News on Medicare

Big Medicare cuts to reduce deficit unpopular: poll

2011-06-30T13:00:30Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Few Americans would support major cuts to Medicare to reduce the federal deficit, but many would be okay with minor savings in the popular healthcare program, a survey released on Thursday said.

The latest tracking survey on healthcare issues by the Key senators tap Obama's health care law to avoid Medicare pay cuts for doctors

When Democrats passed President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, they used Medicare cuts to pay much of the cost of providing insurance to millions of uninsured.

Now, lawmakers scrambling to stave off a scheduled 25 percent cut in doctors' Medicare...

Try Small Reforms To ObamaCare Before Going All-Out For Repeal

2010-11-29T14:44:27Z

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What is the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan?

2010-11-29T15:21:20Z

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An overview of jobs at the US Department of Health and Human Services

2010-11-29T15:32:05Z

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US Medicare Vs. UK Natinal Health Service

2010-11-03T03:14:06Z

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Health Care Reform - When?

2010-11-03T03:14:07Z

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The Great health care bill drama of 2010

2010-11-03T09:40:00Z

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Medicare Part D Donut Hole 2010: Coverage Gap Will Disappear for Seniors by 2020

2010-11-02T18:48:24Z

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Health and Human Services Department is the Support Pillar for Americans

2010-11-02T22:10:53Z

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American Slavery Today

2010-11-03T00:09:41Z

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Stimulus, Social Security dominate Colorado debate

2010-10-08T09:24:04Z

Republican Senate candidate Ken Buck is chastising his own party for scaring seniors with messages about cuts to Medicare.

In the third Colorado Senate debate, Buck criticized GOP allies for campaigning against the health care overhaul in part by highlighting some $500 billion in Me...

Curb Medicare Spending The Ryan Way

2010-09-28T17:02:29Z

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Reform law to raise health spending a bit, CMS reports

2010-09-21T19:44:51Z

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Careers Dealing With Inspections of Nursing Home Facilities

2010-09-21T12:55:17Z

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What is a Health Care Plan?

2010-11-05T10:24:36Z

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Health Care Reform: Will It Empower or Perplex Consumers?

2010-09-10T18:01:51Z

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Medicare Donut Hole Rebate Checks on the Way

2010-09-11T14:04:26Z

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Home Healthcare Laws

2010-11-02T14:24:08Z

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Andy Griffith's new role: pitching health care law

2010-07-30T08:30:19Z

Andy Griffith pitches health care law to seniors in Obama administration's new TV ad

Actor Andy Griffith has a new role: pitching President Barack Obama's health care law to seniors in a cable television ad paid for by Medicare.

The TV star — whose role as sheriff of Mayberry made him an endur...

Health reform tasks could overwhelm agencies, former federal official says

2010-11-02T12:43:30Z

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. 'Health reform law gaining in popularity' (briefs)

2010-11-02T12:43:30Z

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Doctors, nurses joined Medicare scam, U.S. says

2010-07-16T11:45:14Z

MIAMI (Reuters) - U.S. authorities charged 94 doctors, nurses and clinic owners with scheming to defraud the taxpayer-funded Medicare program out of $251 million, Attorney General Eric Holder said on Friday.

He said 36...

New coverage for uninsured people in poor health

2010-06-29T14:31:05Z

Cost issues dog new coverage program for uninsured people with pre-existing conditions

The Obama administration is launching a special coverage program for uninsured Americans with medical problems this week, the most ambitious early investment of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

But here's the catch: Premiums will be a stretch for many, even after government subsidies to bring rates close...

Obamacare 2010: $500 Million To Leave Medicare Patients

2010-10-27T09:22:32Z

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Obama renews health care bill pitch to elderly

2010-06-08T00:30:47Z

Obama renews health care bill pitch to a reluctant constituency, the elderly

President Barack Obama is turning his attention back to the massive health care bill he signed earlier this year, and trying to win over the most skeptical constituency: seniors.

Obama is set to pitch the bill at a senior center in Wheaton, Md., on Tuesday. The...

Doctored health data endangers effective Medicare reforms

2010-10-27T09:05:02Z

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Don't like your diagnosis? Maybe you should move

2010-05-13T10:16:08Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Doctors in some parts of the United States are more likely to tell Medicare patients they are sick than in other parts, researchers said on Wednesday in a finding that could explain regional differences in health spending.

The study is the latest f...

The Drug Stock Sell-Off

2010-10-27T06:44:37Z

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Report says health care will cover more, cost more

2010-04-23T03:01:16Z

Mixed review for new health care law says covering more still comes with greater costs

President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law is getting a mixed verdict in the first comprehensive look by neutral experts: More Americans will be covered, but costs are also going up.

Economic experts at the AP-GfK Poll: Surprising jump in opposition to Obama's health care law after he signs it

Opposition to President Barack Obama's health care law jumped after he signed it — a warning to Democrats running for re-election this fall that his victory could become their liability.

A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds Americans oppose the ...

Obama to name new Medicare/Medicaid chief: official

2010-07-14T13:52:32Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has picked a top health policy expert to run Medicare and Medicaid, an administration official said on Saturday, filling a role at the heart of his historic healthcare reform.

Obama plans to nominate Medicare prescription drug benefits to retirees. The White House say...

Obama Signs Health Care Reform Bill - What's Next for Hospice?

2010-10-25T11:25:36Z

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Health overhaul promises pain, gain for businesses

2010-03-22T15:15:31Z

Health bill will squeeze industry profits but holds promise for long-term gains

When historians write the book on how President Barack Obama's health care overhaul became law, they'll need to leave space for some unlikely advocates: lobbyists for the drug, insurance and hospital industries.

Last summer, executives from those groups visited the Wh...

Obama achieves health law success that eluded past

2010-03-22T01:30:13Z

Obama's health plan, less audacious than it might have been, still among history's bold acts

Rarely does the government, that big, clumsy, poorly regarded oaf, pull off anything short of war that touches all lives with one act, one stroke of a president's pen. Such a moment has come.

After a year of riotous argument, decades of failure and a century of spoiled hopes, the United States is reaching for ...

The True Costs of the Healthcare Bill

2010-10-25T11:24:09Z

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The True Costs of the Health Care Bill

2010-10-25T11:24:03Z

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Obama on the brink of a health care reinvention

2010-03-21T04:30:05Z

Obama is on the brink of a health care reinvention that none before him could achieve

Rarely does the government, that big, clumsy, poorly regarded oaf, pull off anything short of war that touches all lives with one act, one stroke of a president's pen. Such a moment now seems near.

After a year of riotous argument, decades of failure and a century of spoiled hopes, the United States is reaching for a...

Obama close to health law success that eluded past

2010-03-20T21:15:18Z

Rarely does the government, that big, clumsy, poorly regarded oaf, pull off anything short of war that touches all lives with one act, one stroke of a president's pen. Such a moment now seems near.

After a year of riotous argument, decades of failure and a century of spoiled hopes, the United States is reaching for a system of medical care that extends coverage nearly to all citizens. The change that's coming, if Sunday's tu...

Democrat says Medicare dispute resolved

2010-06-26T03:16:34Z

A group of lawmakers had threatened to oppose President Barack Obama's health overhaul bill because of a dispute over Medicare payments to some doctors and hospitals.

But the group's leader says the problem has been settled.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., said the administration has agreed to temporarily increase paymen...

Medicare fix would push health care into the red

2010-03-19T15:45:18Z

Rollback of Medicare cuts to doctors, if added to health care bill, push it into the red

Congressional budget scorekeepers say a Medicare fix that Democrats included in earlier versions of their health care bill would push it into the red.

The Cong...

Sebelius confident health care bill will pass

2010-06-26T03:11:39Z

Health Secretary Sebelius says she's confident health care bill will get enough votes to pass

U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that she's confident the House will have the votes to pass President Barack Obama's health care legislation, possibly as early as Friday.

"I think we're on track for a vote sometime this weeken...

Health Care 101: A consumer primer on Obama's bill

2010-03-15T14:15:19Z

Health Care 101: If Obama's bill passes, the changes start small and keep getting bigger

It took lawmakers a year to shape President Barack Obama's health care bill. If it finally passes Congress, it'll take the better part of a decade to write the user manual for consumers and doctors, employers and insurance companies.

Some health insurance consumer protections would go into place immediately, signifi...

Pharmaceutical group spent $6.3M lobbying in Q4

2010-03-10T13:15:46Z

Pharmaceutical industry group spent $6.3M lobbying in Q4, on health overhaul, other issues

The pharmaceutical industry's main trade group spent $6.3 million in the fourth quarter lobbying Congress, the White House and multiple government agencies on health care provisions and related issues, according to a quarterly disclosure report.

The Senate gridlock triggers cut in Medicare fees to doctors; Obama hopes lawmakers reconsider

Political gridlock in the Senate triggered a legal requirement Monday for a 21 percent cut in Medicare fees to doctors, who warned they may have to limit care for seniors unless the reductions are reversed.

Hoping the Senate will act soon to stave off the cuts, the Obama...

Schwarzenegger, lawmakers: Calif. was shortchanged

2010-06-25T18:38:37Z

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California state lawmakers from both parties say the federal government has been shortchanging California and are pressing for nearly $1 billion.

The governor and four legislative leaders sent a letter Friday to congressional leaders asking for $700 million more in federal health care funding. The letter urged Congress to pass ...

Obama's budget sidesteps dramatic health reforms

2010-09-22T13:53:43Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's latest spending plan calls for modest changes to the U.S. healthcare system but does little to incorporate sweeping moves called for Democrats' larger plan to increase access and cuts cost...

If health care dies, Obama's modest budget Plan B

2010-04-16T07:14:21Z

Obama's modest health care budget reveals what'll happen if overhaul dies in Congress

President Barack Obama's modest health care budget may be a harbinger of what's ahead if his overhaul plan dies in Congress.

The budget released Monday contains lots of respectable ideas to squeeze savings, expand coverage and improve quality, but no ambitious change that launches the nation on a path to health care fo...

Health spending growth at lowest recorded rate

2010-11-02T12:43:02Z

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Report shows U.S. healthcare spending growth slows

2010-06-25T19:06:04Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. healthcare spending rose at the lowest rate on record in 2008 due to the recession, but still reached $2.3 trillion and devoured 16.2 percent of the U.S. economy, government analysts said in a report on Tuesday.

The report, issued by the government's Centers for Medicare and Me...

Sections

2010-11-02T12:43:11Z

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Issue dates

2010-11-02T12:43:11Z

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J&J spent nearly $1.7M lobbying government in 3Q

2010-04-16T08:09:35Z

Johnson &amp; Johnson spent nearly $1.7 million lobbying government in 3rd quarter

Johnson &amp; Johnson, which makes health products from Band-Aids to biologic drugs, spent nearly $1.7 million in the third quarter lobbying on the health care overhaul and multiple bills that could boost its sales or lower taxes, according to a recent disclosure form.

Johnson and Johnson, ...

Medicare Savings and the Healthcare Bill: Don't Be Fooled

2010-10-22T13:04:09Z

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Democrats vow to close Medicare 'doughnut hole'

2010-04-16T08:20:11Z

Fearing seniors' wrath on health care overhaul, Democrats vow to close Medicare drug gap

It's an annual ordeal for many seniors living on a budget.

Medicare's coverage gap for prescription drugs — $3,610 next year — has steadily gotten bigger since the benefit's inception. But if Democrats have their way on health care overhaul, the dreaded "doughnut hole" will shrink by $500 right away and go away altogether b...

Window closing for healthcare reform: Biden

2010-06-25T19:20:46Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If the U.S. Congress fails to agree on a healthcare bill soon, the opportunity for a sweeping overhaul of the $2.5 trillion system will be lost for a generation, Vice President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday.

Biden was speaking just hours before Democratic lawmakers were to meet at the

'Doughnut hole' unites seniors wary of health bill

2010-04-16T08:40:34Z

Seniors uneasy about health care overhaul, but rally behind cutting prescription drug costs

Lawmakers have wooed seniors skeptical of the health care overhaul by emphasizing the plan would close the "doughnut hole" — a gap in Medicare drug coverage that can cost thousands of dollars a year.

But getting support for the entire overhaul from this powerful voting bloc has been difficult, despite Senate keeps Medicare cuts, adopts measure to safeguards mammograms, preventive tests

Casting its first votes on revamping the nation's health care system, the Senate rejected a Republican bid Thursday to stave off Medicare cuts and approved safeguards for coverage of mammograms and other preventive tests for women.

The first round of votes ended with a fragile Democratic coalition hanging together.

Senat...

Senate votes to keep Medicare cuts in health bill

2010-06-25T19:31:29Z

Senate keeps Medicare cuts and adopts measure to safeguard mammograms in health care bill

Senator...

Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle

2010-06-25T19:39:59Z

Invoking the memory of Edward M. Kennedy, Democrats united Saturday night to push historic health care legislation past a key Senate hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Ba...

Path clearing for House to pass health bill

2010-06-25T20:09:16Z

They may not like it, but many House liberals look ready to accept a compromise health care bill, putting Democratic leaders well on the way to delivering on President Barack Obama's call for overhaul.

After claiming for months they couldn't vote for a bill without the strongest possible government-run insurance option, liberals are putting aside their disappointment over the weaker version in the legislation for a historic ch...

Health care issues: Public plan compromises

2010-04-16T09:38:22Z

A look at key issues in the health care debate:

THE ISSUE: Are there compromises being considered when it comes to letting the government sell insurance in competition with private industry?

THE POLITICS: The so-called public plan — a new government insurance plan like Medicare for the elderly, except targeted at people who can't get affordable care elsewhere — has been perhaps the most controversial element of the health care d...

US health care tab would grow under overhaul

2010-04-16T09:43:11Z

Gov't analysis finds that proposed overhaul would increase national health spending

The nation's medical costs will keep spiraling upward even faster than they are now under Democratic legislation pending in the House, a report from government economic experts concluded Wednesday.

Republicans said the report is a warning sign that health care legislation is likely to fall short of President Barack Obama...

Medicare backs off on order about lobbying seniors

2010-04-16T09:48:01Z

The Obama administration Friday backed away from a ban on insurance company mailings to seniors warning of dire Medicare cuts if health care overhaul legislation is approved.

In a late afternoon memo to health plans, Medicare said insurance companies may lobby seniors, provided they first get permission from beneficiaries, and no federal funds or data are used. Last month, Medica...

Senate Dems seek higher doctor payments

2010-06-25T20:17:14Z

Senate Democrats and White House seek separate bill to pay for doctor fees

Maneuvering to boost prospects for sweeping health care legislation, Senate Democrats hope first to win quick approval for a bill that grants doctors a $247 billion increase in Medicare fees over a decade but ...

Danger Ahead

2010-10-22T07:46:54Z

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Waves of new fund cuts imperil US nursing homes

2010-06-25T20:25:35Z

The nation's nursing homes are perilously close to laying off workers, cutting services — possibly even closing — because of a perfect storm wallop from the recession and deep federal and state government spending cuts, industry experts say.

A Medicare rate adjustment that cuts an estimated $16 billion in nursing home funding over the next 10 years was enacted at week's end by the federal Will health care overhaul weaken the safety net for seniors, or help heal Medicare?

Medicare is looking like a big fat piggy bank for health care overhaul.

President Barack Obama and the Democrats want to pay for much of their plan to cover the uninsured by cutting hundreds of billio...

Strange Bedfellows In The Baucus Brawl

2010-10-22T07:46:16Z

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A Medicare Cap That Ends Up Costing System More Money

2010-10-24T09:57:26Z

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A look at the points in Obama's speech

2010-04-16T10:25:14Z

A look at the main points of Obama's health care speech

A look at key points in Obama's health care speech:

_Individuals would be required to carry basic health insurance. Those who can't afford it would get a hardship waiver.

_Businesses would be required to offer their workers health care or chip in to help cover the cost. Ninety-five percent of small businesses would be exempt because of their ...

Key Democrat suggests party moderates 'brain dead'

2010-06-25T20:54:14Z

A key House liberal suggested Thursday that party moderates who've pushed for changes in health care legislation are "brain dead" and out for insurance company campaign donations.

Moderate Blue Dog Democrats "just want to cause trouble," said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., who heads the health subcommittee on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

"They're fo...

Elderly have their own worries on health overhaul

2010-04-16T10:37:55Z

Health care overhaul plans provoke fears, worries among older Americans already on Medicare

Turns out you can fear a government takeover of health care even if the government already took over your health care.

How else to explain the reservations of seniors like 85-year-old Dee Jollie, who are covered by Medicare, the government health insurance program for A...

Doctors Versus The AMA

2010-10-22T07:44:04Z

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An American Universal Health Care System

2010-10-05T13:56:30Z

Health Care System Needs Reform, Not a Government Takeover

Believe it or not, America boasts some of the world?s best doctors, the most advanced health care system, and the most technically superior resources in the world, bar none. Those who travel globally and have gotten sick know that their first choice for treatmen...

Obama defends ability of government on health care

2010-04-16T10:53:08Z

Obama defends government's ability to run health care plan, cites Medicare program

President Barack Obama says Americans wary of a government-run health care plan should look no further than Medicare.

Critics of Obama's overhaul effort say creation of a public plan to compete with private insurance adds up to a government takeover. Obama told a Seniors worry Medicare cuts in health care overhaul will undermine benefits

Democrats are pushing for Medicare cuts on a scale not seen in years to underwrite health care for all. Many seniors now covered under the program don't like that one bit.

Seeing a political opportunity, Republicans have accused President Barack Obama of trying to use Medicare as a...

Health Care Bill Page 425 - The Truth

2010-10-22T07:34:10Z

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House leaders reach deal on Medicare payments

2010-04-16T11:10:13Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives said an agreement reached on Friday over ways to reduce regional disparities in Medicare payments would go a long way toward advancing an overhaul of the healthcare industry.

The agreement to address reg...

Mayo Clinic CEO: Medicare Payment Model Is a ‘Catastrophe’

2010-10-24T09:57:14Z

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Health Reform: Medicare Cuts Are Tough to Make Stick

2010-10-24T09:56:52Z

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'Georgetown University professor to oversee CHIP, Medicaid'

2010-11-02T12:42:36Z

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Does Preventing Disease Really Save Money?

2010-10-24T09:56:43Z

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Recession hurts Medicare and Social Security

2010-04-16T12:20:59Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Social Security and Medicare retirement and health programs for the elderly will run short of funds sooner than previously thought because the recession has taken a toll on tax revenues, a government report released on Tuesday showed.

The Social Security trust fund will be exhausted by 2037, four years earlier than previously estimated, a...

As Medicare Feels Pinch, Sebelius Puts Health-Reform Odds at 75-25

2010-10-24T09:55:46Z

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INSIDE WASHINGTON: Recommended cuts trigger fight

2010-04-16T12:21:33Z

INSIDE WASHINGTON: Health care companies back increased coverage, but not at their expense

The 9,700 companies providing home health care under Medicare generally support President Barack Obama's call to remake the nation's medical system. But mark them down as fiercely opposed to his recommendation t...

Economic woes hurt Medicare, Social Security

2010-04-16T12:21:33Z

The Social Security trust fund will be exhausted by 2037, four years earlier than previously estimated, a...

House calls

2010-10-25T07:18:23Z

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Obama taps Kan. Gov. Sebelius as health chief

2010-06-26T01:57:46Z

Obama names health secretary Sebelius on Monday to tackle problems with Medicare, FDA

President Barack Obama turned to Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius Monday to help him overhaul a health care system whose cost has risen four times as fast as people's wages in recent years.

"Health care reform...

Health care costs to top $8,000 per person

2010-06-25T23:56:34Z

Government report: Health care costs top $8,000 per person; Medicare insolvency moves closer

A new government report on medical costs paints a stark picture for President Barack Obama, who is expected to call for a health care overhaul in a speech Tuesday night to a joint session of Congress.

Even before lawmakers start debating how care is delivered to th...

MEDICARE POLL

2010-12-30T01:00:26Z

Graphic shows poll results on public opinion about Medicare

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Medicare and the Boomers

2010-12-29T08:01:23Z

Fred Wemer stands outside his home in Seattle, in this photo taken Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010. Wermer is a retired dentist and says Medicare pays his medical bills well enough, but he thinks there's a lot of waste in the program and doubts it will be there for his grandchildren. He opposes turning Medicare into a voucher plan for the purchase of private in...

Medicare Cuts

2010-11-12T14:03:03Z

Information relating to Medicare is seen at the offices of Dr. Kathryn Wagner, a breast cancer surgeon, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010, in San Antonio. Wagner has posted the warning in her waiting room about a different sort of risk to patients' health. The sign says she'll stop taking new Medicare cases if Congress allows looming cuts in doc...

Medicare Sleuths

2010-08-08T02:00:13Z

FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2009, file photo the Senate Finance Committee's ranking Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, wears two pairs of glasses while reading during the committee's hearing regarding health care reform on Capitol Hill in Social Security Administration Commissioner Michael J. Astrue, left, accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, center, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, speaks about the Social Security and Medicare Trustees report, Thursday, A...