Medicare data show contrast in generic, brand prescribing
The most-used medicines in Medicare’s prescription drug program are generics, but the program spends the most on brand-name drugs.
Senate, House GOP differ on savings approach to Medicare
Senate Republicans are putting down a marker with their budget blueprint, one day after the House GOP unveiled a 10-year plan that boosts the military, makes deep cuts in social programs and targets President Barack Obama’s laws on health care and financial reforms.
Despite good news, benefit programs face problems
Despite some good news, Medicare and Social Security still face long-term financial problems as millions of baby boomers reach retirement. Social Security’s disability program is already in crisis as it edges toward the brink of insolvency.
Lung cancer screening could cost Medicare billions
Every person covered by Medicare would shell out an additional $3 a month if the government agreed to pay to screen certain current and former smokers for lung cancer, a new study estimates.
New ‘face,’ but some old problems for ‘Obamacare’
Abruptly on the spot as the new face of “Obamacare,” Sylvia Mathews Burwell faces steep challenges, both logistical and political.
Top-paid Medicare doctors say they have reasons
How is it that a few doctors take in millions of dollars from Medicare?
Explanations for Wednesday’s eye-popping numbers from Medicare’s massive claims database ranged from straightforward to what the government considers suspicious, as the medical world confronted a new era of scrutiny.
Proposed Medicare drug change stirs access worries
In a move that some fear could compromise care for Medicare recipients, the Obama administration is proposing to remove special protections that guarantee seniors access to a wide selection of three types of prescription drugs.
GOP, Obama line up behind modest budget deal
Top Republicans and President Barack Obama are lining up behind a modest but hard-won bipartisan budget agreement that seeks to replace a portion of tough spending cuts facing the Pentagon and domestic agencies.
Obama’s simple promises vex complex health rollout
WASHINGTON — It sounded so simple. Too simple, it turns out. President Barack Obama’s early efforts to boil down an intricate health care law so
Sticker shock often follows insurance cancellation
MIAMI — Dean Griffin liked the health insurance he purchased for himself and his wife three years ago and thought he’d be able to keep
Obama to cite Mass. health care law’s slow start
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is citing the Massachusetts health care system’s slow start to keep expectations low for early sign-ups for his own overhaul.
GOP set to question Sebelius on health law
Republicans plan to seek answers from Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on the Obama administration’s troubled start for its health care website to buy insurance, and are raising concerns about the privacy of information that applicants submit under the new system.
Citizens learn about new healthcare law
More than two dozen Columbus citizens gathered at the Trotter Convention Center Wednesday afternoon for a tutorial on the Affordable Care Act.
Obama health target: 500,000 signups by Oct. 31
WASHINGTON — For the first month alone, the Obama administration projected that nearly a half million people would sign up for the new health insurance
Brokers and agents simplify, confuse health exchange shopping
This month’s glitch-filled rollout of the health insurance marketplaces created by federal law is a business opportunity for brokers and agents, but regulators warn that
Woman charged in Medicare fraud bought 20 cars
JACKSON — Newly released court records claim the owner of a Mississippi hospice ran a multimillion Medicare fraud and used some of the money to
Obama to public: Don’t give up on health sign-ups
WASHINGTON — Defending the shaky rollout of his health care law, President Barack Obama said frustrated Americans “definitely shouldn’t give up” on the problem-plagued program
Shutdown or not, health insurance markets open today
Millions of Americans will be able to shop for the first time today on the insurance marketplaces that are at the heart of President Barack Obama’s health care reforms, entering a world that is supposed to simplify the mysteries of health coverage but could end up making it even more confusing, at least initially.
Health overhaul confuses Medicare beneficiaries
Dear seniors, your Medicare benefits aren’t changing under the Affordable Care Act. That’s the message federal health officials are trying to get out to elderly consumers confused by overlapping enrollment periods for Medicare and so-called “Obamacare.”
Health law challenge threatens government shutdown
A conservative challenge to the president’s health care law has the federal government teetering on the brink of a partial shutdown.
The Senate has the next move on must-do legislation required to keep the government open past midnight today.