Indiana jobless benefits extended 20 more weeks
Federal legislation will provide up to 20 weeks of additional unemployment benefits in Indiana. The extension means eligible residents will be able to claim up to 99 weeks in benefits.
Federal Government
Articles
House passes health care bill on close vote
In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation
Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. The 220-215 vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin a long-delayed debate
on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress.
Obama to sign homebuyer, jobless assistance bill
President Barack Obama is set to sign a $24-billion economic stimulus bill providing tax incentives to prospective homebuyers
and extending unemployment benefits to the longtime jobless who have been left behind as the economy veers toward recovery.
WellPoint, Obama administration battle over cost of health reform to employers
At this point in the health reform debate, you have to take numbers from any side with a grain of salt. That said, Indianapolis-based
WellPoint Inc. has done perhaps the only local analysis of how proposed reforms would affect the cost of health insurance
for employers.
Latest stimulus jobs report rife with errors, review finds
The government’s latest count of stimulus jobs significantly overstates the effects of the $787 billion program, raising fresh
questions about the process the Obama administration is using to tout the success of its economic recovery plan.
Senate probing WellPoint, others over small-biz rates
The Senate health care committee is investigating how health insurers, including Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., price
the coverage they sell to small businesses.
Stimulus funds 18,900 jobs in state, White House claims
President Barack Obama’s federal stimulus package has steered about $848 million to Indiana so far and created or retained
nearly 18,900 jobs, the White House said. But an analysis found the report is still full of errors.
Judge orders state to improve food-stamp processing
A federal judge has ordered Indiana’s partially privatized welfare intake system to speed up decisions on food-stamp applications,
but the state has a year to meet its first target.
Has Bayh’s moment arrived?
Fiscal responsibility could be the mettle Sen. Evan Bayh needs to land in a higher office.
Doctors balk at Senate attempt to cut waste
Some Indianapolis-area doctors fear a bill in the U.S. Senate would botch the way costs for tests and procedures are calculated, and ultimately
lead to a reimbursement system that works worse than the existing system.
Indiana lands $39.4M in power-grid stimulus grants
IPL will receive $20 million to help pay for a $48.8 million project to install more than 28,000 smart meters; Midwest ISO
will get $17.3 million toward a $34.5 million project to install 150 phasor measurement units.
Cook Group Inc. owner says health reform’s tax on medical devices could kill jobs
Bloomington-based Cook Group Inc. might have to cut as many as 1,000 local jobs if Congress enacts a tax on medical devices
to pay for health care reform, company founder Bill Cook said in an interview.
First Financial gets sweet deal on Irwin Financial’s bank assets
It’s good to be among the favored few, those blessed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to scoop up the remnants
of failed banks. Because it was on the FDIC list of approved buyers, Cincinnati-based First Financial Bancorp
was able to acquire Columbus, Ind.-based Irwin Financial Corp.’s banking operations under terms
that would make any deal-maker proud.
Democrats eye insurance industry’s antitrust protection
Top Senate Democrats intend to try to strip the health insurance industry of its exemption from federal antitrust laws, according
to congressional officials, the latest evidence of a deepening struggle over President Barack Obama’s effort to overhaul the
health care industry.
Lockheed Martin planning Indianapolis layoffs
Maryland-based Lockheed Martin will idle 10 percent of the employees at its Indianapolis call center as a result of declining call volumes and “funding issues” that are cutting short a five-year federal contract worth a total of $80 million.
State receives nearly $2.4 billion from stimulus
Indiana has received nearly $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money and has spent nearly $780 million so far, according to
preliminary data released Thursday.
Baucus health reform bill draws fire in Indiana, too
The health insurance industry’s sudden counterpunch to the Senate version of health reform echoed in Indiana and
opened a key issue for the rest of the debate: Will covering half of the country’s uninsured mean raising premiums for
the 85 percent of Americans who already have insurance?
Assessing the stimulus in Indiana
The preliminary numbers are out on the effect of the $787 billion federal stimulus on Indiana.
Social Security makes it official: No raise in 2010
There will be no cost of living increase for more than 50 million Social Security recipients next year, the first year without
a raise since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975.
Stimulus spending likely helping teachers the most
Teachers appear to have benefited most from the effort to save jobs with the $787 billion recovery package, which sent billions
of dollars to states that were on the verge of ordering heavy layoffs in education.