Health Care

Obama Vows to Curb Waste, `Massive' Insurer Subsidies to Fund Health Bill President Barack Obama made his case for an overhaul of the U.S. medical system to Missouri voters, emphasizing his efforts to curb waste and fraud in government health programs.

Personalized Genetic-Based Medicine Spurred by Medco's Cost-Saving Tests Medco Health Solutions Inc., the second-biggest U.S. manager of drug benefits, is encouraging doctors to use genetic tests to determine whether drugs will work for particular patients -- saving money and reducing harm caused when prescriptions are wrong.

Drugstore.com CEO Lepore Sees Takeovers After `Permanent' Consumer Shift Drugstore.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Dawn Lepore said she will pursue acquisitions to boost growth in the company’s main businesses of vitamins, vision and beauty products.

AstraZeneca Teams Up With India's Torrent in First Generic-Drug Alliance AstraZeneca Plc signed an agreement with Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. to brand and market 18 of the Indian drugmaker medicines in 9 emerging economies, marking the U.K. drugmaker’s first generic-drug partnership.

Merck's Pill Wipes Out Head Lice in Study as Researchers Seek New Medicine Merck & Co.’s Stromectol tablet worked better than lotion at clearing up hard-to-treat head lice, a study found, as the infestations become increasingly resistant to current medicines.

WellPoint CFO DeVeydt Says California Rates a `Preview' of Obama Plan WellPoint Inc.’s plan to raise rates for some California customers by 39 percent, a rallying point for Democrats seeking a health-care overhaul, is a preview of the prices Americans will face if the proposal succeeds, the insurer’s chief financial officer said.

Psychiatric Solutions Says Approach Made by Purchaser as Shares Rise 21% Psychiatric Solutions Inc., the operator of psychiatric facilities in 32 states, said it has been approached by a potential buyer.

Heart Angiograms Show No Disease in Almost 40% of Patients, Study Finds Doctors may be sending patients too quickly for elective angiograms to detect heart disease, exposing them to radiation and driving up U.S. health-care costs, a study suggests.

Family Genome Sequence Shows Fewer Mutations Are Inherited Than Thought The gene sets of a four-member family were analyzed in research that suggested parents pass fewer gene mutations than thought to their offspring.

Fortis Healthcare to Buy 23.9% Stake in Parkway Holdings for $686 Million Fortis Healthcare Ltd., India’s biggest hospital chain by market value, agreed to buy a 23.9 percent stake in Parkway Holdings Ltd. for S$959 million ($686 million).