Investors cheer Senate bill while WellPoint cries foul
Exemption for not-for-profit health plans could saddle WellPoint with nearly $2 billion a year in new taxes.
Health Care Costs
Articles
Hoosier biz groups oppose Senate health bill
Group presidents tell Indiana senators that the reform bill would expand dysfunctions of current health care systems.
Legislators could test drugmakers’ support for health overhaul
The pharmaceutical industry may have to cough up more than the $80 billion it agreed to contribute to President Barack Obama’s
health overhaul effort, reflecting pressure from Democrats and their supporters for more money to cover older and low-income
people.
Health care reform could drive more people to buy their own insurance
If Congress passes health care reform, more people will become like Juli Erhart-Graves, whose family spends nearly 18 percent
of its income on health insurance and out-of-pocket medical costs.
Hoosiers ‘waste’ $2.5B a year on health care, group says
Analysis of Medicare data finds that Indiana hospitals and doctors rack up higher costs to treat the same conditions as the
nation’s model markets.
St. Vincent-Novia clinic partnership cuts out insurance middleman
The St. Vincent Health hospital system has joined with Indianapolis-based Novia CareClinics LLC to set up clinics on employers’
campuses, offering health care for their workers with no insurance companies involved.
Indiana near top in smoking survey; national rate rises
A survey found cigarette smoking rose slightly on a national basis for the first time in almost 15 years and that Indiana
had the second highest smoking rate among states.
House health bill unacceptable to many in Senate
A government health insurance plan included in the House health care reform bill is unacceptable to a few Democratic moderates who hold the balance of power in the Senate.
WellPoint, Obama administration battle over cost of health reform to employers
At this point in the health reform debate, you have to take numbers from any side with a grain of salt. That said, Indianapolis-based
WellPoint Inc. has done perhaps the only local analysis of how proposed reforms would affect the cost of health insurance
for employers.
Expert: Wishard referendum will pass
IUPUI political scientist Bill Blomquist predicts the Wishard hospital referendum will pass by a "comfortable"
margin.
Expert: Wishard referendum will pass
IUPUI political scientist Bill Blomquist predicts passage of the Wishard hospital referendum by a "comfortable" margin.
Fewer schools offering $1 health coverage for administrators
Nearly 60 of Indiana’s 354 public school districts now require administrators to pay more than $1 for their health insurance.
That’s a big shift from a decade ago.
Doctors balk at Senate attempt to cut out wasteful health care spending
The big goal of health care reform is to cut wasteful spending to pay for expanded health insurance coverage. But the way
the Senate Finance Committee bill tries to do that would be, according to some doctors, “disastrous.”
Doctors balk at Senate attempt to cut waste
Some Indianapolis-area doctors fear a bill in the U.S. Senate would botch the way costs for tests and procedures are calculated, and ultimately
lead to a reimbursement system that works worse than the existing system.
Experts: Feds’ antitrust move poses few risks to health insurers
Democratic lawmakers are seeking to stir up competition by stripping health insurers like Indianapolis-based WellPoint of
their protection from certain federal antitrust laws, although experts shrug off the effort as largely symbolic.
Eli Lilly CEO banking on new drug pipeline
CEO John Lechleiter says Lilly’s pipeline has helped it rebound from significant patent losses three times during his 30-year
career at the company. He’s betting there will be a fourth.
Goodwill executive to lead national health care board
Goodwill Industries executive Keith Reissaus has been tapped to run Washington, D.C.-based Leapfrog Group, an industry coalition.
Reissaus gained control of health care costs by giving employees incentives to care about their health.
Democrats eye insurance industry’s antitrust protection
Top Senate Democrats intend to try to strip the health insurance industry of its exemption from federal antitrust laws, according
to congressional officials, the latest evidence of a deepening struggle over President Barack Obama’s effort to overhaul the
health care industry.
Cook calls for new approach to health reform
Founder of medical device firm says Congress should fund network of low-cost clinics.
Afraid to die
Fear of death may be causing Americans to expect too much from our medical system when it comes to prolonging the lives of
the old and infirm.