WellPoint to unload 1-800-Contacts unit
Financial terms of the sale to Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP weren’t disclosed. WellPoint paid a reported $900 million to buy the company in June 2012.
Health Care & Insurance
Articles
Lilly forecasts sales, profit drop in face of rival generic drugs
In a warning shot to investors, the pharmaceutical giant says it expects “2014 to be the most financially challenging year of Lilly’s current period of patent expirations.”
New St. Vincent CEO will inherit financially solid system
It’s a challenging time to be a hospital CEO, but when Jonathan Nalli takes the helm of St. Vincent Health, he’ll have about as strong a financial hand as anybody to play.
Crux of Medicaid showdown is how to fight poverty
When Gov. Mike Pence tries next month to negotiate a Medicaid expansion deal in a meeting with the Obama administration, it will be a clash of the conservative and liberal approaches to fighting poverty.
No one likes Obamacare
Obamacare has officially arrived, but both conservatives and liberals are calling it awful. That means the real debate over health reform is just beginning.
Health overhaul benefits take effect with new year
After a troubled rollout, President Barack Obama's health care overhaul now faces its most personal test: How will it work as people seek care under its new mandates?
Marketing efforts to uninsured youth ramp up
The so-called "young invincibles" are so important to the success of the Affordable Care Act that supporters and detractors are spending millions to reach them.
Justice delays health law’s birth control mandate
The Supreme Court has thrown a hitch into President Barack Obama's new health care law by blocking a requirement that some religion-affiliated organizations provide health insurance that includes birth control.
St. Vincent Health names new CEO from Valparaiso
Jonathan S. Nalli, 39, has led Porter Health System in Valparaiso since 2007. He will take over the 22-hospital St. Vincent system on Feb. 1.
Contract between UnitedHealthcare, IU Health to expire
IU Health has decided to still give patients the same “in network” co-pays and deductibles that UnitedHealthcare had negotiated under the expiring contracts, keeping patients’ costs the same until a new deal is reached.
Endocyte files to sell up to $60M in new stock
Endocyte Inc. plans to raise as much as $60 million by offering new shares to the public “from time to time,” to help it develop additional drugs.
With website on mend, Obamacare enrolls 2 million so far
The windfall comes at a critical moment for health care reform, which becomes “real” for many Americans on Jan. 1 as coverage through the insurance exchanges and key patient protections kick in.
Wishard morphs into Eskenazi Hospital
After suffering for years with decrepit heating and ventilating systems, Wishard, the busiest hospital in the state, finally got a new home. And a new name.
Feds extend Obamacare deadline as customers rush site
The deadline to enroll in plans that begin Jan. 1 now is midnight Tuesday for most of the U.S. On Monday, healthcare.gov fielded nearly 50,000 simultaneous visitors, triggering a queuing system.
Analyst: WellPoint will lose money on Obamacare in 2014
Small business dumping, the uncertainty of Obamacare's exchanges, and the certainty of Obamacare's taxes will take a bite out of WellPoint's earnings next year. But company executives remain bullish on Obamacare's long-term impact.
For the holidays: A hopeful, health care reading list
In the Christmas spirit of hope, I’m offering a reading list of several optimistic reports about health care reform—even though many of my recent posts, and the mood of the country in general, have been decidedly downbeat.
Medicare names names on hospital quality, but don’t expect consumers to notice
The Obama administration has been releasing more price and quality information, but it is coming in a rather useless form for patients. That’s a problem for the prospects of consumer-driven health care.
Lilly, other drugmakers to keep paying doctors
Eli Lilly and Co., Pfizer Inc., Sanofi and other large drugmakers will keep paying doctors to give talks about their products, leaving GlaxoSmithKline Plc alone for now in its decision to halt such compensation.
Insurers give Obamacare enrollees more time for payments
Consumers who enroll in health plans through the new U.S. exchanges will get 10 extra days to pay their first premiums and still gain coverage effective Jan. 1, an insurance company trade group said Wednesday.
Pfizer, Teva reach deal to allow generic Viagra
Fifteen years after Pfizer Inc.’s Viagra changed the sexual equation for older men, the blockbuster impotence drug is set to become available in a less expensive generic form as early as 2017.