Payer

By  Jonah Comstock 06:33 am March 20, 2014
StartUp Health company Sense Health, which makes text messaging software for Medicaid care managers, has completed a randomized controlled trial. The results are still forthcoming, but CEO Stan Berkow shared a few with MobiHealthNews. Care managers are social workers or registered nurses assigned by Medicaid or other healthcare stakeholders to work closely with the highest-cost patients. Sense...
By  Aditi Pai 07:31 am March 19, 2014
Weight Watchers announced a new weight loss program for people with type 2 diabetes, which it will provide through its employee wellness offering. The new program, called Weight Watchers for Diabetes, will incorporate the expertise of Certified Diabetes Educators (CDE) into the company's existing weight loss and weight management system. Weight Watchers will also offer digital tools to members of...
By  Jonah Comstock 09:25 am March 12, 2014
The iChip mobile app, due out in April. LifeNexus is launching its smartcard-based (and soon to be mobile app-based) iChip system with its first partner, Medicaid plan Amerigroup Nevada. The card (or app) contains both clinical and administrative information, so it speeds up check-in and serves as a mobile, tethered PHR for patients. Patients can check their own information on an online portal...
By  Aditi Pai 09:10 am March 12, 2014
The New Mexico Health Insurance Exchange (NMHIX) partnered with Voxiva this month to launch a text message-based campaign in the hopes of encouraging New Mexicans to enroll in the exchange before the March 31, 2014 ObamaCare deadline. To use the service, anyone local interested in enrolling in the exchange can text BeWellNM to 311411. They will then receive an automated text response prompting...
By  Brian Dolan 09:24 am March 11, 2014
This week the increasingly crowded tech event SXSWi descended on Austin, Texas, and -- much more so than in years past -- it has had a prominent health and fitness bent. Below are a few excerpts from health and fitness-related reporting coming out of SXSW: South by Southwest Boost Health-Care Focus: "As we're seeing people spin out of Facebook, Google and Twitter, we are seeing a real...
By  Brian Dolan 06:44 am March 11, 2014
Castlight Health, which is expected to debut on the New York Stock Exchange this coming Friday, just filed another update to its IPO filing with the SEC and now the company is looking to raise  looks to raise more than $191 million in total. The company raised the price of its IPO range to $13 to $15 a share up from its previous expected range of $9 to $11. The company is offering 11.1 million...
By  Aditi Pai 06:50 am March 4, 2014
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has launched a secure health and wellness website, ahealthyme, which aims to help members reach their personal wellness goals. On the website, members can do a variety of things related to wellness: they can take a health assessment that looks at eight different areas of health and provides results in a health index score; participate in wellness forums...
By  Jonah Comstock 12:34 pm March 3, 2014
AvMed, a Florida insurer, is offering an activity-tracker based fitness and wellness program for members for Medicare Advantage members. The program, called Walkadoo, is offered through Healthways subsidiary MeYou Health, and will serve as an expansion to Healthways and AvMeds' existing fitness program for older adults, Silver Sneakers. However, Walkadoo will also add the Fitlinxx Pebble activity...
By  Brian Dolan 08:03 am March 3, 2014
Castlight Health looks to raise about $111 million in its IPO, according to an updated SEC filing. The company is offering 11.1 million shares in the IPO and its underwriters have the option to purchase an additional 1.65 million shares. The stock will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CSLT". While Castlight recorded revenues of $1.9 million, $4.2 million and $13.0...
By  Jonah Comstock 06:50 am March 3, 2014
As we reported in our Friday in-depth report on payers at HIMSS, Aetna is shutting down its InvolveCare caregiver support app. The app has been in full beta, but will not receive a full commercial launch. Users will have until April 28 to download their data before having it deleted. "InvolveCare was introduced last fall and was in the late stage of a Beta roll-out," Aetna Communications Director...