Executive compensation surges at CNO Financial Group
The Carmel-based life and health insurer more than doubled CEO Jim Prieur’s compensation, and also gave increases ranging from 44 percent to 89 percent to other top executives.
J.K. Wall
Articles
Parties near deal for hospital tax
Officials from Indiana Medicaid and a hospital trade group are trying to craft a deal that would create a tax on hospitals that would help attract more federal funds for hospitals—thereby offsetting looming cuts in state payments.
Mayor’s charter schools director to leave
Karega Rausch will become the Indianapolis director of Stand for Children, an Oregon-based not-for-profit that pushes education reform through grass-roots organizing and legislative lobbying.
Q&A
Dan Ferber is a freelance magazine writer in Indianapolis who writes about science, health and the environment for such publications as Science, Popular Science, New Scientist, Audubon, and Women's Health. He co-authored a new book with Harvard Medical School's Dr. Paul Epstein titled "Changing Planet, Changing Health: How the Climate Crisis Threatens Our Health and What We Can Do about It." It was published this month.
Firm joins race with IU autism drug
The Indiana University School of Medicine has licensed a pediatric psychiatrist’s patent on
an alcohol-dependency drug that the doctor discovered improves the language and social skills of autism patients. IU has licensed the patent to Indianapolis-based Confluence Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Challenger alleges misconduct in Westfield mayoral race
Russell Cameron, who is challenging Westfield Mayor Andy Cook in a May 3 Republican primary, accused Cook’s deputy mayor of improperly using his position and city resources to campaign for Cook’s reelection.
WellPoint to give shareholders annual ‘say on pay’ vote
All publicly traded companies have to allow advisory votes about top executives compensation every two or three under the Dodd-Frank financial reform passed by Congress last year.
Marian to delay med school opening until fall 2013
The Indianapolis university originally hoped to open state’s second medical school in fall 2012, but that time line proved too aggressive.
Medicare rules hammer hospitals, docs
Being an accountable care organization will be the major leagues of health care after the federal Medicare program set a high bar for the new kind of doctor-hospital organization.
Doc groups play up economic impact
Physicians are regarded as smart, successful and helpful when you’re sick—but not usually as a big driver of the economy. Now, however, physician trade groups are arguing that docs are good for business too.
Local banks see small-business lending surging
Chase and Fifth Third of Indiana saw 57-percent and 56-percent spikes, respectively, in loans to state businesses last year. They forecast similar growth this year.
Controversy brews over judging charter performance
There is little agreement—but lots of politics and complex statistics—on how to define success and failure in Indiana’s public schools.
Q&A
Susan Rider is an employee-benefits account manager at Indianapolis-based Gregory & Appel Insurance. On July 1, she will become president of the Indiana State Association of Health Underwriters. She spoke about the first-year impact of the 2010 health reform law and further changes to come.
Zimmer goes on offensive against lawyers
The Warsaw-based maker of orthopedic implants has filed suit to stop a Detroit-area law firm from making allegedly false claims and using its trademarks on websites designed to attract plaintiffs to sue Zimmer over one of its knee-replacement implants called NexGen.
WellPoint gets vote of confidence
Health reform will make health insurance a less-profitable business, but WellPoint Inc. got a vote of confidence from bond analysts because health-reform rules have turned out milder than expected and WellPoint’s financial performance has been particularly strong as the economy recovers.
IU Health cancels $73M project, acquires Gateway Plaza
Indiana University Health has canceled its plans for a $73 million administrative office building at 16th Street and Capitol Avenue and has instead purchased the Gateway Plaza tower at 10th and Illinois streets.
Hospitals’ finances improve somewhat in 2010
It was a good but not great year financially for three of the four largest hospital systems operating in the Indianapolis area last year—and hospital analysts are expecting several head winds to continue.
Health insurers diversify away from regulations
One year after President Obama signed the health reform overhaul, health insurers are buying less-regulated companies in a bid to offset the lower profits and growth they expect the law to cause.
Self-funded plans draw small-firm interest
In the face of new health reform restrictions, expect more small employers to opt for self-funded health benefits, concludes a report this week from Indianapolis-based United Benefit Advisors.
City to close Fountain Square charter school
The decision to close Fountain Square Academy, announced Friday morning at a press conference, marks the first time Mayor Greg Ballard has chosen to shut down a charter school.