Health

Disability benefits have soared as the embattled Veterans Affairs department expands coverage and streamlines the claims process. Now, some critics say the reduced evidence requirements can mean claims get padded.

Growth in U.S. health-care spending quickened slightly in 2015 and will continue to rise at a moderate pace over the next decade, but not at the fast clip seen in the 20-year period before the recession, federal actuaries said Wednesday.

Sage Therapeutics’ shares jumped 40% after the pharmaceutical firm announced positive mid-stage trial data for its treatment for postpartum depression.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, which is working toward a $40.5 billion acquisition of Allergan’s generics unit, increased its second-quarter earnings and revenue guidance.

Agency’s advisory panel voted unanimously in favor of Amgen’s version of AbbVie’s Humira, a biotech drug that raked in nearly $15 billion last year.

Juno Therapeutics Inc. will resume a drug trial of a potential leukemia treatment that had been placed on clinical hold last week following two patient deaths.

Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has continued to put a positive spin on her embattled blood-testing company—while broadly keeping employees in the dark on many issues—even as Theranos’s regulatory and legal troubles mount.

Aetna and Humana faced resistance from the Justice Department in a meeting to consider their proposed $34 billion merger, signaling an uphill battle persuading antitrust enforcers the deal won’t harm competition.

The growth of insurance plans built around small networks of health-care providers is fueling new fights over surprise medical bills, when patients inadvertently get care from out-of-network doctors.

House Republicans began hearings on Affordable Care Act reimbursements to insurers to offset low-income consumers’ out-of-pocket costs, as the White House appealed a judge’s ruling that those payments are improper.

Juno Therapeutics Inc. said a clinical hold was placed on its trial of a potential leukemia treatment after two patient deaths last week.

U.S. biotech Medivation said it had signed confidentiality agreements with several suitors, including Sanofi, opening the door to potential takeover talks.

Joseph Papa promised to start a “new chapter” at drugmaker Valeant, but Wall Street is questioning whether the man hired to bring about change can succeed after drawing from a similar playbook to Valeant’s at his previous company, Perrigo.

The Department of Veterans Affairs health system should get a wholesale revamp that includes shuttering some facilities and making permanent a system that lets veterans get care from private doctors, according to an advisory commission.