Zimmer earnings fall on legal reserve costs
Zimmer Holdings saw second-quarter earnings slump 29 percent as the orthopedic device maker set aside an additional $47 million to cover the cost of lawsuits related to its Durom hip cups.
Health Care & Life Sciences
Articles
Amid Obamacare’s changes, WellPoint keeps old playbook
Even as it tries narrow networks, health insurer is trying to offer more choice of doctors now, but push for lower provider payments later.
WellPoint sees small-biz plans slip ahead of Obamacare
WellPoint Inc., the second-biggest U.S. health insurer, said more small employers are scaling back benefits this year, a potential hedge against higher costs expected under the U.S. health-care law.
WellPoint expects Obamacare to boost revenue to $90B by 2016
Health care reform, long perceived as a huge threat to WellPoint Inc., is now being embraced by the insurer as a huge growth opportunity.
Lilly shares rise after drugmaker reports solid second quarter
Strong sales and penny-pinching helped Eli Lilly and Co. beat Wall Street’s expectations in the second quarter, leading the company to raise its profit forecast for the year.
WellPoint raises forecast after profit surges
Business continued to improve at WellPoint Inc. in the second quarter, helping the health insurer beat Wall Street’s expectations and raise its profit forecast for the year.
Franciscan doubles down on accountable care
Franciscan St. Francis Health earned a $6.6 million bonus from the Medicare program for its success at keeping central Indiana patients out of the hospital and the emergency room. So the hospital system will expand its participation in so-called accountable care programs to all its Indiana territories.
Most individuals will pay less, not more, in Obamacare exchanges
Even with premiums doubling from 2012 to 2014, Obamacare’s subsidies will offset premium increases for most Hoosiers buying health insurance via the new federal exchanges.
Mighty Oxford Financial loses big case with client
An arbitrator ordered the Carmel financial-advisory firm to pay $2.2 million to Reid Hospital & Health Services of Richmond. The dispute involved a delay in executing trades in 2011 that the hospital alleged cost it $2.5 million.
Marian’s med school quest was leap of faith
Marian University, a small Catholic college started by Franciscan nuns, next month will launch just the second medical school in Indiana. Marian President Dan Elsener is credited with pulling off the audacious move with a mix of big dreaming, careful planning, deft networking and “don’t take no for an answer” fundraising.
Lilly freezes pay for workers, executives
The pay freeze will save $400 million through 2016, said a spokesman for the Indianapolis-based company. Lilly won’t give pay raises to executives, supervisors or most employees. Some bonuses will also be reduced.
Get ready to see for-profit religious hospitals
Hospitals already operate like for-profit businesses, but now a financial pinch is making more hospitals join their ranks. Aggressive moves by St. Vincent’s parent organization are just the beginning.
House GOP seeks delay in health care provisions
U.S. House Republicans pressed ahead Wednesday on delaying key components of President Obama’s signature health care law, emboldened by the administration’s concession that requiring companies to provide coverage for their workers next year may be too complicated.
State, Anthem ask techies to solve infant mortality
Dr. Bill VanNess, Indiana’s commissioner of health, asked IT developers to create a smartphone app that the state could offer to pregnant moms to educate them about infant health and help them easily schedule appointments with health care providers.
Would Medicaid expansion have saved hospital jobs?
As the Pence administration continues to negotiate with the feds, local hospitals say their recent cuts would not have been changed even if Indiana had expanded its Medicaid program.
WellPoint rolls out program with cost ceilings for procedures
Under so-called reference-based benefits, insured patients would have to pay the difference between procedure prices and maximums set by their employers. Several Indiana companies are considering using the tactic.
There’s no reason for hospitals, doctors to lose the transparency debate
I launched The Dose with a post about the general use-lessness of the hopsital price data released in May by the Obama adminsitration. For what it's worth, the Journal of the American Medical Association, published by the nation's largest doctors' group, agrees with me. In a perspective piece published on July 10, http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1710451, JAMA contirbutor […]
Lilly aims potential Alzheimer’s drug at early patients
The trial of 2,100 patients, called Expedition III, will use new measures of cognitive function, such as the ability to do tasks like cooking or driving, or remembering words after a delay.
WellPoint will pay $1.7M in online privacy inquiry
The agency said that between Oct. 23, 2009 and March 7, 2010, security weaknesses in a WellPoint online application database left the information of 612,402 people accessible to unauthorized users.