Month: September 2022

Workers at the Gardens for Memory Care at Easton continued to strike Wednesday, saying they can’t afford a proposed change to their current health plan coverage.

At 10:30 am, about 20 employees wearing the purple shirts of their SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania union took to the grounds outside the medical facility, 500 Washington St., for a news conference on the picket line. The group carried signs that read, “We Say No To Corporate Greed,” “Honk 4 Workers” and “Union Strong.” They chanted, “They say cut back, we say fight back.” Passing motorists yelled out words of encouragement from open windows and honked.

The workers with SEIU, or Service Employees International Union, began striking this past Friday at 14 statewide facilities, including the Easton facility. They walked off the job after at least 11 bargaining sessions, the Gardens for Memory Care at Easton administration previously said in a statement.

The union group

(RNS) — Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, health care “sharing ministries” sprang up as more affordable options to the policies offered by national insurance companies for the Obamacare marketplace. Often developed by Christian organizations, the sharing ministries had the further advantage of being exempted from ACA’s mandates on contraception and abortion. Small religious communities were told they could cover their members while preserving their moral principles.

The sharing ministries are not health insurance, though critics say they are often billed as such. Rather, they are cooperatives in which consumers pool their money to help each other through medical emergencies. While they have existed for decades, enrollment in these programs has been estimated to grow from about 100,000 members in 2010 to 1.5 million members in 2020.

Now US Rep. Jared Huffman, the congressman for much of California’s Bay Area, is going after what he calls

Sept 7 (Reuters) – Walmart (WMT.N) and healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) are planning to team up to provide preventive care for people aged 65 and up, and virtual healthcare services for all age groups, the companies said on Wednesday.

The 10-year partnership represents Walmart’s latest push into healthcare and could help the retail giant better compete with CVS Health (CVS.N) and Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA.O).

Walmart’s clinics could get a boost of new customers from UnitedHealth’s Medicare Advantage members, while UnitedHealth gains access to the largest US retailer’s footprint and a venue to enroll more people, Evercore ISI analysts Mike Newshel and Elizabeth Anderson said in a research note.

Walgreens last October invested $5.2 billion in primary-care provider VillageMD, which has more than 200 locations across 15 markets.

Walmart’s effort with

Have you completed your biometric health screening (or the alternative training) and health risk assessment yet? Don’t miss your chance to save on health insurance in 2023.

Employees who will be covered by an MCPS-provided medical insurance plan in 2023 through Cigna* or Kaiser Permanente can reduce their contributions to health insurance next year by participating in the Wellness Initiatives program. To participate, complete a biometric health screening or the Wellness Initiatives: Biometrics Credit Alternative 2023 Benefit Year training (Course #90899) on Professional Development Online (PDO), by Oct. 7, 2022. For employees who do, MCPS will pay 1 percent more of the total cost of health insurance (medical, prescription, dental and vision) in 2023—reducing the employee’s contribution by 1 percent. Likewise, if you complete your medical insurance plan’s online health risk assessment by Oct. 7, 2022, you can save an additional 1 percent on health insurance in 2023.

For

Sandy Honig vomits outside Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s office in Los Angeles.

Starting this fall, Cumberland County residents will have the option of purchasing a new type of health insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace that blends traditional insurance and direct primary care.

Taro Health – a new insurer based in Maine – is offering a potentially first-in-the-nation insurance model that is being teed up for next year. The company’s rates are approved, but plan filings have yet to be finalized by the Maine Bureau of Insurance, so the plans are not yet approved to sell insurance for 2023.

The insurer is targeting about 5,000 people who choose to pay their doctors directly and forgo traditional insurance, a model called direct primary care. Under direct primary care, patients pay out of pocket for routine doctor visits and the type of care that can be done in a doctor’s office, such as diagnosing and treating mild illnesses, some screenings, blood tests and

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CHAMPAIGN — It will be at least until after Labor Day before the state of Illinois retirees learn more about a pending decision that’s causing anxiety for many.

With six weeks to go before open enrollment begins for health coverage for Medicare-eligible state retirees, few details are available about what coverage the state may be making available.

After undergoing a request for proposals process required every decade, the state chose an Aetna PPO for retirees in every county but is currently in the midst of an appeal filed by UnitedHealthcare — the insurer currently offering a statewide PPO plan to state retirees through the end of this year.

Cathy Kwiatkowski, spokeswoman at the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, responded to an inquiry about the time frame for a decision by saying after Labor Day would be a good time to check back.