Articles by Lewis Krauskopf and Mica Rosenberg

EEOC Challenges Employee Wellness Penalties in Suit Against Honeywell

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued Honeywell International Inc. to stop the company from imposing penalties on employees who refuse to undergo testing under its corporate wellness program. The lawsuit is the third case since August filed by …

Insurers, Regulators Question Obama’s Healthcare Promise ‘Fix’

Insurers and state regulators say that President Barack Obama’s “fix” for policies canceled under his healthcare reform law will create new problems for the industry and could lead to an increase in premiums. Facing pressure by lawmakers from his Democratic …

How Investors View Obamacare Enrollment

Investors expect 4 million Americans to initially enroll in the state insurance marketplaces created under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, according to a survey released on Monday, as concerns mount that technical glitches could present obstacles to enrollment. The …

No Penalty for Employers Not Telling Employees About Obamacare

Employers will not face a penalty if they fail to inform their workers by Oct 1 about changes under President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, the administration said, in what will likely come as a relief to many small businesses. The …

Corporate Winners, Losers Under Supreme Court Healthcare Ruling

Hospitals and insurers providing Medicaid plans for the poor emerged as the main corporate winners from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold President Barack Obama’s healthcare law, while investors in large insurers were left deflated. The ruling paves the …

Health Insurer UnitedHealth Vows to Keep Reforms Whatever Court Decides

UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest U.S. health insurer by market value, said it would maintain the health coverage protections included in President Barack Obama’s healthcare law regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on the legislation. The Supreme Court is …

Hospital Pay Incentives Not Improving Patient Outcomes: Study

A program to pay hospitals bonuses for hitting key performance measures, or dock them if they miss, failed to improve the health outcomes of patients, according to a large, long-term study. The study could lead to a re-examination of financial …

Healthcare Individual Mandate Too Weak to Matter, Aetna CEO Says

Wall Street’s concern about the U.S. Supreme Court’s looming decision on President Obama’s healthcare overhaul is overblown because the provision at the heart of the law already has little teeth, the top executive at Aetna Inc. said. The court in …

Health Insurers Win Some Breaks with Medical Loss Ratio Rule

New U.S. health insurance spending rules aimed at ensuring more customer dollars go toward medical care were finalized on Monday, ending a source of uncertainty for investors in the sector. Although the limits are mandated in the new healthcare law, …

U.S. Group Health Premiums Rose 3% in 2009; Individual Up 15%

U.S. health insurers took in 7 percent more revenue from premiums from individual, group and other policies in 2009 than in the previous year, even as the number of those people with coverage fell, according to a report released on …