Month: December 2017

U.S. health spending rose to $3.3 trillion in 2016, but the pace slowed compared to the previous two years as demand for drugs, hospital care and physician services weakened, according to a federal study released Wednesday.

The nation's five largest insurers are increasingly dependent on government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid for growth in enrollment, revenue and profits, according to a new Health Affairs study.

CVS Health said on Sunday that it had agreed to buy Aetna for about $69 billion in a deal that would combine the drugstore giant with one of the biggest health insurers in the United States and has the potential to reshape the nation’s health care industry.

The sweeping tax overhaul that passed the U.S. Senate on Saturday contains the Republicans' biggest blow yet to former President Barack Obama's healthcare law, repealing the requirement that all Americans obtain health insurance.

Health insurers—and hospitals—soon may be socked by a double whammy that could drive away insurers' healthier customers, induce them to spike premiums and unravel the individual market.

The legislation to fund the government for two weeks could also provide some short-term relief to help states keep their Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) afloat.

The new company, combining one of the country’s biggest pharmacies with one of its largest health insurers, will create a world where patients will get the “human touch,” they said. Fewer people will fall through the cracks, they promised, and getting high-quality, low-cost medical care will be as close as your corner drugstore.

Anne Cornwell considered two drastic strategies in her quest to get affordable health insurance premiums last year for herself and her retired husband.