Ambulance insurance payment bill advances over business objections
EMS providers say insurance stinginess is complicating their financial stability and forcing them to hand big bills to unwitting Hoosiers.
Health Care & Insurance
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Elevance Health’s potential $2.7B purchase of health insurer off table
A major Louisiana health insurer’s plan to reorganize and sell itself to Indianapolis-based insurance giant Elevance Health was shelved after critics of the sale voiced various concerns over the proposal.
‘Magic mushrooms’ research gets OK from Indiana House committee
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration designated psilocybin as a “breakthrough therapy” for treatment-resistant depression in 2018 and for major depressive disorder in 2019.
Israeli firm joins local isotope rush, signs builder for Westfield factory
An Israeli company has firmed up plans for a new isotope manufacturing plant in Westfield in what is becoming a scramble in a red-hot local market for nuclear-medicine facilities.
Lawmakers seek solutions for Indiana’s shortage of nurses
Estimates predict that Indiana would need an additional 5,000 nurses by 2031, equal to graduating an additional 1,300 nurses each year until that time, according to the Indiana Hospital Association.
Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk race to meet demand for weight-loss drugs
As Novo and Lilly fight to dominate the market in weight-loss drugs, gaining an edge in manufacturing power is emerging as a new front. Both drugmakers are racing to secure the highly specialized plants that can churn out enough of their top-selling drugs to keep up with demand.
In latest expansion move, Marathon Health merges with Denver-based company
Indianapolis-based Marathon said the merger will extend services to 2.5 million eligible patients and more than 630 U.S. employer and union-sponsored clients.
Former Indiana Pacer Scot Pollard waits in hospital for heart transplant
At 6-foot-11, former Indiana Pacers center Scot Pollard’s size helped him play more than a decade in the NBA, earning him a championship ring with the 2008 Boston Celtics. Now, it might be killing him.
New Indiana partnership focuses on reducing health care costs, improving workforce health
Several Indiana employers, universities and health care organizations have launched the Indiana Business Health Collaborative, a new partnership that wants to improve Indiana’s health profile through private-sector solutions.
Louisiana considering $2.5B sale of insurer to Elevance Health
A state legislative committee held a nearly eight-hour meeting to consider the proposed sale of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana to Indianapolis-based Elevance.
Big Pharma targeting smaller companies, with megadeals now out of favor
Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. and Switzerland-based Novartis were the most active acquirers in the past 12 months, with seven and six deals respectively, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Massive Indiana plant included in $16.5B Catalent acquisition
The Catalent biologics campus covers 62 acres and has four buildings totaling almost one million square feet. The facility was opened by Cook Pharmica in 2004 and acquired by Catalent in 2017.
Inari raises another $103M for gene-editing technology, but legal dispute looms with Corteva
The Boston-based biotech company with large operations in Indiana has raised more than a half-billion dollars over its eight-year history.
Author John Green’s current chapter is focused on a healthier human race
Green’s new journey to becoming a leading advocate for wiping out tuberculosis worldwide has its roots in another of his philanthropic interests: the health of mothers and infants in Sierra Leone.
OxyContin marketer agrees to pay $350M rather than face lawsuits
Indiana will receive more than $7.6 million from the settlement with Publicis Health to help address the opioid crisis.
Lilly factory in New Jersey comes under more federal scrutiny
Lilly said it was working closely with the FDA and the “situation does not affect the quality, safety or supply of any current or planned Lilly products in the marketplace.”
Indiana Senate panel advances bill loosening medical prior authorizations
The bill would would prohibit health insurers from requiring prior authorization for routine medical services, federally approved prescription drugs, emergency health care and other services.
Avoid local emergency rooms for mild illness, health department urges
Hospitals in Marion County have reported a surge in patients, placing many of them at capacity, the health department said.
Odd bedfellows Mike Braun and Bernie Sanders team up to support health price transparency
The conservative Braun and the liberal Sanders might have more in common that meets the eye, with a growing list of issues they have both supported.
Health-tech startup DecisionRx lands $100M credit facility to fund growth
Indianapolis-based DecisionRx uses technology to recommend medication decisions to physicians and pharmacists based on genetic profiles, existing medication regimes and contraindications.