The health insurance industry — hurt by falling profits and threatened by Democratic reform bills — could see
another wave of
consolidation, and that may well involve Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc.
As the bedrock of the United State’s health care delivery framework, the nursing profession represents the top need for open
health care positions across Indiana and much of the nation.
Marion County hospital systems anticipate more mergers, possibly with each other.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana ranked highest among health care plans that primarily serve Indiana, but didn’t
even crack the top 100 nationally in a new study.
Consumer-driven health plans will lead to greater medical expenses later because people avoid going to the doctor now.
Because major employers in Shelby County have laid off workers, Major Hospital isn’t getting as much income from employer-based
medical insurance plans.
Dr. Francis Price Jr. has brought hundreds of eye surgeons to Indianapolis to train them in how to use
a new cornea transplant technique that has swept the ophthalmology field—DSEK, which stands
for Descemet’s stripping endothelial keratoplasty.
The city of Beech Grove is working on a redevelopment proposal for its St. Francis Hospital campus. Tentative plans call for
a mix of office space, apartments for seniors, and retail space.
The St. Francis hospital system and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana are haggling over insurance reimbursement
costs. The original demand of Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc. would have increased reimbursement amounts $80 million
over three years, Rick Rhodes, an Anthem regional vice president, wrote in an Oct. 30 letter to employers covered by Anthem.
The increase would mean $12 million more in out-of-pocket costs to Anthem customers. But St. Francis claims its request for
an increase only brings it in line with what other hospitals are getting.
Indiana’s economic woes are long standing and may be having an adverse effect on the health of our people,
because Hoosiers can’t consistently gain access to excellent health care.
On Oct. 31, the Indiana Pacers announced a partnership with Clarian Health to improve health awareness for area residents.
Consumer-directed health plans really work, at least according to WellPoint Inc., which has made a big push to sell them recently.
OneAmerica Financial Partners Inc. has made no secret of its desire to acquire other companies. Well, if it wants to buy,
it could hardly find a better time.
The trustee for Winona Memorial Hospital lost in court against the hospital’s former owner earlier this month — but
not without
receiving a bit of vindication from the judge in the case.
A year of computer snafus boiled over Oct. 13 when the St. Francis system declared WellPoint Inc. in breach of its contract
because of habitually late payments.
After the unexpected death of insurance magnate J. Patrick Rooney, two organizations he led until the day he died are scrambling
to figure out who will lead them into the future.
WellPoint Inc. touts as the company’s biggest strength its dominant market share in its health insurance markets. But now
the officers of the company are working to branch out beyond health insurance. They’re training their sales force
on how to better sell dental, vision and even life and disability insurance–which WellPoint refers to as its specialty group
of products.
WellPoint Inc. prides itself on working to hold down the rising cost of health care. But to hear one of its former vice
presidents tell it, the company retaliated against him when he worked to do just that. In a lawsuit against
WellPoint, Dr. Randy Axelrod claims his former employer forced him out when he tried to curtail a drugmaker’s
controversial pricing strategy that was costing WellPoint money.
WellPoint Inc., the most dominant health insurer in the United States, registers as barely a pipsqueak in the rest of the
world. But it’s only a matter of time, say industry experts, before WellPoint plunges into foreign markets to grow sales of
its health benefits and services.
Angela Braly, Wayne DeVeydt and the rest of the top brass at WellPoint Inc. face wrath over the company’s recent stock swoon
from a new group: ex-employees. Four former WellPoint workers have filed lawsuits against the Indianapolis-based health insurance
giant over the losses its 401(k) retirement plan suffered in March when the company slashed its profit forecast for the year.
