Health Insurance and Medicare News & Updates
- Change Healthcare Cyberattack: What Consumers Should Know
March 25, 2024 — A month after the cyberattack on Change Healthcare -- a technology company handling 15 billion transactions annually and touching 1 in 3 patient records -- doctors, pharmacists, and health care systems are still in recovery mode. The effects of the unprecedented attack are still adversely affecting consumers as well. Here’s what to know.
- Health Insurance Premiums Rise to Match Inflation, Wage Increases
October 18, 2023 — People who buy health insurance for their entire family through their employer are paying nearly $500 more annually in 2023, compared to what they paid in 2022. The employee contribution for single health insurance coverage increased $74 from 2022 to 2023.
- Insurers Still Must Cover Preventive Care for Now, Court Says
May 16, 2023 — A federal appeals court has temporarily restored the Affordable Care Act requirement that health insurers fully pay for certain preventive services.
- Will Telehealth Save Patients Money or Drive Up Costs?
April 5, 2023 — The real out-of-pocket costs are becoming clear, and it’s one mixed bag.
- UnitedHealthcare to Cut Prior Authorizations for Some Procedures
April 2, 2023 — The largest health insurer in the United States says it will no longer require lengthy paperwork, known as prior authorization, for many types of health care starting later this year.
- What’s Next After Judge Strikes Down Preventive Care Mandate?
March 31, 2023 — Health experts were researching exactly how many preventive services might be affected and said no changes would likely occur immediately.
- Hospitals Continue to Defy Federal Requirement to Publish Prices
January 20, 2023 — Most hospitals are not fully complying with a 2021 requirement to publish prices, a new analysis shows. The requirement was intended to increase transparency of health care costs and make it possible to shop around for the best prices of medical care.
- Pregnant Women Face Risk Despite Federal ER Law
November 29, 2018 — Pregnant women are among the groups of patients that may not get adequate care when they go to a hospital emergency room, in violation of a federal law created to protect them.
- Your Rights in the Emergency Room
November 29, 2018 — A federal law guarantees a certain level of medical care to anyone who comes to an emergency department, including a proper screening exam to determine if a patient has a medical emergency.
- Investigation: Lives Lost Amid ER Violations
November 29, 2018 — An investigation by WebMD and Georgia Health News finds that hospitals are breaking a law that requires them to provide emergency care to patients who need it, sometimes with deadly results.
- How We Reported This Story
November 29, 2018 — WebMD and Georiga Health News used documents and data obtained through Open Records requests along with interview for its investigation on hospital EMTALA violations.
