Healthcare

UnitedHealth Group Inc. agreed to buy Catamaran Corp. for about $12.8 billion, bulking up its drug-benefits business to get better negotiating power in talks with pharmaceutical companies over prices.

Commentary: Retail and restaurant workers, who come into more direct contact with the average customer than any other job, are the least likely to have paid sick leave as a benefit.

As the Affordable Care Act last week celebrated its five-year anniversary, the majority of employers say they have not considered reducing hours for part-time employees as a result of the law’s mandate that employees working 30 hours a week be offered health care coverage.

There’s room to grow in the investment-only variable annuity space, and educated advisers are the key.

A federal district court granted a preliminary injunction on Thursday ordering the Department of Labor to postpone the application of a rule that would have extended Family and Medical Leave Act benefits to same-sex married couples even in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage.

Employers may want to take note of the qualifying longevity annuity contract rules that were put in place last year under the required minimum distribution rules of the Internal Revenue Code.

Continued lawsuits over excessive 401(k) fees are on track to force providers to change the way they deliver products and end a practice that appears to be a “showcase of impropriety.”

Commentary: It depends, says Borislow Insurance’s Mark Gaunya, who points to the Massachusetts system. The national model must evolve first.

Aetna has agreed to reduce out-of-pocket payments for most HIV and AIDS medicines after pressure from an advocacy group, revising coverage that had some patients paying $1,000 a month for the drugs.

Enrollment goals fall short when key points get lost or the message itself fails to connect with the employee.