Insurer Humana’s quarterly profit climbs 13 percent
Humana Inc. raised its 2011 earnings forecast, following the lead set by other big insurers, including competitor WellPoint Inc.
Health Insurance
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Kaiser: Lack of competition endemic
In a new study, Indiana ranked as the 19th least-competitive state for individual health insurance and the 27th least-competitive for small-employer health insurance.
Insurance mandate lacks teeth, WellPoint CFO says
As constitutional challenges to the health reform law’s mandate to buy insurance advance, WellPoint Inc.’s chief financial officer reiterated that the company does not object to the mandate, just to its lack of penalties.
Judge slaps IU Health over billing
The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed a Marion Superior Court decision to dismiss a lawsuit by two uninsured patients who received care at IU Health North Hospital in Carmel.
Deficit committee could bite CNO
Medicare supplement policies are reportedly one of the targets of Congress’ special deficit-reduction committee—and that’s not good news for Carmel-based CNO Financial Group Inc.
Private exchange could boost WellPoint profits
WellPoint Inc.’s participation in buying a majority stake of the private health insurance exchange operator Bloom Health could help it get back to its roots as a health insurer—and make a bit more money in the process.
IU embraces medical homes to cut costs
Indiana University announced a partnership with the Indianapolis-based IU Health hospital system that will launch four primary care clinics in Bloomington, which can be visited for no extra charge by those enrolled in IU’s health plans.
PANEL: Reforms to rapidly reshape health care
Reform-induced changes dominate health care panel of health care experts convened by Indianapolis Business Journal.
Anderson’s GM culture, poor health blamed for high medical costs
Residents of the Anderson area—when they paid with health insurance provided by an employer—spent 76 percent more on health care in 2009 than the average American with employer health insurance, highest among all metropolitan areas in the nation.
Will ACOs really get off the ground?
The hype over accountable care organizations—something every major hospital in Indianapolis is moving to become—is increasingly being laced with skepticism as the economics behind the idea get more scrutiny.
Study spoils common wisdom on health spending
The Thomson Reuters study that showed Anderson as the highest-spending health care market in the nation also concluded that treatment and spending vary widely from one locale to another with no clear reason based on demographics or health outcomes.
Five individual insurers leaving Indiana
Hartford-based Aetna Inc. and Philadelphia-based Cigna Corp., the nation’s third- and fifth-largest health insurers respectively, have announced their departure from Indiana’s individual health insurance market.
Consumers grow allergic to health care costs
Deloitte found that 20 percent of consumers have cut back on health care spending and 75 percent say the economic slowdown has had some impact on their willingness to spend on health care.
WellPoint fails to profit on consumer pullback
With recession-weary Americans going to the doctor less, health insurer WellPoint Inc. should be enjoying higher profits. But it isn’t working out that way.
WellPoint profit falls but exceeds Wall Street expectations
Indianapolis-based WellPoint earned $702 million in the latest quarter after earning $722 million a year ago. It also raised its full-year profit forecast.
WellPoint insures two-thirds of Hoosier workers
Indianapolis-based WellPoint claimed 63 percent of all employees covered by small-group employers and 66 percent of the workers at large-group employers, according to Seattle-based actuarial firm Milliman Inc.
Not-for-profits vying with WellPoint may get $3.8B in loans
Not-for-profits that compete with insurers such as WellPoint Inc. are eligible for $3.8 billion in U.S. financing under the health law, and the government expects more than a third of the loans not to be repaid.
CBO: No great savings from health reform
Don’t expect the health reform law to tame health care costs. That’s the conclusion of the director of the Congressional Budget Office, who also suggested some of the simplest ways to moderate costs would be to roll back some of its key provisions.
Exchange could snag 1.1M Hoosiers
An estimated 1.1 million Hoosiers will obtain health insurance through a yet-to-be-created online exchange, according to the latest estimates from the task force guiding Indiana’s response to the 2010 health reform law.
More employers put faith in health savings accounts
Sizable Indianapolis companies like the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, consumer-ratings service Angie’s List, Marsh and Wilhelm Construction have switched to consumer-directed health plans. There’s some evidence nationally that the trend is set to accelerate.