping things simple.

Full regulated information is available on our website at www.april.com (Investors section).

PDF Version
--------------------This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: April via GlobeNewswire

HUG#2062710 Reported by GlobeNewswire 3 hours ago.

Don’t bet big on health law changes when mulling coverage

December 7, 2016, 9:47 am

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Why worry about buying health insurance when President-elect Donald Trump plans to dump the requirement that most Americans get coverage? For the same reason you should always worry about health insurance: Little health problems can easily turn into big bills without it. “The real risk is something will happen to you, and you won’t be […] Reported by Seattle Times 3 hours ago.

Don't bet big on health law changes when mulling coverage

December 7, 2016, 10:20 am

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Why worry about buying health insurance when President-elect Donald Trump plans to dump the requirement that most Americans get coverage?For the same reason you should always worry about health insurance: Little health problems... Reported by New Zealand Herald 2 hours ago.