PANEL: Reforms to rapidly reshape health care
Reform-induced changes dominate health care panel of health care experts convened by Indianapolis Business Journal.
Insurance
Articles
Medical supplier Hill-Rom makes $42M fraud settlement
Hill-Rom Holdings Inc., a medical-equipment company based in Indiana, agreed Tuesday to pay nearly $42 million to settle a government lawsuit. The government had accused the company of knowingly submitting false claims to Medicare from 1999 to 2007.
Judge stays decision in WellPoint policyholder case
Former policyholders of WellPoint Inc., who won a right to a class-action trial over their claims that they were shortchanged when the company went public a decade ago, will have to put their trial plans on hold.
WellPoint buying private health insurance exchange
The deal helps WellPoint compete for employers with the U.S. state-run marketplaces set to open in 2014 under President Obama’s health-care overhaul.
Survey: Workers’ health care costs rose in high single digits
Benefit consultant Nyhart says the typical Hoosier is paying $105 per month for single coverage and $417 per month for family coverage.
Study spoils common wisdom on health spending
The Thomson Reuters study that showed Anderson as the highest-spending health care market in the nation also concluded that treatment and spending vary widely from one locale to another with no clear reason based on demographics or health outcomes.
WellPoint spent $1.3M on federal lobbying in 2nd quarter
WellPoint lobbied on issues tied to the overhaul's implementation and regulations for accountable care organizations, which are networks of hospitals, doctors, rehabilitation centers and other providers that coordinate a patient's care.
Economy still tough, but a few Hoosier industries on upswing
Two years into the economic recovery, bright spots in the Indiana job market are still hard to find. The insurance industry is one of the few glimmers of light on Indiana’s horizon. Others include engine makers, nursing homes and temp agencies.
Anthem not quite so dominant
Revised Insurance Department data show the Indianapolis-based carrier claims about 60 percent of the individual health insurance market in Indiana, down from a previously reported 65 percent.
Five individual insurers leaving Indiana
Hartford-based Aetna Inc. and Philadelphia-based Cigna Corp., the nation’s third- and fifth-largest health insurers respectively, have announced their departure from Indiana’s individual health insurance market.
Mother Nature again slams insurer Baldwin & Lyons
Catastrophic tornadoes in Alabama and Missouri took their toll on second quarter results for Indianapolis-based insurer Baldwin & Lyons Inc.
Aetna latest out of Indiana individual health market
The nation's third-largest health insurance company is the latest to leave the individual policy market in Indiana in another sign of diminishing competition.
Consumers grow allergic to health care costs
Deloitte found that 20 percent of consumers have cut back on health care spending and 75 percent say the economic slowdown has had some impact on their willingness to spend on health care.
WellPoint fails to profit on consumer pullback
With recession-weary Americans going to the doctor less, health insurer WellPoint Inc. should be enjoying higher profits. But it isn’t working out that way.
Health care use trend may temper premium hikes
Consumers may catch a little break when their health insurance policies renew. Lower-than-expected use of health care has helped push insurer earnings higher and that may temper how much they increase premiums.
WellPoint profit falls but exceeds Wall Street expectations
Indianapolis-based WellPoint earned $702 million in the latest quarter after earning $722 million a year ago. It also raised its full-year profit forecast.
WellPoint insures two-thirds of Hoosier workers
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.
Express Scripts to buy Medco for $29.1B in cash, stock
Express Scripts Inc. agreed to buy Medco Health Solutions Inc. for $29.1 billion to become the largest pharmacy-benefits manager in the United States. Both have central Indiana operations.
Primary care gets a new approach: prevention
A budding model for primary care that encourages the family doctor to act as a health coach who focuses as much on preventing illness as on treating it has shown promising results and saved insurers millions of dollars.
Birth control coverage required in U.S. health plan
Health insurers led by WellPoint Inc. would be required to cover birth control pills and devices at no cost to patients under the recommendation of a top U.S. scientific advisory board.
.