Articles

Is health care bubble about to burst?

Citigroup economist writes that U.S. health care sector "reminds us somewhat ominously of the bubble in housing finance" because public spending is fueling private profits.

Read More

Indy is poster child (again) for medical arms race

Indianapolis was highlighted in a new national study because its hospitals have been particularly aggressive at expanding their geographic reach—raising concerns among health insurers and even hospitals themselves that new medical facilities and market power can only lead to higher prices.

Read More

Lilly CEO says cost-cutting won’t solve sales losses

Eli Lilly and Co., facing generic competition to two of its top drugs, needs to rely on new medicines rather than cost-cutting to overcome the revenue loss, CEO John Lechleiter said Thursday in Boston at the annual meeting of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Read More

Loss of St. Francis puts Beech Grove at crossroads

There is a mix of sadness, grief and anger in Beech Grove, as Franciscan Alliance moves the last of its inpatient and emergency operations from its nearly 100-year-old Beech Grove hospital to the new Franciscan St. Francis facility at Stop 11 Road and Emerson Avenue.

Read More

New Lilly drug has small sales potential

Eli Lilly and Co.’s newest drug is a boon for Alzheimer’s research but is likely to bring the Indianapolis drugmaker less than $100 million in annual sales—at least initially, according to one of the few analysts to make a forecast.

Read More

Komen grant recipients cope with controversy they didn’t create

Local health care providers won’t find an easy replacement for the grant money supplied by Susan G. Komen for the Cure. That money could be in jeopardy, as grass-roots Komen supporters appear to be sitting out of this year’s Race for the Cure in response to a national controversy over grants to Planned Parenthood.

Read More

FirstPerson buys FlashPoint HR unit

Indianapolis-based benefits brokerage FirstPerson acquired the small-employer human resource division of Indianapolis-based consulting firm FlashPoint last week in a bid to provide a wider array of services to small businesses.

Read More

Express Scripts-Medco deal approved by U.S. regulators

Express Scripts Inc.’s $29.1 billion bid for rival drug benefit manager Medco Health Solutions Inc. won unconditional approval from U.S. antitrust regulators, clearing the way to create the biggest manager of prescription-drug benefits for corporate and government clients.

Read More

Past support of health care mandate haunts Lugar

Like many Senate Republicans who have spent a few decades in Washington, U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar was for the individual health care mandate before he was against it. Two decades later, the policy is a near heretical stance among the party’s conservative base, and it threatens to derail Lugar’s reelection bid.

Read More

S&P completes biggest first-quarter rally since 1998

More than $3.6 trillion has been restored to U.S. equity values since October amid better-than-estimated earnings and economic data. Indianapolis-based WellPoint Inc. surged 11 percent this week, as the Supreme Court debated the health care law.

Read More

Carmel man charged with defrauding Medicaid of $1M

Businessman Donald Hamilton faces one count of health care fraud, five counts of false statements in a health care matter and two counts of money laundering. He faces a maximum sentence of 55 years if convicted on all counts.

Read More

Indy lab company secures $30M seed investment

Indianapolis-based Strand Diagnostics LLC will receive up to $30 million in investment capital over the next three years from Los Angeles-based NantWorks LLC, a seed-stage investment firm, the companies announced this week.

Read More