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.
The Dose
Articles
Indy firm hits growth stride with benefits software
Indianapolis-based Healthiest Employer LLC expects its Springbuk software for managing wellness programs to triple its clients, revenue and employees this year.
Indiana health care execs focusing more on IT security
Even excluding the 78.8 million records stolen from health insurer Anthem, the number of patient records stolen from Indiana health care organizations spiraled to 4.3 million from about 69,000 in 2014.
Cash crunch forces large home health agency into bankruptcy protection
Carmel-based Nightingale Home Healthcare Inc., which serves nearly 900 Hoosier patients, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and won court approval to borrow $350,000 from its parent company to make payroll.
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.
Nursing homes work to ‘rebalance’ Medicaid spending without managed care
State government has long wanted to shift spending on long-term care from nursing homes to home- and community-based care. Now Gov. Mike Pence’s administration is working with nursing homes to make that happen.
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.
Half of insurers on Indiana Obamacare market are losing money
UnitedHealthcare, MDwise, IU Health Plans and Assurant all disclosed losses during the first nine months of this year on the policies they are selling on the federal marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act.
Looks like business growth is slowing down at Indiana hospitals
Profits and patient visits remain strong at Community Health Network and Indiana University Health, but their Obamacare-fueled growth is decelerating.
Midwest employers are actually spending less on health benefits
New data show that employers trying to duck the Obamacare Cadillac tax and turn their workers into healthier consumers are starting to actually reduce the amount of money per worker they are spending on health benefits.
Indy lawyers lead D.C. coalition chipping away at health care regulations
With regulations on the rise and 25 percent of health care spending going toward administration, lawyers at Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman are taking aim at some of the most pain-inducing pieces of federal anti-kickback statutes.
Advantage CEO exits after un-reported losses come to light
Vicki Perry, the longtime CEO of Advantage Health Solutions Inc., has been replaced after a financial review found “significant un-reported losses” at the Indianapolis-based health insurer.
Covering the uninsured brings only a small benefit for the insured
Hospitals have long argued that they pass on the cost of the uninsured to private insurance customers. But a new study shows that’s less than half-true.
IU Health aims to extend insurance service to 1M Hoosiers
The Indianapolis-based hospital system said its efforts to reduce patients’ need for expensive health care services, known as population health, slashed the use of hospitals, nursing homes and expensive imaging scans among the 140,000 Hoosiers IU Health now serves.
When it comes to health benefits, Hoosier employers are cheap
Lower wages, higher hospital prices and unhealthy lives force Indiana employers to charge more and give fewer health benefits to their workers.
Lilly CEO: Drugmakers getting bum rap
Eli Lilly and Co. CEO John Lechleiter told Wall Street analysts recently that, while there have been “individual huge drug price increases,” the overall cost of drugs is rising very slowly and remains a small part of overall U.S. health care spending.
Obamacare’s medical device tax is (probably) killing jobs—but not a lot so far
A Census Bureau survey suggests that medical device firms created 20,000 fewer jobs from 2011 to 2013 than they should have—and some of those missing jobs probably can be blamed on Obamacare’s medical device tax.
Merger mania spurs Hall Render to add two more offices
The Indianapolis-based law firm opened two new offices this fall—in Dallas and Seattle—and has now added five new offices in the past 24 months, as it tries to keep up with consolidation among hospitals and doctors.