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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Health care reform will add roughly 500,000 Hoosiers to the Medicaid program and, in spite of great criticism of that expansion, a new study suggests Medicaid coverage does help consumers get more care, have fewer unpaid bills and feel better.
The fact is that hospitals are paid three to four times for physician ancillary services.
Companies that drop insurance coverage could, without spending any more money than they are now, give workers an 11-percent raise or else help them save as much as $2,000 per year buying health coverage in one of the exchanges, IBJ calculations show.
WellPoint Inc., the nation's largest health insurer based on membership, spent about $1.5 million lobbying the federal government in the first quarter, as the health care overhaul debuted a new restriction that concerned managed care companies.
Only 19 of the 63 companies writing individual health insurance policies in Indiana have been meeting the new 80-percent medical-loss threshold of the health care reform law, potentially triggering a refund for customers.
U.S. insurers led by WellPoint Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. failed to get federal regulators to change a rule in the 2010 health-care overhaul that triggers a review of any premium increases exceeding 10 percent.
The problem is, too many people make unhealthy choices and the consequences of these choices become everyone’s problem.
Health reform could accelerate trend toward two tiers of care, with concierge services like Dr. Matt Priddy offers at the top and long waits and minimal attention at the bottom.
The ultimate test of whether buybacks are good deals for shareholders hinges on whether the price paid for the stock proves over time to have been a bargain or inflated.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s vision for accountable care organizations foresees doctors and hospitals shifting to global capitation payments and employers getting bigger discounts if they allow their workers access only to health care providers in a specific organization.
Susan Rider is an employee-benefits account manager at Indianapolis-based Gregory & Appel Insurance. On July 1, she will become president of the Indiana State Association of Health Underwriters. She spoke about the first-year impact of the 2010 health reform law and further changes to come.
Health reform will make health insurance a less-profitable business, but WellPoint Inc. got a vote of confidence from bond analysts because health-reform rules have turned out milder than expected and WellPoint’s financial performance has been particularly strong as the economy recovers.
Premiums for private health insurers in China are expected to rise to $90 billion by 2020 from $9 billion now, and WellPoint Inc. is angling for a big piece of that pie.
In the face of new health reform restrictions, expect more small employers to opt for self-funded health benefits, concludes a report this week from Indianapolis-based United Benefit Advisors.
Indiana University Health is the latest system to drill employees ranging from clerks to physicians in how to treat patients.
