Core and Group Health

In the five years since Massachusetts' landmark health care initiative was signed into law, it has served as a blueprint for national health care, a political football in last year's elections and a talking point in the 2012 presidential contest.

Last week the Senate approved a bill that would eliminate the controversial 1099 provision from the Affordable Care Act, and just three days later another important piece of the legislation went down with Friday night’s budget agreement. This time the “employee free choice” voucher program emerged in the cross-hairs.

Details of last week's hard-won agreement to avoid a government shutdown and cut federal spending by $38 billion were released Tuesday morning. They reveal the budget cuts, while historic, were significantly eased by pruning money left over from previous years, using accounting sleight of hand.

President Barack Obama's plan to curb health care costs that drive the deficit will mean less taxpayer money for providers and more costs for beneficiaries as he draws from bipartisan ideas already on the table.

Tenet Healthcare has charged rival hospital operator Community Health Systems with systematically bilking Medicare, and the burgeoning legal fight sent shares of the entire sector sliding Monday.

Colorado's looming budget cuts threaten more than schools and state jobs — they also could put lives at stake.

I’m leaning political today. Guess you could blame Dee Dee Myers and Fred Thompson, whose headline session yesterday did more than draw a standing-room only crowd.

This week’s round-up of news affecting the employee benefits business.