WellPoint competitor Aetna to buy Coventry for $5.6B
Aetna joins rivals WellPoint Inc. and Cigna Corp. in making big acquisitions as the U.S. government expands medical coverage.
Health Care
Articles
Alzheimer’s quest puts Lilly to test
Odds are long that Eli Lilly and Co.’s leading Alzheimer’s drug will show positive results when its Phase 3 trial results are released within a few weeks, but even the smallest improvement in the cognitive impairment of test patients would be a home run for Lilly.
Lilly to book $790M Amylin payment in third quarter
Eli Lilly and Co. will book about $790 million in pretax income in the third quarter thanks to an early payment from former drug development partner Amylin Pharmaceuticals.
Brater to retire as dean of IU medical school
Dr. Craig Brater, 66, has worked at the Indianapolis-based school for 26 years, including the past 12 as dean. The school is the second largest medical school in the nation and the only one in Indiana.
Lilly stock slips after competitors halt Alzheimer’s plans
Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Elan Corp. are ending most plans to develop an Alzheimer’s drug after a second trial failure. Eli Lilly is developing a similar treatment.
Governors aside, feds building health care exchanges
The feds may be gaining on GOP governors who've balked at carrying out a key part of the health care overhaul law. Opponents of the law say they won't set up new private health insurance exchanges. But increasingly it's looking like Washington will do it for them.
Despite funding dip, IU bets on brains
The city that brought the world Prozac and other neuroscience drugs is doubling down on brain research with a new $52 million research center near Methodist Hospital.
Cautious hospitals trouble Hill-Rom
The investor drubbing sustained by Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. last week stemmed not so much from the new acquisition it announced as from the gloomy outlook in the North American hospital market.
Lilly braces for decline in Europe
Austerity and upheaval in Europe have not hurt Eli Lilly and Co.’s $4 billion-a-year drug business there, but the company is moving forward with plans to survive a coming swoon anyway.
Health insurers’ anti-fraud bid seeks to ease profit-limit rule
The Obama administration Thursday announced a partnership with the industry in which WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc. and other insurers may try to share more billing data with the government to root out fraud.
Multi-employer health clinic to open downtown
NoviaCare Clinics LLC will open a multi-employer health clinic in downtown Indianapolis this fall, opening the door for smaller employers to add the service to their health benefits.
Cook Medical shelves Midwest expansion plans
Cook Medical Inc. had been planning to open five new manufacturing plants over the next five years in small communities around the Midwest, including Indiana, but has shelved those plans because of the hit it will take from a new U.S. tax on medical devices.
Hill-Rom stock swoons after $400M acquisition
Investors reacted negatively Thursday after medical equipment and hospital bed maker Hill-Rom Holdings Inc. on Wednesday said it was acquiring Aspen Surgical Products for $400 million.
Lilly’s quarterly profit falls, but tops analyst expectations
Eli Lilly and Co. reported second-quarter profit that fell less than analysts had expected. The company raised its outlook for the rest of the year.
Potential Alzheimer’s drug fails first of four key trials
Bapineuzumab is in a race with a similar product from Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. to become the first therapy to target a cause for Alzheimer’s, rather than just its symptoms.
Survey: Solo practices nearly gone
Only 1 percent of the jobs given to Texas-based Merritt Hawkins over the past year were for solo practitioners, the physician recruiting firm reported this month. That’s down from 22 percent of all searches in 2004.
Suburban hospitals charm patients
A little extra Medicare money will flow to suburban hospitals in the Indianapolis area, based on recent patient satisfaction scores. But hospitals in the core of Indianapolis—and hospitals that do significant amounts of teaching medical students—may take a hit.
Insurance company key to Franciscan-American Health partnership
Hospital system’s health insurance unit has IT infrastructure that will allow physicians to participate in Medicare’s shared savings program.
Westfield health IT firm sold for $473 million
MaxIT’s 1,300 employees, who provide information technology services to hospitals and physician practices, will join Virginia-based Science Applications International Corp.
IU Health makes prestigious Honor Roll list
For the first time, Indiana University Health has been named to U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals Honor Roll," a distinction that goes to the top medical centers in the country.