Drug-price increases slow as benefits managers get tough
A new analysis shows attempts by drugmakers to raise prices are being wiped out in negotiations with managers of drug insurance benefits like Express Scripts Holding Co. and CVS Health Corp.
Health Care & Life Sciences
Articles
Retail clinics, apps change doctor-patient relationship
A shortage of primary care physicians and emerging alternatives such as retail clinics and smartphone apps are changing the way patients access the U.S. health care system.
AMA: Anthem, Aetna deals threaten competition across nation
The market for health-insurance in the U.S. is already so highly concentrated that pending tie-ups among four of the country’s largest insurers risk hurting both consumers and doctors, the American Medical Association said.
More precise medical codes aim to track quality of care
On Oct. 1, the nation’s physicians and hospitals must start using a massive new coding system to describe your visit on insurance claims so they get paid.
IUPUI receives $1.9M grant for health workforce diversity
The grant will enable researchers at IU's Indianapolis medical campus to develop and implement the IU Health Careers Opportunity Program.
Community set to go whole hog on new value-based payments
CEO Bryan Mills has set a goal to make 75 percent of revenue—or $1.5 billion a year—be covered by value-based contracts—which means Community would be rewarded for keeping patients out of the hospital. A new venture is Mills’ strategy to get there.
Senior housing planned on key 86th and Meridian corner
A Missouri-based development team wants to build a $10 million senior living center on the last available parcel at one of the north side’s most visible intersections.
Marian starts search for new med school dean
Marian University expects the deans of both its medical and nursing schools to retire in the next two years. So, the small Catholic school is launching a search for replacements.
Experimental osteoporosis drug bests Lilly’s Forteo in study
The experimental medicine, called romosozumab, showed better results than Eli Lilly and Co.’s Forteo after 12 months, Amgen and UCB said in a joint statement Wednesday.
Longtime IU Health leader Evans to retire next year
Daniel Evans Jr. plans to leave his post as president immediately and retire as CEO on May 1. The system’s chief operating officer, Dennis Murphy, will take over as president now and as CEO in the spring.
Obamacare, HIP 2.0 goosing hospital profits—for now
More paying customers helped Community Health Network pull in $47 million in second-quarter profits, a story being repeated at not-for-profit hospitals around the country as Obamacare has boosted the number of insured customers to unprecedented highs.
Is Indiana’s lack of ‘narrow networks’ keeping Obamacare premiums high?
A recent study found the number of health insurers offering broad provider networks on the Obamacare exchange was higher than in all but 10 other states and suggests that so long as Hoosiers keep singing “Don’t Fence Me In,” they could keep paying more for health insurance.
Novo Nordisk buying 2 DiMarchi-launched drug firms
Calibrium LLC and MB2 LLC, both based in Carmel, have agreed to be sold for undisclosed amounts. They were developing diabetes drugs discovered by the research team of Richard DiMarchi, a chemistry professor at Indiana University.
Lilly wins patent ruling over blockbuster drug Alimta
Eli Lilly and Co. won a court ruling that will keep generic versions of the chemotherapy drug Alimta off the U.S. market until a patent expires in 2022.
YMCA partners with VA for Pike Township center
Although the $10 million Pike Township YMCA has no timetable for completion, officials have pledged to offer extensive services to veterans in conjunction with the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center.
Surprising heart study could bring Lilly $1B annually
Eli Lilly and Co. didn’t win approval for a new drug last week. But its latest study of an existing diabetes drug could create a blockbuster in its own right—adding as much as $1 billion a year to the coffers of the Indianapolis-based drugmaker.
UPDATE: Why insurance mega-mergers won’t launch wave of hospital hook-ups
Profits at most county-owned hospitals have grown by 100 percent to 400 percent over the past four years via partnerships with nursing homes that have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars in extra federal money.
IU School of Dentistry gets OK for $21.6M expansion
The IU Board of Trustees gave unanimous approval to the 45,000-square-foot addition to the school at IUPUI. It is expected to open in 2020.
Regenstrief CEO Tierney to depart for Texas job
Dr. Bill Tierney, who has led the Regenstrief medical informatics research operation for five years, will become chair of the department of population health at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
Lilly shares jump after positive study of diabetes drug
Lilly’s stock had its biggest intraday gain since 2009 Thursday after it announced trial results that showed Jardiance lowered the risk of heart attacks, stroke and death in a large trial of adults with type 2 diabetes.