Insurer ING Group said Friday it will sell its reinsurance unit, NRG., to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway / for about $435.7 million.

It's long been suggested that socio-economic issues, like lack of transportation to a doctor's office, can influence rates of disease in minorities.

Starting Jan. 1, all Massachusetts residents 19 and older must have health insurance or they'll lose their personal exemption of $219 when filing their 2007 state personal income taxes.

The deal is part of a nationwide network of more than 500 counties and CaremarkPCS of Irving, Texas, which negotiates discounts directly with 57,000 participating pharmacies.

A new computer system to run the state's Medicaid program will cost $64.2 million, twice as much as originally projected, officials said Thursday.

Instead of frustration over a seven-hour wait to have their son treated for a common respiratory infection, Rob and Debra Tofil sensed a business opportunity.

With millions of colonoscopies performed each year and specialists advising all Americans over 50 to be screened, the proper use of this anesthetic could become a multibillion-dollar point of contention.

Faced with rising obesity, diabetes and hypertension rates among inner city residents, officials have recently constructed five "Fitness Zones" around the county on plots of land about the size of a small office.

The state already has one of the lowest percentages of uninsured children in the nation, and the new proposal could make the state even more of a leader.

Ave Maria Nursing Home has moved one step closer in replacing a 52-year-old wing with four new buildings and adopting a concept in nursing home care that gives residents a more home-like environment.

With the new enhancements in place, each agency is now able to view the other agency's clinical encounters, medical procedures, and lists of medical problems on shared patients using BHIE.

Looking for Space The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the federal agency that covers treatment for poor, disabled and elderly patients, requested the inspection.

A federal judge blocked that city's plan to require businesses with more than 20 employees to help pay for coverage for the uninsured, saying it violated federal law.

QMed, Inc., (Nasdaq: QMED) today announced that its subsidiary, QMedCare of New Jersey, Inc., is concluding its involvement in the Special Needs Plan in New Jersey.

A genetic mutation known to increase the odds of breast cancer in some Jewish women has been found in significant numbers of Hispanic and African-American breast cancer patients as well, underscoring the need for genetic testing across ethnic lines to determine who is at risk.

The Louisiana Business Group on Health, which lobbies for employers, is doing a "gap analysis," taking a look at what other states did or are doing and whether Louisiana can do the same things, said Butch Passman, chief executive officer of the group.

With eight days to go until the Iowa caucuses, Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee brought out the big guns. But only Huckabee shot anything.

Doctors often fall for the same health myths that their patients do, Drs. Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll report in the Christmas- New Year's issue of the British Medical Journal. Among seven myths they cite is the eight-glasses-of-water one.

The state has settled a federal class-action suit brought by three disabled Medicaid clients who waited up to nine months for a decision on whether they qualified for benefits.

A state delegate said yesterday he will introduce legislation that would require Maryland to increase funding for tobacco prevention programs by 2012 to ensure the state meets federal recommendations.

Cheaper generic copies of some of the world's most expensive medicines could be on the way -- good news for consumers but painful for companies' bottom lines.

By 2010, Alzheimer's care will cost Medicare about $160 billion a year. One analysis has estimated that by 2050, Alzheimer's will cost Medicare more than $1 trillion annually.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday that employers could reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare.

Two independent insurance agencies on Wednesday announced they have merged to create what company executives say is Augusta's largest insurance firm.

AHIP recently announced a new online training program for brokers, agents, and plan marketing staff that is designed to strengthen their ability to provide Medicare beneficiaries the information they need to make the decisions that are best for them.  This initiative builds upon the Medicare Advantage and Part D marketing principles that were adopted by AHIP's Board of Directors in May 2007.