Testosterone-replacement rival of Lilly’s Axiron draws lawsuits
Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie Inc., the company it spun off last year, hid the dangers of using the testosterone replacement drug AndroGel, five men claim in lawsuits.
Health Care & Insurance
Articles
Finding uninsured means targeting key locations
The uninsured aren’t scattered evenly across the country: half of them live in just 116 of the nation’s 3,143 counties. Federal officials are focusing on 25 key metro areas, including Indianapolis.
CVS Caremark to stop selling tobacco products
The nation's second-largest drugstore chain said Wednesday that it will phase out cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco by Oct. 1, a move that will cost it about $2 billion in annual revenue.
Analysts say health care law means fewer on job
Several million American workers will cut back their hours on the job or leave the nation's workforce entirely because of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, congressional analysts said Tuesday.
U.S. venture gathers drugmakers to take on major diseases
Eli Lilly and Co., Pfizer Inc. and eight other large drugmakers will partner with the U.S. government in a $230 million effort to identify new approaches to treat Alzheimer’s, diabetes, lupus and arthritis.
Lilly’s path to redemption: Turn new drugs into sales
This year will be ugly for Eli Lilly and Co., after the recent loss of two blockbusters, but it also gives Lilly an opportunity it hasn’t really had for nearly a decade: grow sales and profit by launching new drugs.
Testosterone drugs under FDA review for heart-attack risk
Testosterone drugs, which make up a growing market for pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly, are getting a closer look from U.S. regulators.
Indiana residents slow to embrace health exchange
Residents across Indiana are treading lightly when considering buying health insurance through the federal health exchange as they move toward a March 31 deadline to enroll.
Rival’s lawsuit could delay launch of new Lilly insulin
Paris-based Sanofi sued Eli Lilly and Co. on Thursday for patent infringement. That suit triggers an automatic 30-month delay on Lilly’s plans to launch a similar version of Sanofi’s once-a-day insulin Lantus.
Pain mounts for Telamon after reporting $5M theft
The Carmel company complains that its insurers “denied all coverage for the theft-fraud loss under both policies on the grounds that the individual leased to Telamon was an ‘employee’ of Telamon, and simultaneously was not an ‘employee’ of Telamon.”
Lilly tops estimates despite shrinking Cymbalta sales
The Indianapolis drugmaker said gains in other products offset declines for its top drug Cymbalta, which lost patent protection in December. Overall, sales slipped 2 percent, to $5.8 billion.
Indianapolis businessman indicted for health care fraud
Ronald Reed, the owner of Benchmark Mobility Corp., allegedly billed the Medicaid and Medicare programs for used wheelchairs, scooters and lift chairs as if they were brand new, obtaining nearly $443,000 in fraudulent sales.
Despite exchange roller coaster, WellPoint says it’s all going according to plan
Since WellPoint says it’s not losing money on the exchanges—at this point—that’s encouraging news for those who would like the Obamacare exchanges to remain a viable option.
WellPoint’s profit skids, but meets analysts’ expectations
Higher expenses and charges related to the sale of its 1-800-Contacts subsidiary to a private equity firm pushed WellPoint’s earnings down 68 percent in the fourth quarter.
Panel delays vote on bill to require prescription for cold meds
A committee heard two hours of testimony Monday on a bill that would make medicine containing pseudoephedrine a schedule III drug. The committee did not vote.
St. Vincent hospitals not quite as rich as they seem
St. Vincent Health has been sending roughly $50 million to $70 million every year to its parent company, St. Louis-based Ascension Health, to support other hospitals in Ascension’s 93-hospital network.
View of health rollout improves, but only slightly
Negative perceptions of the health care rollout have eased, a new poll finds. But overall, two-thirds of Americans say things still aren’t going well.
New tiered network trips up IU Health, UnitedHealthcare talks
In spite of offers to strike a short-term extension, UnitedHealthcare and Indiana University Health are still hung up in contract negotiations on one key point: Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare wants to create a multi-tiered network of providers and services that would offer the lowest co-pays and deductibles for favored hospital systems—which IU Health is not.
Lilly said to be willing to pay $3.7B for biotech firm
A newspaper says Eli Lilly and Co. is a leading contender to acquire a Massachusetts-based biotech company with a troubled leukemia drug.
My own Obamacare math says small employers will, indeed, drop coverage
In my financial situation, I could save from 2 percent to 30 percent buying health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges. I suspect a lot of small companies and their workers will see similar results.