Healthcare

Speed, convenience and the growing doctor shortage have patients flocking to ultra-convenient clinics, but not those at the world’s largest retailer: critics say Wal-Mart clinics are poorly promoted and too slow with prescriptions.

A new study indicates there could be treatment differences when a patient is seen in person versus an e-visit. While follow-up rates were comparable, physicians in e-visits did order different care.

In his annual State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama said that “already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of health care costs.” Is it? EBN asked one health care expert to help fact-check the claim.

ERISA lawyer warns DOL spotlight on 408(b)(2) fees will soon shine on voluntary benefit industry in keynote address at Workplace Benefits Renaissance. Prepare now.

For the first time, the Obama administration is rejecting a state’s request to set up its own exchange under PPACA. At root is a disagreement between Mississippi’s Republican governor, who wants nothing to do with the law, and its insurance commissioner, who is also a Republican, but would rather the state run its own marketplace.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who is preparing to retire, extended benefits such as child care, commissary privileges and transportation to military bases to same-sex partners of service members.

Tenet Healthcare Corp., the third largest U.S. hospital chain, keeps an eye on Medicare patients after they’re released. This isn’t just about professional integrity. Tenet has a financial stake in their well-being.

CMS, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, plans to collect information from brokers and agents for inclusion in health insurance exchanges. Find out updated timing information here.

The number of Americans projected to gain insurance from the U.S. health care law is eroding, by at least 5 million people, as the Obama administration struggles to implement the $1.3 trillion overhaul amid Republican opposition.

Reaching out to younger Americans, the illiterate and those who don’t speak English (all of whom represent significant portions of the uninsured ) could be the biggest PPACA education task ahead for the Department of Health and Human Services — and employers.