Indy dentist accused of $260,000 in false claims
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said Dr. Bernice Avant was charged Thursday with one count of Medicaid fraud and four counts of theft.
Government Health Care
Articles
The moving target bedeviling attempts to cut health care costs
In health care, 5 percent of patients account for 50 percent of costs. Trouble is, those patients aren’t the same from year to year. Not even close.
Health law adding to primary care doctor shortage
A survey found that 81 percent of doctors say they are over-extended or at full capacity, and 44 percent plan to cut back on the number of patients they see, retire, work part-time or close their practice to new patients.
Regrets of ending an employer health plan
This spring, Keith Pitzele ended his company’s health plan and sent his workers to the Obamacare exchange. It was a bumpy experience he’s glad he won’t have to repeat next year. Does that mean most employers won’t follow suit?
Three insurers to split $151M in Medicaid contracts
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, MDwise Inc. and Managed Health Services were selected by the state officials to manage health care services for 84,000 Hoosiers that qualify as aged, blind or disabled.
Are workplace wellness programs worth it?
Believe it or not, wellness is now a minefield for businesses. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken up three lawsuits against companies because of their wellness programs. And new research finds that wellness programs probably cost employers money.
Obamacare’s Cadillac tax forcing Indiana employers to tap brakes on health benefits
No Hoosier employers want to pay Obamacare’s 40 percent excise tax on health benefits, which hits in 2018. So they are embracing high-deductible plans and putting more responsibility for health care spending on workers.
House GOP sues administration over health care law
House Republicans say the Obama administration overstepped its legal authority in carrying out the Affordable Care Act.
Report: Half of hospital systems could disappear in next decade
Deloitte consultants say hospitals are about to go the way of department stores, airlines and banks by clustering into fewer and fewer competitors. There’s plenty of evidence from Indiana to support that theory.
Feds OK extension of original Healthy Indiana Plan
Federal officials have approved a renewal of Indiana's Medicaid-covered health saving accounts for low-income residents through next year.
Pence wants HIP 2.0 approval now; delay could cause confusion
Thousands of Hoosiers who are buying health coverage through a federal insurance exchange could face confusing changes if Indiana gets permission to offer its own program sometime next year.
Data show 1 in 5 uninsured Hoosiers gained health coverage this year
Even without Medicaid expansion, Obamacare appears to have substantially reduced the more than 900,000 Hoosiers that go without health insurance during a year.
Obamacare exchange 2.0: Anthem far from the cheapest plan
There are more choices and better deals in the 2015 Obamacare exchange, but if you want the same coverage as last year, it’s going to cost you more.
IU Health’s third-quarter profit nearly quadruples
Indianapolis-based IU Health saw big increases in outpatient surgeries and imaging tests in the three months ended Sept. 30, reversing year-long declines. Hospitals nationally are also posting improved performances.
Health law faces higher bar in second sign-up season
Version 2.0 of President Barack Obama’s health insurance overhaul represents another chance to win over a skeptical public. But more than possible computer woes lurk as HealthCare.gov’s second open enrollment season begins Nov. 15.
Top 4 questions for Hoosier health care after GOP takes control of Congress
On Obamacare, the new Republican-controlled Congress should “leave the façade of the building and then demolish the inside of it,” according to one GOP leader. If Republicans take that approach, here are four things that could change in the next two years.
Obamacare launch has goosed WellPoint stock by 50 percent
WellPoint’s stock has benefited the most among major insurers since the 2013 launch of the Obamacare exchanges, along with tax subsidies to buy insurance.
Insurers’ fight for customers keeps Obamacare rates down
While foes of the Affordable Care Act warned of double-digit rate increases, the costs of premiums seen so far is more modest for the new year.
Why small Hoosier employers aren’t dropping their health plans—yet
Obamacare's community rating rules would give 25-percent-off coupons to boomers while sticking millennials with a 75-percent surcharge, according to recent data from employer health plans.
Health care overhaul doubts ease for insurers
Health insurers such as WellPoint Inc. entered last fall cautious about a major coverage expansion initiated by the health care overhaul, but are finding the challenges more manageable than expected.