Sparse crowds at malls and "50 percent off" signs at The Gap and other stores offer clues as to how this holiday season is shaping up so far: It's the most discount-driven one since the U.S. was in a deep recession.
The Obama administration has been releasing more price and quality information, but it is coming in a rather useless form for patients. That’s a problem for the prospects of consumer-driven health care.
Laura Noblitt is a Zionsville-based occupational therapist with 25 years of experience in geriatric rehabilitation. She has spent half a decade riding shotgun with elderly drivers in central Indiana, determining whether it’s safe for them to stay behind the wheel.
Even though St. Louis-based Ascension Health cut nearly 900 jobs this year from its Indianapolis-based hospital subsidiary, St. Vincent Health, it wants to add 549 more to its service center here by 2016. Ascension, the largest Catholic hospital chain in the nation, opened a service center in Indianapolis in June 2011, and has hired 500 people since then. The service center workers perform human resources, purchasing, bill payment and supply chain management for all of Ascension’s hospitals and hundreds of its other health care facilities. As part of the expansion over the next three years, the service center will provide support services to the entire Ascension chain, which includes 150,000 employees at more than 1,900 locations spread over 24 states and Washington, D.C. St. Vincent cut 865 workers at the end of June. The staff cuts, which represented 5 percent of St. Vincent’s total Indiana employment of 17,300, were brought on by lower-than-expected patient volumes, congressional budget cuts and slower-than-expected growth in reimbursement rates. St. Vincent’s announcement was the first of several by Indiana’s largest hospital systems. In October, Indiana University Health eliminated 935 positions. And in October, Franciscan Alliance cut 925 positions. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Ascension up to $4.8 million in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants, if Ascension adds all 549 jobs it has promised.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, along with most other major insurers, will allow consumers who enroll in health plans through the new Obamacare exchanges 10 extra days to pay their first premiums and still gain coverage effective Jan. 1. That means consumers can wait to make their first payment until as late as Jan. 10. According to Bloomberg News, the Obama administration had asked insurers on Dec. 12 to give customers more time to pay and grant retroactive coverage. A few days of retroactive coverage is common in the health insurance industry. Anthem’s parent company, Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., will also let current members buy a new plan in the off-exchange individual market as late as Jan. 10 and still be covered retroactive to the first of the year. Many WellPoint and Anthem customers whose individual policies were canceled because the policies did not comply with Obamacare’s new rules, were automatically enrolled in a similar Obamacare-compliant plan off of the exchange. But now Anthem is allowing such customers to choose a different plan by the 10th of each month in either January, February or March.
Eli Lilly and Co., Pfizer Inc. and other large drugmakers will keep paying doctors to give talks about their products, leaving GlaxoSmithKline Plc alone for now in its decision to halt such compensation. According to Bloomberg News, United Kingdom-based Glaxo changed its policy after Chinese authorities accused the company of using cash and sexual favors to bribe doctors and health officials to promote product sales. But Lilly and other drugmakers say physicians are still in most cases the best source of information for their colleagues. “Few products in the world are as complex as an innovative medicine,” said Scott MacGregor, a spokesman for Indianapolis-based Lilly. He added that Glaxo’s move won’t change how Lilly does business. New York-based Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker, is “committed to fairly compensating health-care professionals, clinical investigators and institutions for the work they do,” Dean Mastrojohn, a spokesman for the company, told Bloomberg.
Bioanalytical Systems Inc. posted its second straight profitable quarter, and swung to a full-year profit, according to an announcement released Dec. 26. The West Lafayette-based provider of pharmaceutical testing services and equipment continues to try to turn around after a major restructuring in 2012. It earned $252,000 in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss the year before of nearly $2.7 million, much of which was due to restructuring charges. For the full fiscal year, Bioanalytical earned $789,000, compared with a loss of $6.3 million during the previous fiscal year. Revenue for the fiscal year fell nearly 22 percent, after the 2012 closure of testing facilities in Oregon and the United Kingdom. That helped reduce Bioanalytical’s expenses by one-third, boost its gross margin by nearly 50 percent, and turn its cash flow from operations from a negative $200,000 last year to $1.5 million in fiscal 2013.
The McDonald's restaurant inside Riley Hospital for Children will close this week, according to the Associated Press. Officials at Indiana University Health, which operates Riley, said they want to promote healthier foods than burgers, fries and sodas. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine issued a report in 2012, naming Riley one of the five worst children's hospitals for its food environment, with the presence of the McDonald’s listed as one of the biggest factors for the ranking. That report came two months after IU Health had joined the Partnership for a Healthier America, a group working to reduce childhood obesity. Since joining the partnership, IU Health has banned sugary drinks at its in-house eateries and will soon ban deep-fat fryers, although the partnership did not require those bans to extend to the independently operated McDonald’s. Next month, Riley will open a cafe in the lobby of the Simon Family Tower that will remain open 20 hours a day and offer many options, including those that appeal to children.
Indianapolis-based Hoosier Oncology Group has received a $1.9 million gift to help conduct clinical trials of new cancer treatments. The group, founded in 1984, said it would use the money in part to expand its capacity to store blood and tissue samples for later study. The gift came from the estate of Margaret M. Weeks, who was a schoolteacher in the Indianapolis Public Schools. She died in February at the age of 94. Since its founding, Hoosier Oncology Group has initiated more than 150 clinical trials involving more than 3,000 patients. The group was spun out from the Indianapolis-based Walther Cancer Institute in 2007.
IU Health has decided to still give patients the same “in network” co-pays and deductibles that UnitedHealthcare had negotiated under the expiring contracts, keeping patients’ costs the same until a new deal is reached.
Jonathan S. Nalli, 39, has led Porter Health System in Valparaiso since 2007. He will take over the 22-hospital St. Vincent system on Feb. 1.
Obamacare has officially arrived, but both conservatives and liberals are calling it awful. That means the real debate over health reform is just beginning.
-Newegg leased 412,808 square feet at WorldConnect@Ameriplex, Building 1, 6161 Decatur Blvd. The tenant was represented by Mark Writt and Scott Belfer of CBRE. The landlord, Industrial Developments International, was represented by Andrew Morris, Jeremy Woods and Andrea Hopper of Summit Realty Group and Doug Armbruster and Jeremy Kraus of IDI.
-Eagle Adjusting Services Inc. leased 12,588 square feet of industrial space at 14701 Cumberland Road, Noblesville. The tenant was represented by John Crisp of Cassidy Turley. The landlord, Taylored Systems, represented itself.
-R.S. Hughes leased 8,940 square feet of industrial space at 5058-5148 W. 79th St. The tenant was represented by Ken Boyd of Jackson & Cooksey. The landlord, Iron Point Titan Asset Management LLC, was represented by Bryan Poynter of Cassidy Turley.
-National Programming Service LLC leased 8,577 square feet at 7320 E. 86th St. The tenant was represented by Yumi Goodman of Colliers International. The landlord, East 86th Street Partners LLC, represented itself.
-Trophy Technologies LLC leased 8,568 square feet of industrial space at 8857 Bash St. The landlord, Westminster Funds, was represented by Todd Vannatta of Cassidy Turley. The tenant represented itself.
-Anixter Inc. leased 6,000 square feet of industrial space at 6911-7061 Corporate Circle. The tenant was represented by Jeffrey Harris of NAI Meridian Real Estate Services. The landlord, GI Partners, was represented by Russ Van Til and Bryan Poynter of Cassidy Turley.
-Scotlynn USA Division Inc. leased 4,813 square feet of office space at 8335 Keystone Crossing. The tenant was represented by Spero Pulos of Lee & Associates. The landlord, Sourwine Real Estate Services, was represented by Andrew Martin and Bennett Williams of Cassidy Turley.
-Rio Grande Fresh Mexican Grill leased 4,800 square feet of retail space at Hague Road Center, 20805 Hague Road, Noblesville. The landlord, Harshman & Hays Three LLC, was represented by Larry W. Harshman of Harshman Property Services LLC. The tenant represented itself.
-In Site Art Consulting Group Inc. leased 3,163 square feet of office space at 6330 E. 75th St. The tenant was represented by Matt Jackson of Jackson Investment Group. The landlord, Henderson Global Investors North America Inc., was represented by Bennett Williams and Todd Vannatta of Cassidy Turley.
-Skywave Technology Partners leased 3,000 square feet at 4000 Georgetown Road Shopping Center. The tenant was represented by Sharon Thompson of KW Commercial and Keller Williams Indy Metro North. The landlord, Stanford Property Management LLC, represented itself.
-Znachko Associates Inc. leased 2,500 square feet of office space at 5875 Castle Creek Parkway. The tenant was represented Mike Napariu of REI Real Estate Services. The landlord, LSREF2 OREO, was represented by Matt Langfeldt of Summitt Realty Group.
-Elite Management Services LLC leased 2,446 square feet in the Stock Yards Bank Building, 136 E. Market St. The landlord, Crown Stock Yards LLC, was represented by Larry W. Harshman of Harshman Property Services LLC. The tenant represented itself.
-Gilday & Associates PC leased 2,223 square feet at One Indiana Square. The tenant was represented by Yumi Goodman of Colliers International. The landlord, One Indiana Square Associates LLC, was represented by Ralph Balber of Newmark Knight Frank Halakar.
-Arch Eyebrows leased 1,200 square feet at Speedway Plaza, 6137 Crawfordsville Road. The landlord, Plaza at Speedway LLC, was represented by Scott Gray and Michael Cranfill of Sitehawk Retail Real Estate. The tenant represented itself.
-Health Spot leased 1,141 square feet at 9778 E. 116th St., Fishers. The tenant was represented by Kyle Hughes of Veritas Realty LLC. The landlord, Sunbeam Development Corp., was represented by Mark Perlstein of Sitehawk Retail Real Estate.
-OPYS Physician Services LLC leased 875 square feet in the Barrister Building, 155 E. Market St. The landlord, Crown Barrister LLC, was represented by Larry W. Harshman of Harshman Property Services LLC. The tenant represented itself.
Encore Health Network, a network of health care providers owned by Community Health Network, Indiana University Health and Deaconess Health, has added St. Vincent Health to its fold. The Indianapolis-based network will offer discounted access to St. Vincent doctors and hospitals in the Anderson, Carmel, Fishers, Indianapolis and Kokomo markets. Insurance companies, third-party administrators and employers contract with Encore and its Encircle network products to obtain discounts on medical services.
Indiana University Health and UnitedHealthcare entered the new year without a contract. That would normally mean UnitedHealthcare’s customers would pay higher prices at IU Health’s hospitals and physician offices. But IU Health has decided to still give patients the same "in network" co-pays and deductibles that UnitedHealthcare had negotiated under the expiring contracts, keeping patients’ costs the same until a new deal is reached. IU Health said in a press release it would apply the "in network" discounts only to the patient portions of its bills, not to the portions paid by UnitedHealthcare. The Minnesota-based health insurer first notified its customers on Dec. 2 that its contracts with IU Health could expire at year end. Such contracts typically shave 30 percent or more off the list prices of a hospital system’s services. The contract dispute could affect the roughly 400,000 Hoosiers that have employer-based or individually purchased insurance with UnitedHealthcare. That represents about 12 percent of the Indiana commercial market, according to data from Tennessee-based market research firm HealthLeaders-InterStudy. IU Health operates 20 hospitals and employs nearly 1,500 physicians around Indiana.
The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked an Obamacare requirement that religiously affiliated employers provide health insurance that includes birth control. The decision gives temporarily relief to Catholic plaintiffs that said Obamacare’s requirement to provide contraception coverage violated their religious freedom. In a related case, Indiana-based Franciscan Alliance and other Catholic organizations won a temporary injunction from a federal judge in Indiana, to allow the Supreme Court challenge to play out before Franciscan would be required to provide contraception coverage to its workers via its health insurance plan. "We simply asked that the government not impose its values and policies on plaintiffs, in direct violation of our religious beliefs," said Kevin Leahy, CEO of Franciscan Alliance, which operates three hospitals in the Indianapolis area. The Affordable Care Act required all health insurers to cover contraception at no cost to its health plan members and required all employers with 50 or more workers to provide health insurance to their workers. Both provisions were set to take effect Jan. 1.
Dr. Samantha Bouchie, an internist, has joined Community Physician Network in Noblesville. She earned her medical degree at Indiana University School of Medicine.
Dr. Rehan Haque, a pulmonary and critical care physician, has joined Community Physician Network in Indianapolis. He previously worked as an affiliate professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida. He earned a medical degree from Aga Khan University School of Medicine in Pakistan.
Dr. Rachel Morton, a pediatric hospitalist, has joined Community Physician Network, practicing at Community North Hospital. She earned a medical degree from the New York Medical College.
Dr. Lauren Rau, a pediatric hospitalist, has joined Community Physician Network, practicing at Community North Hospital. She earned her medical degree at IU School of Medicine.
Dr. Carla Weaver, a pediatric hospitalist, has joined Community Physician Network, practicing at Community Hospital East. She previously worked at St. Vincent Health as a newborn hospitalist for 10 years. She did her medical training at the IU School of Medicine.
It’s a challenging time to be a hospital CEO, but when Jonathan Nalli takes the helm of St. Vincent Health, he’ll have about as strong a financial hand as anybody to play.
Commercial tanning beds may soon be off limits to Hoosiers younger than 16 under a bill approved Wednesday by the Senate Health and Provider Services Committee.
While I agree that the “chicken little” message of doctor shortages is misguided, as demonstrated [Dec. 16] in “Sorry, docs, but Obamacare will suffer from a shortage,” Indiana patients only benefit from physician assistants practicing at the top of their license.
New research shows that expanding Medicaid won’t save money, in spite of the claims of Obamacare supporters, but it will provide modest help to patients’ health and pocketbooks, in spite of conservative critics’ contention to the contrary.
Dr. Safi Shahda has joined Eskenazi Health in the medical oncology outpatient clinic. He received his medical degree from Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.
Dr. Kristin Hoffmann has joined Eskenazi Health in the dermatology clinic. She earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Wellesley College and a medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine.
Dr. Rachel Carr, an OBGYN physician, has joined Community Physician Network in Indianapolis. She earned her medical degree at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Dr. Ryan Grimm, a pediatrician, has joined Community Physician Network in Greenwood. He completed his medical degree at the IU School of Medicine.
-JD Byrider renewed and expanded its lease to 61,326 square feet at Hamilton Crossing I, 12722-12802 Hamilton Crossing, Carmel. The tenant was represented by Brian Askins of Summit Realty Group. The landlord, Duke Realty Corp., was represented by Duke's Traci Kapsalis.
-First Databank renewed its lease for 27,345 square feet in Four Parkwood, 500 E. 96th St. The tenant was represented by Tom Hadley of Summit Realty Group. The landlord, Duke Realty Corp., was represented by Duke's Traci Kapsalis.
-Cohen Garelick & Glazier Professional Corp. leased 12,268 square feet at 8888 Keystone Crossing. The tenant was represented by Tim Hull of CBRE. The landlord, Philadelphia-based Equus Capital Partners Ltd., was represented by John R. Robinson and Abby Cooper Zito of Jones Lang LaSalle.
-Community Health Networks Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation renewed its lease for 9,200 square feet at Hillsdale Business Park, Hillsdale Court and North Shadeland Avenue. The tenant was represented by Rob Lukemeyer of Baseline Commercial Real Estate. The landlord, Hillsdale Property Owner LLC, was represented by Brian Buschuk, Kevin Gillihan and Jack Hogan of Jones Lang LaSalle.
-Messer Construction renewed its lease for 7,608 square feet at 6964 Hillsdale Court in the Hillsdale Business Park. The landlord, Hillsdale Property Owner LLC, was represented by Brian Buschuk, Kevin Gillihan and Jack Hogan of Jones Lang LaSalle. The tenant represented itself.
-Community Health Networks' Northeast Family Physicians renewed its lease for 7,038 square feet at 6910 Hillsdale Court in the Hillsdale Business Park. The tenant was represented by Rob Lukemeyer of Baseline Commercial Real Estate. The landlord, Hillsdale Property Owner LLC, was represented by Brian Buschuk, Kevin Gillihan and Jack Hogan of Jones Lang LaSalle.
-Cornerstone Associates renewed two leases totaling 8,892 square feet at 6967 Hillsdale Court in the Hillsdale Business Park. The landlord, Hillsdale Property Owner LLC, was represented by Brian Buschuk, Kevin Gillihan and Jack Hogan of Jones Lang LaSalle. The tenant represented itself.
-Independent Colleges of Indiana Inc. leased 4,712 square feet of office space at 30 S. Meridian St. The tenant was represented by Timothy Norton of Summit Realty Group. The landlord, Kite Realty Group, was represented by Mike Semler and John Crisp of Cassidy Turley.
-Moisture Management Services Co. LLC leased 4,080 square feet of industrial space at 9855 Crosspoint Blvd. The tenant was represented by Paul Dick and Kevin Dick of Colliers International. The landlord, Clarion Partners, was represented by Fritz Kauffman and Bryan Poynter of Cassidy Turley.
-The Dermatology Center of Indiana leased 3,200 square feet of retail space at 6705 S. State Road 334, Zionsville. The tenant was represented by Jim Mount of Hokanson Companies. The landlord, Duke Realty Corp., was represented by Jacque Haynes and John Byrne of Cassidy Turley.
-Reach For Youth Inc. leased 2,034 square feet at 435 E. Main St., Greenwood. The tenant was represented by Yumi Goodman of Colliers International. The landlord, Randy Faulkner & Associates Inc., was represented by Bruce Richardson of My Agent Real Estate Services.
-Insphere Insurance Solutions leased 1,698 square feet of office space at 3500 DePauw Blvd. The landlord, Sterling American Property, was represented by Dave Moore, Bennett Williams and Darrin Boyd of Cassidy Turley. The tenant represented itself.
-RPM Machinery LLC leased 1,413 square feet of office space at 8910 Purdue Road. The tenant was represented by Spud Dick and John Crisp of Cassidy Turley. The landlord, Zeller Realty Group, represented itself.
Depressing news about black students’ scoring far below white students on various mental tests has become so familiar that people in different parts of the ideological spectrum long ago developed their different explanations for why this is so. But both may have to do some rethinking, in light of radically different news from England.
