Articles

Crunching the numbers on Obamacare

The biggest changes from President Obama’s 2010 health reform law take effect nine months from now, so many Hoosier employers have started crunching detailed numbers to cost out their options.

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Study: Indiana individual health-claim costs to rise

A study by the nation's leading group of financial risk analysts shows the biggest driver of health insurance premiums will rise by more than 67 percent for Indiana residents' individual policies under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

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Amerigroup chief emerges as a frontrunner for WellPoint job

WellPoint Inc. is still considering former Amerigroup Corp. CEO James Carlson among several finalists to become CEO. Statements and filings this month have fueled speculation among analysts and shareholders that Carlson has vaulted ahead of other prospects.

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About 1 in 10 firms plans to drop coverage

Even as the rising cost of medical benefits has moderated, 11 percent of Indiana employers with 10 or more workers say they will terminate their medical coverage within the next five years, according to the latest survey from the benefits consulting firm Mercer.

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Anthem rolling out 401(k)-style medical benefits

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana will open a new online exchange to Indiana employers on Jan. 1, where workers could purchase medical benefits from a group of plans using a fixed sum of money given them by their employers.

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Medicaid expansion could cost $54M a year

A new set of projections released Monday estimates that expanding Medicaid coverage as called for in President Obama’s 2010 health reform law would cost the state government less than $54 million per year on average over the next decade—far lower than projections issued by the actuarial firm hired by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ administration.

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Analyst: WellPoint CEO search down to two

According to one Wall Street analyst, the search for a new CEO for Indianapolis-based health insurer WellPoint Inc. is down to two candidates: former Aetna Inc. CEO Ron Williams and Amerigroup Corp. CEO Jim Carlson.

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Low enrollment clouds Healthy Indiana Plan

Many Indiana Republicans want to use the Healthy Indiana Plan to expand Medicaid coverage in Indiana to more low-income adults. But the program—which offers health insurance based on health savings accounts to uninsured adults—has managed to attract just one-third of the Hoosiers it was designed for and has cost about twice as much per enrollee as predicted.

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WellPoint reorganizes into four business units

Separate Medicare and Medicaid divisions each will sell plans for those government-backed insurance programs. Another will handle commercial and individual business, and a specialty unit will provide dental, vision and disability coverage.

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Study: Newly insured to be poorer, less educated

New health insurance coverage created by the 2010 health reform law will attract a lower-income, less-educated and more diverse set of customers than the insurance markets that exist today, according to a new analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers. And that could create challenges for doctors and hospitals trying to care for those patients.

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Will Medicaid expansion actually work?

It would be “absurd” and a “travesty” for Indiana not to expand its Medicaid program, according to two local hospital officials. And yet other health care leaders do not expect expanded Medicaid coverage to provide nearly as much help to uninsured Hoosiers as hoped.

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