Lifestyle

After drawing fire from a number of critics about some of its health insurance plans, AARP has announced that it would voluntarily suspend sales of several of its health coverage products.

Sitting in an ER waiting for medical attention is no picnic, but how long will a patient wait before getting angry? According to one study, the tipping point is 3 � hours.

In trying to save some cash, Medicare officials went beyond their legal authority, according to a recent decision by a Federal District Court judge in Washington, D.C.

For those who are aware of stock market history, the election of Barack Obama is cause for some optimism about the direction of stock prices. Despite the fact that the incoming President will face serious fiscal problems, including an ongoing credit crisis, a stumbling economy, and a burgeoning debt load, market history is on his side, say some Wall Street optimists.

You’re all set for your overseas vacation when you dig out your passport only to find that it has expired. Panic time!

If you’re 70½ or older and have a traditional IRA, 401(k) or Keogh plan, normally you must take a required minimum distribution (RMD) from your plan by Dec. 31.

The fact that expenses for group practices are growing faster than revenues is hardly news any more; it's a trend that's been going on for more than 10 years.

As the flu season gets underway, the CDC has launched its annual public relations effort urging those at risk to get a flu shot.

Checking your luggage when you fly is a hassle, especially when you have to deal with long baggage inspection lines. Now it's getting expensive, too.

As a physician, you are a decision maker. Should you open your own practice or join a group? Which, if any, insurance plans will you accept? What treatments will you recommend to your patients?

When the Department of Health and Human Services published a rule that would require doctors and other health providers to adopt an updated diagnosis coding set—ICD-10—by 2011, a coalition of physician groups, insurance companies, and clinical laboratories joined forces to ask that the implementation date be pushed back.

Buyers of secured notes in retirement accounts report receiving two important benefits: limited exposure to stock market uncertainty; and an income-producing asset.

Recently the financial headlines are full of big-name banks that have tripped over the credit crisis. Will your bank be next?

When Massachusetts first passed its landmark universal health insurance law, it included a provision that imposed a state income tax penalty on those who chose not to have health insurance. In 2008, uninsured Bay Staters paid up to $912 in penalties.

If misery loves company, there's plenty of it to go around in the investment arena. With the recent slippage in the price of gold, virtually every major investment sector, except for money markets and government bonds, is now in the red for the year.

You've probably heard the old tax adage, "it's not what you make, but what you keep that matters." That's particularly true when it comes to investing.

With the stock market and other investments under water, many investors who are looking to protect their nest eggs are being lured by con artists promoting low risk and high returns.

Consider this scenario. You go to the ocean. It is breezy and chilly. You want to swim, but not if you are going to feel miserably cold.

Optimists are in short supply in investment circles these days, but one of them is multi-billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

A lot of us are reconsidering our vehicles in light of rising oil and gas prices. We want to downsize and stop wasting money.

If you're not currently a social media user, it's likely you will be within the next 4 years.

It usually starts when a patient is taken to an emergency room in a hospital that isn't in his or her insurance plan's network.

I have come to the uneasy realization that Senator Obama is going to be the next president of the United States. Senator Obama has struck a chord with many voters by appearing likable and at ease on the campaign trail and in televised debates.

Hard economic times make for hard choices. One of the hardest for adult children is to go back home to live with Mom and Dad.

The last few months have been a real test of investor fortitude and preparation. While the market losses have not been particularly severe compared to past history, the media has declared a crisis.

A conventional view of healthcare cost containment is to seek out the lowest price consistent with an adequate level of quality care.

Even as many investors are searching for safe havens, others are sifting through some of the riskiest investments in search of a place to put their money.

A couple of market bouncebacks in recent days can't hide the fact that we're in a long-term or "secular" bear market that began in 2000.