Lawmakers consider regulation to hospital billing
As Indiana lawmakers wrestle with various ideas to reduce health care costs, one proposal that businesses say would have an immediate impact has drawn opposition from hospitals.
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Two dozen Indiana hospitals to be fined for high rates of infections, patient injuries
Twenty-four Indiana hospitals will be docked by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services—the highest number since the program began six years ago.
Indiana lawmakers pass bill aimed at addressing health care costs
The Indiana House approved legislation that would attempt to end surprise billing, and the Indiana Senate approved a bill that could establish a statewide all-payer claims database.
Lawmakers push health care cost-saving, price-transparency bills forward
The measures are largely focused on ending surprise billing for patients, creating an all-payer claims database and requiring health care providers to give patients costs estimates in advance.
OurHealth merges with Vermont company in national expansion move
OurHealth, a fast-growing, 11-year-old Indianapolis-based company that provides medical clinics for employers in Indiana and five other states, is merging with a Vermont company, creating a combined operation with 200 clinics in 40 states.
Proposal for $20M family center project at Broad Ripple Park advances
A city hearing examiner recused herself from ruling on a variance for a proposed 40,000-square-foot health and family center at Broad Ripple Park. The recusal automatically advances the proposal to the city’s Metropolitan Development Commission.
American Cancer Society reports biggest one-year drop in U.S. death rate
Researchers on Wednesday reported the largest-ever one-year decline in the U.S. cancer death rate, a drop they credited to advances in lung-tumor treatments.
More Americans dying at home rather than in hospitals
Deaths in nursing homes also have declined, according to Wednesday’s report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
IMS tabs medical transportation company as title sponsor for Grand Prix
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway announced Tuesday that it has struck a multi-year naming rights deal for the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
Virtual health care grows, but usage is uneven and some patients, physicians are slow to adopt
Three years after Indiana passed a law allowing doctors to prescribe drugs for patients without an in-person visit—using a computer, smartphone, video camera and similar technology—some health systems around the state are reporting higher use of virtual visits. St. Vincent, for example, sees hundreds of patients a month remotely for ailments ranging from minor rashes and sprains to follow-up visits for strokes.
AMA calls for total ban on all e-cigarette, vaping products
The group adopted the sweeping stance at a policy-making meeting in San Diego. It aims to lobby for state and federal laws, regulations or legal action to achieve a ban, but the industry is sure to fight back.
Hospital association contests Ball State monopoly study
The Indiana Hospital Association is disputing a Ball State University study of Hoosier hospitals that blames part of the high cost of health care on monopolies.
Addictions-treatment provider Fairbanks merging with Community Health Network
The merger, announced Wednesday, is designed to give patients a more comprehensive approach to addiction and behavioral health services,” including treatment for serious mental illness and a psychiatric intensive care unit.
Hospital monopolies drive up health care costs in Indiana, study says
Over the past two decades, Hoosiers’ health care costs have gone from below-average to much-higher-than-average, according to a Ball State University study.
High-tech rival devices on verge of making stethoscopes obsolete
Dr. Paul Wallach, an executive associate dean at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, predicts that within the next decade, hand-held ultrasound devices will replace the stethoscope as part of the routine physical exam.
Vaping has grown into full-blown health crisis in Indiana, panel says
Indiana health officials are investigating 30 cases of severe lung injury linked to vaping. Eight of those have been confirmed—most of them among individuals between the ages of 16 and 29. Earlier this month, the state confirmed the first death linked to vaping.
IU Simon Cancer Center lands $13.8M grant, comprehensive cancer center designation
The cancer center, opened in 2008, is now one of just 51 “comprehensive cancer centers” in the nation and the only one in Indiana.
Doctors say insurers increasingly interfere with patient care
Insurers say advances in medical care are prompting them to review more cases before deciding on coverage. They say the checks are not meant to delay or stifle care, but doctors say they worry about the growing influence insurers have over patient treatment.
Addiction-treatment centers pop up all over
Many of the providers are not traditional health systems, but rather small, for-profit startups attracted by a soaring demand for recovery services.
Anthem’s fight with doctors shows risks for surprise-billing fix
Doctors fighting a reimbursement battle with one of the biggest U.S. health insurers want to make sure that ending surprise medical bills doesn’t come at the expense of their pay.