Most individuals will pay less, not more, in Obamacare exchanges
Even with premiums doubling from 2012 to 2014, Obamacare’s subsidies will offset premium increases for most Hoosiers buying health insurance via the new federal exchanges.
Health Care & Life Sciences
Articles
Mighty Oxford Financial loses big case with client
An arbitrator ordered the Carmel financial-advisory firm to pay $2.2 million to Reid Hospital & Health Services of Richmond. The dispute involved a delay in executing trades in 2011 that the hospital alleged cost it $2.5 million.
Marian’s med school quest was leap of faith
Marian University, a small Catholic college started by Franciscan nuns, next month will launch just the second medical school in Indiana. Marian President Dan Elsener is credited with pulling off the audacious move with a mix of big dreaming, careful planning, deft networking and “don’t take no for an answer” fundraising.
Lilly freezes pay for workers, executives
The pay freeze will save $400 million through 2016, said a spokesman for the Indianapolis-based company. Lilly won’t give pay raises to executives, supervisors or most employees. Some bonuses will also be reduced.
Get ready to see for-profit religious hospitals
Hospitals already operate like for-profit businesses, but now a financial pinch is making more hospitals join their ranks. Aggressive moves by St. Vincent’s parent organization are just the beginning.
House GOP seeks delay in health care provisions
U.S. House Republicans pressed ahead Wednesday on delaying key components of President Obama’s signature health care law, emboldened by the administration’s concession that requiring companies to provide coverage for their workers next year may be too complicated.
State, Anthem ask techies to solve infant mortality
Dr. Bill VanNess, Indiana’s commissioner of health, asked IT developers to create a smartphone app that the state could offer to pregnant moms to educate them about infant health and help them easily schedule appointments with health care providers.
Would Medicaid expansion have saved hospital jobs?
As the Pence administration continues to negotiate with the feds, local hospitals say their recent cuts would not have been changed even if Indiana had expanded its Medicaid program.
WellPoint rolls out program with cost ceilings for procedures
Under so-called reference-based benefits, insured patients would have to pay the difference between procedure prices and maximums set by their employers. Several Indiana companies are considering using the tactic.
There’s no reason for hospitals, doctors to lose the transparency debate
I launched The Dose with a post about the general use-lessness of the hopsital price data released in May by the Obama adminsitration. For what it's worth, the Journal of the American Medical Association, published by the nation's largest doctors' group, agrees with me. In a perspective piece published on July 10, http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1710451, JAMA contirbutor […]
Lilly aims potential Alzheimer’s drug at early patients
The trial of 2,100 patients, called Expedition III, will use new measures of cognitive function, such as the ability to do tasks like cooking or driving, or remembering words after a delay.
WellPoint will pay $1.7M in online privacy inquiry
The agency said that between Oct. 23, 2009 and March 7, 2010, security weaknesses in a WellPoint online application database left the information of 612,402 people accessible to unauthorized users.
Health tech startup aiming for fences
Flying under the radar for much of its existence, local health tech startup hc1.com Inc. now thinks it’s ready to soar. The company, spun out last year from Zionsville-based Bostech Corp., is on pace to generate annual revenue of $10 million by year’s end. And it thinks business could triple next year.
San Diego wellness-program firm plans 300 jobs in Carmel
American Specialty Health has lined up office space along North Meridian Street. The company may establish Carmel as its new headquarters.
Want Cliffs Notes on health reform? Look at Wishard
Soon to change its name to Eskenazi Health, the county-owned hospital in Indianapolis is using a business model that tries to promote patients’ health, rather than merely treat their diseases.
Rx benefits manager plans to hire 205 by 2015
Lisle, Ill.-based Catamaran Corp. has committed to hiring 104 full-time, permanent employees next year and a total of 205 by 2015.
Community tries to wring out another $100M
Community Health Network has already cut out more than $130 million in expenses since 2009, but it needs to cut more or find new revenue in order to offset rising levels of bad debt and charity care that have squeezed its profit margins.
Obama hands employers free play on health insurance
The Obama administration’s one-year delay on enforcement of penalties against employers that fail to offer affordable health insurance gives employers the chance to cancel their benefits for the year and pocket a boatload of cash.
Lilly drug for Alzheimer’s gets limited Medicare coverage
Lilly officials said they will push ahead with the first-of-a-kind imaging chemical, despite the mostly negative ruling by Medicare officials.