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 6, 2013
J.K. WallBrian and Emily Kahn had virtually identical physical therapy. He paid much more than she did. Why? Because of where the therapy
took place.
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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 6, 2013
Bob McDonaldThe statistics we hear so often are clear. As a community, we are not in an enviable place. We smoke more, exercise less and
weigh more than the national average, resulting in more diabetes than average.
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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 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 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 13, 2013
J.K. WallThe Indianapolis-based health insurer saw its stock tumble as much as 4.8 percent Wednesday morning after it unexpectedly
named career hospital executive Joe Swedish to be its next CEO.
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February 11, 2013
J.K. Wall
Don Kelso is executive director of the Indiana Rural Health Association. The trade group is trying to help
its members navigate the changes coming from health care reform and the financial pressures being created by federal budget
cuts. The association recently launched a service for its members called SuiteStats, which is data-management software to
help hospital executives identify areas ripe for cost-cutting.
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February 11, 2013
J.K. Wall
Up until now, Gov. Mike Pence and his fellow Republicans in the Legislature have been playing a game of poker with the Obama
administration over a potential expansion of Indiana’s Medicaid program. But all of a sudden, Indiana’s hand just
got quite a bit weaker.
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February 4, 2013
J.K. WallIn the era of health care reform, hospitals will face two new challenges: They will need to run higher-volume, lower-margin
businesses, and they’ll be on the hook financially for what patients do even when they’re not receiving health
care. Community Health Network’s new partnership with Walgreens’ Take Care Clinics is designed to help address
both issues.
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January 19, 2013
Scott OlsonA portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requiring companies in 2014 to begin offering health insurance
to more workers is causing a lot of anxiety.
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January 14, 2013
J.K. WallSince 2009, Indianapolis-based Anthem has doled out $14.5 million in bonuses to physicians based on their scores in quality
reports generated by Quality Health First.
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January 14, 2013
J.K. WallFranciscan St. Francis Health and American Health Network continue to get deeper into the accountable care organization concept
being promoted by the federal Medicare program under the 2010 health reform law.
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January 7, 2013
J.K. WallLast week’s fiscal cliff bargain in Congress dealt a potentially fatal blow to a new health insurance plan, called Remedy
Indiana, that was set to launch this year.
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December 17, 2012
J.K. Wall
Chicago-based OkCopay Inc. posts prices offered by Indianapolis health care providers, many of which have agreed to give
cash-paying patients a price roughly equivalent to those charged to insured customers. The site also includes pricing information
from health care providers that do not give cash-paying patients an additional break.
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December 3, 2012
J.K. WallEven 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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November 26, 2012
J.K. Wall
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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November 26, 2012
J.K. WallIU Health and Community enjoyed net gains of $267 million and $23 million, respectively, from the hospital assessment fee
program during the fiscal year ended June 30.
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November 24, 2012
J.K. WallSkyrocketing health care costs prompt search for new ways to improve lifestyle choices.
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November 5, 2012
J.K. WallA new agreement in Wisconsin provides a glimpse of the kind of “narrow network” arrangements that Indianapolis-based
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield might attempt in Indiana.
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October 8, 2012
J.K. WallNew 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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October 2, 2012
Indianapolis Business Journal convened a panel of experts at its Health Care & Benefits Power Breakfast on Sept.
28 to talk about industry issues including Medicaid, on-site health clinics and narrow networks. Panelists included Robert
J. Brody, president and CEO of Franciscan St. Francis Health; Michael N. Heaton, partner, Katz Sapper & Miller; Dr. Gregory
N. Larkin, commissioner, Indiana State Department of Health; Vicki F. Perry, president, CEO, Advantage Health Solutions Inc.;
Dr. Ram Yeleti, president, Community Physician Network. The following is the unedited transcript of the discussion.
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October 1, 2012
J.K. WallIt 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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In my opinion the estridge companies are crooks. They filed bankruptcy on their 'track housing' side of the business two weeks before they closed on one of my clients' homes. When my client first interviewed Estridge as a builder 6 months before, they specifically ASKED about the solvency of their business, knowing that some builders were struggling. Estridge truly misrepresented their financial situation at that time. I suppose I am more unhappy with the whole system than I am with the builder because what the heck==you can file bankruptcy on 'track homes' but still keep building and make money off of 'custom built' homes??? How ridiculous! They are all homes. How can a company be allowed to bilk thousands of dollars from their subcontractors but still be allowed to build houses?? they should have been made to pay back all their unpaid contractors before being allowed to profit from building any more houses! This alone makes them and the system crooks in my eyes. I would never build an estridge home and I would not recommend for my clients either. If they were truly 'bankrupt' how could they afford to keep building homes anyway??? The whole system needs fixed.
I live a couple blocks east of the Angie's campus and my house is assessed for ~$160,000. If I could get that amount, let alone $384,000 (a 140% bonus), I'd sell in a minute. Either Angie's stockholders just got fleeced, or Angie's is getting about a 58% discount on their property taxes, if these properties are actually worth what they paid Mr. Oesterle for them. Which do you think is the case?
Perhaps the IMA board is really to blame! They agreed to hire Charles. They can't seemingly find donors among themselves, or bring in new blood that will support the museums operating budget with an expanded museum and money to provide curators with something to do (ie buy art). The headlines of disarray at the museum and mass firings are hurting the reputation of the museum for some time to come. If people on the board had misgivings, perhaps they shpuld have more forcefully opposed efforts that they have seemingly been unable to fund, like expansion and the costs it has created!
See, I told u Indyman and Dipsicle....this 8 days is overkill. It's barely worth a weekend....great job Tony George! Your dream has been fulfilled....he fans want the I r l back. Thats how good it was.....and that sucked.
I have been in training for a short time now but right off I can see that safety and quality are the number one issues, my experience as of late has been a positive one, the employees along with Jeff the plant manager and the operation supervisor as well as the engineers are a highly motivated group of people, what an asset for the area to have and for company's in need of a quality metal products.