Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, R.I., have reached a memorandum of understanding to extend their insurance contract, according to a Providence Business News report.

States have until Sept. 30 to finalize the essential health benefits covered under qualified health plans that will be offered in health insurance exchanges, and some states are approaching the deadline in different ways.

WellCare Health Plans, a managed care insurer with 2.6 million members, announced it will acquire Easy Choice Health Plan, a health plan with 34,000 Medicare Advantage enrollees in southern California.

Healthcare rationing, a phrase that evokes gasps and furrowed eyebrows, is already occurring within the confines of the United States, argues Carolyn McClanahan in a recent Forbes article — it's just currently done irrationally.

A common theme for non-profit hospitals is that short-term reimbursement measures are credit positive, while long-term initiatives pose credit negative factors. The Aug. 1 announcement from the CMS that hospital inpatient reimbursement rates will increase 2.8 percent for fiscal year…

For hospital executives, it may be hard to imagine a world where hospitals, physicians and health insurance plans all coexist with nary a dispute. In fact, that's one of the main criticisms of the U.S. healthcare system: that each sector…

Francine Padgett is more than just the senior vice president, treasurer and CFO of MidMichigan Health in Midland, Mich. — she's an award-winning executive.

St. Luke's Health System in Boise, Idaho, has formed a partnership with SelectHealth, a health plan part of Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare, to offer new value-based health insurance benefits to Idaho residents.

California Senate Bill 359 (pdf), which would limit the charges of a hospital's out-of-network emergency department plan, has passed both the Senate and Assembly and now awaits the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown.

The Midland County Hospital District board of directors, which manages the indigent care funds of Midland (Texas) Memorial Hospital, approved a lower tax rate for homeowners for the upcoming fiscal year, according to a Midland Reporter-Telegram report.