Benefits Broker

House and Senate Republican leaders told President Barack Obama Thursday that they will refuse to nominate candidates to serve on an advisory board that is to play a role in holding down Medicare costs under the new health care act.

The Obama administration announced new funding Thursday for efforts to help the uninsured enroll in new coverage options through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The Republican-controlled House is moving to put U.S. bondholders and people on Social Security at the front of the line to be paid if the government hits its borrowing limit and is unable to meet all of its obligations.

Eating fish is good for your heart but taking fish oil capsules does not help people at high risk of heart problems who are already taking medicines to prevent them, a large study in Italy found.

Using mobile health technology to monitor patients in poor urban areas could improve residents' access to health care while also reducing health care spending, a study conducted in a Rio de Janeiro hillside "favela" slum suggested.

Spending on prescription medicines in the U.S. fell for the first time in decades last year, slipping as cash-strapped consumers continued to cut back on use of health care services.

Health care exchanges already struggling to get off the ground in many states are facing new hurdles as major insurance companies express reservations over joining them.

Republican supermajorities have all but scuttled Medicaid expansion in Missouri, defeating at least for this year efforts supported by the Democratic governor to extend basic health coverage to an estimated 250,000 low-income state residents.