Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont, the largest health insurer in the stare, has saved nearly a half-million dollars by employing compensation management technology.

Medicare beneficiaries in Arizona and Utah are poised to begin a personal health record pilot in early 2009, and on Wednesday Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt announced the four participating PHR companies.

The Leapfrog Group is set to launch its new hospital incentives and reward program, which is being touted as more comprehensive and easier to use for both hospitals and payers.

Beginning in January 2011, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts will require physicians to move to electronic prescribing to qualify for physician incentive programs.

Aetna and the Microsoft Corporation have announced a collaboration to provide Aetna members access to their personal health information through Microsoft's HealthVault online platform.

The Health Alliance Plan has standardized, automated and streamlined its hospital provider contracting with new technology.

BlueCross BlueShield of North Dakota, the state's largest provider of healthcare coverage, will use information technology to help launch its state-wide patient-centered medical home initiative.

The Integrated Healthcare Association, a statewide leadership group that promotes quality improvement, accountability and affordability of healthcare in California, announced Thursday the 2007 pay-for-performance program results and performance award winners.

Medi-CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, a not-for-profit healthcare insurer, has signed a three-year, multi-million dollar contract with Andover, Mass.-based technology company CGI Group for business process services. The contract renews an existing agreement.

CAQH, an alliance of health plans and trade associations, announced Monday that for the first time healthcare providers will be able to receive electronic information about patient deductible balances from any health plan at the point of care.

The Nebraska Health Information Initiative (NeHII), comprising healthcare organizations, hospital systems, physician groups, business groups and payers, has been moving toward a "community betterment" model.

In an effort to help physicians manage patients with chronic diseases, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana will participate in the Indiana Health Information Exchange's Quality Health First (QHF) program.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health will apply a $1.7 million grant to help primary care practices boost care for older patients with chronic illnesses.

Some of the country's top CEOs identified the adoption of electronic health records among their top legislative priorities Thursday as they called on Congress and the president to take care of "unfinished business."

Aetna has made its personal health record available to its current Medicare members who have purchased their Medicare plans individually.

State Medicaid programs are poised to spend as much as $380 billion on information technology in the coming year, according to a new report from business consulting firm INPUT.

Seventeen nonprofits across California will receive $7.7 million in grants from the Blue Shield of California Foundation.

In an effort to help members better manage their acute and chronic diseases, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield will use a care management system from The TriZetto Group.

In a move that heralds sweeping change in how medical bills are coded, the Department of Health and Human Services has announced a proposed regulation to change the ICD-9 code sets with ICD-10 code sets, effective Oct. 1, 2011.

The Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, announced Friday the completion of its merger with MEDecision, a Wayne, pa.-based provider of healthcare management services.