AIT Labs exec succeeding founder Evans as CEO
The promotions of several executives follow the Indianapolis-based clinical testing company’s announcement in January that it was cutting jobs and restructuring its business.
Health Care & Insurance
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Anthem seeking state rule change allowing doctors to practice online
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has renewed its push to bring online care to the Indiana market, including video. It has asked the state’s Medical Licensing Board to relax a 2003 rule that stands in its way.
Lilly settles Zyprexa marketing suit for $1.4 billion
Indianapolis-based Lilly pleaded guilty to one violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act on Thursday and agreed to pay $1.42 billion to settle both that criminal charge as well as civil lawsuits in which it did not admit wrongdoing.
New drugmaker code deprives docs of football, lunch for 2
Doctors can still get free samples of medicines, but not football tickets or lunch for their spouses, under a revised code of conduct drafted by a global drug industry trade group that counts Eli Lilly as a member.
CNO Financial approves $100M stock buyback
Carmel-based insurance holding company CNO Financial Group Inc. said Wednesday its board of directors approved the repurchase of up to $100 million in stock.
HHGregg gets $40M from life insurance on former CEO
HHGregg has collected a $40 million payout from a life insurance policy it took out on former executive chairman Jerry W. Throgmartin, who died in January after a sudden illness.
IU Health names Kitchell chief financial officer
Ryan Kitchell, 38, replaces Marvin Pember, who left in July to take an executive position with Philadelphia-based hospital system Universal Health Services Inc.
Q&A
Threats to cut federal Medicare funds that pay for residency training for doctors have eased but not gone away since they were formally proposed by some members of the Congressional super committee last fall. Dr. Peter Nalin, the associate dean of graduate medical education at the Indiana University School of Medicine, said such cuts would be disastrous at a time when patient demands increasingly outstrip the supply of physicians.
Franciscan to mark Beech Grove closure
Franciscan St. Francis Health announced five years ago that it would consolidate its Beech Grove operations into an expanded hospital seven miles south, near Interstate 65 and Emerson Avenue. The last inpatient department to close at Beech Grove will be its emergency room, on March 16.
Study: Indy hospitals charge ‘excess’ prices
The Big 3 automakers spent 35 percent more in the Indianapolis area to provide health care for workers and non-elderly retirees than they did in other auto-heavy cities—and two-thirds of that difference can be blamed on “excess prices” by Indianapolis hospitals.
Lilly plans 200 jobs at new $440M Ireland plant
Eli Lilly and Co. plans to invest about $440 million in a new pharmaceutical plant at an existing company site in County Cork in southern Ireland. The facility in Kinsale will require as many as 200 skilled employees when fully operational.
Technology helps Ivy Tech marry new, old construction
3-D scans match former hospital with building plans.
CNO Financial profits beat analysts’ predictions
Excluding investment gains and one-time charges, CNO’s operations generated $60.1 million, or 22 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, up 16 percent from the same period last year.
SynCare files anticipated bankruptcy
The once fast-growing, Indianapolis-based disease-management company listed in court papers on Tuesday liabilities of nearly $5.7 million and assets of just $125,864.
Economy could lift drug, device firms
The U.S. economy is showing signs of bouncing back and, if it does, look for drugmakers and medical-device companies to benefit. But if the economy has another summer stall like last year, expect health insurers to benefit.
Hospitals’ impact less than reported
After years of screaming by employers that spiraling health care spending is crimping their profits and forcing them to hold down wages, the economic impact study released last week by Indiana University Health suggests health care spending is an unmitigated blessing to the Indiana economy.
Developer plans $15.7M senior-living center on east side
The city of Indianapolis approved the project after accepting Mainstreet Property Group’s offer to purchase the property at 16th Street and Arlington Avenue for $912,500.
Indiana measles outbreak illustrates disease risk
Indiana is battling its second measles outbreak in two years, even though its vaccination rate exceeds the national average. Health officials say the cases, traced to a Super Bowl event, illustrate just how vulnerable the public is to exposure from sources at home and abroad.
Ex-workers balk at SynCare bankruptcy
Disease management company’s demise in August pushed its CEO Stephanie DeKemper into personal bankruptcy in late December and the company itself will file its own bankruptcy case as early as this week.
WellPoint fires exec after Medicare woes
WellPoint Inc. finally canned the head of its consumer business after a string of disappointing results, and the move hasn’t further spooked the company’s jittery investors. Although that’s not saying much.