Consumer Driven Health Care

Just how effective will the insurance penalty under health reform be in getting consumers to buy insurance? Not very, according to a new survey.

UnitedHealth Group, the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, warned Thursday that funding cuts for the privately-run versions of the federal Medicare program will force it to reconsider its expectations for earnings growth next year.

UnitedHealth Group's first-quarter earnings sank 14 percent, as medical costs dulled enrollment-fueled revenue gains for the nation's largest health insurer, which also expects federal budget cuts will pressure its performance the rest of the year.

The health care work force has a message for Washington about health reform: It's not ready for it.

North Carolina business recruiters say a historically outsized package of about $100 million in state and local incentives to get MetLife Inc. to move 2,600 jobs from other states to North Carolina could stall benefits to other companies or force lawmakers to loosen up the rules.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. will give investors and analysts an initial look at how 2013 is developing for health insurers when it reports first-quarter results on Thursday.