Many small firms to opt out of health benefits in 2015
Many employers with fewer than 50 workers kept their health plans for 2014, but a growing number say they’ll drop group coverage at the end of this year.
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WellPoint raises its 2013 profit forecast
The new forecast roughly matches what Wall Street analysts were already expecting. WellPoint will reveal its actual 2013 financial results on Jan. 29.
3,400 people being added to Healthy Indiana Plan
Family and Social Services Administration Secretary Debra Minott announced Friday the state had culled through an extensive waiting list and accepted the new applicants for coverage.
Group led by WellPoint to partner on global health network
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association will form a combined provider network with London-based Bupa that will collectively include more than 11,500 hospitals in more than 190 countries, the partners said Thursday.
Lawmakers consider state-assisted retirement plan
Senate Bill 66 creates a state-assisted savings plan for retirement. The bill is opposed by the Association of Indiana Life Insurance Companies.
WellPoint seeks more Obamacare biz by extending deadline
Two of the largest U.S. health insurers are giving Obamacare customers more time to pay their initial premiums as the industry tries to coax millions of people to take the final step in cementing coverage for 2014.
WellPoint to unload 1-800-Contacts unit
Financial terms of the sale to Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP weren’t disclosed. WellPoint paid a reported $900 million to buy the company in June 2012.
Health overhaul benefits take effect with new year
After a troubled rollout, President Barack Obama's health care overhaul now faces its most personal test: How will it work as people seek care under its new mandates?
Contract between UnitedHealthcare, IU Health to expire
IU Health has decided to still give patients the same “in network” co-pays and deductibles that UnitedHealthcare had negotiated under the expiring contracts, keeping patients’ costs the same until a new deal is reached.
With website on mend, Obamacare enrolls 2 million so far
The windfall comes at a critical moment for health care reform, which becomes “real” for many Americans on Jan. 1 as coverage through the insurance exchanges and key patient protections kick in.
Feds extend Obamacare deadline as customers rush site
The deadline to enroll in plans that begin Jan. 1 now is midnight Tuesday for most of the U.S. On Monday, healthcare.gov fielded nearly 50,000 simultaneous visitors, triggering a queuing system.
Analyst: WellPoint will lose money on Obamacare in 2014
Small business dumping, the uncertainty of Obamacare's exchanges, and the certainty of Obamacare's taxes will take a bite out of WellPoint's earnings next year. But company executives remain bullish on Obamacare's long-term impact.
Insurers give Obamacare enrollees more time for payments
Consumers who enroll in health plans through the new U.S. exchanges will get 10 extra days to pay their first premiums and still gain coverage effective Jan. 1, an insurance company trade group said Wednesday.
Indiana extends Healthy Indiana Plan through April
The Family and Social Services Administration announced Tuesday it is extending its Healthy Indiana Plan to participants who earn between 100 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
Costs of rare November storms, tornadoes top $1 billion
Tornadoes and thunderstorms that swept across the U.S. Midwest last month will probably cost more than $1 billion in economic losses, led by damage in Illinois and Indiana, according to insurance broker Aon Plc.
IU Health could fall out of network for UnitedHealthcare
IU Health, the state’s largest hospital system, and UnitedHealthcare, the state’s second-largest health insurer, have been unable to come to terms on a new set of reimbursement contracts.
Anthem, insurance trust create Obamacare alternative
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has teamed up with the Indiana Manufacturers Association to give small manufacturers an option to side-step one of Obamacare’s new community rating restrictions.
Survey: One-third of Hoosier workers in high-deductible plans
An annual survey by the benefits consulting firm Mercer found that, among 75 Hoosier employers, 34 percent of workers are already enrolled in consumer-directed health plans. And that number is only going to go up due to new Obamacare rules.
FELDMAN: Affordable Care Act stirs paradoxes for employers
In addition to managing the complexity and challenges of the Affordable Care Act, employers are assessing the law’s impact on their Worker’s Compensation program. The debate ranges from minimal influence to significant, with many experts hedging their bets with a wait-and-see approach.
TABLER: Market is driving trend toward ‘public health’
The movement toward a “public health” model may be the most important current trend in American health care. Because the trend is more a result of market forces than of the Affordable Care Act, repealing Obamacare won’t stop it.