Wishard Foundation appoints new leader
Ernest Vargo II’s Vargo’s top priority will be guiding the foundation’s $50 million capital campaign for the construction
of the new, $754 million Wishard Hospital.
Health Care & Insurance
Articles
Anthem Blue Cross withdraws big California rate hike
Anthem Blue Cross withdrew plans to raise health insurance rates for Californians by as much as 39 percent after an independent
audit determined the company’s justification for raising premiums was based on flawed data.
Startup sees big potential for ‘ouchless’ medical tests
Companion Diagnostics wants to detect early warning signs of chronic diseases.
Closing of Purdue’s Chao Center is setback for BioCrossroads
The university is hoping to find a private company to take over the 5-year-old facility, which formulated and manufactured
small batches of drugs used in clinical trials.
Earthquake shakes Baldwin’s first-quarter profit
The February earthquake in Chile sent first-quarter profit tumbling 90 percent at Indianapolis-based property and casualty
insurer Baldwin & Lyons Inc.
WellPoint profits rise, beat analysts’ expectations
The Indianapolis-based health insurer was helped in first quarter by a mild flu season, but it now expects to lose nearly
700,000 customers by year end.
WellPoint to adhere to new rescission rules early
The Indianapolis-based health insurer announced Tuesday afternoon it will be the first company to adopt stricter standards
on canceling
policies, which are contained in the health reform bill passed in March.
Q&A
Dr. Stanley Adkins is chief medical officer of Indianapolis-based AmeriVeriCR, a startup that uses software to review medical
claims for errors. With health care reform and a new, larger set of
diagnosis codes phasing in over the next few years, AmeriVeri is betting that demand for its service will increase.
Medicare Advantage may survive cuts under health reform
The two largest U.S. health insurance companies, UnitedHealth, based in Minnetonka, Minn., and WellPoint Inc., based in Indianapolis,
sell Advantage plans.
Anthem Blue Cross postponing rate hike again
In January, Anthem Blue Cross notified many individual policyholders that their rates would rise as much as 39 percent March
1. After a public outcry, the company announced a two-month delay. Now that is on hold, too.
New helicopters coming for Indiana medical flights
Clarian Health officials on Thursday plan to buy four helicopters as it replaces aircraft in its aging patient-transport
fleet.
Clarian hospital system regains its appetite to build
Clarian is planning to spend $1.7 billion in the next five years on capital projects, half of that going to its downtown Indianapolis
campuses.
Democrats want government approval of health premiums
Insurers like WellPoint Inc. should be required to get U.S. approval to increase premiums, Sens. Diane Feinstein and Tom Harkin
say.
Tomisue Hilbert investigates mother’s death, $15M insurance policy
The wife of Indianapolis businessman Steve Hilbert is working with a team of attorneys to determine whether her deceased mother’s
estate can claim the benefit of a life insurance policy issued by Houston-based American General Life Insurance Co.
Struggling firms stash away losses to cut future taxes
Conseco expects its write-offs will be worth more than $800 million over the next 20 years.
Rockefeller: Insurers don’t spend enough on medical care
Indianapolis-based WellPoint “reclassified” more than half a billion dollars of administrative expenses as medical
expenses when it was defining its medical-loss ratio, according to a report released by U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller’s
office.
Indiana warns consumers about questionable insurance
State insurance officials are warning Indiana residents about questionable health insurance policies being offered by companies
touting themselves as associations.
Judge to speed federal health care challenge
Eighteen states, including Indiana, argue the federal government cannot force citizens to buy health insurance coverage.
Employers want cake, and to eat it, too
Employers are still trying to get their arms around what the new health insurance law will mean for them. But on the eve of
the law's passage last month, a survey by Indianapolis-based United Benefit Advisors LLC showed employers as a group had
no hope the law would reduce their costs but also no coherent plan for reforming the current system.
WellPoint, UnitedHealth, grapple with medical-cost mandate
A U.S. mandate forcing insurers led by UnitedHealth Group Inc. and WellPoint Inc. to spend 85 percent of revenue from premiums
on medical care is the newest front in the battle between the Obama administration and companies over industry profits.