Hospitals proving themselves wrong about prices
Whenever a new report claims hospitals are charging too much, a stock set of defenses comes out. But hospitals are cutting prices and expenses as we speak, undermining those arguments.
Health Care & Life Sciences
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Indiana rolls back some 2010 Medicaid rate cuts
The state plans to spend $37 million more each year reimbursing providers. The increase would amount to 2 percent more for hospitals, nursing facilities, home health and immediate care providers.
Marian has waiting list for very first medical class
Marian University in Indianapolis has announced it has reached its self-imposed limit of 162 students for the incoming class of its new college of osteopathic medicine. It will be the first medical school to open in Indiana in more than 100 years.
Indiana Blood Center cuts staff, scales back work
The not-for-profit blood center announced Monday that demand from hospitals has fallen 24 percent over the past year, forcing it to take steps that also include freezing management salaries, eliminating 45 positions and discontinuing a therapeutic phlebotomy program.
Are employers ready to limit workers’ choice of doctor?
The real test of so-called narrow network health plans will come not with Obamacare's exchanges, but with employers, who control a far bigger slice of the health benefits pie and have been highly reluctant to limit their workers' choice of hospitals and doctors.
Research institute tries to succeed where Michigan failed
While Indiana’s governor, legislature and life sciences executives are united behind the proposed Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, the state of Michigan has a cautionary tale to tell about such an effort.
Drug sold by Lilly tops Avastin in colon cancer survival study
Patients who got Erbitux together with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment lived about four months longer than those who got Avastin with chemotherapy, according to the 592-person study.
Mainstreet plans $9.2M nursing home on northwest side
The 65,000-square-foot nursing-home and assisted-living facility would feature an Internet cafe, movie theaters and restaurant-style dining with an on-site chef.
Are hospitals on trajectory to pair up?
Indianapolis-area hospitals are undergoing such profound and permanent changes that some predict, eventually the four major hospital systems will merge and shrink down to two.
Indianapolis hospitals hit with tough bargaining environment
Aggressive construction wiped out historical territories, thus opening the door to insurers playing hospitals off each other.
WellPoint adds power executive Hay to board
Health insurer WellPoint Inc. has named Lewis Hay III to its board of directors after announcing earlier this month that three members had resigned for personal reasons.
Swedish shows stark contrast with Braly
One month into Joe Swedish's tenure as CEO of WellPoint Inc., he and the communications staff set up an interview with me. That was quite different from my experience with Angela Braly, who declined all of my interview requests in her 63 months as CEO.
Docs court employers with health management
Three years ago, the physician practice American Health Network was concerned that the boom in employer on-site clinics would hurt its business. So it launched a program aimed at managing the health of employers’ workers. And it has come up with some impressive results.
Court stays out of Planned Parenthood funding case
The Supreme Court will not disturb a lower court ruling that blocks Indiana's effort to strip Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood because the organization performs abortions.
A dose of reality about the business of health care
Welcome to The Dose, a blog about the business of health care. As your host, J.K. Wall, I'll be writing about the most interesting new developments I see at hospitals, doctors, insurers, employers, patients, drugmakers, device companies and medical researchers around Indianapolis and around the country.
Think again: Why Obama’s disclosure of hospital charges won’t help you
In the first post on my new blog, The Dose, I explain why the recently released Medicare charge data are meaningless for everyone but uninsured patients.
WellPoint among 13 picked to join California exchange
California residents who choose to buy health insurance through the state exchange being created by the Affordable Care Act may end up paying higher premiums.
New WellPoint CEO Joe Swedish thrives on complexity
Joe Swedish, a career hospital executive, is now two months into his job at the helm of Indianapolis-based WellPoint, the nation’s second-largest health insurer. In his first interview since starting work, Swedish indicated he’s taking his time to learn the people and the culture of the vast organization he now leads.