Health Care

Among all the budget concerns facing the U.S., few pose as big a threat to the government’s balance sheet as our growing health care bill. The rise in health care costs has significantly outpaced both inflation and economic growth for decades, leading to increasingly dire projections about Medicare’s long-term solvency in recent years. Yet even as policymakers debate about ways to shore up Medicare, some promising trends suggest the government…

In the world of insurance products, long-term care insurance is a relative newcomer. It was introduced in the late 1970s, but in recent years, it has become a much more important element of retirement planning thanks to twin rises in health care costs and longevity. (Life expectancy in 1930 was just 59.7; in 2010 life expectancy for Americans was 78.7.) Many people associate long-term care insurance with nursing homes, but…

Prev1 of 2Next Getty Images Employers are bracing for big fees next year for insuring their employees. The fee, equal to $63 for each worker, is a little-noticed requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that became law in 2010. The fee goes to create a $25 billion fund for insurance companies to offset the cost of covering patients with high medical bills. As The Wall Street Journal…

Elise Amendola/AP NEW YORK — A government appeal of a ruling giving women of all ages broad access to morning-after birth control is frivolous, a federal judge said Friday as he refused to suspend enforcement of his decision pending appeal. U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn did agree to postpone implementation of his month-old decision until Monday to give the government time to appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit…

(Alamy) Spring’s on its way in, but — if the DailyFinance offices are any indication — we’re not out of the woods yet. For the past few weeks, several writers at AOL’s New York headquarters have been fighting off the last of our winter colds and desperately trying to stay healthy with immune systems that have been ravaged by the last few months of wintry chill. It’s actually not all…

Michael Temchine/For The Washington Post via Getty Images Daniel Sherrett, 28, who returned home to live with his mother, Marie, and older brother Mark, 31, after completing his bachelor’s degree at the Culinary Institute of America, prepares dinner as part of his deal to live at home. Between the growing number of adult children moving back in with their parents, and a growing population of senior citizens becoming financially dependent…

Alex Brandon/APDaniel N. Mendelson, CEO of data analysis firm Avalere Health, warns cancer patients could face high costs for medications under President Obama’s health-care law.By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR WASHINGTON — Cancer patients could face high costs for medications under President Barack Obama’s health care law, industry analysts and advocates warn. Where you live could make a huge difference in what you’ll pay. To try to keep premiums low, some states are…

Danny Johnston/APArkansas House Majority Leader Rep. Bruce Westerman signals his intention to speak against a Medicaid funding bill in the House chamber at the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark.By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR WASHINGTON — Rejecting the Medicaid expansion in the federal health care law could have unexpected consequences for states where Republican lawmakers remain steadfastly opposed to what they scorn as “Obamacare.” It could mean exposing businesses to Internal…

Alamy You already trust your health care providers with your physical well-being. Should you also trust them with your financial health? That’s the question consumers are facing as a growing group of health care providers give patients the option to charge their treatment costs on so-called medical credit cards. These cards, offered by major financial-services firms such as Citigroup, GE Capital and Wells Fargo, are designed for consumers paying out…

MCT / Getty Images Health care is one of the toughest financial challenges you’ll face in retirement. For millions of retirees, Medicare coverage that takes effect for most people at age 65 is the key to being able to afford health care costs that would otherwise quickly sap their retirement savings. But over the years, Medicare has gotten increasingly complicated, and with the emergence of Obamacare, Americans are struggling to…