Lewis Krauskopf

Investors could be excused for avoiding health insurance and hospital stocks as a U.S. Supreme Court decision nears on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law — an outcome that could send the companies' shares down 10% or more.

Three major U.S. health insurers that provide coverage to millions of Americans said they would keep some protections included in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on the law.

UnitedHealth Group Inc, the largest U.S. health insurer by market value, said it would maintain the health coverage protections included in President Barack Obama's health care law regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on the legislation.

Employers want to step up programs to encourage healthier behavior among their workers and to control spending on expensive injected specialty medicines, according to a survey by pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co.

Express Scripts won U.S. antitrust clearance on Monday for its purchase of rival Medco Health Solutions following a contentious eight-month review, creating the clear leader in managing prescriptions for Americans.

Would hospitals and health care providers really do a better job if they were paid based on outcomes? A recent push from the federal government and the business community alludes that pay for performance initiatives is an effective health care strategy, but a new study out shows that based on actual outcomes, it is not.

The Obama administration maintains that its plan to have health insurers pay for birth control offered to employees of religious groups won't end up costing the industry. But insurers aren't so confident.

U.S. health insurers said on Friday they feared President Barack Obama had set a new precedent by making them responsible for providing free birth control to employees of religious groups as he sought to defuse an election-year landmine.

U.S. health officials will allow states to select the basic set of medical benefits that must be offered by insurance plans participating in new exchanges mandated by the federal health care overhaul, the government said on Friday.

UnitedHealth Group is pushing into managing pharmacy benefits, bucking a trend among U.S. health insurers and threatening the dominance of the three largest companies that help negotiate drug pricing.

WellPoint plans to buy privately held Medicare specialist CareMore to expand its presence in the U.S. government program for the elderly. The deal will advance WellPoint's plans to become a bigger competitor in Medicare.

Americans' use of medical services has not yet rebounded during the weak economy, health insurers say, in a trend that keeps the companies' costs down and could bolster their profits further this year.

Medco Health Solutions Inc. will lose a major pharmacy benefit contract to CVS Caremark Corp. starting next year, sending Medco shares down almost 11% and CVS up nearly 4% Friday.

Large health insurers expect an increase in deals in the industry after last year's U.S. healthcare overhaul made it tougher for smaller companies to compete.

Americans are more optimistic about their ability to pay for health care services in the coming months, particularly for elective surgeries, according to a survey issued on Thursday.