A trillion here, a trillion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money.

The annual cost of health care for a typical family of four with employer-sponsored insurance has skyrocketed over the past few years to over $25,000 in 2016—yet more Americans say they can afford the bills.

Even when patients make concerted efforts to see doctors covered by their insurance plans at in-network facilities, they run the risk of unknowingly being treated by other out-of-network providers during that visit. A new state bill would protect people from paying hefty surprise medical bills stemming from such out-of-network charges.

Physician influence can be bought for as little as a $20 meal, UCSF researchers have found.

Aetna Inc.’s $37 billion deal to buy Humana Inc.was approved by the California Department of Managed Health Care, which said Monday that it could move forward after the company agreed to invest in the state’s health care infrastructure.

Skyrocketing drug prices are forcing states to take unprecedented measures to rein in health care spending. Vermont just became thenation’s first state to require prescription drug pricing transparency. The New York and Massachusetts attorneys general have launched investigations into major pharmaceutical companies’ and insurers’ drug pricing policies and strategies.