Health Care

The $1,000 pill for a liver-wasting viral infection that made headlines last year is no longer the favorite of patients and doctors.

Aetna Inc. said Friday that it had agreed to buy Humana Inc. for $34.1 billion in cash and stock, following weeks of frenzied merger talks among the largest health insurers.

A panel that advises Congress on Medicare policy says the government should make it easier for seniors to get covered for rehab after a short hospital stay.

Gov. Tom Wolf and the state attorney general want the Commonwealth Court to force the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and rival Highmark Inc. into arbitration to settle lingering disputes.

The Justice Department said Tuesday that it is stepping into a long-running lawsuit against one of the nation's largest nursing-home chains, accusing it of systematic Medicare overbilling and sometimes putting frail, dying patients through arduous rehab schedules just to increase revenue.

The nation's largest suppliers of HIV and AIDS medical care is accused of bilking Medicare and Medicaid in an elaborate $20 million dollar scam that spanned 12-states, according to a lawsuit filed in South Florida federal court.

Insurer Aetna has made new hepatitis C drugs from Gilead Sciences Inc. preferred treatments for customers with the liver-destroying virus.

Walgreens, the largest drugstore chain in the U.S., said Tuesday it will offer prescriptions at no upfront cost to some patients who are working on getting health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

Early December may be the least wonderful time of the year for Medicare Advantage customers who still haven't settled on coverage plans for 2015.

Individual insurance sign-ups under California's health care exchange were running ahead of pace from a year ago, when the marketplace opened for the first time, state officials reported Thursday.

With many seniors facing high medical bills, a congressional investigation has found that federal government websites meant to give Medicare patients basic consumer tools instead fail to provide adequate information on out-of-pocket costs, and even quality of care.

More than 7 million people have signed up for private health insurance under the system introduced last year for those who were uninsured or had policies considered substandard.

Medicare may soon begin paying for yearly scans to detect lung cancer in certain current or former heavy smokers.

The Obama administration says starting this weekend, consumers can get an early peek at 2015 premiums and plans under the president's health law.

Officials racing to ready Minnesota's health insurance exchange for open enrollment one month from now said Wednesday it's a high-risk project because of tight timelines but they expect consumers will have a better experience than last year.

Three Florida organizations will receive nearly $7 million to help consumers sign up for health insurance during the second enrollment season under the Affordable Care Act.

Officials tell The Associated Press that a nonpartisan investigative report concludes that management failures by the Obama administration set the stage for the computer problems that paralyzed the HealthCare.gov website last fall.

New Mexico decided Friday to stick with a federal online system for another year to enroll individuals in health insurance plans.

Network adequacy requirements for health plans should focus on making sure consumers have adequate access to different types of services rather than providers, a state Insurance Department official said Thursday.

The health insurer's first-quarter earnings fell 4.1%, partly due to integration and other charges, while its  revenue and membership rolls increased.