Core and Group Health

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.

Budget analysts said Wednesday that a Senate Democratic plan to reduce the deficit and increase the nation's borrowing authority would save $2.2 trillion over a decade, more than a rival House Republican proposal but less than promised.

Wealthy countries all over the world are dealing with debts and strained budgets as they mop up after the Great Recession and brace for the budget-busting retirement of the baby boomer generation. But the United States is in a bigger fix than almost anyone else.

Thwarted by conservatives in his own Republican Party, House Speaker John Boehner scrambled Tuesday to secure enough GOP votes to beat a fast-closing Aug. 2 deadline and stave off the potential financial chaos of the nation's first-ever default.

With enrollment lagging in new health care programs for people with pre-existing conditions, a nonprofit advocacy group is recommending that the waiting period for high risk pools be shortened or eliminated.

A variety of pressing economic and health issues were addressed at the National Association of Governors (NGA) annual 2011 meeting held in Salt Lake City, including elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) as well as state budgets.

A new study suggests that Medicare's 5-year-old prescription drug plan is keeping seniors out of hospitals and nursing homes, saving the federal program an estimated $12 billion a year in those costs.