Four of the 10 metro areas that will see the biggest decrease in competition from the Anthem-Cigna merger are in Indiana, according to an analysis by the American Medical Association—with Indianapolis facing the second-biggest impact among all of Anthem’s markets nationwide.
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.
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.
Strand Diagnostics lost a key court battle on July 30 when a federal judge in Indianapolis granted summary judgment in favor of the Medicare program, which has refused to reimburse Strand for its test since 2012.
With this year’s bill estimated at $37 billion and counting, perhaps the sheer cost of cleaning up after IT security breaches at health care organizations will spur the industry to find a bandage for its hemorrhaging computer systems.
With Anthem and IU Health so hot to trot their anti-smoking bona fides, it’s surprising their responses to The New York Times' stories about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce blocking anti-smoking policies overseas have been so tepid.
Aetna Inc. agreed to buy Humana Inc., the second-largest provider of private Medicare insurance, for $37 billion in cash and stock to broaden its health-care coverage.
Last week’s Supreme Court ruling upholding the tax credits for Obamacare is just the latest in a string of developments that have kept employers from ditching their group health plans, as many predicted they would.
For at least 20 years, Republicans have been pushing for giving tax credits to help individuals buy health insurance. The Supreme Court’s latest Obamacare ruling does Republicans the favor of preserving them.
Cigna said Anthem’s a risky bet due to fallout from its massive data breach, lawsuits that accuse it of conspiring to inflate prices, and lack of a growth strategy. But Wall Street thinks this deal is going to happen, unless Cigna can find another buyer.
But hospitals’ list prices in Indiana are more than three times what the federal Medicare program pays.
The Obama administration could write a new regulation. Congress could pass a short law. States could run a low-cost exchange. But the politics might require all parties to let the tax credits die while they try to pin the blame on the other side.
While health insurers in states around the country have proposed large rate increases for the health plans they sell on the Obamacare exchanges, insurers in Indiana are asking for modest increases or even decreases. The bad news is that it appears the rest of the country is just catching up with Indiana’s already-high prices.
A Health Department audit found nurse staffing routinely short on two patient units at IU Health’s Methodist hospital, where nurses are trying to organize a union.
To satisfy patients with high-deductible health plans, Northwest Radiology has introduced flat-rate pricing for its imaging scans. It’s a centuries-old concept among postal services, but for health care, it’s revolutionary.
Think we’re almost done with changes from Obamacare? Think again. Things won’t settle down any sooner than 2017, and they could actually get even wilder after that.
One-third of Indiana’s buyers on Obamacare exchanges were new to their health plans this year—tying Indiana for sixth among the 37 states using the federal exchange.
Through partnerships with county-owned hospitals, Indiana’s nursing homes pulled in about $260 million last year in extra federal funds. That means participating nursing homes enjoyed a 10 percent bonus check.
After cutting staff sharply in 2013, Franciscan enjoyed more revenue and big profits in 2014. The key question for its and other hospitals’ future is whether they can keep up these gains in productivity to handle looming payment cuts from Obamacare.
The Legislative Services Agency predicts a three-year ban on new skilled nursing beds would save the state $2.2 million—not the $24.6 million reported by the state in December.
