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COBRA strikes with revised set of guidelines: Deferred compensation plans also subject to changes

January 3, 2005

Human resource workers may have little time to ease into the new year as they prepare for legal changes that erase some deferred-compensation loopholes and clarify COBRA notification. Last spring, the U.S. Department of Labor issued new guidelines for health care coverage obtained under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. In the fall, Congress took aim at deferred compensation. HR people not familiar with changes to both could stumble into problems, according to some Indianapolis attorneys. The Department of Labor…

Weight center waits: Bariatric surgery hospital had been scheduled to open in mid-2004

January 3, 2005

Michigan-based Forest Health Services LLC launched plans in 2003 to build a two-story inpatient bariatric hospital at Intech Park off 71st Street and then applied a year ago for a license to operate it. The hospital would treat people with severe weight problems. Workers completed most of the construction on the 37,000-squarefoot building last spring, but little has happened since. A letter filed last January with the Indiana State Department of Health said Forest Health anticipated a June or July…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Prices recover in 2004; expect same in 2005

January 3, 2005

A few weeks of big price changes, particularly on the up side, and the armchair economists seem to really come out of the woodwork. Oil prices peaked in October at levels 40-percent higher than in July, and so did rumblings about conspiracies, windfall profits and pricegouging. To hear some lunchroom conversations, as well as the saber-rattling of some attorneys general around the country, the only thing that keeps businesses of all kinds from fleecing the American public with unconscionable prices…

Seeking to sway politicians: Lobbyists savor the challenge of playing the game, which requires chess-like strategizing

January 10, 2005

When Maureen Ferguson was a lobbyist for the Indiana Petroleum Council, she went skiing for the first time, in Colorado. As her ski instructor was taking her up the mountain, he asked her what she did for a living. When she told him, he “went off” on how the oil industry was corrupt and running the government, and she recalled that she found herself fearing for her life. Now when someone asks Ferguson what she does, sometimes she tells them,…

Tax-law changes push investment: Congress raises contribution limits to savings plans, allowing workers to stash away more for retirement

January 10, 2005

While any serious debate over whether to privatize Social Security could turn messy, the message from federal lawmakers regarding your personal retirement plans is crystal clear. The advice coming from Washington, financial planners say, is to stash away as much as you can, because it may get tougher to make it on a monthly government allowance with an uncertain future. Evident again in this year’s changes to the tax law, which has become friendlier since a 2001 makeover, are across-theboard…

Standard Life deal on hold: Firm still trying to sell life insurance business

January 17, 2005

Standard Management Corp. ended a difficult 2004 the same way it started the year: trying to seal a deal to sell its life insurance business. The Indianapolis holding company announced in November a plan to sell Standard Life Insurance Company of Indiana to “an unaffiliated third-party buyer.” That marked the third time in 2004 that Standard entered into such an agreement, according to SEC filings. Company shares jumped 27 percent to close at $3.55 the day of the Nov. 22…

School-based clinics get boost from grant: Learning Well Inc. operates in 53 Marion County schools

January 17, 2005

Indianapolis-based Anthem Foundation gave Learning Well Inc. $100,000 to open two school-based clinics in Marion County and support its efforts to address childhood obesity and asthma. But the effect will go much further than that, one board member said. “We’re finally seeing stability and potential for growth,” said Betty Wilson, a member of Learning Well’s executive committee and CEO of The Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis, which has plowed millions into the program and is a driving force behind the…

Indiana IPOs break out of recent slump: Kite Realty, Republic Airways, Adesa among 5 state firms to test public waters

January 24, 2005

Hoosier-based companies registered five initial public offerings last year, a robust number considering not a single Indiana business went public in 2003. The uptick could signal the state’s economy, as well as the nation’s, is on the mend. Nationally, 233 companies raised $43 billion collectively to go public on the major U.S. stock exchanges in 2004, a 195-percent increase in the number of IPOs over 2003. And the performance could be even stronger this year, said Richard Peterson, a market…

Indiana off to head start in interpretation policies: State panel makes recommendations for certification

January 31, 2005

A trip to the emergency room is never planned, and it’s rarely pleasant. For those who don’t speak English, however, it can be downright bewildering. Imagine trying to communicate the details of your pain or ailment to a nurse or doctor when you can’t find the words, or deciphering an important document that needs your signature before treatment can begin. Fortunately, Indiana hospitals and other medical facilities have access to interpretation services-be it through full-time staff members or a dial-up…

Cancer plan enters action phase: State health initiative unveils multi-pronged strategy to take on deadly disease

January 31, 2005

But Dr. Greg Wilson, the department’s commissioner who stepped down Jan. 25 due to the change in administrations, realizes it’s going to take more than money to snuff out unhealthful habits, such as smoking. “Three-hundred-thousand dollars will not cure cancer in Indiana,” Wilson said. “We really have to utilize the private sec- tor and we really have to involve all the participants.” Those participants include 110 organizations that make up the Indiana Cancer Consortium, an effort initiated in 2001 to…

Advocacy office leader will keep job with state: Daniels administration retains Kernan appointee, who took new position in July

January 31, 2005

Amid all the resignations and terminations in state government recently, at least one holdover appointed by the previous administration is remaining on the job. And small-business advocates could not be more pleased. David Dorff, whom former Gov. Joe Kernan tabbed in July to lead the state’s new Office of Small Business Advocacy, received word from Gov. Mitch Daniels in early January that he would remain on staff. Kernan unveiled the agency last summer as part of a series of initiatives…

WellPoint gets warm welcome on market: Analysts see many reasons for stock’s attractiveness

January 31, 2005

The new year dawned bright for WellPoint Inc., with the freshly formed company’s stock price in the middle of what one analyst called “somewhat extraordinary” growth. Shares for the insurer jumped nearly $8 apiece on Dec. 1 to close at $109.10 the first day they traded under the WellPoint Inc. name. Before that date, the shares traded under Anthem Inc. Steady growth continued from there. The price hit a 52-week high Jan. 19 when it closed at $123.60, according to…

Employers target obesity through wellness programs: Overweight workers contribute to higher health costs

January 31, 2005

Companies enjoy seeing an increase in their bottom line as a reflection of positive growth. They don’t, however, like to see growth in employee “bottoms,” as evidenced by a national obesity epidemic that is becoming a public health crisis and is cutting into corporate profits through increased health care costs. A study by the not-for-profit, nonpartisan Trust for America’s Health reported that nearly 119 million American adults-65 percent-are overweight or obese. The group warns that obesity may soon overtake tobacco…

Growing groups carry clout: Successful physician organizations drive deals for new health care facilities

January 31, 2005

Indiana’s largest group of cardiologists was almost ready a few years ago to build its own specialty hospital in partnership with an out-of-town chain. The Care Group LLC had entered deep discussions with North Carolina-based MedCath Corp. to create a potent duo in a profitable field. The doctors told St. Vincent Health, which depended on them for cardiology expertise, “at the 11th hour” of their plans, said Dr. Skip Hallam, a cardiologist and Care Group CEO. “They stepped up to…

Mission: possible: Financial crisis averted, but work remains

February 14, 2005

Humane Society of Indianapolis saved itself in 2004. Poised on the brink of financial disaster, agency leaders came up with a deceptively simple recovery plan: Spend less, raise more and borrow some to make up the difference. So far, so good. Expenses last year came in about a half-percent under budget, fund-raising revenue was up 37 percent, and the shelter didn’t use as much credit as expected. Then there was the real victory-nearly 53 percent of the 8,985 animals that…

Shining the spotlight on state’s hospital care: Governor asks state Department of Health for a statewide sytem to report medical errors and quality

February 14, 2005

“You know more about the pizza you buy than the doctor you use,” the Clarian Health Partners CEO said recently. Evans likes talking pizza when he gives speeches about health care quality. He takes his comparison a step further when he explains how hospitals benefit by adding transparency. “If your business is transparent, that is your customer knows you use fresh pepperoni on your pizza and the guy across the street uses frozen pepperoni, the customer’s going to come to…

Supporters predict passage of waiver bill: Measure would allow uninsured to sign up for health care policies that exclude some pre-existing conditions

February 28, 2005

Indiana is one of only a few states in which individuals cannot agree to waive coverage for pre-existing conditions in order to get at least some type of health insurance. That could change this year, however. Dueling bills in front of the Legislature have passed out of the House and Senate and are being considered by the opposite chamber. Rep. Gerald Torr, R-Carmel, authored one of the measures and is confident some form of his legislation will pass. The object…

St. Vincent buys land near Lafayette for hospital: Market has long intrigued Indianapolis-based network

February 28, 2005

St. Vincent Health paid Arnett Health-System $3 million to $4 million for land Arnett owned along Interstate 65 in Tippecanoe County, said Rebecca Carl, Arnett vice president for marketing and communications. The two sides closed the deal in mid-February. Lafayette-based Arnett includes a health care plan and a physician group of 150 doctors, and covers a 14-county area centered on Lafayette. Its leaders want another hospital there even though Lafayette already has two, Home Hospital and St. Elizabeth Medical Center….

Bill keeps mandate debate swirling: Biz community favors stripped-down option

February 28, 2005

Small-business owner Gail Piltz, who is paying 31 percent more this year than he did a year ago to insure himself and his four employees, has a somewhat radical philosophy regarding health care insurance. His suggestion: Everyone should be responsible for his or her own health care plan, just like they are with their automobile and homeowner’s insurance. That way, he said, people might abuse the system less and make coverage more affordable. Piltz’s proposition has failed to gain traction…

Auction company packing up Winona: Closed hospital has potential buyer, attorney tells court Getting organized

March 7, 2005

“That’s to keep the spirits away, make ’em happy,” Brian Hayes explained as he turned past the blaring radio. Auctioneers and the occasional unexplained phenomenon have taken over Winona, as the closed hospital nears an April auction date for its remaining equipment. Hayes, of San Francisco-based Rabin Worldwide Inc., has piled up seven-day workweeks since early February cataloging and organizing the defunct hospital’s assets. All that work may go for naught, however, if the auction proposal dies in bankruptcy court…

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People

Rachel Johnson

Articles

COBRA strikes with revised set of guidelines: Deferred compensation plans also subject to changes

Weight center waits: Bariatric surgery hospital had been scheduled to open in mid-2004

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Prices recover in 2004; expect same in 2005

Seeking to sway politicians: Lobbyists savor the challenge of playing the game, which requires chess-like strategizing

Tax-law changes push investment: Congress raises contribution limits to savings plans, allowing workers to stash away more for retirement

Standard Life deal on hold: Firm still trying to sell life insurance business

School-based clinics get boost from grant: Learning Well Inc. operates in 53 Marion County schools

Indiana IPOs break out of recent slump: Kite Realty, Republic Airways, Adesa among 5 state firms to test public waters

Indiana off to head start in interpretation policies: State panel makes recommendations for certification

Cancer plan enters action phase: State health initiative unveils multi-pronged strategy to take on deadly disease

Advocacy office leader will keep job with state: Daniels administration retains Kernan appointee, who took new position in July

WellPoint gets warm welcome on market: Analysts see many reasons for stock’s attractiveness

Employers target obesity through wellness programs: Overweight workers contribute to higher health costs

Growing groups carry clout: Successful physician organizations drive deals for new health care facilities

Mission: possible: Financial crisis averted, but work remains

Shining the spotlight on state’s hospital care: Governor asks state Department of Health for a statewide sytem to report medical errors and quality

Supporters predict passage of waiver bill: Measure would allow uninsured to sign up for health care policies that exclude some pre-existing conditions

St. Vincent buys land near Lafayette for hospital: Market has long intrigued Indianapolis-based network

Bill keeps mandate debate swirling: Biz community favors stripped-down option

Auction company packing up Winona: Closed hospital has potential buyer, attorney tells court Getting organized