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Tom Murphy

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Conseco could land upgrade by midyear: Analysts see positive signs for Carmel insurer

Conseco Inc. by mid-2006 may earn a coveted ratings upgrade from A.M. Best Co., an achievement likely to bolster the Carmel-based insurer’s sales, analysts said. Best probably will dole out the financial-strength upgrade in the second quarter, after the New Jersey-based firm reviews Conseco’s final 2005 financial results, said Jukka Lipponen, a Connecticut-based analyst for Keefe Bruyette & Woods. “We believe as management continues to deliver on its expectations and once Conseco receives the A.M. Best upgrade … investor patience…

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Game not over for J&J: Johnson & Johnson may still beat rival in fight for Guidant

Boston Scientific Corp. earned instant front-runner status in the bidding war for Guidant Corp. when it unveiled a $25 billion offer on Dec. 5 that trumped a Johnson & Johnson proposal by more than $3 billion. However, market watchers say, J&J can regain the lead simply by counterpunching with a comparable offer. They say the immense New Jersey-based conglomerate offers more stability and is the better long-term option for Guidant shareholders who want to hold onto the buyer’s stock after…

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Clarian nabs UAC building: Hospital network wins bid for former corporate headquarters

Clarian Health Partners is polishing a deal to buy the former Union Acceptance Corp. headquarters on North Shadeland Avenue, a move that plants a large footprint for the burgeoning hospital network squarely in a competitor’s east-side back yard. Clarian made the winning bid for the 126,000-square-foot building at a Nov. 15 auction, but the sale had not closed as of Nov. 30, said Bob Getts of Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, which ran the auction. He referred all questions to Clarian….

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Health discount cards spark call for regulation: State insurance group leads registration push

Some health care discount programs that can leave patients stranded with large medical bills have put Indiana insurers in the strange position of asking for more government regulation. The Indiana Association of Health Underwriters plans to lobby in the upcoming legislative session for a bill that requires companies offering health care discounts to register with the state. That would allow regulators to investigate complaints and pursue regulatory action if troubles arise with the discounts, said Shawn Gibbons, a board member…

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States crimp Zyprexa access: Medicaid restrictions cutting into sales of Lilly’s top drug

Eli Lilly and Co.’s top seller Zyprexa, pummeled in recent quarters by concerns over side effects, now faces a growing challenge from some of its biggest customers: state Medicaid programs. Citing high costs, more than a half dozen states have moved Zyprexa and other pricey anti-psychotics off preferred drug lists or made it harder for doctors to prescribe them for patients on Medicaid, the state-federal program that provides health care coverage for the poor and disabled. Georgia, for instance, saved…

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Standard Life sale leads to lawsuit over price: Kentucky buyer claims $652,000 refund is owed

Standard Management Corp. last week disclosed a new round of financial challenges and was hit with a lawsuit by a Kentucky company that bought its Standard Life Insurance subsidiary earlier this year. Louisville-based Capital Assurance Corp. accuses Standard Management of breaching terms of the contract to sell Standard Life and seeks a $652,126 refund, according to the lawsuit filed Nov. 14 in federal court in Indianapolis. Standard claims it owes only $43,000 in what it deems a “purchase-price adjustment dispute,”…

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Mixed bag for tech parks: Facing heavy competition for tenants, some developments thrive while others struggle

The stretch of land along Interstate 74 near Shelbyville lies mostly vacant, save for a couple of buildings and a network of roads and other infrastructure snaking through the property. This barren look is not what Intelliplex Park organizers had in mind more than two years ago, when their project became one of the first to receive the state’s certified technology park designation. “This is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be,” said Tony Lennen, CEO…

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Questions fly over trading in Guidant stock: SEC among regulators scrutinizing share sales

A Securities and Exchange Commission investigation and a fresh batch of lawsuits are prompting more questions about whether anyone used inside information to unload Guidant Corp. shares before the company’s stock began to slide. The Indianapolis-based medical-device maker, which is riding a wave of bad news dating to last spring, disclosed Nov. 7 that the SEC launched “a formal inquiry” into certain product disclosures and stock trading. That means the commission has questions about insider trading, and it’s armed with…

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Success of Guidant lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson depends on definition of murky legal term:

The fate of Guidant Corp.’s lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson depends on how a judge or jury defines a legal term that escapes easy definition. The suit, filed Nov. 7 in federal court in New York, challenges J&J’s contention that it doesn’t have to complete its $25.4 billion Guidant purchase because the Indianapolis company has suffered a “material adverse effect” from product defects and recalls, among other troubles. The term “material adverse effect” is a bit of a head-scratcher among…

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Health Care Crusade: Physicians push for universal health coverage in Indiana

ome heart muscle had already died by the time family members coaxed the 50-something uninsured man into visiting Bloomington Hospital a few weeks ago. The patient had suffered severe chest pains two days before his hospital visit but didn’t seek treatment, said Dr. Rob Stone, an emergencyroom physician there. “It was clearly because he was afraid of the bill,” Stone said. By the time he made it to the hospital, the man was suffering a second heart attack. Now he…

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Winona troubles spread: Ex-owner of closed hospital seeks bankruptcy protection, dampening creditors’ hopes

Winona Memorial Hospital’s former owner filed for bankruptcy last month, a move that’s likely to hinder efforts to recover millions of dollars for the defunct Indianapolis hospital’s creditors. Texas-based Leland Medical Centers Inc. filed Oct. 14, three days after its CEO, Charles Simons, filed for personal bankruptcy, according to bankruptcy court records. The privately held company, which was created in 1992, once owned a small chain of Texas hospitals with physicians. But Simons acknowledged in a deposition last spring that…

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Doctor group spreads its reach across state: American Health Network sees big growth in 2005

American Health Network started 2005 with no presence in the cancer-fighting field of oncology. Now the Indianapolis-based doctor network boasts the largest medical oncology practice in the state, said Dr. Ben Park, its president and CEO. Within the past several months, Park has watched his network add oncology practices with 32 locations across the state, 10 family physicians in Muncie, and a $4 million Fishers Medical Arts Building, built in partnership with Indianapolisbased OrthoIndy. He expects to see more growth….

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State revamps health coverage: New health savings accounts and high-deductible policies could help stem rising costs

Indiana state government will unveil a fresh approach to insurance coverage next year when it offers health savings accounts to its 33,000 employees and their dependents. The state wants employees to take more control of their health care and consequently harness spiraling costs, Personnel Director Debra Minott said. The high-deductible AnthemBy-Design plan it chose to accomplish that will be offered as one of five coverage options during an open enrollment that starts Oct. 31. “We really see a looming crisis…

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Health construction beat marches on in Hendricks: Population growth spurs health care development

A growing population is breeding more multimillion-dollar health care projects in Hendricks County. Danville-based Hendricks Regional Health will begin work next month on a $16 million medical office building more than a year after completing a $24.5 million hospital expansion, and St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is staking its claim with a $4.7 million medical office under construction in Plainfield. Meanwhile, Clarian Health Partners plans to bulk up parts of the 76-bed hospital it opened just last year in…

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Medicaid presents crime of opportunity: Fraud investigators see steady stream of people ripping off the system

Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but they could cost dentist Michael Bajza $200,000 and six months of home detention. The Griffith dentist pleaded guilty in federal court this month to one count of health care fraud. He admitted asking Medicaid for reimbursement of oral Xrays when he knew his employees had only taken photographs of patients’ teeth. Bajza and Thomas Hoshour, a former operator of central Indiana detox centers who is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 4, are but…

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Breaking up may not be so hard to do: Despite taking lumps over rash of product recalls, Guidant remains strong, according to analysts

Guidant Corp. will be just fine if Johnson and Johnson walks away from its $25.4 billion purchase of the medicaldevice maker, Wall Street analysts say. Even so, the Indianapolis company would have to grapple with some tricky issues, they say, including quelling lingering product-safety concerns among doctors and stabilizing the executive ranks. Guidant has been battered by a series of product problems and recalls in recent months. On Oct. 18, it took another punch when J&J executive Robert Darretta told…

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State changes malpractice tact: Insurance department using more outside legal help

The Indiana Department of Insurance has boosted the outside help it uses to defend its medical malpractice Patients’ Compensation Fund after seeing a record payout this summer. A staff shortage, concern voiced by providers and a ruling that could lead to huge damage sums all spurred the move, said Amy Strati, who oversees the fund as the Insurance Department’s chief counsel. “The provider community has clearly said to us, ‘We want you using experienced [medical malpractice] attorneys on the complex…

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Trying to strike oil in public markets: Indianapolis-based Calumet Specialty Products files for IPO, hopes to raise $140 million

An Indianapolis-based oil company with ties to a wealthy local family plans to go public in what analysts describe as a hot-butvolatile market. Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP wants to raise $140 million by selling 6.4 million units at an expected price of $22 each, according to papers filed this month with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Calumet has been part of the private business empire of the Fehsenfeld family, which 35 years ago founded Heritage Environmental Services, a…

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Hancock explores ‘mean, lean operating room machine’: Hospital officials believe time is right for surgery center

Hancock Regional Hospital has dusted off plans to build an outpatient surgery center with some of its doctors, and it may turn for help to a business run by the competition. The Greenfield hospital has talked with Visionary Enterprises Inc., a for-profit subsidiary of Community Health Network; and another Indianapolis company, Russell Associates LLC, about forming a partnership to build the center. Hancock Regional executive Rob Matt called the discussions preliminary but said officials hope to pick a partner by…

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Pumping out healthy profits: Stand-alone heart hospitals now bustling, earning millions after overcoming slow starts

Business heated up so fast for The Heart Center of Indiana last winter that it averaged 103-percent occupancy for an entire month. That meant the Carmel hospital often had to hold patients in an emergency room or short-stay location until space opened for them, Heart Center CEO John Stewart said. “We literally, multiple times, had to refuse [patient] transfers,” said Stewart, whose hospital is spending $4 million to add 20 beds that should be ready for patients next month. After…

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