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Insurance
NOTIONS: An interdependent interaction with Bill Clinton
November 14, 2005
Bruce HetrickA few months ago, Butler University announced that former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush would be among the
speakers appearing on its Indianapolis campus during the school's 2005-2006 sesquicentennial celebration. Within hours of
the news breaking, my niece, a Butler junior and political science major, sent an e-mail asking if I'd like to join her for
the first of these appearances, the one by Clinton on Nov. 8. Having long ago rounded up my fellow neighborhood kids for...
MoreHealth Care Crusade: Physicians push for universal health coverage in Indiana
November 7, 2005
Tom Murphyome heart muscle had already died by the time family members coaxed the 50-something uninsured man into visiting Bloomington
Hospital a few weeks ago. The patient had suffered severe chest pains two days before his hospital visit but didn't seek treatment,
said Dr. Rob Stone, an emergencyroom physician there. "It was clearly because he was afraid of the bill," Stone said. By the
time he made it to the hospital, the man was suffering a second heart attack. Now he...
MoreEYE ON THE PIE: Don't let a little suffering wreck holidays
November 7, 2005
Morton MarcusI drove past the shrine at Clark and Addison in Chicago the day after the White Sox won the World Series. All was normal outside
Wrigley Field. There was no evidence of the momentous event in Houston the night before. The White Sox and their fans do not
exist for Cubs fans. There is an order to the world. For Hoosiers, people from Kentucky generally rank lower than folks from
Pennsylvania. Yet we know Hoosiers don't rank highly in the...
MoreDoctor group spreads its reach across state: American Health Network sees big growth in 2005
October 31, 2005
Tom MurphyAmerican Health Network started 2005 with no presence in the cancer-fighting field of oncology. Now the Indianapolis-based
doctor network boasts the largest medical oncology practice in the state, said Dr. Ben Park, its president and CEO. Within
the past several months, Park has watched his network add oncology practices with 32 locations across the state, 10 family
physicians in Muncie, and a $4 million Fishers Medical Arts Building, built in partnership with Indianapolisbased OrthoIndy.
He expects to see more growth....
MoreState revamps health coverage: New health savings accounts and high-deductible policies could help stem rising costs
October 31, 2005
Tom MurphyIndiana state government will unveil a fresh approach to insurance coverage next year when it offers health savings accounts
to its 33,000 employees and their dependents. The state wants employees to take more control of their health care and consequently
harness spiraling costs, Personnel Director Debra Minott said. The high-deductible AnthemBy-Design plan it chose to accomplish
that will be offered as one of five coverage options during an open enrollment that starts Oct. 31. "We really see a looming
crisis...
MoreHealth construction beat marches on in Hendricks: Population growth spurs health care development
October 31, 2005
Tom MurphyA growing population is breeding more multimillion-dollar health care projects in Hendricks County. Danville-based Hendricks
Regional Health will begin work next month on a $16 million medical office building more than a year after completing a $24.5
million hospital expansion, and St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is staking its claim with a $4.7 million medical office
under construction in Plainfield. Meanwhile, Clarian Health Partners plans to bulk up parts of the 76-bed hospital it opened
just last year in...
MoreCourt battles widen for ProLiance Energy: Gas marketer sues its insurer for millions in legal fees
October 24, 2005
Chris O\'malleyProLiance Energy LLC, already facing a $38.9 million judgment under a federal racketeering law, now is battling its insurer
in court to collect more than $2 million in legal fees for its defense. New Jersey-based Executive Risk Specialty Insurance
Co. not only refuses to pay the claim but also wants ProLiance to return $1.3 million in defense expenses paid before the
February verdict on behalf of Huntsville Utilities in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The jury...
MoreNOTIONS: Blessed by quality, cursed by access
October 24, 2005
Bruce HetrickHetrick last week won the Lawrence H. Einhorn, M.D. Award from the Little Red Door Cancer Agency. A cancer survivor himself,
Hetrick was recognized, in part, for IBJ columns about people with cancer, especially his wife, Pam Klein, who died in March
at 49. He also was honored for advocating anti-smoking legislation. Following are excerpts from his prepared acceptance remarks.
I don't deserve this award. I don't wield a scalpel, administer chemotherapy, invent drugs, change bed pans, hold patients'
hands,...
MoreBEHIND THE NEWS: Ex-exec cuts guilty plea; Brightpoint says it's not a target
October 24, 2005
Greg AndrewsOne of two former Brightpoint Inc. employees charged this month in an accounting scandal has agreed to plead guilty in return
for receiving a prison sentence of no more than 18 months. John Delaney, 40, former chief accounting officer of the wireless
phone wholesaler, could end up spending far less time behind bars. In his nine-page plea agreement filed in federal court
in Indianapolis, the U.S. Attorney's Office says it will argue for a lesser sentence. Delaney on Oct. 13...
MoreState changes malpractice tact: Insurance department using more outside legal help
October 17, 2005
Tom MurphyThe Indiana Department of Insurance has boosted the outside help it uses to defend its medical malpractice Patients' Compensation
Fund after seeing a record payout this summer. A staff shortage, concern voiced by providers and a ruling that could lead
to huge damage sums all spurred the move, said Amy Strati, who oversees the fund as the Insurance Department's chief counsel.
"The provider community has clearly said to us, 'We want you using experienced [medical malpractice] attorneys on the complex...
MoreWillingness to adapt keeps benefits firm growing: Key adjusts to ever-changing health insurance market
October 17, 2005
Scott OlsonLarry Dust capitalized on a then-radical health insurance concept 25 years ago that thrust him to the forefront of the corporate
movement to outsource employee benefits services. Much has changed in the world of health care since, but Dust and Key Benefit
Administrators Inc. continue to redefine the way employers approach insurance. "The cheese has moved in this business," Dust
said, "and if you don't believe it, you better get out." The 57-year-old Knox native entered the insurance industry after...
MoreVIEWPOINT: Unleash your employees' service potential
October 17, 2005
Tim MulherinAs anyone in the field of emergency management will tell you, the regrettably sluggish governmental response to the Hurricane
Katrina natural and manmade disaster boils down to the argument over jurisdictions (a perennial challenge in the world of
emergency management) and a gross lack of execution. As a result of the governmental infighting and dearth of critical decision-making
in the early stages of this catastrophe, American citizens were victimized. People suffered, people died. In the analysis
of the Hurricane Katrina...
MorePremiums continue to climb: Rate increases may dip, but not by very much
October 17, 2005
Tracy DonhardtreporterAfter four years of double-digit rate hikes, average health care insurance premiums rose less than 10 percent in 2005. And
they're expected to rise less than 10 percent again in 2006, according to several national surveys. But excuse employers if
they don't get excited about the trend. They are still faced with having to pay much higher prices or trimming benefits-or
both. Health care insurance premiums this year increased 9.2 percent, a 2-percent drop in the average increase from the...
MoreTaking aim at the middle: New Conseco Insurance leader says growth will be found in average households
October 17, 2005
Scott OlsonFour months into his job as president of Conseco Insurance Group, Michael Dubes is explaining his strategy to return the subsidiary
to profitability. Then, ice cream enters the conversation. Dairy Queen, he argued, continues to thrive despite an onslaught
of competitors offering more expensive treats. The key to the franchise's success is that it has never wavered from its middleincome
target audience, Dubes said. He is applying the same simple tactic to grow the group's portfolio of policyholders, while many...
MoreFree market is best hope for health care:
October 10, 2005
Clearly, the U.S. health care system has its share of problems. Costs are rising rapidly, some 45 million Americans are without
health insurance, and both doctors and patients decry their loss of options and control. But, would a government-run health
care system be any better? Single-payer health care systems have been proposed in a handful of states as the solution to the
problem of access for the uninsured. While single-payer plans can offer all citizens some type of health insurance...
MoreChild-safety concerns lead to new division: Company uses R&D to manufacture innovative car seat
October 10, 2005
Anthony SchoettleIndiana Mills & Manufacturing Inc. is creating a new division, launching a new product, and cutting a new path straight to
retail consumers. It's a big departure from the 45-year-old company's historical path to profitability. Westfield-based IMMI
has long made its money supplying a lengthy list of manufacturers and distributors in the transportation and heavy-equipment
sectors with its innovative seat belts, rollover systems for heavy trucks, and restraint systems for school buses and on-
and off-road commercial vehicles. But company...
MoreSpeaking of health care: Local experts weigh in on rising costs, the uninsured and whether our current system needs an overhaul
Public health priorities, executive salaries and the "gold rush" of health care construction were among the topics tackled
Sept
October 3, 2005
Public health priorities, executive salaries and the "gold rush" of health care construction were among the topics tackled
Sept. 21 in the latest installment of Indianapolis Business Journal's Power Breakfast Series. IBJ reporter Tom Murphy moderated
the panel discussion, attended by some of the area's foremost health care experts. Following is an edited transcript of the
often-spirited discussion, which included a brief interruption by protestors seeking medical insurance coverage for janitorial
staff who clean Anthem Inc. buildings. IBJ: Can you...
MoreInsurer may be low on targets: WellPoint's latest megadeal could be last for a while
October 3, 2005
Tom MurphyA lack of available targets may steer Well-Point Inc. away from its diet of multibilliondollar acquisitions after it digests
the latest purchase, New York-based Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurer WellChoice Inc. That, in turn, might slow the company's
frenetic growth rate, according to analysts who follow the health insurance industry. Blockbuster deals like the $20.8 billion
merger that created WellPoint last year swelled the health insurer into the biggest player in its industry. In 2004, it reported
a $960 million profit,...
MoreWellPoint company slapped over Medicare: AdminaStar Federal agrees to pay $6 million to resolve old fraud allegations
October 3, 2005
Tom MurphyA WellPoint Inc. subsidiary has agreed to pay $6 million to the federal government to resolve whistleblower accusations of
rampant Medicare fraud over a seven-year span in the 1990s. AdminaStar Federal altered claims information, overcharged the
government, and even hung up on customers to reduce call times and improve evaluations, according to civil lawsuits filed
by several whistleblowers in 1999 and 2000 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The Indianapolis-based
company administers and processes Medicare claims...
MoreCoalition targets disparities in minority health care: Group enlists CEOs to help it develop plan of action
October 3, 2005
Scott OlsonBlack people are nearly twice as likely to have diabetes than white people, less likely to engage in leisure activity and,
on average, die five years earlier. Those statistics from the Centers for Disease Control provide motivation for a local consortium
that wants to improve health care for minorities. Known as the CEO Health Disparities Roundtable, the year-old group has moved
from setting objectives to developing a plan of action. The plan is aimed at reducing health care disparities among...
MoreParents banking on storage of umbilical cord blood: Founder keeps research alive through Genesis Bank
October 3, 2005
Tracy DonhardtreporterBlood from the umbilical cord of a baby expected to be born in Indianapolis later this month will be collected after her birth
and saved for her 5-year-old sister, who has been diagnosed with cancer. The stem cells extracted from the baby's umbilical
cord blood might someday save the life of her sibling. While doctors at Riley Hospital for Children wait and see if the young
cancer patient responds to standard treatment over the next couple of years, the stem...
MoreM-Plan might be ready to deal: State's No. 2 health insurer talks merger with Ohio firm
October 3, 2005
Tom MurphyM-Plan Inc., Indiana's second-largest health insurer, has entered preliminary talks that could lead to a merger with Ohio's
oldest medical insurer. A source familiar with the discussions said they have centered on merging M-Plan's Indianapolisbased
parent, The HealthCare Group LLC, with Cleveland-based Medical Mutual of Ohio. The source, who asked not to be identified,
said Medical Mutual would end up with the majority stake. M-Plan, a nearly 20-year-old insurer owned partly by the city's
Clarian and Community hospital systems, would...
MoreCHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: Health care close to implosion?
October 3, 2005
The rash of specialty-hospital construction in the suburbs is a gold rush, driven more by greed than the desire to satisfy
an unmet need. The fact that 45 million people in America are without health insurance is a deplorable national disaster.
The best way to use America's health care system is to not get sick. These aren't the rants of a deranged publisher. These
are comments made by a doctor and a pair of health care executives who were panelists...
MoreAtlas tenderloin tradition lives on: Family pays homage to 'sticker lady' at Carmel deli
September 26, 2005
Scott OlsonBut her connection to the grocery runs deeper. Her mother, Debbie Davis, was an Atlas institution, earning her "sticker lady"
nickname from children who received the treats she kept in a toy treasure chest at her register. Debbie died in June 2004
at age 52, following a prolonged battle with breast cancer. In her memory, husband Mike Davis created the "Debbie's Make You
Smile Fund" to benefit the Indiana University Cancer Center. It is supported by the sale of the...
MoreVOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Charitable trusts: Creating gifts that keep on giving
September 26, 2005
Paul CoanFor people who are looking to help a worthy cause, and provide an income stream from a valuable asset, creating a charitable
trust may be a good solution. There are various options for the creation of charitable trusts. At most university and charity
Web sites, you'll see a reference to them. They've become a popular way for organizations to build their endowment. Charitable
remainder trusts With a charitable remainder trust, an individual places assets in the trust-stock, real estate, bonds,...
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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.
Pimlico
While I understand the severity of their actions as well as everyones eagerness to hold them responsible for thier lost funds, these gentlemen did know how to make money. Dispite thier poor decisions over the ownership of Fair they had made several wise investments which paid them greatly. This proves they do have the potential to rebuild so they can repay. I do not feel they should live the life of luxuary but given an opportunity could they find ways of repaying the debts? They are doing nothing now but being a burden on tax payers. Just a thought!!!!!
You guys have some "interesting" comments to say the least. I hope you will call in and share those opinions starting June 1. I'm looking forward to having you on the air.