May 20, 2013
J.K. WallWith premiums for health insurance likely to head north next year as President Obama’s health care reform law fully
takes effect, both individuals and employers will pay for more health care out of their own funds and buy less insurance.
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May 20, 2013
J.K. WallThe study results, which will be released Monday afternoon, are part of Indianapolis-based Lilly’s campaign to get Medicare
to pay for use of its brain imaging agent Amyvid.
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May 13, 2013
Rather than raising prices on private health insurers to make up for inadequate payments from the government, hospitals across
the country have been raising prices just because they can, according to a new study.
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April 29, 2013
J.K. WallAfter a four-month debate, the Legislature ended pretty much where it started on a potential expansion of Medicaid: Lawmakers
are letting Gov. Mike Pence go one-on-one with President Obama to see what kind of deal he can strike.
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April 22, 2013
Associated PressMany investors expect the health care overhaul's coverage expansions to affect WellPoint more than other insurers.
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April 16, 2013
Associated PressThe possibility of thousands of Indiana residents becoming eligible for addiction treatment under the federal health overhaul
has state officials and providers preparing for an expansion.
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April 15, 2013
J.K. WallProponents of a Medicaid expansion in Indiana are playing up the economic boost the state and its businesses could see from
the expansion of health insurance coverage called for by President Obama’s health reform law.
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April 15, 2013
J.K. WallMike Ripley, a health care lobbyist for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, talked about the business group’s
views on a proposed expansion of coverage by the Indiana Medicaid program. As it stands now, the 2013 Indiana budget bill
includes a plan passed by the Senate as Senate Bill 551, which would have OK’d the Pence administration to negotiate
a block grant deal with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand Medicaid coverage via a program like the
Healthy Indiana Plan. When that bill was altered in the House to remove the block grant concept, the Chamber dropped its support.
The altered House bill is now dead, and the original Senate plan has been added to the budget bill. Its ultimate fate is still
unknown
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April 11, 2013
Bloomberg NewsIndiana, Michigan and South Carolina saw the steepest declines in employer-backed coverage from 2000 to 2011, according to
a study released Thursday.
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April 6, 2013
J.K. WallEven though Obamacare likely will expand health insurance coverage to an extra 500,000 Hoosiers over the next few years, IU
Health expects per-patient reimbursements to fall as the federal government, employers and patients all push back on sky-high
health care costs.
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April 2, 2013
Bloomberg NewsShares of Indianapolis-based WellPoint rose along with those of other medical insurers Tuesday morning after the U.S. government
reversed a decision to cut a key Medicare payment rate, offering them an increase instead.
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April 1, 2013
J.K. WallIndiana could expand health insurance coverage for low-income Hoosiers entirely through private health insurance plans under
an amendment adopted by a House committee on Monday. The change was immediately criticized by the Pence administration.
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April 1, 2013
J.K. WallIndiana’s laws requiring hospitals to release price information are woefully inadequate, according to a report by two
health insurance reform groups. Indiana was among 29 states to receive an "F" grade.
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March 25, 2013
J.K. WallGov. Mike Pence’s strategy for expanding Medicaid in Indiana is to convince or cajole the Obama administration to let
him use the Healthy Indiana Plan to do it. A recent deal in Arkansas seems to make it more likely that the Obama team will
give Pence what he wants.
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March 20, 2013
Associated PressHospital officials praised Indiana's medical savings accounts but some consumer advocates panned them Wednesday during
a public hearing as Gov. Mike Pence seeks federal approval to use the Healthy Indiana Plan to expand Medicaid in this state.
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March 18, 2013
J.K. WallThe debate over expanding Medicaid in Indiana so far has hinged on how much it will cost. But two recent studies suggest Hoosier
employers should be focused on how much a Medicaid expansion will save them: perhaps as much as $400 million per year.
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March 14, 2013
Associated PressIndiana Gov. Mike Pence defended his administration Thursday over criticism from Democratic lawmakers that they have imperiled
Hoosiers' health care by failing to follow proper procedures on Medicaid.
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March 13, 2013
Associated PressThe federal government has delayed action on Indiana's proposal to expand Medicaid because the state hasn't received
public comment on the proposals, but the issue could be resolved quickly with two hearings set for next week, a spokeswoman
for Gov. Mike Pence said Wednesday.
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March 11, 2013
J.K. WallA fellow conservative provided some support for Gov. Mike Pence’s claim that an expansion of Medicaid will become a
“baby
elephant” that eats up larger and larger shares of state resources.
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March 4, 2013
J.K. WallWhile rural hospitals face sharp reductions in their operating incomes, most of the four major hospital systems based in Indianapolis
will see only a marginal impact on their finances.
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March 4, 2013
J.K. WallThe Indiana Senate voted unanimously last week to require the Indiana Medicaid program to pay home health agencies, rural
health clinics and federally qualified health centers for doing medical consultations, diagnoses and monitoring using videoconferencing,
telephones or computers.
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March 1, 2013
J.K. WallThe sequestration plan kicking in Friday will chop Medicare payments to hospitals, doctors and nursing homes by 2 percent,
beginning April 1. One study estimates that the cuts could result in 10,000-plus job losses in Indiana alone.
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February 26, 2013
Associated PressThe Indiana Senate voted Tuesday to expand Medicaid using a state-run program, as lawmakers and Gov. Mike Pence continue negotiating
how the state should cover an estimated 400,000 low-income residents.
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February 24, 2013
Associated PressThe cost of health care for an additional 400,000 low income residents is something nobody in the Indiana Statehouse seems
to be able to agree upon this year, even as the crucial decision about whether to expand Medicaid bears down on lawmakers
midway through their annual session.
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February 8, 2013
Associated PressDemocratic leaders in the Indiana General Assembly are seeking expanded Medicaid coverage with the argument that it will lower
health care costs statewide.
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Good ole' Obamacare. Thanks liberals and those who didn't bother to vote.
Yes. Blame those who were too lazy to go vote Obama out and those who voted him in again. That's my take on it. I know folks won't get it on the left. OK. Start berating me now!
Serioulsy, people are AGINST this project? Most communities would be salivating over a project like this. You'd rather have an empty eye-sore gas station and shacks posing as apartments? This project is exactly what BR needs. BUILD IT MR MAYOR. And yes, I am a BR resident, and have been for 20 years.
As a St. Vincent employee of over 20 years, I am saddened and disheartened by this announcement. Unfortunately, as the healthcare "industry" continues on this political and corporate path, all that St. Vincent Hospital has stood for spiritually for its employees and this community is being sucked dry. I know it truly has no choice. It is not just Obamacare or just competition or just any single thing. This trend started long before I was even born when the government became involved in healthcare and it became an "industry." I grieve for those who will lose their jobs, one of whom may be me, but I also grieve for this hospital which I have served for over 20 years. May God give us and it the grace to withstand the future of healthcare.
Why do people constantly harp on this issue and act ignorant about what a city population measures? A city's population is the city's population. There is no argument or debate about it. If you want to measure the density of a city--measure it. If you want to measure the size of a metropolitan area, then measure the metropolitan population. City boundaries cover different sized areas--and they always have (though the disparity has probably increased since about 1900 or so when more cities began annexing their surrounding communities). For example, San Francisco only covers 49 square miles while Houston cover nearly 600 square miles. No one argues about the population rankings of either city even though they clearly cover extremely different sized areas. Indianapolis is the 13 largest city by population in the U.S. That is a fact. While the population of a metropolitan area may give you a better sense of how large a community is, as noted, even metro areas can vary widely in the size of geographic area they cover--so that is not a perfect comparison either.