Walmart to leave CVS pharmacy network
The dispute between the world’s largest retail chain and the prominent pharmacy-benefits manager could roil the business of filling prescriptions.
Health Insurance
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New rule will make hospitals list prices, but what patients pay could differ greatly
Starting Jan. 1, every U.S. hospital will be required to post standard charges online for every item and service they provide, from bandages and drugs to operating rooms and organ transplants.
Firm crusades for insurers to cover alternative therapies
Carmel-based American Specialty Health specializes in connecting patients with chiropractors, acupuncturists, physical therapists and others who treat pain without using pharmaceutical drugs.
Trump administration slashes Obamacare sign-up assistance
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Tuesday announced steep funding cuts for sign-up assistance through state-based programs called “navigators.”
Anthem’s pharmacy-benefits-management unit off to bumpy start
Brian Griffin, the leader of Anthem’s new PBM, IngenioRx, quit on May 8 with no warning to become CEO of Michigan-based Diplomat Pharmacy. Now Anthem is scrambling to adjust.
Health maintenance organization MDwise struggles to find way forward
The not-for-profit that helps low-income Hoosiers get health care coverage and social services lost $60 million in 2016 and cut about 80 jobs last year.
IndyGo’s daunting task: Turn drivers into health fanatics
Since starting a wellness program in 2010, IndyGo has seen employee participation climb from just a few, skeptical workers to 97 percent of the workforce.
Secret discounts keep drug bills from soaring, middlemen say
Express Scripts Holding Co., one of the biggest pharmacy-benefits managers, says the drug-price deals it cuts behind closed doors are saving consumers a lot of money.
Feds approve work rules for HIP 2.0, more addiction funding
As many as 130,000 of the 400,000 people now covered by the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 will be required to work, take part in school or training, or do community service to continue receiving insurance benefits in 2019.
Amazon, Buffett, Chase team up to cut health care costs for workers
News on Tuesday that Amazon was forming a new company with JPMorgan Chase and Warren Buffett’s big-pocketed Berkshire Hathaway sent shock waves through the health care industry.
Obamacare sign-up tally dips slightly, to 8.7 million
HealthCare.gov enrollment reached nearly 95 percent of last year's level, outperforming projections in a show of consumer demand, despite a shortened sign-up season and big cuts in the ad budget.
All eyes on Anthem after CVS megadeal
Pressure is building on the insurer to drop its conservative, bread-and-butter approach after one of its biggest rivals, Aetna Inc., agreed to be bought by drugstore chain CVS Health for $69 billion.
Anthem confirms appointment of Boudreaux as CEO
Former UnitedHealth Group executive Gail Boudreaux, 57, is succeeding Joseph Swedish, 66, who will serve as executive chairman until mid-2018.
Trendy high-deductible health insurance plans lead patients to skip care
High-deductible health plans are booming in popularity, but, in an effort to save money, too many people are skipping preventive care even though such visits are covered 100 percent.
Employers, workers brace for another round of health premium increases
The National Business Group on Health is projecting the total cost of providing medical and pharmacy benefits to increase 5 percent for the fifth consecutive year in 2018.
Anthem takes harder line on ER visits
Starting Oct. 1, Anthem said, it could deny claims for hundreds of non-emergency diagnosis codes, such as bruises, rashes, minor burns, swimmer’s ear and athlete’s foot.
Flat-fee payment model bypasses traditional health insurance
Without dozens of insurance claims to file and follow up, physicians cut administrative overhead, reduce costs and keep their practices limited to a few hundred patients, rather than a few thousand.
Worry rises over future of HIP 2.0 insurance program
Indiana hospitals are bracing for congressional action that could mean deep cuts in Medicaid, which funds the state’s popular health insurance program for low-income adults.
Anthem vows failed deal won’t derail growth plans
Just weeks after abandoning its proposed $48 billion merger with rival Cigna Corp., the Indianapolis-based health insurer is looking for its next deal. But this time, it is likely to be much smaller.
Insurance giant buying American Health Network doctor group
In the latest sign of health care consolidation, Indiana’s largest independent physician group has agreed to be acquired by the nation’s largest health insurer for $184 million.