Although the company is considered as one of the top leaders in the insurance industry, Blue Shield of California has launched an online ratings and review program that would give its members the chance to provide feedback on their BlueShield health plans. The program was implemented by Bazaarvoice, a Texas-based company that assists various businesses dissect online customer conversations. The said program is similar to those on websites such as Yelp and Amazon.

Blue Shield’s Robert Geyer, senior VP-customer operations, said he’s open to feedback. “We’ll readily admit that our processes and products aren’t perfect. Nobody’s is,” he said. “But we’re a big proponent of transparency, and we wanted to keep…

According to a recent report, it seems that the expected alliance among Coffee Health Group, Helen Keller Hospital and Huntsville Hospital is in jeopardy as parties involved cannot settle on a very important factor of the deal. The officials of the three hospital groups say that they are still working on the proposal but Huntsville Hospital’s decision not to provide $60 million to the project makes it more difficult to come to an agreement.

Last December, Coffee and Keller presented Huntsville Hospital with a proposal that would require a $60 million investment by Huntsville Hospital, which they say is needed to help Coffee manage its debt. However, Huntsville’s board has rejected…

If you are aware of the current developments regarding health care, you would know that the debates focus on the public option, cadillac tax, and the reform’s effect on seniors. How about the kids? We all know that The State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, has been one of the few health programs that has been a success over the years. With the states and the federal government splitting expenses, the plan offers health insurance to children whose families make too much for Medicaid but not enough to buy insurance on their own. Now the question is, can we expect this program to continue providing for the youngsters?

Unfortunately, under…

SpectraCell Laboratories recently announced that they have signed a national deal with Aetna Health, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, to become a contracted in-network provider. The contract avows that Aetna will provide coverage for SpectraCell’s micronutrient testing, as well as other advanced tests offered by the company.

We can say that the agreement has been easily established by the fact that Aetna is one of the major insurance companies that recognize the importance of nutrition in health and disease. They especially acknowledge SpectraCell’s micronutrient testing as a significant piece of the healthcare puzzle, changing the current paradigm of disease-care to true wellness-care and prevention.

“Much of the cutting edge technology…