Medicare

Health insurer Humana Inc. says its third-quarter profit rose 65 percent on a boost from government programs, with Medicare Advantage leading the way. The company earned $301.6 million, or $1.78 per share, up from profit of $183 million, or $1.09 per share, a year prior. Revenue jumped 8 percent to $7.72 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of $1.77 on $7.82 billion in revenue. An 11 percent boost in Medicare Advantage membership, coupled with new premiums lifted revenue as the commercial segment continues to slide because of unemployment and a weak economy. Humana still expects full-year profit of $6.15 per share, while ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Health insurer Humana Inc <HUM.N> posted a 65 percent jump in third-quarter profit on Monday, helped by lower prescription drug claims and higher enrollment in Medicare plans for seniors. But the large provider of Medicare plans also projected a decline in profit in 2010. Health insurers face lower reimbursement from the government next year in Medicare. Net income was $301.5 million, or $1.78 per share, compared with $183 million, or $1.09 per share, a year earlier, when the company was hit by investment losses. Analysts on average expected $1.77 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf; ... Read Full Story

Medicare officials are backing off a policy that pushed many doctors to use a $2,000 injectable drug for a potentially blinding eye disorder, over a similar treatment that costs about $50. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Tuesday it will reverse a decision from earlier this month that cut reimbursement for Avastin, a biotech drug from Genentech. The payment change had the effect of forcing doctors to use a similar Genentech drug called Lucentis, which costs about $2,000 per injection. Lucentis is formally approved for eye care, but it uses the same ingredient as Avastin, which is approved as a cancer ... Read Full Story

It is perhaps known to all as a health insurance plan. Still in the interests of our discussion can be said that a health insurance plan is an aid for helping your unexpected medical expenses. It is an agreement between an individual and an insurance company, in which the type and, health care , quantity of health care costs that would be covered by the plan are identified and for which, health care , the individual, health care , agrees to pay contributions. These contracts are renewed either monthly or annually.However, the origin of the health insurance plans can be found in 1694 when ... Read Full Story

The Obama administration is considering a way to bring together patients, doctors, insurers and law officers to combat fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, a Health and Human Services official said Wednesday. The summit, still under consideration, would enhance an increased effort to find and prosecute fraud in the programs, said William Corr, deputy HHS secretary. "A summit of this nature will bring fresh ideas and collaborations that we believe will result in more effective methods of preventing and detecting fraud," Corr told the Senate Judiciary Committee. A key part of health care reform is controlling the cost of the government insurance programs for seniors ... Read Full Story