Veterans’ suicide issue a priority for Trump administration, VA secretary says
Robert Wilkie, secretary of veterans affairs, told the American Legion National Convention in Indianapolis on Wednesday that the issue needs urgent attention.
Health Care & Insurance
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Doctors don’t always know what patients will owe for meds
While the price of almost any good or service can be found online, most Americans don’t know what they’ll owe for a prescription medication until they get it.
Purdue Pharma in talks to settle for billions in opioid lawsuits
Drugmaker Purdue Pharma is negotiating a multibillion-dollar settlement with lawyers for local and state governments that would resolve about 2,000 lawsuits against the company.
Feds shortchanged Indiana $175M over 2 years in fighting opioid epidemic, report says
Indiana accounted for 4% of the nation’s opioid-related deaths, but received just 1.9% of the nation’s $11 billion opioid-related funding awarded to states over the past two years, according to the new study.
Johnson & Johnson responsible for fueling Oklahoma’s opioid crisis, judge rules
The landmark decision is the first to hold a drugmaker culpable for the fallout of years of liberal opioid dispensing that began in the late 1990s, sparking a nationwide epidemic of overdose deaths and addiction.
Family of Carmel teen sues Juul, calling e-cigarettes addictive, dangerous
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, is the first such federal lawsuit in the state against Juul, a company battling numerous complaints over its products.
Justus Rental selling two senior communities, giving notices to 104 workers
More than 100 nursing aides, activities coordinators, cooks and other workers at two Indianapolis senior communities could lose their jobs by mid-October when the properties are sold, owner Justus Rental Properties Inc. said.
Fishers City Council waives fees for $24M senior living project
The facility would be built on about six acres of undeveloped land off East 126th Street, east of Hoosier Road.
Indiana gives pharmacists more power to help smokers quit
Indiana has one of the highest smoking rates in the country—nearly one in five Hoosiers smoke. Now, a new statewide policy makes it easier for smokers to get medication to help them quit. But some people want state leaders to do more.
Elanco stock sinks sharply after it announces $7.6B deal to acquire Bayer unit
Investors appeared to be nervous over the rich price of the deal and the amount of debt that Elanco will take on to finance it.
Elanco says it’s buying Bayer division for $7.6 billion
The purchase would swell Elanco from the world’s fourth-largest animal health player to the second-largest, behind only New Jersey-based Zoetis.
Brand-name drug prices rising at slower pace, lower amounts
After years of frequent list price hikes, many drugmakers are showing some restraint, according to the analysis of drug prices.
IU Health opening 3 more urgent care centers, including one downtown
The clinics are designed to treat patients quickly for such things are earaches, nose bleeds, twisted ankles and rashes, eliminating the need to go to a busy emergency room or wait several days to see a primary care doctor.
Trump’s Canada drug import plan can’t happen without Big Pharma
President Donald Trump’s plan to import cheap Canadian drugs overlooks a crucial fact: Canada’s pharmaceutical supply chain is beholden to the drugmakers.
Popular Medicare Advantage plans come under fire
Regulators say the insurance industry has been annually overbilling the government by billions of dollars, and now the federal government is stepping up moves to recoup money.
Roche Diagnostics CEO leaving to join Arizona company
Jack Phillips, who has led Roche Diagnostics’ North American operations in Indianapolis since 2010, will become chief operating officer of Accelerate Diagnostics in Tucson.
Elanco in advanced talks to buy Bayer animal-health unit, report says
The multibillion-dollar deal would swell the size of Elanco, which already is the fourth-largest global player in animal health.
IU Simon Cancer Center lands $13.8M grant, comprehensive cancer center designation
The cancer center, opened in 2008, is now one of just 51 “comprehensive cancer centers” in the nation and the only one in Indiana.
CNO Financial adds two vice presidents
The company hired Patti Kolodziejczyk as vice president of application delivery and promoted Doug Williams to vice president of finance and administration for the company’s Bankers Life brand.
U.S. to set up plan allowing prescription meds from Canada
The Trump administration said Wednesday it will create a pathway allowing Americans to legally and safely import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada for the first time, reversing years of opposition from federal health authorities.