Buffett bails on WellPoint
Influential investor sold off all 1.3 million shares in the Indianapolis-based health insurer during the first quarter.
Health Insurance
Articles
WellPoint meeting ends abruptly as Bush collapses
Board member William “Bucky” Bush, uncle of former President George W. Bush, appeared OK after a shortened meeting in which
shareholders approved
a “say-on-pay” proposal. Protesters gathered outside WellPoint’s headquarters after the meeting.
Q&A
Joe Guzman is a co-founder of Indianapolis-based Ascend USA, the new trade adopted after Guzman merged his
benefits brokerage, Benefits Strategies Inc., with benefits business Steven Goodin. The eight-person firm expects to hire
as many 15 new employees in the next year. Those workers will help Ascend diversify from health benefits into brokering commercial
insurance products.
Study: Quality, costs better at big practices
As physician mergers increase in Indianapolis, a new study has determined that quality at large, multispecialty practices is at
least 5 percent higher and costs are 3.6 percent lower than at small group practices.
Report: WellPoint, Aetna may need relief from cost mandate
The U.S. health overhaul’s mandate that insurers spend 80 percent of premiums on medical care may
need to be loosened
to keep companies from quitting the market for people who buy coverage on their own, state regulators said.
WellPoint, others may need relief from law’s spending mandate
The health law passed by Congress in March will force insurers like WellPoint to give rebates to customers next year if the
companies don’t meet the medical-spending minimums.
Braly, Obama spar again over WellPoint cancellation policies
CEO of Indianapolis-based health insurer wrote to Obama on Sunday to rebut the president’s criticism that WellPoint seeks
out breast cancer patients to cancel their policies.
Clarian Health sued over bills for services
The lawsuit filed this week in Marion Superior Court claims Clarian Health charges uninsured patients—or those receiving
treatments not covered by their insurance—unreasonably high prices.
Sebelius warns states to check WellPoint hikes
The Obama administration has asked state regulators to double-check premium hikes from Indianapolis-based health insurer WellPoint
Inc. after an audit found problems with proposed California increases.
Anthem Blue Cross withdraws big California rate hike
Anthem Blue Cross withdrew plans to raise health insurance rates for Californians by as much as 39 percent after an independent
audit determined the company’s justification for raising premiums was based on flawed data.
WellPoint profits rise, beat analysts’ expectations
The Indianapolis-based health insurer was helped in first quarter by a mild flu season, but it now expects to lose nearly
700,000 customers by year end.
Q&A
Dr. Stanley Adkins is chief medical officer of Indianapolis-based AmeriVeriCR, a startup that uses software to review medical
claims for errors. With health care reform and a new, larger set of
diagnosis codes phasing in over the next few years, AmeriVeri is betting that demand for its service will increase.
WellPoint gets lashing from Sebelius, again
Indianapolis-based health insurer trades jabs with U.S. health secretary after Reuters story claims insurer deliberately cancels
coverage for breast cancer patients.
Anthem Blue Cross postponing rate hike again
In January, Anthem Blue Cross notified many individual policyholders that their rates would rise as much as 39 percent March
1. After a public outcry, the company announced a two-month delay. Now that is on hold, too.
Rockefeller: Insurers don’t spend enough on medical care
Indianapolis-based WellPoint “reclassified” more than half a billion dollars of administrative expenses as medical
expenses when it was defining its medical-loss ratio, according to a report released by U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller’s
office.
Indiana warns consumers about questionable insurance
State insurance officials are warning Indiana residents about questionable health insurance policies being offered by companies
touting themselves as associations.
Q&A: Jim Parker
Jim Parker was an executive at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and WellPoint for 14 years, including a year and a half as
chief of staff to CEO Angela Braly. He now is president of his own consulting firm, Meridian Strategic Advisors, in Indianapolis.
He spoke about the impact of the new health reform law on health insurers.
Employers want cake, and to eat it, too
Employers are still trying to get their arms around what the new health insurance law will mean for them. But on the eve of
the law's passage last month, a survey by Indianapolis-based United Benefit Advisors LLC showed employers as a group had
no hope the law would reduce their costs but also no coherent plan for reforming the current system.
WellPoint, UnitedHealth, grapple with medical-cost mandate
A U.S. mandate forcing insurers led by UnitedHealth Group Inc. and WellPoint Inc. to spend 85 percent of revenue from premiums
on medical care is the newest front in the battle between the Obama administration and companies over industry profits.
Members: Anthem health plans subpar
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana fell slightly below average for customer satisfaction among scores of health
plans,
according to a new survey by California-based J.D. Power & Associates.