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Gov. Mike Pence’s proposed budget includes about $19 million of the $50 million requested for a planned Indiana University medical school campus in downtown Evansville, according to the Associated Press. While the General Assembly could change that funding amount, Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke said Pence's proposal is a great starting point. Winnecke told the Evansville Courier & Press that IU's portion is the project's cornerstone and needs to be funded first. Indiana University, the University of Southern Indiana, Ivy Tech Community College and the private University of Evansville all plan to offer health care-related programs at the campus that would cover about six city blocks.

San Francisco-based Symic Biomedical raised $15 million from a group of venture capitalists led by Indianapolis-based Lilly Ventures to launch its drug technology into human trials. Symic was co-founded by Purdue University professor Alyssa Panitch and two of her former researchers at Purdue, Kate Stewart and John Paderi. Stewart is now Symic’s director of preclinical development and Paderi is now Symic’s director of research and development. Symic is developing medical treatments that target the extracellular matrix, the scaffolding on which the cells of the body’s tissues sit. The company thinks its treatments could reduce scarring after surgery, and  help patients with arthritis, diabetes and end-stage renal disease. Symic has raised $17.8 million in investment funding.

While Indiana University Health directors discuss the consolidation of two of its hospitals downtown this month, they also will consider building a hospital in Bloomington. According to the Bloomington Herald-Times, leaders of IU Health Bloomington Hospital have requested a new 200-bed hospital to replace its 279-bed facility. "IU Health has to determine how much debt capacity the system currently has and how much it can spend over the next five years," Bloomington Hospital CEO Mark Moore told the newspaper. "If we get the go-ahead, we'll spend a year in design and development and another two years in construction.” The new hospital could be built at the site of the existing hospital or on property IU Health owns on the northwestern edge of the city. Hospitals are trying to shrink their inpatient capacity as the number of patients staying overnight dwindles more rapidly than ever, and as health insurance plans push them to reduce costs.

The decade-old 2-1-1 telephone information service, which has helped Hoosiers sign up for the Obamacare exchanges, find care for chornic diseases and avoid trips to the emergency room, is now seeking state funding. Indianapolis-based Indiana 211 Partnership Inc. and other groups are calling for legislation this year to supplement private money the service has relied on since its founding. Rep. Jud McMillin, R-Brookville, and Sen. Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis, have said they will sponsor or support legislation authorizing funding for Indiana 2-1-1. The service also connects Hoosiers to non-health-related services, such as food, housing assistance, employment services and counseling resources.