Centene returned to profitable second-quarter as membership gains in several states helped the Medicaid provider offset a 19 percent rise in medical costs.

Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, gave his blessing to emergency manager Kevyn Orr's decision to file for bankruptcy for Detroit.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says $27 million in federal funds will be distributed to 44 community organizations that will help educate the public and push enrollment in the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace.

The nation's largest health insurer's earnings topped Wall Street estimates on Thursday, and it raised the low end of its full-year earnings forecast. The company's stock jumped nearly 6 percent.

Stocks are opening slightly lower on Wall Street as traders are mostly unimpressed with the latest batch of corporate earnings.

Unemployment levels in the world's advanced economies could improve next year, even though the number of people without work will likely continue to rise in several European countries, a leading international economic body said Tuesday.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. has warned that government funding cuts will make it hard to hit the top end of its 2013 earnings forecast. Investors will want to know if that warning still stands when the nation's largest health insurer reports second-quarter results Thursday.

The company cites concerns about PPACA as a reason for the move.