Looks like business growth is slowing down at Indiana hospitals
Profits and patient visits remain strong at Community Health Network and Indiana University Health, but their Obamacare-fueled growth is decelerating.
Health Care & Insurance
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Experts see big premium increases for Medicare drug plan
With time running out on open-enrollment season, many seniors are facing sharply higher costs for Medicare's popular prescription drug program after a long stretch of stable premiums.
Pfizer-Allergan $160B deal forms world’s largest drugmaker
It's also the largest so-called inversion, where an American corporation combines with a company headquartered in a country with a lower corporate tax rate, saving potentially millions each year in U.S. taxes.
Anthem, Aetna try to reassure investors about exchanges
Two of the nation's three largest health insurers are trying to ease investor and customer concerns a day after their biggest competitor questioned its future on the Affordable Care Act's public insurance exchanges.
Obamacare’s fate may rest on patience of Anthem, Aetna
Anthem Inc. and Aetna Inc. are on the hot seat now that UnitedHealth Group Inc. appears unlikely to linger as a seller on the Affordable Care Act’s government-run markets.
Midwest employers are actually spending less on health benefits
New data show that employers trying to duck the Obamacare Cadillac tax and turn their workers into healthier consumers are starting to actually reduce the amount of money per worker they are spending on health benefits.
Dennis Murphy brings ‘a priestly demeanor’ to top job at IU Health
Murphy will become CEO of IU Health in April. Those who know him say Murphy’s early experiences with family, church and medicine make him exceptionally well-suited to a complex hospital system in swiftly changing times.
Little Star autism-therapy center to open second Lafayette outpost
The Carmel-based provider of applied behavior analysis therapy said its existing Lafayette facility is at capacity and it expects more demand next year.
UnitedHealth may quit Obamacare market in blow to health law
Insurer UnitedHealth Group, which has 28,000 Obamacare customers in Indiana, said it might quit selling plans under the Affordable Care Act. Thursday’s announcement took a toll on health insurance stocks, including Anthem’s.
U.S. doctors group calls for drug advertising ban
In a vote Tuesday, the American Medical Association called for an end to television commercials and magazine spreads that are used to pitch prescription drugs directly to consumers.
Bosma backs proposal to require pseudoephedrine prescription
Bosma’s support could give the proposal its first real life in the General Assembly, which has for years eschewed prescription proposals in favor of laws that require pharmacies to track the people who purchase drugs containing pseudoephedrine, one of the ingredients that can be used to make meth.
Despite wealth of attention, new female libido pill isn’t selling
The number of prescriptions for Addyi, the women’s libido-boosting pill, in its first few weeks? 227.
Influential advisory firm backs Anthem-Cigna combination
The prominent proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommends that its shareholders approve Anthem Inc.'s planned, $48 billion acquisition of fellow health insurer Cigna Corp.
Heft not enough to justify insurer deals, top DOJ lawyer says
Assistant Attorney General William Baer said that consumer choice is a bigger priority than health companies’ desire to add market share and gain leverage over providers like hospitals.
Contract calls for anti-abortion group to line up counseling
Real Alternatives will act as a middleman, signing up service providers to "enable pregnant women in Indiana to maintain pregnancy and achieve positive healthy pregnancy outcomes through provision of pregnancy support services and referrals to care."
FBI probe puts private Jackson family in spotlight
The family's American Senior Communities is the dominant nursing home company in Indiana, with 94 long-term care facilities.
SMARTT: Health disparities among Amos’ many causes
Before his untimely death, Amos Brown used his media pulpit to raise awareness among minority populations about their elevated risks of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Indy lawyers lead D.C. coalition chipping away at health care regulations
With regulations on the rise and 25 percent of health care spending going toward administration, lawyers at Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman are taking aim at some of the most pain-inducing pieces of federal anti-kickback statutes.
Doctor group asks regulators to block health insurer mergers
Anthem Inc. shouldn’t be permitted to buy Cigna Corp. and Aetna Inc. should be blocked from acquiring Humana Inc., the American Medical Association said in a letter Wednesday to the head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
City-County Council gives go-ahead to 16 Tech bonds
The City-County Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve $75 million in bonds for infrastructure improvements that should allow development of the 16 Tech innovation district to move forward.