A Senate hearing on Wednesday into the staggering cost of specialty drugs to treat the deadly Hepatitis C virus has once again raised the question of how far the government should go to try to beat down pharmaceutical costs without discouraging research and development or creating drug shortages.

California's initial efforts to move almost 500,000 low-income seniors and disabled people automatically into managed care has been rife with problems in its first six months, leading to widespread confusion, frustration and resistance.

Confusion about whether some types of job-based coverage disqualify consumers from signing up for subsidized insurance through the health law's marketplaces may lead some people to buy skimpier employer plans instead.

When Olivia Papa signed up for a new health plan last year, her insurance company assigned her to a primary care doctor.

Covered California has enlisted 14 trade groups - including the California Medical Association and California Hospital Association - to urge health providers to promote health insurance during open enrollment for the state health benefit exchange.

National health spending grew 3.6 percent in 2013, the lowest annual increase since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began tracking the statistic in 1960, officials said Wednesday.