Deal provides peek at Anthem’s narrow networks
A new agreement in Wisconsin provides a glimpse of the kind of “narrow network” arrangements that Indianapolis-based Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield might attempt in Indiana.
Health Care Costs
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Study: Newly insured to be poorer, less educated
New health insurance coverage created by the 2010 health reform law will attract a lower-income, less-educated and more diverse set of customers than the insurance markets that exist today, according to a new analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers. And that could create challenges for doctors and hospitals trying to care for those patients.
IBJ Health Care Power Breakfast – transcript
Indianapolis Business Journal convened a panel of experts at its Health Care & Benefits Power Breakfast on Sept. 28 to talk about industry issues including Medicaid, on-site health clinics and narrow networks. Panelists included Robert J. Brody, president and CEO of Franciscan St. Francis Health; Michael N. Heaton, partner, Katz Sapper & Miller; Dr. Gregory N. Larkin, commissioner, Indiana State Department of Health; Vicki F. Perry, president, CEO, Advantage Health Solutions Inc.; Dr. Ram Yeleti, president, Community Physician Network. The following is the unedited transcript of the discussion.
Will Medicaid expansion actually work?
It would be “absurd” and a “travesty” for Indiana not to expand its Medicaid program, according to two local hospital officials. And yet other health care leaders do not expect expanded Medicaid coverage to provide nearly as much help to uninsured Hoosiers as hoped.
Bill for Medicaid expansion? $516M a year
If Indiana expands its Medicaid program as called for under President Obama’s health reform law, it likely will hike state spending on the program an extra 13.5 percent—or $516 million annually—by 2020, according to the latest projections from Seattle-based actuarial firm Milliman Inc.
High-deductible premiums rising, too
Since 2007, premiums for high-deductible health plans’ family coverage have grown 32 percent—compared with 30 percent among all health plans, according to survey data from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
WellPoint spends $50M to burnish brand
The Indianapolis-based health insurer expects the purchase of health insurance to look and feel much more like online retailing than ever before, where brand name, along with price and convenience, win the day.
Cutting bills fuels growth of Health Systems International
Health Systems is on pace this year for nearly $50 million in revenue, up from $42 million last year and just $4.5 million eight years ago. The Indianapolis company processes claims for health insurers when patients receive out-of-network care.
Cautious hospitals trouble Hill-Rom
The investor drubbing sustained by Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. last week stemmed not so much from the new acquisition it announced as from the gloomy outlook in the North American hospital market.
Insurance company key to Franciscan-American Health partnership
Hospital system’s health insurance unit has IT infrastructure that will allow physicians to participate in Medicare’s shared savings program.
Local providers join Medicare ACO program
Indiana University Health, as well as a partnership of Franciscan Alliance and American Health Network, have formed accountable care organizations that won the blessing of the federal Medicare Shared Savings program.
Doctors, hospitals follow only parts of Regenstrief’s IT prescription
The great results Regenstrief Institute has produced over the years in studies at Indianapolis’ Wishard Memorial Hospital have not held up when conducted in a wider variety of settings.
Q&A
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act cleared a big cloud of uncertainty for employers, but with just 18 months before the most significant provisions of the law kick in, many questions remain. Three benefits consultants from Indianapolis-based Gregory & Appel Insurance—Bob Miller, Mike Miles and Karl Ahlrichs—sat down to discuss what the future looks like for employer health benefits.
Electronic health records bring $135M to Indiana
The federal stimulus program to speed “meaningful use” of electronic medical records is starting to generate significant cash for Indiana health care providers: More than $135 million has flowed to more than 2,000 Hoosier hospitals and doctors since January 2011.
Analysis: How stocks will fare in ruling on health care law
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the Affordable Care Act by the end of June. Here’s a roundup of how health care businesses would be affected under four different scenarios.
Court ruling would lift cloud of uncertainty
The U.S. Supreme Court did not hand down a ruling in the health care reform case Monday morning. The nine justices meet again Thursday, but most observers expect the decision to come June 25 or June 28.
WellPoint rivals to keep parts of health care law
Some of the nation's biggest health insurers will keep some popular parts of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul even if the law fails to survive U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny later this month. Indianapolis-based WellPoint will wait for the court ruling.
Employers slow to act on health reform
Even though employers expect the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down at least some of the 2010 health reform law later this month, few are actually doing any contingency planning.
WellPoint: Consumers will control health insurance
The future of health insurance is lower profit margins and greater consumer control. WellPoint Inc. just bet $900 million on it.
Price hikes offset slower health care use
Newly available data from private health insurance plans show that price hikes by hospitals, doctors and drug companies have kept employer spending rising recently even as their employees and dependents have moderated their consumption of health care services.