Midwest VA hospitals also had secret waiting lists
The Department of Veterans Affairs maintained 10 such "secret waiting lists" of military veterans in need of care at facilities in Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, the letters said.
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Shinseki resigns amid veterans’ health care issues
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned Friday after publicly apologizing for systemic problems plaguing the agency's health care system.
Push grows for Shinseki to go as veteran care flaws found
A report found the VA’s Eastern Area Fiduciary Hub in Indianapolis was “not timely processing allegations of misuse of beneficiary funds, conducting field examinations, and processing some incoming mail.”
Donnelly says Indiana’s VA sites not as troubled
U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly said administrators at Indiana's VA hospitals have told him they don't have the same kind of problems as the 26 veterans facilities across the country facing complaints about long waits and backlogs.
Hearings set for Healthy Indiana Plan expansion
Two public hearings are scheduled this week on Gov. Mike Pence's plan to use Medicaid funds to expand the Healthy Indiana Plan to provide insurance under the federal health care overhaul.
Dropping health plan for Obamacare, this firm saved money but sacrificed choice
RANAC Corp., a small firm in Indianapolis, cut its spending on health benefits 25 percent after dropping its group health plan. Could it be a sign of things to come?
Pence pitches health plan proposal in Washington
The health insurance expansion Gov. Mike Pence is touting relies on federal Medicaid money and meets federal Medicaid requirements, but the Republican governor insists it's not Medicaid.
Pence’s HIP 2.0 insurance expansion has national aspirations all over it
Gov. Pence's HIP 2.0 plan is nothing less than an attempt to roll back liberal policy on low-income health benefits as far as currently possible–and to get other states to follow suit. It might even be an opening bid for president.
Lawmakers positive about Healthy Indiana Plan proposal
An expansion of the Healthy Indiana Plan, which Gov. Mike Pence announced Thursday, received overall positive reviews from Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
Marathon talks yield good deal for hospitals in Pence’s HIP expansion
Fees on hospitals will generate the lion’s share of the funds for Gov. Mike Pence’s Healthy Indiana Plan expansion. But the benefits hospitals will receive will outweigh those costs.
UPDATE: Pence unveils Healthy Indiana Plan expansion
Gov. Mike Pence said Medicaid is a "fiscal monstrosity" and hopes a proposed expansion of the state-run Healthy Indiana Plan will pass muster with federal officials as an alternative way to insure low-income residents.
UPDATE: Pence to propose 2-tier insurance plan for poor
Officials with direct knowledge of the plan said participants in the first tier would receive limited coverage at no charge. A second tier would include dental and vision coverage and require participant contributions.
WellPoint foe leads plan to reveal health prices to consumers
WellPoint Inc. competitor UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest U.S. health insurer, will lead an industry effort to throw a spotlight on the prices paid for health-care services, making their costs available to consumers on the Internet.
Consumers losing doctors with Obamacare plans
Before the law took effect, experts warned that narrow networks could impact patient's access to care, especially in cheaper plans. But with insurance cards now in hand, consumers are finding their access limited across all price ranges.
Study: Hospital-doctor hook-ups swell prices
Now that Indianapolis-area hospitals employ large numbers of physicians, a new study suggests the integrated health systems will be able to charge higher prices to private health insurers.
Indy’s most profitable hospitals, revisited
On the eve of Obamacare, almost no central Indiana hospitals were having trouble making money. Hip replacements, heart surgery and Hamilton County were the biggest drivers of profits.
Health insurers: Payment rates meeting expectations
Top health insurance companies told members of Congress Wednesday that more than 80 percent of people who've signed up under the president's new health care law have gone on to pay their premiums.
Insurers say most Obamacare enrollees paying premiums
Three large health insurers including Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. and Aetna Inc. say that a high percentage of their new Obamacare customers are paying their first premiums, partly undermining a Republican criticism of enrollment in the program.
Veterans Affairs department rejects call for leader to quit
The Indianapolis-based American Legion, the nation's largest veterans service group, called Monday for the resignations of U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and two of his top aides amid an investigation into allegations of corruption and unnecessary deaths.
Time to eat crow and fix my error on Obamacare sign-ups
When I predicted on March 13 that Obamacare would fail to expand individual private insurance coverage in Indiana, I was completely off. It now looks like an extra 30,000 Hoosiers have bought individual health insurance this year.