HEALTHCARE

CareFusion Corp, the medical device company spun off from Cardinal Health on Sept. 1, posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, driven by strong demand in ventilators for flu and emergency preparedness related to H1N1, or swine flu.

U.S. House of Representatives Democratic leader Steny Hoyer on Thursday said he expects the House to pass a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Saturday, but acknowledged that the vote would be close.

Americans are more likely than people in 10 other countries to have trouble getting medical treatment because of insurance restrictions or cost, an international survey of primary care doctors released on Wednesday found.

Fed Stays Course on Policy; Democrats Shrug Off Losses; Cisco Beats Street

Democrats pushing for healthcare reform shrugged off their losses in two governors races and said on Wednesday the results made it more imperative to deliver on campaign promises to overhaul a failing system.

Stocks jumped on Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 up more than 1 percent, on positive data about the services sector and employment as investors awaited the Fed's assessment of the economic recovery.

The United States ranks 30th in terms of infant mortality, an important measure of the quality of healthcare, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Dutch Philips Electronics is betting it can help doctors monitor patients remotely to keep an aging population healthier and battle rising medical costs.

Johnson & Johnson plans to cut up to 7 percent of its workforce in order to generate cost savings needed to finance increasingly costly drug research and to weather future challenges, the diversified healthcare company said on Tuesday.

Johnson & Johnson will eliminate about 6 percent to 7 percent of its global workforce, or some 7,000 to 8,000 positions, as the diversified healthcare company restructures and seeks cost savings, the company said on Tuesday.

Johnson & Johnson will eliminate about 6 percent to 7 percent of its global workforce, or some 7,000 to 8,000 positions, as the diversified healthcare company restructures and seeks cost savings, the company said on Tuesday.

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled a bill on Thursday to reform the U.S. healthcare system, President Barack Obama's main domestic objective.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Thursday that would transform the insurance market, create a government-run insurance plan and levy new taxes on the rich.

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives released a healthcare reform bill on Thursday that includes a government-run insurance plan and imposes a tax on the wealthiest Americans to help pay for it.

Some of the nation's largest companies pushed back against U.S. Democrats' plans to deliver a government-run insurance option in a healthcare overhaul, decrying it as a step backward that would drive up costs for employers and their workers.

Some of the nation's largest companies pushed back against U.S. Democrats' plans to deliver a government-run insurance option in a healthcare overhaul, decrying it as a step backward that would drive up costs for employers and their workers.

These are heady days for the medical tourism industry. With U.S. healthcare prices spiraling upward, more and more insurers and individuals are looking abroad for treatment. By some estimates, 650,000 Americans will check into foreign hospitals from Mexico to Thailand this year.

A healthcare reform bill with a government-run insurance option faced an uncertain future in the Senate on Tuesday, with many centrist Democrats uncommitted and Senator Joe Lieberman strongly opposed.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said on Monday the Senate's sweeping healthcare reform bill would include a government-run insurance plan that lets states opt out of participation if they choose.

The U.S. healthcare system is just as wasteful as President Barack Obama says it is, and proposed reforms could be paid for by fixing some of the most obvious inefficiencies, preventing mistakes and fighting fraud, according to a Thomson Reuters report released on Monday.

Healthcare companies are reaping the benefits of a global swine flu pandemic, brightening what might otherwise have been a dismal third quarter and bringing new focus on the market for vaccines.