Drug industry outlook negative through 2012, Moody’s says
Earnings growth will continue to slow in 2011 for most of the industry’s biggest companies, analyst predicts.
Health Care & Insurance
Articles
Medco may seek acquisition with biggest contract imperiled
Medco Health Solutions Inc., which operates a $140 million automated pharmacy and distribution center in Whitestown, has lost $3.5 billion in contracts since March.
Roche wins as high court limits university patent rights
Monday's Supreme Court decision is a victory for companies that collaborate with universities in research. Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. was among the companies that supported Roche.
Hospitals may be near saturation point on physician hiring
Over the last three years, all major hospitals in Indianapolis have been active in hiring physicians. Competition was especially intense for cardiologists.
Feds reject Indiana’s Medicaid plan
The federal Health and Human Services Department is telling the state of Indiana that its Medicaid plan, which bans funding to Planned Parenthood, is illegal and must be changed.
Roche lands $11M contract at D.C. army medical centers
Roche Diagnostics Corp. landed an $11.4 million contract to provide laboratory testing services at military hospitals in the Washington, D.C., area.
Government cutting rates for hard-to-insure patients
So far, about 18,000 people have signed up for the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, well short of government projections that some 375,000 people would gain coverage in 2010. Rates in Indiana will fall 26 percent.
Hospitals nearing ‘saturation’ on doc hiring
Indianapolis may be reaching a saturation point for hospitals employing physicians, according to the latest report from the Center for Studying Health System Change.
Hoosiers in line for $30M in rebates
Only 19 of the 63 companies writing individual health insurance policies in Indiana have been meeting the new 80-percent medical-loss threshold of the health care reform law, potentially triggering a refund for customers.
Farm Bureau suit says Walmart TV set Hoosier’s house on fire
A southern Indiana man got more than he bargained for when he bought a low-price TV from Walmart. He says the television set his house on fire.
WellPoint replaces chief accounting officer Miller
Health insurer WellPoint Inc. said its chief accounting officer has been removed immediately "without cause" and replaced with a veteran company executive.
Life sciences logistics firm opens new tissue storage facility
BioStorage Technologies’ $4.6 million facility, located near the Indianapolis International Airport, will be used to prepare, store and transport tissue and blood samples.
Planned Parenthood says donors alone can’t sustain clinics
Donors from far and wide are sending money to Planned Parenthood of Indiana, but the organization doesn’t expect the giving to last.
Brain barrier breached in push to deliver Alzheimer’s drug
Scientists with Roche Holding AG, the parent company of Indianapolis-based Roche Diagnostics Corp., may have found a way to overcome a blood barrier that keeps drugs from directly entering the brain, potentially opening new pathways to attack Alzheimer’s disease.
Feds review Indiana law targeting Planned Parenthood
Federal officials said Monday they're taking a hard look at a new Indiana law that withholds some public funding for Planned Parenthood of Indiana, a development that could cost the state some of its Medicaid funding.
Lilly licenses Xigris rights to new biotech firm
Eli Lilly and Co. has agreed to license the U.S. marketing rights of its slow-selling sepsis drug Xigris to a newly created local biotech company called BioCritica that will seek to reinvigorate sales of the medication.
OrthoIndy looks to loopholes for growth
OrthoIndy, the physician practice that owns the Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital, was able to open a new outpatient facility this spring by working around growth restrictions in the 2010 health care reform law. But its choices for further growth are much starker—which is why it’s lobbying to repeal that provision of the law.
IU Health buying docs in hospital ventures
Indiana University Health is now quietly unwinding the physician ownership of its hospitals in Carmel and Avon—which sparked loud controversy when they opened in 2004 and 2005.
Health insurers lose push to ease rate review
U.S. insurers led by WellPoint Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. failed to get federal regulators to change a rule in the 2010 health-care overhaul that triggers a review of any premium increases exceeding 10 percent.