WASHINGTON - A former intensive care nurse with a businesslike approach to a politically divisive public policy area won Senate approval Wednesday to run Medicare and other major health insurance programs. By an overwhelming 91-7 vote, the Senate confirmed Marilyn Tavenner to oversee Medicare, Medicaid, children's health insurance and coverage for the uninsured under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

Movie star Angelina Jolie tested positive for a "faulty gene" at the center of a high-profile legal battle in the United States that challenges whether human genes can belong to a corporation. Experts say it is unlikely that Jolie's story of how she decided to have a preventive double mastectomy will sway the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule in June on whether Myriad Genetics can hold patents on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. But lawyers for the plaintiffs applauded the 37-year-old actress for mentioning that the cost of the tests is out of reach to many women.

(Reuters) - The U.S. health regulator warned on Monday that using a shorter name for Roche's new breast cancer drug Kadcyla may lead to the treatment being confused with an older therapy and cause potential harm to patients. The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on its website saying that some third-party publications, health information systems and websites were incorrectly using a truncated version of Kadcyla's generic name.

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African competition authorities will launch an investigation into the private healthcare industry, where early evidence showed high prices and market distortions, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel said on Tuesday. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) is working on a long-term nationwide health insurance plan, but the $28 billion scheme will not be in place until 2025.