health care spending

Health spending stabilized as a share of the nation's economy in 2010 after two back-to-back years of historically low growth, the government reported Monday. Experts debated whether it's a fleeting consequence of the sluggish economy, or a real sign that cost controls by private employers and government at all levels are starting to work.

A year after President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, many Americans are still struggling to get their insurance to cover basic medical treatments. And now, they are increasingly exploring less expensive alternatives to traditional Western medicine -- like acupuncture.

After several years of robust expansion, the leading branded pharma companies will see growth slow to just 1.3% from now to 2015, independent market analyst company Datamonitor said in a new report. The primary culprit: expiring patents and an onslaught of generic competition.

Changes to the U.S. health care system take effect today. But while the measures will clearly benefit many Americans, the new law's real price tag is still a subject of fierce disagreement.

Development of technologically advanced -- and expensive -- lifesaving treatments will continue to increase as the new health care reform law is phased in over the next few years.

Health care costs will increase between 10.5% and 11% over the next year, marginally higher than last year's rise, consulting firm Aon said Wednesday. Aon pins the increase on factors such as rising prescription drug costs and the effects of the health care reform law passed this spring.

Despite relatively stable rates for insurance premiums, the average U.S. family's health care costs will increase by 14% this year, thanks mostly to higher deductibles, according to a report released Thursday.

IBM and Aetna's ActiveHealth Management subsidiary have jointly launched the Collaborative Care Solution, a new cloud-computing and clinical-decision support system that aims to improve medical practices at hospitals, helping them provide better care at a lower cost.

One of President Obama's main selling points for pushing for the biggest overhaul of the U.S. health care system in decades was that it would end the insurance companies' odious practice of denying people medical coverage because of their preexisting medical conditions. One recently released study...

The onset of H1N1 flu season and the coming health-care reforms are putting health insurers -- and their latest quarterly reports -- in the spotlight. With the exception of Aetna (AET), most insurers' shares have dropped as investors worry about potential fallout of reform and from rising swine...