The percentage of companies that are already saying they expect to drop health coverage once exchanges start surprised some experts, and if they follow through, it could start a trend that chips away at employer-sponsored health coverage. The Obama administration insists employer-sponsored coverage is poised to increase, not decline.
Nearly one of every 10 midsized or big employers expects to stop offering health coverage to workers once federal insurance exchanges start in 2014, according to a new survey from a large benefits consultant.
Omnicare Inc. on Tuesday went public with a $457 million offer for pharmacy management services company PharMerica Corp., sending shares of both companies surging.
Cigna Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter net income jumped 39 percent compared to last year's quarter, when a hit from a discontinued business weighed on the managed care company's performance.
Consumers may catch a little break when their health insurance policies renew. Lower-than-expected use of health care has helped push insurer earnings higher and that may temper how much they increase premiums.
Health insurer Aetna Inc. said Wednesday its second-quarter net income rose 9 percent in part because it benefited from a continued slowdown in the use of health care services by its members. The company also raised its full-year earnings forecast.
WellPoint Inc.'s second-quarter net income fell 3 percent as Medicare Advantage expenses climbed, and Wall Street punished the health insurer's stock in Wednesday trading even though the company raised its 2011 earnings forecast for the second time this year.
A budding model for primary care that encourages the family doctor to act as a health coach who focuses as much on preventing illness as on treating it has shown promising results and saved insurers millions of dollars.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. said Tuesday its second-quarter earnings rose 13 percent, as enrollment gains helped fuel revenue growth and consumers continued to moderate their health care system use.
The economy has made consumers more cautious about health care spending and forced some to reduce it considerably, according to a Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey.