Anthem shareholders approve corporate rebranding to Elevance Health
The Indianapolis-based insurance giant said the new name will better reflect its mission of “elevating whole health and advancing health beyond health care.”
Health Care & Insurance
Articles
FDA clears COVID booster shot for healthy children ages 5-11
There is one more hurdle: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must decide whether to formally recommend the booster for this age group. The CDC’s scientific advisers are scheduled to meet on Thursday.
How big is the latest U.S. COVID wave? No one really knows.
Americans are navigating murky waters in the latest wave of the pandemic, with highly transmissible subvariants of omicron spreading as governments drop measures to contain the virus and reveal less data about infections.
U.S. deaths from COVID reach 1 million
The U.S. is averaging about 300 COVID-19 deaths per day, compared with a peak of about 3,400 a day in January 2021.
Baby formula shortage fueling spike in milk bank interest
It’s a pathway that won’t work for every formula-fed baby, especially those with special dietary needs, and it comes with challenges because the country’s dozens of not-for-profit milk banks prioritize feeding medically fragile infants.
White House warning: U.S. ‘vulnerable’ to COVID without new shots
White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha issued a dire warning Thursday that the U.S. will be increasingly vulnerable to the coronavirus this fall and winter if Congress doesn’t swiftly approve new funding for more vaccines and treatments.
Pandemic gets tougher to track as COVID testing plunges
Experts say testing has dropped by 70% to 90% worldwide from the first quarter to the second quarter this year—the opposite of what they say should be happening with new omicron variants on the rise in places such as the United States and South Africa.
Parents hunting for baby formula as shortage spans U.S.
Months of spot shortages at pharmacies and supermarkets have been exacerbated by the recall at Abbott, which was forced to close its largest U.S. formula manufacturing plant in February due to contamination concerns.
Nursing home operator dropping eight Indiana locations, including Indy facility
A Warsaw-based nursing home operator plans to terminate its operating leases at eight Indiana locations—including one in Indianapolis—affecting nearly 700 employees.
Ascension St. Vincent to build small hospital near Purdue
The Indianapolis-based health system said the new hospital will bring inpatient and emergency care into the city of West Lafayette for the first time.
FDA restricts J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine due to blood clot risk
The vaccine was initially considered an important tool in fighting the pandemic because it required only one shot. But the single-dose option proved less effective than two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Indiana ranked seventh in nation for hospital charge disparities
A new study released Thursday by the Rand Corp. showed that Hoosiers covered by employer health plans paid Indiana hospitals nearly three times—or 292%—of what Medicare would have paid for the same procedures.
Not-for-profit to build women’s recovery housing on west side
The Indianapolis facility is expected to provide housing and support for up to 11 women who will live with their children.
U.S. pediatricians’ group moves to abandon race-based guidance
In a new policy announced Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics said it is putting all its guidance under the microscope to eliminate “race-based” medicine and resulting health disparities.
New omicron subvariant shows virus mutations aren’t slowing down
Two-and-a-half years after it first spilled into humans, the COVID virus has repeatedly changed its structure and chemistry in ways that confound efforts to bring it fully under control.
Life sciences experts say Indiana needs to push collaborations to compete with other states
A panel of Indiana life science experts on Friday said the state could become more competitive for large investments and jobs if it doubled down on the kind of collaborations and partnerships that other states have used to their advantage.
COVID deaths no longer overwhelmingly among unvaccinated as toll on elderly grows
The pandemic’s toll is no longer falling almost exclusively on those who chose not to get shots, with vaccine protection waning over time and the elderly and immunocompromised having a harder time dodging increasingly contagious strains.
FDA issues plan to ban menthol in cigarettes, cigars
The Food and Drug Administration said eliminating menthol cigarettes could prevent between 300,000 and 650,000 smoking deaths over 40 years.
Community Health starts ‘fully integrated cancer program’ with MD Anderson
Community Health Network said the new arrangement with the largest cancer center in the United States will give Hoosiers access to some of the most advanced cancer treatments in the nation.
Moderna seeks to be first with COVID shots for littlest children
Moderna on Thursday asked U.S. regulators to authorize low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than 6, a long-awaited move toward potentially opening shots for millions of tots by summer.