Consumer Driven Health Care

The Leapfrog Group, which graded 3,000 hospitals on how well they prevent medical errors, accidents and infection, measures nurse and doctor communication, hospital staff responsiveness and communication about medicines.

For brand-name drugs, the average margin gap may be more than $65 per 30-day prescription.

Some economists and trade groups have argued that health care price transparency efforts will do more harm than good.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved a special enrollment period (SEP) aimed at assisting individuals and families whose income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

A state board picked those products and two others for reviews that could lead to "upper payment limits."

More than one-third of large employers will offer a high-performance, narrow-network or other alternative medical plan designed to steer employees to quality, cost-efficient care next year.

Lisa Gomez, EBSA's chief, testified at a House hearing that the Labor Department has the statutory authority to stop that.

Technology and medical expertise support health and welfare plan sponsors, risk managers in meeting these fiduciary responsibilities.