When WellPoint Inc. named Angela Braly its CEO three years ago, it touted her experience dealing with politicians and government
regulators. But WellPoint is now the poster child for health insurer bad behavior—credited in Washington with reviving a
dead health reform bill the company opposed.
Wellpoint has stuck to the $6-per-share forecast since January even after reporting that first-quarter net income jumped 51
percent, easily topping Wall Street expectations.
What recession? Some firms are enjoying explosive growth.
Health care, plastics, other fundamental consumer needs kept some companies on upswings.
One-time events influenced bottom lines of some of the few companies that made more money in 2009.
Few escaped the Great Recession unscathed, and unusual circumstances helped some appear as though they did.
U.S. regulators may phase in requirements on how much health insurers spend on medical care to avoid pushing plans out of
the market for people who buy their own coverage, WellPoint Inc.’s chief financial officer said Wednesday.
Dan Evans, president and CEO of Clarian Health, details his cure for losing sight of day-to-day operations, how
he gauges his effectiveness, and two bits of crucial advice.
The latest idea from Dr. James Spahn, an Indianapolis health care entrepreneur, should help hospitals and nursing homes do
a better job of preventing severe bedsores, or pressure ulcers. That’s good, because Medicare and private health insurers
increasingly won’t pay to treat them.
Medical technology companies employed 19,950 Hoosiers in 2007 and supported another 35,000 jobs in supplier companies, according
to an analysis funded by an industry trade group.
The Indianapolis-based Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation is contributing $20 million to support IUPUI’s effort to open
a school of public health.
One in five medical claims is processed inaccurately by commercial health insurers—and a unit of Indianapolis-based
WellPoint Inc. does even worse—often leaving physicians shortchanged, according to the nation's largest doctor's
group.
WellPoint plans to build a network of primary care doctors and specialists who will be available any time to consult with
patients.
Despite losses, company sees growth in its DailyMed pharmacy services, which packages the right dosages of prescriptions to
make it easier for patients to follow their regimens.
The federal government is currently doling out $1.1 billion in stimulus funds to pay for research that compares multiple medical
treatments against one another to determine which is most effective. Drug companies like Eli Lilly and Co. are wary that comparative-effectiveness
research could threaten their sales.
Leo Brown LLC’s 20-acre, $36 million senior-living community is expected to create 132 jobs with an average salary of $37,000
when it is completed in 2011.
O’Connor, chief deputy mayor under former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, started Monday as Lilly's director of
state government affairs—working again under Peterson.
Angie’s List physician rating service has been controversial since it started in 2008. But an academic journal article
is now telling the docs to relax. Nearly 90 percent of patient comments on sites like Angie’s List are positive.
WellPoint may face the most threat from more aggressive reviews. The Indianapolis insurer is the leader in small-business
and individual policies, areas that have seen the biggest increases in recent years.
Indianapolis-based MHP Pharmacy’s facility on North Meridian Street will close in August as a result of the company’s purchase
by In Touch Pharmaceuticals in Valparaiso.
