Bloomberg News

Small-business employees will have to wait a year before they can choose their own medical plans after the Obama administration delayed a part of PPACA intended to provide them with coverage options.

Freestanding ERs are among the fastest-growing areas of medical care, but many say the facility fees charged by them aren’t justified and lack transparency. Hospitals contend the facilities drain away the privately insured, high-paying patients they need to survive.

Consumers and some health insurers, led by Aetna, Inc., say the facility fees charged by many of the new ERs aren’t justified and lack transparency.

The largest exchange-traded fund tracking the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal-bond market is selling at a discount to its underlying assets for the longest stretch since 2011.

The proposal in Arkansas and Ohio is a departure from the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but the Obama administration might be open to it.

On the second day of arguments over one of the country’s most polarizing issues, the court’s majority suggested the federal government overstepped its authority with the Defense of Marriage Act, which limits the benefits available to gay couples.

Humana Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc. rose after congressional researchers said the U.S. Medicare program has the authority to raise payments to insurers.

Hearing arguments this week in Washington, the justices voiced skepticism about the so-called pay-for-delay agreements, which the Federal Trade Commission says cost buyers as much as $3.5 billion a year.

Diabetes medications are multibillion-dollar drugs and the percentage of Americans diagnosed with the disease continues to grow, but there is evidence that major pharmaceuticals are causing pre-cancerous changes.

An analysis of seven previous studies showed the beverages appeared to disturb the heart’s natural rhythm, which over time may lead to an irregular heartbeat or death and raise blood pressure.

The Senate adopted a proposal yesterday that would modestly reduce the U.S. debt through higher taxes for top earners as part of the first budget plan the Democratic-controlled body has passed in four years.

The Federal Reserve should pay more attention to the harm inflicted on savers by record-low interest rates, says Steven Kandarian, the chairman and chief executive officer of MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer.

Health care stocks are leading gains in U.S. equities this year for the first time since 1998 as companies cut costs and investors speculate an expansion of insurance programs will benefit hospitals and insurers.

Capital Group Cos., owner of American Funds, is expanding its investment options and reorganized its equity teams in response to feedback from financial advisers

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, pressed by critics including Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, dropped a plan meant to give pension-cost certainty to local officials that may have left the system unable to pay benefits.

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s $73 billion unfunded liability may be the state’s “most difficult fiscal challenge” and lawmakers should increase funding for the second-largest U.S. pension, the Legislative Analyst’s Office has reported.

A rising number of injuries linked to robotic surgery has been reported to Massachusetts health officials, spurring the state to call for better oversight on training and more disclosure to patients on potential risks.

Illinois teachers would be asked to choose between pension increase and retiree health under a measure that was adopted by the state’s senate this week. The bill’s impact is a matter of dispute. Illinois’ pension system is the most under-funded state system in the country.

About 2% of American school children were diagnosed with autism disorders in 2011 and 2012, a 72 percent increase from the previous five years, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Caffeine levels should be reduced in energy drinks because of health risks, particularly to children, doctors wrote the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.