James D. Wolf Jr.
Staff Reporter May 8, 2021 1 of 4
The room where chemo drugs are mixed and stored at Logansport Memorial Hospital as seen on Thursday, April 29, 2021 in Logansport.
Photos by Jonah Hinebaugh | Pharos-Tribune
Chemotherapy drugs are stored in a refrigerated container inside Logansport Memorial Hospital’s pharmacy unit on Thursday, April 29, 2021 in Logansport.
Jonah Hinebaugh | Pharos-Tribune
Supplies, a refrigerated storage container and ventilation hood are seen in a room where chemotherapy drugs are mixed at Logansport Memorial Hospital on Thursday, April 29, 2021 in Logansport.
Jonah Hinebaugh | Pharos-Tribune
Perry Gay
LOGANSPORT The theory is that white bagging insurance companies requiring hospitals to use a specific specialty pharmacy for intensive treatments instead of the hospitals using their own resources will save money while not changing patient care.
May 6, 2021
The theory is that white bagging insurance companies requiring hospitals to use a specific specialty pharmacy for intensive treatments instead of the hospitals using their own resources will save money while not changing patient care.
Hospitals in Indiana are finding out that isn’t the reality when it comes to chemotherapy.
On April 1, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Indiana, the state’s largest health insurer, began requiring hospitals and clinics to buy chemotherapy drugs from CVS Specialty, a unit of pharmacy giant CVS Health or lower their prices to match CVS.
At Margaret Mary Health in Batesville, for example, every chemotherapy patient has seen a delay in chemotherapy medication delivery, with five patients experiencing a wait of a week or more, said Liz Leising, the hospital’s Chief Nursing Officer and Vice-President of Patient Services.
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Tim Putnam operates a small hospital in rural Indiana. In March 2020, the 25-bed facility got hit very hard by COVID-19.
“We had more cases
per capita in our region than, I believe, anywhere,” said Putnam, head of Margaret Mary Health. “We were equal to New York City.”
At the worst point of the pandemic, Putnam’s employees were caring for 40 patients. One of the hospital’s biggest struggles was trying to effectively treat a flood of long-term patients.
Many local community members came forward to do what they could to help. Some donated or made face coverings for health care workers. A local dealer of
Tim Putnam runs a 25-bed hospital in rural southeastern Indiana that got hit hard by COVID-19. We were slammed in March of 2020. We had more cases per capita in our region than, I believe, anywhere. We were equal to New York City, says Putnam, CEO of Margaret Mary Health. We were just unlucky. We had a few people that were positive that went to large events in the region, and we started getting a lot of people coming in here.
At the peak of the pandemic, Putnam s staff was caring for 40 inpatients. Considerations to relocate COVID-19 patients to stadiums or conference centers were dismissed as impractical. The community donated or made masks for health care workers. The local RV dealer even offered up his recreational vehicles for staff to sleep in or as mobile clinics. Several hospital staffers got sick, but they all recovered.
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