Health care spending increased 3.8 percent in March, according to a report from Altarum Institutes Center for Sustainable Health Spending.

Two committees have approved a measure establishing a trust fund to administer retirement plans for workers who would automatically be enrolled unless they opt out.

Falling interest rates caused pension liabilities to outpace growth in April.

Data being released for the first time by the government on Wednesday shows that hospitals charge Medicare wildly differing amounts sometimes 10 to 20 times what Medicare typically reimburses for the same procedure, raising questions about how hospitals determine prices and why they differ so widely.