Recent moves to better control pharmaceutical expenses at the large TennCare program for Medicaid beneficiaries have resulted in compliance to preferred drugs by about 98 percent of the program's…
Two collaborative efforts involving multiple health insurers in Pennsylvania have the potential to improve the quality of healthcare in the state. The first is a transparency effort involving how care…
Both Virginia and Maryland lawmakers took steps to make insurance for small businesses more affordable in their 2009 sessions. In Virginia, lawmakers passed legislation allowing health plan designs to…
Despite a $6.6 billion two-year budget deficit, Wisconsin is going ahead with plans to expand its BadgerCare Plus program to childless adults. And, because the budget calls for state health officials…
Missouri's Medicaid program is preparing to centralize management of pharmaceutical benefits for some 850,000 beneficiaries across the state. Previously, managed care plans managed the pharmacy an…
BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is more than just the 800-pound gorilla in the Palmetto State's healthcare market – it is parent to a family of successful subsidiary companies that provide…
Florida delivers managed care services to Medicaid beneficiaries in many ways, and now it's looking at adding yet another delivery system. In the summer of 2010, the state plans to test a medical…
Faced with hundreds of millions of dollars in tax increases from the state, New York health plans are hunkering down for a lean 2009. Four of the 10 major carriers in the state posted net losses in 20…
In what may be a coming trend among large-scale employers with self-managed pharmacy plans, General Mills has hired its own in-house pharmacists to do medication management with targeted employees….
Health insurers in Oregon and Washington are paying special attention to pricing in 2009 in order to maintain their customer base, but are also casting a wary eye to any blip in medical costs as the i…
Texas' Medicaid program is on the verge of considerable change with the potential for expansion of managed care into both adult and children's programs. At the same time, the Texas Legislature…
The Illinois insurance market is poised to be hit by rising unemployment that is hitting the factory towns of Peoria, Rockford and Bradley-Kankakee. These markets are typically led by Blue Cross Blue…
Iowa lawmakers are considering major mandates for state-regulated health plans, including requirements that health plans cover autism, prosthetics, osteoporosis, and cancer treatment in approved clini…
With the economic downturn pushing more Minnesotans out of work, health plans are getting ready for a likely surge in people seeking individual health plans, but are also watching to see if the new fe…
The recession is making a big impact on health plans in the Carolinas-commercial plans predict enrollment will drop in the coming months and Medicaid rolls already are increasing. Employers are changi…