Tracey Walker

Effective rare-disease management programs promise plans cost-effective care, better quality of life for patients

Stock options are an important form of executive compensation

Lack of cost-value understanding is the issue

Retnetion requires mix of rewards including short-term incentives, spot bonuses

Any bill paid on time means good news for an MCO, right? Not so fast. What if it wasn't paid properly? What if the provider or hospital facility was under- or overpaid? When processing medical claims, it pays-literally-for managed care organizations and providers to get it right the first time.

On the surfacE, ordering surgical gloves would seem to be a rather simple task for any hospital. But what happens when five or 10 hospitals merge and each facility has its own favorite type of glove, and each type of glove comes from a different vendor?

The top 25 national managed care firms are alive and well

Evolving customer relationships is top of mind for drug companies

Consumers and providers need to work together to improve overall healthcare

All of the computer information technology in the world does no good if you don't have the discipline to act on what it's telling you to do. Not only does Kent Clapp, chairman, president and CEO of Medical Mutual of Ohio, apply this principle to running his own organization, he believes it's equally relevant to healthcare consumers.

Plans see patients as major change agents and adopt coupon programs

Inflation might be hard to overcome, but coordinated care and home delivery could offset costs

There's an old fable about mortality where a man is granted one wish by a prophet. The man says, "I want to know where I'm going to die." Astounded, the prophet asks, "Why would you want to know that?" The man responds, "Because then, I'll never go there."

HMO industry is currently in a state of flux or transition

Americans support more regulation of healthcare

Plaintiffs try to develop overcharging harm as an unfair competition claim

Industry leaders need to think creatively

Rising costs give health plans the chance to demonstrate their value

Hospitals say satellite strategy caters to patients, while some analystscall them underused