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The biggest threat to a retiree's nest egg isn't a stock market crash. It's a long illness requiring round-the-clock care. The statistics behind that scenario -- $81,000 a year for a nursing home, $184,000 for 24-hour home care -- are what sells long-term care insurance policies. But while past research suggested that many more people needed the coverage than bought it, a new study suggests that most people should just skip it. The study, by Boston College's Center for Retirement Research, focused on singles, who now make up the majority of Americans. Long-term care insurance makes financial sense only for the richest 20 to 30 percent of unmarried people, it finds. For the rest, it makes more sense to go without. If they need care, spending down their assets and then letting Medicaid pick up the tab is the most practical solution. (Steverman, 11/12)

UnitedHealth Group Inc. announced an executive shuffle that elevates two key leaders, positioning them for a race to succeed current Chief Executive Stephen J. Hemsley . The parent of the biggest U.S. health insurer said that, effective immediately, it would form a new Office of the Chief Executive, which, in addition to Mr. Hemsley, will include David S. Wichmann as president and Larry C. Renfro as vice chairman, as well as executives focusing on legal matters and human resources. (Wilde Mathews, 11/12)

Medicare Advantage plans that draw a lot of their enrollment from the poor side of town say they're at a disadvantage on the government's five-star ratings scale, which commands respect and governs pay. One company pressing the issue is WellCare Health Plans, based in Tampa. Its Medicare Advantage plans are rated at 3 or 3 1/2 stars, below the 4-star minimum required for plans to qualify for bonus payments. Plans' premium and bonus payments are kept confidential, but other media report that the bonuses amount to a few hundred dollars per member. (Gentry, 11/11)

File this under ‘Nothing like getting off to a good start.’ Last week, Stefan Oschmann, the chief executive officer at Merck KGgA, was elected president of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, a trade group for drug makers that is based in Europe. ... on the same day that his appointment was announced, Oschmann appeared at a health care conference last week in New York, where he said something that upset patient advocacy groups. What was that? “There is zero evidence that intellectual property is a hindrance to access to medicines,” Oschmann remarked, according to a Tweet by the Eli Lilly LLY +0.06% Twitter account. (Silverman, 11/12)