Eskenazi Health raising $60M to close health gaps
In March, Eskenazi Health launched a fundraising campaign to help it move the needle on health disparities. As of last month, its foundation had raised $57 million.
Health Care Reform
Articles
New rule will make hospitals list prices, but what patients pay could differ greatly
Starting Jan. 1, every U.S. hospital will be required to post standard charges online for every item and service they provide, from bandages and drugs to operating rooms and organ transplants.
Feds approve work rules for HIP 2.0, more addiction funding
As many as 130,000 of the 400,000 people now covered by the Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0 will be required to work, take part in school or training, or do community service to continue receiving insurance benefits in 2019.
Amazon, Buffett, Chase team up to cut health care costs for workers
News on Tuesday that Amazon was forming a new company with JPMorgan Chase and Warren Buffett’s big-pocketed Berkshire Hathaway sent shock waves through the health care industry.
House panel approves bill to raise state smoking age from 18 to 21
Lawmakers stripped a provision from the bill that would have boosted the cigarette tax from 99 cents a pack to $2.99.
Holcomb urges Congressional support of jeopardized GOP health care bill
The fate of the Republicans’ health care bill hangs in the balance, but Gov. Eric Holcomb is giving it his support.
Indiana Democrats raise alarm bells on Medicaid cuts
Indiana officials are sounding alarm bells about a plan by Republicans in Congress to cut Medicaid spending.
Report: White House nixed CMS hire over IBJ column critical of Trump
Politico has reported that the Trump White House was not impressed with a 2016 column in which local Republican strategist Marcus Barlow said Trump was “offensive and ignorant” but not a racist.
Holcomb’s HIP 2.0 waiver likely to sail through Washington
The Trump administration and its pick to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are likely to champion the approach behind HIP 2.0—a Medicaid expansion that requires those receiving insurance coverage to have "skin in the game" by contributing financially.
GOP president, Congress could dump medical-device tax
For years, medical-device makers in Indiana and around the nation have insisted that the 2.3 percent tax on sales to help fund the Affordable Care Act has hurt business and slowed innovation.
Rules mandate some firms cover transgender services
Starting Jan. 1, any health care organization that takes federal money for health purposes can’t refuse to provide transgender services.
Hospitals try to cut readmissions, avoid steep federal penalties
Across Indiana, 64 hospitals are facing total federal penalties this year estimated at $9.3 million, according to the Indiana Hospital Association. Nationally, hospitals will pay an estimated $420 million.
Closing in on a Brownsburg site for Hendricks Regional’s $40M facility
The health system hopes to build its new ER and outpatient clinic on undeveloped farmland off of Interstate 74, near Ronald Reagan Parkway
Once debt-laden, IU Health’s finances in tip-top shape
When CEO Dan Evans relinquishes the reins of Indiana University Health in April, he will hand his successor Dennis Murphy a hospital system with a pristine balance sheet. That’s a big change for IU Health, which when the Great Recession hit was debt-laden and cash-strapped.
There is too much money in unhealthy behavior
I spell out the top 5 reasons, starting with Hoosiers’ poor health, why health care in Indiana is even more messed up than it is around the rest of the country.
LifeLine expansion part of IU Health’s reform strategy
IU Health effectively started its own ambulance service in December by adding two ambulances to its long-standing LifeLine critical-care service and opening a call center to help other health care providers figure out what level of transport services a particular patient needs.
Moms in Indy pay 50 percent more for C-sections than in Manhattan
Despite its low cost of living, Indianapolis is among the highest-priced areas for hospital services for patients with private health insurance—and is far more costly than Boston, Chicago, Manhattan and Los Angeles, according to a new study.
Obamacare is growing employer health benefits, not just killing them
Even though some Indianapolis-area employers are dropping their group health plans, others are adding them. Overall, more workers are being offered health insurance by their employers under Obamacare than before the law took effect.
Despite stronger economy, insurers keep up pressure on hospitals, doctors
Anthem touts program saving $9.51 per patient per month—but passes on less than half the savings to hospitals and doctors.
All of a sudden, HIP 2.0 has a cloudy future
Gov. Mike Pence’s expanded version of the Healthy Indiana Plan looked secure after winning approval from the Obama administration in January. But now it faces threats from both liberals and conservatives.