Health Services

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island announced today its LifeStyleBlue health plan for the small employer market, with flexibility of three different benefit designs to fit the lifestyles of a diverse population. May 21

Tufts Health Plan had a first-quarter jump in membership of 29 percent in 2012, compared with the first-quarter numbers in 2011, rising to 980,000 from 748,031, according to the health insurer. May 21

Dr. G. Alan Kurose, president and CEO of Coastal Medical, one of the largest group practices of physicians in Rhode Island, testified on May 16 before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. May 21

A research team of Brown University scientists involved in BrainGate2 had their ground-breaking clinical trial research published in the May 17 issue of Nature. May 21

Enrollment in Rhode Island commercial health insurance plans rose by 4,256 “covered lives” between December 2010 and December 2011, according to a report issued May 15 by the R.I. Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner. May 21

PROVIDENCE – Construction is now under way at The Highlands to transform the former 78-unit facility into 41 assisted-living apartments and 23 Alzheimer’s and dementia-care apartments, according to officials from Great Point Investors and HallKeen Management, partners in the project. May 19

Health insurers will gain $1 trillion in new revenue over the next eight years under the 2010 health care law, assuming it’s upheld by the Supreme Court, according to a Bloomberg Government study. May 19

The deployment of mobile technology in the delivery of health care is under way, with an estimated 30 percent of health care providers in the United States already working with tablets, and another 50 percent of providers making tablet decisions in the next year, according to AT&T research. At the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, incoming students are now provided with an iPad. May 19

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Health this month announced two resources to help Rhode Islanders monitor the quality of their drinking water. May 19

Ten years ago, wellness in the workplace was a simple concept promoted by health insurers trying to reduce their costs through preventative care. Like many revolutionary ideas, businesses and the public didn’t embrace it wholeheartedly. May 19