New Anthem pay-for-performance program gives docs $3.1M
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana is doling out $3.1 million to Indianapolis-area doctors—its first payments
based on a local quality measuring system.
Elevance
Articles
Senate probing WellPoint, others over small-biz rates
The Senate health care committee is investigating how health insurers, including Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., price
the coverage they sell to small businesses.
Health insurer Anthem’s market share swells
Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc.’s Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield subsidiary claimed 42.5 percent of central Indiana residents
covered by private health insurance
this year, up from 35-percent last year, according to a market research firm.
WellPoint shares flat after profits beat analyst predictions
WellPoint Inc.’s third-quarter profits soared above analysts’ expectations, but the insurer remains cautious in the face of
the flu and high unemployment.
WellPoint’s third-quarter profits beat expectations
WellPoint Inc.’s third-quarter profits fell 11 percent, the company reported this morning, but still soared above analysts’ expectations.
Baucus health reform bill draws fire in Indiana, too
The health insurance industry’s sudden counterpunch to the Senate version of health reform echoed in Indiana and
opened a key issue for the rest of the debate: Will covering half of the country’s uninsured mean raising premiums for
the 85 percent of Americans who already have insurance?
Insurers escalate criticism of health overhaul
The insurance industry sharply escalated its criticism of the Senate health care bill Sunday, charging that the legislation
would shift costs to privately insured people, raising the price of a typical policy by hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars
annually.
St. Francis, Anthem finalize health insurance contract
The St. Francis hospital system has finalized a multiyear agreement with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana, ending
a months-long dispute over insurance-reimbursement costs, the parties said yesterday.
Anthem, St. Francis reach agreement in principle
The St. Francis hospital system has reached a tentative contract agreement with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana,
ending a disagreement over insurance reimbursement costs, the parties said today.
What computer problems? Customers still laud Anthem
Despite a year when it made doctors around the state boil with frustration, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield still outscored most of its peers in a customer satisfaction rating.
Anthem gift will sponsor resource guide for seniors
Thanks to a $45,390 grant from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield,
the Central Indiana Council on Aging will offer seniors more information and support via its Web site.
Let’s set record straight on benefits
The insurance industry and [Indiana] Chamber of Commerce are providing misleading and untruthful statements to employers and
their insured members about assignment of benefits.
Legislation takes aim at Anthem
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s growing market dominance in Indiana is sparking a backlash from doctors who plan to push
a bill this year in the Indiana General Assembly that would allow physicians to reject patients covered by massive health
insurer.
Anthem: tops in Indiana, but middle of the road nationally
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana ranked highest among health care plans that primarily serve Indiana, but didn’t
even crack the top 100 nationally in a new study.
St. Francis Hospitals, Anthem disagree over health insurance reimbursements
The St. Francis hospital system and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana are haggling over insurance reimbursement
costs. The original demand of Sisters of St. Francis Health Services Inc. would have increased reimbursement amounts $80 million
over three years, Rick Rhodes, an Anthem regional vice president, wrote in an Oct. 30 letter to employers covered by Anthem.
The increase would mean $12 million more in out-of-pocket costs to Anthem customers. But St. Francis claims its request for
an increase only brings it in line with what other hospitals are getting.
Anthem increases its hold on Indiana
Anthem Insurance Co. added nearly 75,000 commercial customers last year, pushing its total up more than 4 percent. Anthem,
a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc., now claims a whopping 1.8 million commercial customers in the state. The
trouble is, Anthem’s dominance limits price competition, according to benefits brokers, making it hard for local HMOs such
as M-Plan or even some national players to compete.
WellPoint adjusts to executive exodus
Fifteen senior executives have left WellPoint Inc. since November 2004, when the giant health insurer formed through Indianapolis-based
Anthem Inc.’s $16.5 billion acquisition of California-based WellPoint Health Networks Inc. The merger made many of them rich,
work at WellPoint was grueling, and personal commitments called. So they moved on.
Bill challenges WellPoint’s ‘favored’ status
A bill moving through the Indiana General Assembly could remove one of the major weapons Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
has used to preserve its market dominion. Senate Bill 114 would forbid health care providers from granting Anthem–or any
other health insurer–so-called “most favored nation” clauses.