Broker Regulation

Health insurer Humana Inc. trimmed its third-quarter lobbying spending by 43 percent compared to last year, as it focused only on a handful of bills pending in Congress.

It's become a symbol of sorts for the federal government's budget dysfunction: Unless Congress acts before Jan. 1, doctors will again face steep Medicare cuts that threaten to undermine health care for millions of seniors and disabled people.

Conservative interest groups and Republican lawmakers want Justice Elena Kagan off the health care case. Liberals and Democrats in Congress say it's Justice Clarence Thomas who should sit it out.

Medicare's prescription coverage gap is getting noticeably smaller and easier to manage this year for millions of older and disabled people with high drug costs.

The point man for carrying out President Barack Obama's health care law will be stepping down after Republicans succeeded in blocking his confirmation by the Senate, the White House announced Wednesday.

The medical loss ratio provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is interfering with insurance brokers ability to make a living and harming consumers who rely on brokers for advice and customer service, according to a new survey by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.