Yesterday, Pennsylvania Governor Rendell announced that the state’s Insurance Department will be launching an investigation into the pricing practices of Pennsylvania’s nine largest health insurers. The investigation hopes to determine the reasons behind several controversial rate increases and whether or not those increases were driven by dubious health profiling tools.
Steve Rohleder, chief executive of Accenture’s Health & Public Service Operating Group, writes that the US perception of health care delivery has more in common with their international counterparts than one might think. According to a 16-nation, 16,000 person survey, common beliefs about the need for health care access and public engagement in health care [...]
Despite being one of the states currently contesting federal health care reform, Virginia has announced a new statewide health care reform initiative designed to prepare the state for implementation of the law. The state will start by creating a plan for Medicaid expansion, implementing in-state health insurance reforms and streamlining health care delivery. The Initiative [...]
According to statements released from the company, IBM filed suit today seeking payment for work the company performed on the state’s welfare eligibility system. IBM says its short $125 million in fees and equipment expenses stemming from the 2006 $1.34 billion welfare modernization project.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced two bills yesterday that would create a Health Consumer’s Bill of Rights and build on the recent federal health care reform legislation. Under the proposed legislation, health care consumers in Illinois would be guaranteed a number of new protections, and the state would also form an expanded high-risk pool with [...]
According to an announcement released earlier today, CGI Group will partner with ACS and IBM to manage California’s Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS). The contract is worth $1.6 billion over ten years, and comes after a two-year bid process and a contentious battle between the state and EDS, now a division of Hewlett-Packard.
SAFC announced today that they will be expanding their biopharmaceuticals operations in Kansas by creating a ‘Center of Excellence’ in Lenexa, KS. The center, a $6.25 million project, is part of a global plan to manage manufacturing and supply chain optimization for the company. The project is also supported by a $250,000 grant from the [...]
The promise of the new health care legislation is momentous, says Deloitte’s Robert N. Campbell. In an opinion piece for CivSource’s The Gallery, Mr. Campbell discusses the importance of thinking strategically in managing the implementation of federal health care reform at the state level.
Last Thursday, Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons set up a “constitution defense fund,” offering a new twist in the ways states are going after the health care bill. According to the release, the Governor received “numerous inquiries from citizens wishing to assist in the Governor’s fight against the Reid/Pelosi/Obama Nationalized Health Care Plan.”
The National Association of Counties (NACo) held its annual Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C. this week, focusing on the economy and health care reform. During a keynote speech Tuesday morning, US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius praised local officials for their help in deploying millions of H1N1 vaccinations and promised to keep a [...]
