Health overhaul may grow Indiana addiction services
The possibility of thousands of Indiana residents becoming eligible for addiction treatment under the federal health overhaul has state officials and providers preparing for an expansion.
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Report: Medicaid expansion could juice economy
Proponents of a Medicaid expansion in Indiana are playing up the economic boost the state and its businesses could see from the expansion of health insurance coverage called for by President Obama’s health reform law.
Q&A
Mike Ripley, a health care lobbyist for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, talked about the business group’s views on a proposed expansion of coverage by the Indiana Medicaid program. As it stands now, the 2013 Indiana budget bill includes a plan passed by the Senate as Senate Bill 551, which would have OK’d the Pence administration to negotiate a block grant deal with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand Medicaid coverage via a program like the Healthy Indiana Plan. When that bill was altered in the House to remove the block grant concept, the Chamber dropped its support. The altered House bill is now dead, and the original Senate plan has been added to the budget bill. Its ultimate fate is still unknown
Employer health coverage on 10-year fall, study says
Indiana, Michigan and South Carolina saw the steepest declines in employer-backed coverage from 2000 to 2011, according to a study released Thursday.
IU Health to chop $1 billion off costs
Even though Obamacare likely will expand health insurance coverage to an extra 500,000 Hoosiers over the next few years, IU Health expects per-patient reimbursements to fall as the federal government, employers and patients all push back on sky-high health care costs.
WellPoint jumps after feds reverse Medicare decision
Shares of Indianapolis-based WellPoint rose along with those of other medical insurers Tuesday morning after the U.S. government reversed a decision to cut a key Medicare payment rate, offering them an increase instead.
House pursues ‘Arkansas model’ on health coverage
Indiana could expand health insurance coverage for low-income Hoosiers entirely through private health insurance plans under an amendment adopted by a House committee on Monday. The change was immediately criticized by the Pence administration.
Indiana’s health care transparency laws get failing grade
Indiana’s laws requiring hospitals to release price information are woefully inadequate, according to a report by two health insurance reform groups. Indiana was among 29 states to receive an "F" grade.
Deal raises hopes for Healthy Indiana Plan expansion
Gov. Mike Pence’s strategy for expanding Medicaid in Indiana is to convince or cajole the Obama administration to let him use the Healthy Indiana Plan to do it. A recent deal in Arkansas seems to make it more likely that the Obama team will give Pence what he wants.
Healthy Indiana Plan gets mixed reviews at hearing
Hospital officials praised Indiana's medical savings accounts but some consumer advocates panned them Wednesday during a public hearing as Gov. Mike Pence seeks federal approval to use the Healthy Indiana Plan to expand Medicaid in this state.
Studies: Employers could save with Medicaid expansion
The debate over expanding Medicaid in Indiana so far has hinged on how much it will cost. But two recent studies suggest Hoosier employers should be focused on how much a Medicaid expansion will save them: perhaps as much as $400 million per year.
Debate erupts on Indiana’s incomplete Medicaid waiver
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence defended his administration Thursday over criticism from Democratic lawmakers that they have imperiled Hoosiers' health care by failing to follow proper procedures on Medicaid.
Feds delay decision on Indiana Medicaid plan
The federal government has delayed action on Indiana's proposal to expand Medicaid because the state hasn't received public comment on the proposals, but the issue could be resolved quickly with two hearings set for next week, a spokeswoman for Gov. Mike Pence said Wednesday.
Analysis: Feds likely to cut Medicaid support
A fellow conservative provided some support for Gov. Mike Pence’s claim that an expansion of Medicaid will become a “baby elephant” that eats up larger and larger shares of state resources.
Indy hospitals healthy despite sequester
While rural hospitals face sharp reductions in their operating incomes, most of the four major hospital systems based in Indianapolis will see only a marginal impact on their finances.
Senate advances telemedicine payments
The Indiana Senate voted unanimously last week to require the Indiana Medicaid program to pay home health agencies, rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers for doing medical consultations, diagnoses and monitoring using videoconferencing, telephones or computers.
Sequester could sap $200M from Indiana health care providers
The sequestration plan kicking in Friday will chop Medicare payments to hospitals, doctors and nursing homes by 2 percent, beginning April 1. One study estimates that the cuts could result in 10,000-plus job losses in Indiana alone.
Indiana Senate approves Medicaid expansion
The Indiana Senate voted Tuesday to expand Medicaid using a state-run program, as lawmakers and Gov. Mike Pence continue negotiating how the state should cover an estimated 400,000 low-income residents.
Legislators struggle to nail down cost of health care expansion
The cost of health care for an additional 400,000 low income residents is something nobody in the Indiana Statehouse seems to be able to agree upon this year, even as the crucial decision about whether to expand Medicaid bears down on lawmakers midway through their annual session.
U.S. audit: Indiana should refund $5.8M to Medicaid
A federal audit released Friday recommends Indiana's human services agency refund more than $5.8 million in Medicaid funds because Logansport State Hospital did not show it had complied with special conditions for psychiatric hospitals.