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Oops. When Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. sent emails to remind its customers to get preventative screenings, it mistakenly included information in the subject line about whether they had received various screenings in recent years. One of the emails from a customer in California was sent to Reuters. That subject line read: " – Don't miss out – call your doctor today; PlanState: CA; Segment: SMALL GROUP; Age: Female Young; Language: EN; CervCancer3yr: N; CervCancer5yr: N; Mammogram: N; Colonoscopy: N". According to Reuters, the email went on to include a WellPoint reminder to make appointments for medical checkups, a flu shot and other preventative care services. About 15 million of WellPoint's 37 million customers received benefits in the small group segment. WellPoint spokeswoman Kristin Binns declined to say how many customers received the emails, which were sent by a vendor on the company's behalf. She said she did not believe the emails breached the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). She said they are working with the vendor, which she declined to name, to resolve the issue.

Low-income Hoosiers could get a case of whiplash under a scenario Gov. Mike Pence’s administration has been raising with the federal government. If Hoosiers with incomes at or slightly above the federal poverty line sign up for coverage on the Obamacare exchanges for 2015, they will receive a tax subsidy to help reduce the cost of that coverage. But if the Obama administration waits until 2015 to approve Pence’s proposed expansion of the Healthy Indiana Plan, availability of health coverage through the HIP program would make the low-income Hoosiers ineligible for the Obamacare tax credits. The state would have to notify the Hoosiers that they must switch off Obamacare coverage and onto HIP coverage—or face a penalty of up to $600. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about 25,000 Hoosiers could be in the situation. Their incomes are between 100 percent and 138 percent of the federal poverty limit. “Gov. Pence has communicated to HHS that time is of the essence and that vulnerable Hoosiers should have certainty about their health care options for 2015,” Pence spokeswoman Christy Denault said in a statement. According to The Statehouse File, Pence’s HIP 2.0 expansion would offer coverage to non-disabled adult Hoosiers (except for seniors), who earn 23 percent to 138 percent of the federal poverty limit. In 2014, that means a maximum income of $16,105 annually for an individual and $32,913 for a family of four.

Indiana University School of Medicine moved up four notches among its peers in research funding from the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2014, the school announced last week. IU med school researchers brought in more than $109 million in grants from the federal agency, up nearly $12 million from the previous fiscal year. That performance ranked IU No. 37 among the nation’s 135 medical schools, up from 41st the previous year. Among state-funded medical schools, IU ranked 16th, up from 19th the year before. The increase in funding is significant, since NIH’s budget has declined 20 percent in the past decade, when adjusted for inflation, making competition for its funds fiercer than ever. "The fact that we were able to counter this trend is a testament to the quality and dedication of our scientists, our ability to recruit talented new investigators, and our ability to leverage important investments in the IU School of Medicine's research enterprise," med school Dean Dr. Jay Hess said in a statement.

A Marion County jury verdict affirmed by the Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday upholds a $1.4 million verdict against Illinois-based Walgreen Co. and sets a national precedent, according to the Indiana Lawyer. “This is the first published court decision in the nation in which a health care provider has been held liable for HIPAA [Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act] violations committed by its employees,” plaintiffs attorney Neal Eggeson said of the decision. According to court records, Abigail Hinchy’s prescription history was provided to her ex-boyfriend Davion Peterson, who had become involved in a relationship with Walgreen pharmacist Audra Winters. Winters denied disclosing Hinchy’s records to anyone but admitted she had accessed Hinchy’s records. The trial court delivered a novel judgment the appeals panel reviewed during oral arguments last month. The appeals court let stand the verdict that found Walgreen liable for negligent supervision and retention and invasion of privacy.

Construction has started on a 42,000-square-foot wellness center for Hancock Regional Hospital in McCordsville. The center, which will be located next to a Hancock Regional physician office building, is designed to help doctors provide more prevention rather than acute treatment, especially for patients with chronic diseases. The facility, which is being built by Carmel-based Lauth Group Inc., is scheduled for completion in the late summer of 2015.