Oct. 1, 2010 at 1:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Insurance
Bloomberg News | Senator Jay Rockefeller opened a probe into the limited benefit “mini-med” plans that McDonald’s Corp., the world’s largest restaurant chain, offers to employees.
Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, asked Scott Beacham, chief executive officer of BCS Financial Corp., whether the company’s health offerings amount to a good deal for many of McDonald’s low-wage and hourly employees. Closely held BCS Financial, based in Oakbrook Terrace, offers limited- benefit plans that cover 30,000 employees of McDonald’s, based about a mile away in Oak Brook Get the full story »
Sep. 30, 2010 at 6:09 p.m.
Filed under:
Franchises,
Health care,
Insurance,
Restaurants
By Bruce Japsen
A dispute between McDonald’s Corp. and the federal government over a new health care reform requirement is giving a peek into the potential complexities that the massive new law will have on companies. Get the full story »
Sep. 30, 2010 at 10:38 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Health care,
Restaurants,
Updated
By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
Workers at a McDonald's restaurant in Oak Brook. (Tribune photo by Terry Harris)
McDonald’s Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul. The move is one of the clearest indications that new rules may disrupt workers’ health plans as the law ripples through the real world. Get the full story »
By Bruce Japsen
The Illinois Department of Insurance said it has taken steps to prohibit several companies from “marketing and selling non-comprehensive health insurance” in the state without a license. Get the full story »
Aug. 25, 2010 at 6:20 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
Insurance
By Associated Press
More than 1,000 Illinois residents have submitted applications for a new federally funded health insurance program for people with medical problems. Enrollment opened Friday. Illinois Department of Insurance Director Michael McRaith calls it an “enthusiastic response.”
Enrollees will pay monthly premiums ranging from about $110 to $650. There’s also a $2,000 annual deductible and 80 percent-20 percent coinsurance. Get the full story »
Aug. 11, 2010 at 1:47 p.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
Insurance
By Reuters
U.S. regulators are cracking down on the growing number of companies that fraudulently sell so-called medical discount plans by telling consumers they work like health insurance and cover medical costs.
The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday it is working with 24 states to crack down on sellers of medical discount plans that market them as health insurance that covers doctors, hospitals and other services. Get the full story »
July 27, 2010 at 12:50 p.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
Insurance,
Policy,
Politics
By Alejandra Cancino
Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed Friday a Senate bill that would have allowed doctors to legally hire physical therapists because those partnerships, he said, would increase costs for citizens.
In Illinois, patients must have a doctor’s referral to see a physical therapist. But physical therapists can bill insurance providers for their services independently, which is why Quinn vetoed the bill.
“Senate Bill 2635,” Quinn said in a letter to the General Assembly, “also incents medical professionals to increase the volume of services provided.” Get the full story »
July 21, 2010 at 7:40 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care
By Bruce Japsen
The nation’s largest doctor group and state medical societies across the country are calling on health insurance giants to improve the accuracy of how they rate physicians for health plan enrollees and consumers.
Insurance companies say they rate physicians on quality and efficiency measures that allow consumers and health plan enrollees to then choose such a doctor for the price of a lower co-payment. A higher co-payment or deductible might be charged for a less efficient or lower quality physician, insurers and employers that are increasingly turning to such ratings, say. Get the full story »
July 20, 2010 at 1:27 p.m.
Filed under:
Insurance
By Becky Yerak
“Dog bites man” is rarely newsworthy. But a “dog bites chainsaw, chainsaw bites back” incident involving a Belleville, Ill., West Highland terrier was named the “most unusual” claim received in June by the nation’s biggest pet insurance company.
Barbara Abell’s 2-year-old Westie, Darci, lunged at a buzzing chainsaw recently, getting a little too close and tearing two holes in its upper lip. The accident required surgery, and Abell submitted a $339 claim to Veterinary Pet Insurance, which paid $148.
It was one of more than 8,000 claims received in June by VPI, an arm of Nationwide Insurance. Get the full story »
July 14, 2010 at 7:55 a.m.
Filed under:
Health care
By Bruce Japsen
Employers could see an additional cost increase of up to 2 percent to medical premiums next year under the new health reform law that extends coverage to people up to age 26 through their parents’ health plans.
A new study by employee benefits consulting firm Mercer says the influx of “newly eligible” college-aged dependent children on their parents health plans will on average increase health care costs 0.25 percent to 2 percent. The increase would come on top of premiums for large employers already rising this year 8 to 10 percent by most analysts’ estimates. Get the full story »
June 21, 2010 at 2:58 p.m.
Filed under:
Health care,
Insurance
By Associated Press
People who buy their own health insurance have been hit lately with premium hikes that far exceed increases in premiums for employer-sponsored coverage, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
The nonprofit foundation, which is separate from health insurer Kaiser Permanente, said recent premium hikes requested by insurers for individual coverage averaged 20 percent. Some customers were able to switch plans and pay less, so people paying on their own wound up paying 13 percent more on average. Get the full story »
June 18, 2010 at 11:52 a.m.
Filed under:
Pharmaceuticals,
Retail
By Michael Oneal
It turns out Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. need each other after all.
After months of contract negotiations, punctuated by a two-week public brawl, the two drug store giants announced Friday that they have settled a dispute that threatened to prevent thousands of people from getting their prescriptions filled at Walgreens stores.
At issue: How Caremark, one of the nation’s biggest prescription plan operators, prices discounts for prescriptions filled at Walgreens pharmacies, which often compete fiercely with CVS stores on nearby street corners around the United States. Get the full story »
June 14, 2010 at 8:58 a.m.
Filed under:
Associations/Clubs,
Health care,
Insurance
By Bruce Japsen | One in five medical claims is processed inaccurately by some of the nation’s health insurers, the American Medical Association said in a report this morning.
The report, released during the AMA’s annual meeting in Chicago, said such claims processing errors cost the health care system billions of dollars. They also slow payments to physicians and often confuse consumers.
Get the full story »
