Core and Group Health

Bipartisan passage of a $1.1 trillion bill to finance the U.S. government through Sept. 30 clears the way for lawmakers to focus on the next potential fiscal showdown: Raising the federal debt ceiling.

UnitedHealth Group said government cuts to Medicare may make it harder to increase earnings in 2015, sending shares down the most in three months.

Greeted by higher premiums, less generous coverage and more paperwork, small businesses that offer health coverage to employees are choosing to renew existing plans rather than buy them through President Barack Obamas program.

The WellPoint unit is giving consumers until Jan. 31 to pay for Jan. 1 coverage.

So it turns out Im depressed.

With Obamacare bearing down on them, a doctors group said emergency rooms are less able to provide quality care than three years ago, and more resources will be needed to handle an expected surge of patients.