Healthcare

As another open enrollment season comes to a close, millions of consumers are finalizing their benefits packages for 2012. Unfortunately, more than half of insured adults are confused with several important aspects related to choosing a health insurance plan, reveals a survey released Monday.

Obese adults in the United States use a number of prescription drug types more frequently than normal-weight adults, says a new study from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A vast majority of New York State’s small business owners are giving two thumbs up to health insurance exchanges as a viable way to provide health insurance to their employees, according to a statewide survey commissioned by HealthPass New York, a NYC-based commercial health insurance exchange. The survey also found that exchanges have the potential to change the health care marketplace in New York at a time when many small business owners are struggling to keep afloat.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 is having a positive effect on 401(k) plans, according to Fidelity Investments.

Question: What options are available these days for employers who need to cut back on retiree health spending, but still want to provide health care to their former workers? Long after employees retire with the proverbial gold watch, a company may still be carrying them on the books. Through collective bargaining, contractual obligations, or simply a commitment to doing what is right, the employer often arranges for group retiree coverage. …

The leading industry trade organizations expressed disappointment after the December 2 Department of Health and Human Services release of the final medical loss ratio rule failed to remove broker commissions from the administrative side of health reform’s MLR calculation.

The trio of federal agencies charged with interpreting and enforcing the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act have addressed some of the most significant questions arising from these laws. In a set of Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services have intimated that the looming ACA deadline for the production and distribution of summaries of benefits and coverage will be extended.…

It's no secret that most provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act arent' going to win any popularity contests. However, a recent poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation reveals Americans' most liked PPACA provisions.

Most U.S. health insurers last year would have satisfied the much-disputed spending rules under President Obama's health care reform, according to a new report by a congressional watchdog agency.

CVS has told some doctors in Florida, the nation's pill mill capital, that its retail pharmacies will no longer fill prescriptions they write for some potent and addictive drugs, a company spokesman said on Tuesday.