Indiana panel backs higher fines for underaged tobacco sales
The push to toughen Indiana’s penalties on stores for selling tobacco products to underage customers is facing some questions over whether the proposed fines are too steep.
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Lawsuit against IU over dorm mold given class-action status
A judge has granted class-action status to a lawsuit alleging Indiana University breached its contract by providing substandard living assignments to thousands of students staying in residential halls where mold was found.
Indiana may toughen retailer penalties with 21 smoking age
Indiana lawmakers are looking to toughen the penalties stores face for selling tobacco products to underaged customers as they raise the state’s minimum age for smoking and vaping from 18 to 21 to conform with the new federal law.
Justices seem to favor insurers’ Obamacare claims for $12B
The US Supreme Court appeared likely Tuesday to rule that insurance companies can collect $12 billion from the federal government to cover their losses in the early years of the health care law championed by President Barack Obama.
Holcomb backs ban on drivers using handheld phones
Indiana’s governor on Tuesday threw his support behind a statewide ban on drivers using handheld cellphones as well as a plan to raise the minimum age for smoking and vaping to 21. Gov. Eric Holcomb made the proposals central to his 2020 legislative agenda.
Tax Court denies charitable tax exemptions for medical center
The Indiana Tax Court has affirmed the denial of a Catholic nonprofit organization’s request for charitable tax exemption on a medical center it owns, finding none of its provided evidence supported its request.
AMA calls for total ban on all e-cigarette, vaping products
The American Medical Association on Tuesday called for an immediate ban on all electronic cigarettes and vaping devices. The AMA cited a surge in underage teen use of e-cigarettes, which typically heat a solution that contains nicotine.
Panel recommends boosting Indiana’s cigarette age to 21
An Indiana legislative panel is recommending that Indiana’s legal age for buying cigarettes be raised from 18 to 21.
Indiana backs off Medicaid work requirement in face of federal lawsuit
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is temporarily suspending its requirement that certain Medicaid recipients work to receive their health care benefits pending the outcome of a federal lawsuit challenging the program.
Former retreat now addiction center in southern Indiana
A former corporate retreat near Henryville in southern Indiana has reopened as a drug addiction treatment center. The Wooded Glen Recovery Center started taking patients during September. Community leaders joined executives of treatment provider Summit BHC for an opening ceremony this past week.
$260 million deal averts first federal opioid crisis trial
The nation’s three biggest drug distributors and a major drugmaker reached an 11th-hour, $260 million settlement over the toll of the opioids in two Ohio counties, averting what would have been the first federal trial over the crisis.
Indiana lawmakers pushed to adopt e-cigarette liquids tax
Indiana needs state taxes to discourage the use of electronic cigarettes as vaping becomes more popular and is increasingly blamed in illnesses and deaths, the state’s main physicians organization and other health advocates said Tuesday.
New study: Opioid crisis cost US economy $631B over 4 years
The opioid crisis cost the U.S. economy $631 billion from 2015 through last year — and it may keep getting more expensive, according to a study released Tuesday by the Society of Actuaries.
Big case hits the big screen: Taft lawyer’s DuPont suit attracts star power
A Taft Stettinius & Hollister attorney who successfully took on one of the world’s most powerful chemical manufacturers in a major toxic contamination case is being featured on the big screen as he continues to bring awareness to an issue he says is a global heath threat.
Excise Police: Lake County retailer caught selling counterfeit vaping pods
Boxes of counterfeit fruit-flavored Juul vaping products discovered during the execution of a search warrant were confiscated from a Lake County store Friday after a customer reported the products were fake.
Indiana reports 2 more deaths linked to vaping, 3 overall
Indiana health officials are reporting two more state residents have died of severe lung injuries linked to vaping. The new deaths reported Thursday by the Indiana State Department of Health brings the total number of vaping-related deaths in the state to three since Sept. 6.
Overhaul proposed for decades-old Medicare fraud rules
The Trump administration on Wednesday proposed overhauling decades-old Medicare rules originally meant to deter fraud and abuse but now seen as a roadblock to coordinating better care for patients. Two former Indiana health care industry professionals are leading the proposed reforms.
Indiana stores may profit from Michigan flavored vape ban
Michigan’s ban on the sale of flavored electronic cigarettes could spur new business for vape shops along the state’s Indiana border, a clerk at a northern Indiana store said.
Web Exclusive: Hoosiers impacted by vaping health concerns
As health concerns linked to vaping continue to grow, a Carmel teen has joined the slew of vapers nationwide who are suing the country’s most popular e-cigarette giant, Juul Labs.
Government will propose banning flavors used in e-cigarettes
President Donald Trump said Wednesday his administration will propose banning thousands of flavors used in e-cigarettes to combat a recent surge in underage vaping.