Core and Group Health

Nebraska should not wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the Obama administration's health care overhaul before it prepares a state-based insurance exchange, a leading hospital advocate said Wednesday.

President Barack Obama's Medicare nominee Tuesday got unexpected support from one of Congress' Republican stars. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told The Associated Press that Marilyn Tavenner is "eminently qualified" to run Medicare.

Lipitor is so valuable that its maker, Pfizer Inc., is practically paying people to keep taking the blockbuster cholesterol medicine after generic competition hits the U.S. market this week.

Health insurer Humana Inc. says it is acquiring SeniorBridge, a New York-based chronic-care provider best known for offering in-home care for the elderly.

President Obama has picked Marilyn Tavenner, a nurse who got her start in hospital administration, to be the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. forecast 2012 earnings growth of up to 5 percent compared to its expectations for 2011. Analysts say that outlook is conservative.