Portage schools officials consider health insurance decisions

PORTAGE | Upcoming changes to employee health insurance coverage have Portage Township Schools officials wrangling with how to meet new requirements in the most cost-effective manner.

BRIAN HOWEY: Shrewd Doc Bowen on health insurance

Perhaps the most inspiring part of Otis Bowen’s legacy is that between 1946 and 1972 he delivered 3,000 Hoosier babies when he was the small town family physician in Bremen. The future Indiana governor would say that having his hands on so many emerging lives taught him “how to approach emer…

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Health care in America is rapidly changing

Today, we find ourselves at a new crossroads in the delivery of health care in the U.S. The health care industry finds itself in a state of unprecedented change.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Losing employer coverage undermines health care law

Federal officials recently made some discouraging predictions about the future of American health care.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Expanding health care coverage is good for community

It’s clear that low-income, working Hoosiers without health insurance and Indiana’s economy as a whole would benefit from expanding coverage. Whether it is through the Healthy Indiana Plan or under the Medicaid provisions under health reform, we cannot wait to act.

EDITORIAL: Provide more health care providers

The phrase "serious health care problem" usually refers to cancer, heart disease and other disorders. There's another looming health care problem that must not be ignored by policymakers, however. The United States is not generating enough new doctors to meet anticipated demand.

EDITORIAL: Manage government workforce better

In county government, as with businesses, the employees are the biggest cost. But county government hasn't followed the private sector's lead yet in managing that cost, or those employees, well.

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Council prepares to cancel attorneys insurance

CROWN POINT | The Lake County Council is prepared to cancel the taxpayer-subsidized health insurance benefits for 32 attorneys now working for county government.

HEALTH CARE IN 2013: Changes will affect Northwest Indiana

If seismic devices monitoring planet earth could measure the universe of health care, health geologists would report significant tremors. As heat and pressure shift the tectonic plates beneath our feet, economic pressures and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) change the infrastructure and landsc…

Republican leaders pessimistic on Medicaid expansion

INDIANAPOLIS | Barring an epiphany by Republican leaders at the Statehouse, Indiana appears likely to become one of just a few states nationwide refusing to expand its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.

Lake officials predict progress for E-911 consolidation

CROWN POINT | Lake County officials came out of a closed-door meeting Thursday with a consensus to move forward with creating a consolidated E-911 system.

Senate approves conditional Medicaid expansion

INDIANAPOLIS | Debate and discussion over whether Indiana will expand its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act will continue for at least the next two months.

What does the Affordable Care Act mean for you?

These next two years are important years in health care, with several provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act taking effect.

BRIAN HOWEY: Will Indiana turn its back on the working poor?

INDIANAPOLIS | How is Indiana going to ensure health insurance to the “working poor?”

Pence bars Medicaid expansion except on his terms

INDIANAPOLIS | Gov. Mike Pence and Republican state lawmakers have drawn a line in the sand on expanding Medicaid eligibility that all but guarantees some 400,000 uninsured Hoosiers will be unable to obtain or afford health coverage next year.

Study: Medicaid expansion worth $3.4B to Indiana economy, 30,000 jobs

INDIANAPOLIS | The Indiana Hospital Association called on state lawmakers Monday to expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act after a study showed expansion would provide the state $3.4 billion in added economic activity and support 30,000 jobs.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Obamacare is bringing more changes this year

More than two years after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed, many changes contained in the law will begin to be phased in this year.

Cost of health plans increase for government employees

Health insurance plans for government workers, who historically enjoyed good benefits to compensate for lower wages, are taking on a new shape.

Pelath demands debate on Medicaid expansion

INDIANAPOLIS | House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, lashed out Friday at top legislative Republicans for not taking steps to decide whether Indiana should expand its Medicaid program under the new federal health law.