Popular Medicare Advantage plans come under fire
Regulators say the insurance industry has been annually overbilling the government by billions of dollars, and now the federal government is stepping up moves to recoup money.
Health Care
Articles
Merger could lift Planned Parenthood
A new alliance with the Seattle-based affiliate chapter might be the key to the turnaround and longevity of Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky.
Medicare to cover pioneering cancer treatment nationwide
The treatment costs $375,000 or $475,000, depending on whether it is used for advanced lymphoma or pediatric leukemia. Hospital stays can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of care.
Boom in overdose-reversing drug tied to fewer drug deaths
Prescriptions of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone are soaring, and experts say that could be a reason overdose deaths have stopped rising for the first time in nearly three decades.
Drug cost bill advances but GOP resistance could spell trouble
A prescription drug compromise that would lower costs for Medicare recipients and save billions for Medicare and Medicaid cleared a key hurdle in the Senate on Thursday.
Trump meets with drug industry lobby as pricing bill advances
The meeting occurred as a bipartisan effort is underway in the Senate that two of its sponsors say would lead to $100 billion in savings on prescription-drug spending over a decade.
FDA warns top marijuana company for making CBD health claims
CVS Health, which started carrying CBD skin products in some states this year, plans to remove Curaleaf products from its shelves following the FDA’s warning.
Many companies contributed to U.S. opioid crisis, new figures show
Records kept by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration show that 76 billion oxycodone and hydrocodone pills—the vast majority of them generics, not brand names—were shipped to U.S. pharmacies from 2006 to 2012.
J&J accused of dodging liability for ‘cunning’ opioid drug push
The trial in Oklahoma City is the first of more than 1,900 local U.S. government lawsuits against drug makers and distributors over the fallout from opioid abuse.
Trump kills key drug price proposal he once embraced
The drug rebate rule would have ended a widespread practice in which drugmakers give rebates to insurance middlemen in government programs such as Medicare. The idea was to channel that money to consumers instead.
White House yanks drug ‘rebate’ plan after poor review from CBO
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the plan would have little impact on manufacturer prices and cost Medicare $177 billion over 10 years by leading to higher premiums subsidized by taxpayers.
Lilly losing two senior executives, including Bio-Medicines chief
Lilly shares dropped 4.6 percent in early trading after the company said Christi Shaw was leaving and Mike Harrington planned to retire.
Startup claims breakthrough in gauging pain
MindX founders think they’ve found a scientific way to measure pain and other hard-to-quantify mental health conditions, such as suicide risk, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Elanco in merger talks with pharmaceutical giant Bayer, sources say
The multibillion-dollar merger would combine Elanco, the fourth-largest global player in animal health, with Bayer’s pet-health division, which ranks fifth in veterinary medicine, Reuters reported. The combination would create a dominant force in the industry.
Latest Obamacare legal battle plays out in federal appeals court
The fate of former President Barack Obama's signature health care law, and its coverage and insurance protections for millions of Americans, is again being argued in a case that appears destined for the Supreme Court.
Judge strikes down rule requiring drug ads to reveal prices
Responding to a lawsuit by Eli Lilly and two other companies, a federal judge Monday blocked a major White House initiative on prescription drug costs, saying the Trump administration lacked the legal authority to require drugmakers to disclose their prices in TV ads.
IBJ Podcast: This IU pediatrician is a health care myth buster
Should you avoid red meat? No. Should you strive for 10,000 steps a day? Not unless you just want to. So says Dr. Aaron Carroll, a pediatrician and researcher at the Indiana University School of Medicine who sees it as his life’s calling to debunk what he considers health myths and weak medical research.
IU Health executive Kitchell leaving ‘for other opportunities’
Ryan Kitchell oversees a wide variety of business operations at the state’s largest health system. His departure comes as IU Health is in the midst of numerous capital projects.
BioCrossroads chooses retired Lilly exec as new CEO
Patricia Martin, 58, former chief operating officer of Lilly’s diabetes division, will start her new job July 1, leading an organization that promotes and invests in the state’s life sciences sector.
Trump signs order that aims to reveal real health care costs
Insurers said the idea could backfire, prompting hospitals that now give deeper discounts to try to raise their own negotiated prices to match what high earners are getting. Hospitals were skeptical of the move.