Healthcare plans

Insurer will get 5% more in Medicare payments and a “five-star” rating for one of its health plans under a U.S. program that may be helping to improve care for the elderly, according to an analysis that quickly spurred Republican criticism.

After the vice presidential debate in which Joe Biden challenged Paul Ryan on health care and taxes, experts say President Obama needs to take a similar stance tonight and go on the offensive, laying out clear contrasts with Mitt Romney and making the kind of personal connection with voters that helped him win four years ago.

Health care analysts mystified by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s promise to preserve the segment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that bars excluding Americans with preexisting conditions from obtaining coverage.

The American Medical Association and Medical Association of Georgia are fighting efforts in Georgia to undo the state’s law requiring insurers that provide third-party administrative services to pay claims in a timely manner.

The amount of venture capital being spent on Health IT companies is increasing, and technology is partying like it’s 1999 as geeks are transforming health care.

Majority of patients say cost is the biggest problem facing U.S. health care.

A Wells Fargo Insurance survey finds that the cost of claims in employer-sponsored health plans will grow by high single digits next year.

Screening tools, access to sleep medicine professionals and compliance management can help employers deal with sleep apnea.

Employees of Sears and Darden Restaurants will be able to choose health insurance through a private exchange operated by Aon Hewitt.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates those genetically predisposed to obesity were more likely to gain weight from sugary beverages than those without the traits.

More than one-fourth of Americans rate the nation’s health care system “poor,” according to a new report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Proponents say telehealth services don’t just reduce absenteeism and help curb expensive treatment patterns, they can actually change those costly behaviors.

The automaker has benefits packages as new and innovative as its electric cars, despite a workforce that essentially doubles every year.

Open enrollment is a stressful time for Americans: Choosing benefits ranks as employees’ second most difficult decision, following retirement saving, according to a new survey from Aetna.

In a case of first impression, the Eleventh Circuit's decision in Seff v. Broward County offers an alternate path for analyzing whether wellness programs comply with the ADA.

Consumer-driven health plans have bypassed health maintenance organizations to become the second most common plan design offered by U.S. employers, according to an Aon Hewitt survey.

A new poll of young Americans shows that available employment opportunities mean more to Generation Y than college interest rates or staying on their parents’ health insurance plans.

Maximizing enrollment and healthy participation starts with crafting a health savings account that fits employees’ needs and ends with making sure they know how it can help them.

Participants in comprehensive workplace wellness programs achieve a significant reduction in health risks in as little as 18 months, according to a new study conducted by the Principal Financial Group, with the greatest impact among participants who also received personalized health coaching.

Before eligible individuals and small employers begin shopping in the public health care exchanges in 2014, private retiree Medicare exchanges provide a glimpse of what public and private health insurance exchanges could look like.