Medicare copays for new Alzheimer’s drug could reach $11,500
Separately, Dr. Aaron Kesselheim of Harvard University became the third member of an FDA advisory panel that opposed the drug to step down over the decision to approve it.
Health Care Costs
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Battle over where to purchase specialty drugs hits Indiana
Health care practitioners and insurers are fighting over the hefty prices hospitals charge for specialty drugs to treat patients with cancer, vision loss, low white-blood-cell count and other serious diseases.
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Eli Lilly, hospitals go to war over drug prices
A long-simmering dispute between Eli Lilly and Co. and safety-net hospitals across the nation over the price of prescription drugs has reached the boiling point.
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Health care bills unlikely to remedy cost crisis
Republican leaders of the Indiana General Assembly and Gov. Eric Holcomb have made addressing high health care costs a top priority this year, but the bills proposed to do so are unlikely to have much direct impact.
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Articles
Three corporate giants ending venture to address health care costs
Haven, which was formed in 2018 by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan to attack soaring costs, will cease operations by the end of February.
Study: Indiana ranks sixth in nation in hospital charge disparities
A new study released Friday by the Rand Corp. found that Hoosiers covered by employer health plans paid Indiana hospitals three times what Medicare would have paid for the same procedures, exceeding the national rate of disparity.
Virtual health care grows, but usage is uneven and some patients, physicians are slow to adopt
Three years after Indiana passed a law allowing doctors to prescribe drugs for patients without an in-person visit—using a computer, smartphone, video camera and similar technology—some health systems around the state are reporting higher use of virtual visits. St. Vincent, for example, sees hundreds of patients a month remotely for ailments ranging from minor rashes and sprains to follow-up visits for strokes.
Drugmakers will have to reveal medication prices in TV ads
The Trump administration has finalized regulations that will require drug companies to disclose list prices of medications costing more than $35 for a month’s supply.
Springbuk software release spurs double-digit growth
Local tech firm, Springbuk, has grown from 16 to 102 employees in a little more than two years. A recently released product upgrade the company is calling “a game changer” is spurring another round of serious growth.
Lilly, other insulin makers must face price-gouging lawsuit, judge rules
The suit accuses the companies of raising insulin sticker prices by more than 150 percent over five years, forcing diabetics to forgo the drug, take less insulin than needed or use expired versions
Lilly to disclose more information about drug pricing
Eli Lilly and Co. won’t put the price of its prescription drugs in television ads, as the Trump administration has called for pharmaceutical companies to do, but will begin promoting a website where prices are available.
New rule will make hospitals list prices, but what patients pay could differ greatly
Starting Jan. 1, every U.S. hospital will be required to post standard charges online for every item and service they provide, from bandages and drugs to operating rooms and organ transplants.
Tobacco, opioid epidemics claimed 14,200 Hoosier lives in 2017, studies say
Two reports, sponsored by the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, say the state should not let up in fighting twin scourges that claim thousands of lives and cost billions of dollars in health care costs and lost productivity.
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.
Hunger, food insecurity continue to vex Indiana residents
In Indiana, one million people face food insecurity, and in Indianapolis the number is approaching nearly 175,000—or more than 18 percent of the population.
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.
IndyGo’s daunting task: Turn drivers into health fanatics
Since starting a wellness program in 2010, IndyGo has seen employee participation climb from just a few, skeptical workers to 97 percent of the workforce.
Trump’s big promises on drug costs followed by modest steps
As a candidate, President Trump advocated Medicare negotiations and allowing consumers to import medicines from abroad. His current strategy recommends changes to policies that the administration believes unwittingly lead to higher prices, and suggests ways to speed drugs to market and increase competition.
House panel approves bill to raise state smoking age from 18 to 21
Lawmakers stripped a provision from the bill that would have boosted the cigarette tax from 99 cents a pack to $2.99.
With $20M infusion, health analytics software firm plans to hire 100 by 2020
Indianapolis-based Springbuk expects to grow by leaps and bounds after landing a big package of venture capital.
Trump health pick wary of government drug price negotiations
Alex Azar, a former Eli Lilly and Co. executive, acknowledged to the Senate Finance Committee that drug prices are too high and said he'd work to lower them if confirmed as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Food insecurity, hunger vex large swath of Indianapolis residents
Nearly 175,000 food-insecure people live in the city. About 47,000 of them are children, whose ability to learn and thrive can be hampered, according to panelists at a local hunger summit on Friday.