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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.

For many taxpayers, their first introduction to the ACA may be the Form 1095-A that they receive in the mail, and bring with them — or forget to bring with them — to their tax preparer. Many have questions about the form, and state exchange call centers have been inundated with inquiries. Here are top five questions being asked about Form 1095-A.

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

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.

After two enrollment seasons under the Affordable Care Act's exchanges, the easily accessible and amenable are signed up for health care. With year three starting this fall, the task will be tougher to target the remaining uninsured, who are harder to reach. Who better to drive the message home, Washington state thinks, than brokers?

Commentary: There isn't one right answer to what a plan should look like, but there’s no harm in asking around to see what other employers consider reasonable.

Commentary: Some of the nation’s most comprehensive health care cost transparency requirements going into effect in New York are setting a solid precedent for other states to follow, says FAIR Health’s Robin Gelburd.

The DOL has stayed true to a planned increased in enforcement and investigation of ERISA criminal violations, including indictments of employers and service providers, that should serve as a cautionary tale for any individual involved with the administration of these plans.