With Obamacare, insurers will still find ways to avoid risk
Obamacare put an end to health insurers’ worst methods for avoiding risk. But that doesn’t mean insurers have ended their risk-shifting ways. Not at all.
Government Health Care
Articles
State extends high-risk pool because of Obamacare woes
State officials announced Thursday that they will extend Indiana’s high-risk insurance pool through the end of January to accommodate Hoosiers who have been unable to enroll in coverage through the federal marketplace.
The bill for Hoosiers’ excess health care spending: About $5 billion per year
Hoosiers’ poor health, combined with an aggressive health care system and an uncompetitive health insurance sector, means Hoosiers, in spite of the fact that they earn just 86 cents for every dollar earned by the average American, are spending nearly $1.13 on health care for every dollar spent by Americans.
The frightening future that’s haunting hospitals
Why are Indiana’s hospitals cutting jobs. Because they’re spooked about cuts to Medicare payments. They should be.
Think your coverage is unaffordable? Watch out for this Obamacare pitfall
Obamacare’s exchanges are requiring working Americans to grasp minute details of their employers’ health plans in order to avoid a nasty surprise from the IRS.
Insurers brainstorm with Obama staff on health exchange fix
The heads of WellPoint Inc., Aetna Inc. and at least 10 other insurers met with the Obama administration Wednesday to discuss correcting flaws in how data from the U.S. health-care marketplaces is transferred to the companies.
State medical institute snares $30M grant from feds
A consortium of Indiana University, Purdue University and University of Notre Dame can operate for another five years with the grant funds.
Insurer CEOs head to White House to talk Obamacare troubles
Health insurance execs, including WellPoint Inc. CEO Joseph Swedish, will meet with top White House officials Wednesday as the president seeks to contain political damage from the disastrous rollout of Obamacare.
Builders of Obama’s health website saw red flags
The government spent at least $394 million in contracts to build the federal health care exchange and data hub. The painfully slow and often unresponsive website has frustrated Americans trying to enroll for insurance plans.
Is lack of competition hiking Indiana exchange premiums?
Only four health insurers are offering policies in the Obamacare exchange in Indiana, whereas 17 have withdrawn from the market since 2010.
VC headwinds continue for life sciences firms
Indiana life sciences companies trying to raise venture capital continue to do so with a national wind in their faces, according to the third-quarter venture capital data.
Coverage gap in state may leave 182,000 uninsured
A new report that 182,000 low-income residents could go without health insurance is refocusing attention on whether Indiana will win an exception to expand Medicaid using the Healthy Indiana Plan.
Republicans making same old mistake on health reform
Rather than railing incessantly against Obamacare, Republicans would do themselves and the country a favor if they finally agreed on a common alternative for fixing the health care system.
Finding where the money is in health care
More than half of the $2.5 trillion consumers spend annually on health care in the United States flows to hospitals and doctors, with drug companies and health insurers trailing well behind.
Health exchange rollout gets dismal reviews in poll
Overall, just 7 percent of Americans say the rollout of the government’s new health exchanges has gone well. Far more deem it a flop.
Shift from information scarcity to abundance will transform health care
With payment reform and new technology, it’s plausible that health care will shift from being a bricks and mortar business to an information business–bringing us higher quality and lower costs. That’s exciting.
Lawmaker says state suit could end tax break for 400,000
A key House Democrat says a lawsuit filed by the attorney general challenging the Affordable Care Act could lead to 400,000 Hoosiers losing out on tax breaks meant to make the insurance more affordable.
State, schools sue U.S. government over Obamacare
Fifteen Indiana school districts and the state of Indiana have filed a lawsuit challenging the federal health care law and subsidies that are available to Hoosiers under rules set by the IRS.
Health Care & Benefits Power Breakfast Transcript
Read the discussion of experts gathered by Indianapolis Business Journal.
Overbuilt, overstaffed, top heavy, hospitals ripe for cuts
Before this year’s cuts, Indiana hospitals had added 12,000 jobs over the past six years, even as private employers across Indiana, collectively, added no net new workers.