Drug cost bill advances but GOP resistance could spell trouble
A prescription drug compromise that would lower costs for Medicare recipients and save billions for Medicare and Medicaid cleared a key hurdle in the Senate on Thursday.
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Senators unveil compromise to reduce drug costs for seniors
Iowa Republican Charles Grassley and Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden said the bill would for the first time limit drug copays for people with Medicare’s “Part D” prescription plan, by capping patients’ out-of-pocket costs.
House Democrats, GOP unite to repeal Obamacare ‘Cadillac’ tax
House Democrats and Republicans joined in a rare show of unity Wednesday, voting overwhelmingly to repeal an unpopular tax on generous health insurance that’s a symbol of former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.
Indiana creates Medicaid work rules for low-income Hoosiers
Indiana has become the latest state to implement work requirements for low-income residents who receive their health insurance through Medicaid— a change that opponents warn will cost some under-resourced Hoosiers their health coverage.
State wants to offer $1,000 ‘bridge’ for low-income Hoosiers leaving Medicaid
The Indiana Family & Social Services Administration says the plan is designed to help bridge the transition from the Healthy Indiana Plan to private health insurance, and help pay for premiums, deductibles, co-pays and other costs.
Single-payer health care would be ‘major undertaking,’ CBO says
Adopting universal health coverage “would significantly increase government spending and require substantial additional government resources,” the office said.
Medicare chief Verma uses forecast as warning for expand-it-to-all plans
The Trump administration’s top Medicare official used an annual report on the program’s fiscal outlook to attack proposals by some Democrats to expand government health-care coverage to all Americans.
Feds charge two dozen in billion-dollar Medicare brace scam
Federal agents on Tuesday broke up a billion-dollar Medicare scam that peddled unneeded orthopedic braces to hundreds of thousands of seniors.
Ruling creates uncertainty for states’ Medicaid work rules
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson urged the federal government to appeal a ruling against his state’s requirement that certain people covered by its Medicaid expansion work or lose their coverage. States with similar rules, like Indiana, are closely watching the case.
Marian University interested in taking over state mental hospital site
The private university has started conversations with the state for assuming control of the site that holds Larue D. Carter Memorial Hospital, which will close later this year.
Poll: Support for ‘Medicare-for-all’ fluctuates wildly with details
“Medicare-for-all” makes a good first impression, but support plunges when people are asked if they’d pay higher taxes or put up with treatment delays to get it.
Nursing homes start facing pinch of penalties for hospital readmissions
The penalties will be as much as 2 percent of Medicare reimbursements, and could be worth millions of dollars to large nursing-home chains with locations spread across Indiana and the nation.
Obamacare markets stabilize, but premiums remain high for many
On average, the premium for typical plans in the 39 states that use the federal healthcare.gov website will drop 1.5 percent.
Trump focusing on drug prices, high among voters’ concerns
President Donald Trump is linking the drug prices Americans complain about to one of his longstanding grievances: foreign countries the president says are taking advantage of U.S. research breakthroughs.
Hospitals hit with fines over patient readmissions
Indiana hospitals are racking up millions of dollars in penalties for having too many patients return for care within a month of discharge.
Opioid epidemic showing signs of turning corner, state drug czar says
Visits to emergency rooms in Indiana for drug overdoses are falling, and doctors are writing fewer prescriptions for opioid painkillers, Jim McClelland said Friday.
Dental care out of reach for many poor Indy residents
In Indianapolis’ 10 poorest census tracts, 60 percent of residents had not visited a dentist within 12 months, according to an IBJ analysis of CDC and Census Bureau research. But in the 10 tracts with the lowest poverty rates, just 25 percent hadn’t.
Trump administration takes another swipe at ‘Obamacare’
The Trump administration is freezing payments under an "Obamacare" program that protects insurers with sicker patients from financial losses, a move expected to add to premium increases next year.
House OKs expansion of private care at VA, budget crisis fix
The House voted Wednesday to give veterans more freedom to see doctors outside the Veterans Affairs health system, a major shift aimed at reducing wait times and improving medical care.
Health maintenance organization MDwise struggles to find way forward
The not-for-profit that helps low-income Hoosiers get health care coverage and social services lost $60 million in 2016 and cut about 80 jobs last year.