John Flannery built a reputation as a prolific rainmaker in his previous role as head of business development at General Electric Co., logging more than $26 billion in deals, yet acquisitions are far from his mind as chief executive of the U.S. conglomerate’s healthcare unit.

The insurer covers more than 30,000 Iowans through the exchange, representing about about 75 percent of all individual policies in Iowa's market. 

A study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco, estimates that a 10 percent decline in smoking in the U.S. would be followed by a $63 billion reduction in total healthcare costs for the following year.

St. David’s HealthCare announced plans to buy Forest Park Medical Center’s Austin hospital for $115 million, reports BizJournal.

Aetna’s filings with regulators “preserved our options to enter certain new geographies pending careful evaluation of marketplace conditions.” 

The healthcare industry is falling behind in the terms of technology. While almost every other industry is embracing the technological age, healthcare seems to be stuck in the 1990’s.

The healthcare analytics company has announced the launch of a free tool used to calculate the real cost of delaying the shift from public and private payer volume to value-based care and reimbursement.

With the average American living well past the age of 65, the chance of needing long-term care is about 52 percent for most people. Sadly, the cost of care is something that most people cannot afford.