Medicare
Call for Social Security, Medicare changes to figure in elections
WASHINGTON -- Republicans are taking a bold political gamble by pushing historic changes in Medicare and Social Security.The popular programs, designed primarily to provide health care coverage and income security for seniors, have been politically untouchable for decades.
Date: 05/10/2012 | Nation & World
Obama dives into campaign, rips into Romney (video)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Plunging into his campaign for a new term, President Barack Obama tore into Mitt Romney on Saturday as a willing and eager "rubber stamp" for conservative Republicans in Congress and an agenda to cut taxes for the rich, reduce spending on education and Medicare and enhance power...
Date: 05/05/2012 | Nation & World
107 charged in $452 million Medicare fraud
MIAMI — Federal authorities charged 107 doctors, nurses and social workers in seven cities with Medicare fraud Wednesday in a nationwide crackdown on unrelated scams that allegedly billed the taxpayer-funded program of $452 million — the highest dollar amount in a single Medicare bust...
Date: 05/02/2012 | Nation & World
Aging workforce strains Social Security, Medicare
WASHINGTON -- Social Security is rushing even faster toward insolvency, driven by retiring baby boomers, a weak economy and politicians' reluctance to take painful action to fix the huge retirement and disability program.
Date: 04/23/2012 | Nation & World
Medicare moves to tie doctors' pay to their care
Twenty-thousand physicians in four Midwest states received a glimpse into their financial future last month. Landing in their e-mail inboxes were links to reports from Medicare showing the amount their patients cost on average as well as the quality of the care they provided. The reports also...
Date: 04/15/2012 | Nation & World
House approves Republican deficit-cutting plan
WASHINGTON — Republicans pushed an election-year, $3.5 trillion budget through the House on Thursday that relies on biting spending cuts and a revamping of Medicare to curb massive federal deficits, drawing a sharp contrast with how President Barack Obama and Democrats would tackle the...
Date: 03/29/2012 | Nation & World
Concerns about health care reform are in decline
WASHINGTON — Attacked as a rationing scheme and praised as a lifesaver, President Barack Obama's health care law remains as divisive and confusing as ever. But a new poll finds Americans are less worried that the overhaul will undermine their own care.
Date: 03/08/2012 | Nation & World
Mitt Romney would raise Medicare eligibility age
DETROIT — Four days before critical primary elections, Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney outlined a far-reaching plan Friday to gradually delay Americans' eligibility for Medicare as well as Social Security.
Date: 02/24/2012 | Nation & World
Where Republican candidates stand on the issues
WASHINGTON — Here's where the 2012 Republican presidential candidates stand on a selection of issues.They are former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.___GINGRICH:
Date: 02/24/2012 | Nation & World
Medicare's $77 million fraud-detection computer system heads off one suspicious payment of $7,591
WASHINGTON -- Launched last summer, a $77 million computer system to stop Medicare fraud before it happens had prevented just one suspicious payment by Christmas. That saved taxpayers exactly $7,591.
Date: 02/23/2012 | Business
Payroll tax bill won't add jobs, House speaker says (Video)
WASHINGTON — A compromise bill extending a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed should be enacted, but it's not going to help the economy very much, House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday.
Date: 02/15/2012 | Nation & World
12 Medicaid clients sue Idaho over budget cuts
BOISE, Idaho -- A group of 12 severely disabled residents are suing the state after the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare refused to disclose why it cut their Medicaid benefits by as much as 40 percent.
Date: 02/06/2012 | Northwest
Hospice company accused of ripping off Medicare
WASHINGTON -- A national hospice company improperly cycled patients through nursing homes and hospices with a goal of making as much profit as possible from Medicare, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit announced this week.
Date: 01/05/2012 | Nation & World
'Free' preventive health procedures can become expensive
CHICAGO -- Bill Dunphy thought his colonoscopy would be free.
Date: 12/29/2011 | Business
Payroll tax increase generates GOP infighting
WASHINGTON _ The Senate is gone, the House is packing up, and for now that means working Americans will see their taxes rise in January.
Date: 12/21/2011 | Nation & World
Cuts to Medicare likely to hit on Jan. 18
WASHINGTON — Nearly 650,000 doctors caring for millions of seniors will get a steep cut in Medicare payments Jan. 18 unless a gridlocked Congress issues a reprieve, program officials said Tuesday.
Date: 12/21/2011 | Nation & World
Senate cuts payroll tax, OKs $1 trillion spending bill
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Saturday to temporarily avert a Jan. 1 payroll tax increase and benefit cutoff for the long-time unemployed, forcing a reluctant President Barack Obama to make an election-year choice between unions and environmentalists over whether to build an oil pipeline...
Date: 12/18/2011 | Nation & World
Senate OKs $1 trillion budget bill, payroll tax cut (video)
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed legislation Saturday extending a Social Security payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for just two months, handing President Barack Obama a partial victory while setting the stage for another fight in February.
Date: 12/16/2011 | Nation & World
House passes $1 trillion budget bill, avoids shutdown
WASHINGTON — The House has passed a $1 trillion-plus catchall budget bill paying for day-to-day budgets of 10 Cabinet departments and averting a government shutdown.
Date: 12/15/2011 | Nation & World
Millions of young adults benefit from health care reform
WASHINGTON — The health care law signed by President Barack Obama last year has now helped as many as 2.5 million young adults get health insurance, despite the lagging economy, new data released by the federal government indicate.
Date: 12/14/2011 | Nation & World
Feds to allow use of Medicare data to rate doctors
WASHINGTON -- Picking a specialist for a delicate medical procedure like a heart bypass could get a lot easier in the not-too-distant future.
Date: 12/05/2011 | Nation & World
Obama’s Medicare chief steps aside in political impasse
WASHINGTON -- The point man for carrying out President Barack Obama's health care law will be stepping down after Republicans succeeded in blocking his confirmation by the Senate, the White House announced Wednesday.
Date: 11/24/2011 | Nation & World
White House opposes balanced-budget amendment
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration said Tuesday that a balanced-budget amendment heading for a House vote this week could impose serious risks on the economy and force cuts to essential programs such as Medicare and Social Security.
Date: 11/15/2011 | Nation & World
Problems persist with Medicare fraud contractors
MIAMI -- Contractors paid tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to detect fraudulent Medicare claims are using inaccurate and inconsistent data that makes it extremely difficult to catch bogus bills submitted by crooks, according to an inspector general's report released Monday.
Date: 11/14/2011 | Nation & World
Medicare relief: premiums will not be as high as feared
WASHINGTON — Medicare's basic monthly premium will be much lower than expected next year, the government announced Thursday. That could pay political dividends for President Barack Obama and for Democrats struggling to win over seniors in a close election.
Date: 10/27/2011 | Nation & World
Obama to seek a new tax rate for the wealthy
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is expected to seek a new base tax rate for the wealthy to ensure that millionaires pay at least at the same percentage as middle income taxpayers.
Date: 09/17/2011 | Nation & World
Deficit 'super committee' set for a bumpy start
WASHINGTON -- The congressional "super committee" on deficit reduction has extraordinary new power to chart the nation's budget and policy decisions for the next decade. What it doesn't have is a meeting room. Or a staff director. Or clear rules to govern the bipartisan panel that in three months...
Date: 08/20/2011 | Nation & World
Court grants key win to Obama health plan foes
ATLANTA — A federal appeals panel struck down the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's sweeping health care overhaul Friday, moving the argument over whether Americans can be required to buy health insurance a step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Date: 08/12/2011 | Nation & World
Pelosi names final members to debt supercommittee
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's appointment Thursday of three Democrats to Congress' new debt-reduction supercommittee completes the roster of a panel whose members are already being tugged in competing directions.
Date: 08/11/2011 | Nation & World
Comic filmmaker Albert Brook’s novel ‘2030’ a sobering look at our financial future
Imagine a world where the U.S. government is nearly bankrupt because most of the revenue coming in is used to pay its debts.
Date: 08/07/2011 | Business
Most power wheelchairs in Medicare unnecessary, U.S. report finds
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — More than 60 percent of power wheelchairs Medicare buys for seniors were not needed or not right for the patients, wasting about $100 million in a six-month period, a July federal report found.
Date: 08/05/2011 | Nation & World
Medicare drug premium prices to fall
WASHINGTON — Even as health costs continue rise, Medicare beneficiaries will see the average price of a Part D drug plan decline slightly next year, the Obama administration announced Thursday, offering some relief amid pressure to cut the federal health insurance program for the...
Date: 08/05/2011 | Nation & World
Possible progress reported on U.S. debt deal (Video)
WASHINGTON — The White House and Republican congressional leaders made significant progress toward a deal to avert a potentially catastrophic first-ever government default threatened for early next week, according to officials familiar with the talks.
Date: 07/31/2011 | Nation & World
Boomers worry about finances, health costs
WASHINGTON — The "golden years" may lose some luster for many baby boomers worried about the financial pressures that come with age
Date: 07/28/2011 | Nation & World
McConnell: Congress committed to prevent default
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama met for less than an hour Saturday with congressional leaders in debt crisis talks, and a leading Republican said afterward that top lawmakers were "committed to working on new legislation" to cut federal spending and avert an unprecedented U.S.
Date: 07/22/2011 | Nation & World
Obama, House Republicans in endgame in debt talks
WASHINGTON — In secretive endgame negotiations, President Barack Obama and House Republican leaders reached anew on Thursday for an elusive "grand bargain" deal to cut deficits by $4 trillion or more and prevent a government default, officials said.
Date: 07/22/2011 | Nation & World
Obama eases on stopgap debt measure
WASHINGTON -- Running out of time, President Barack Obama softened his stand and signaled Wednesday he would back a short-term deal to prevent a disastrous financial default on Aug. 2, but only if a larger and still elusive deficit-cutting agreement was essentially in place. He called lawmakers to...
Date: 07/21/2011 | Nation & World
Once taboo, calls to boost Medicare fees gain traction
WASHINGTON -- The heated debate over the federal deficit has pumped new life into controversial proposals for requiring Americans on Medicare to pay more for their health care, raising the possibility that seniors' medical bills could jump hundreds, or even thousands of dollars.
Date: 07/17/2011 | Nation & World
Obama: Chance for 'something big' to calm economy
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama declared Friday Congress has a "unique opportunity to do something big" and stabilize the U.S. economy for decades by cutting deficits even as it raises the national debt limit ahead of a critical Aug. 2 deadline. He said was willing to make tough decisions...
Date: 07/15/2011 | Nation & World
Nancy Pelosi insists on no cuts in Medicare, Social Security
WASHINGTON — Issuing an ultimatum to a president of her own party, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is betting that she can recapture the speakership in a high-stakes game of brinkmanship over raising the $14 trillion debt ceiling by Aug. 2.
Date: 07/13/2011 | Nation & World
President Obama not giving up on big debt deal
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is pressing congressional leaders to accept a $4 trillion debt reduction deal that Republicans have rejected for its tax increases and Democrats dislike for its cuts to programs for seniors and the poor, administration officials said hours before talks...
Date: 07/09/2011 | Nation & World
Maintaining benefits more important than cutting deficit, poll finds
LOS ANGELES — Nearly twice as many Americans say it is more important to maintain the benefits from entitlement programs than it is to cut the budget deficit, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released Thursday, the day President Barack Obama and top...
Date: 07/07/2011 | Nation & World
Appeals court will hear health reform lawsuit
ATLANTA -- An Atlanta federal courtroom will soon become the latest battlefield in the ongoing fight over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Date: 06/05/2011 | Nation & World
Republicans press President Obama on spending
WASHINGTON — Top House Republicans pressed President Barack Obama Wednesday for a detailed plan on budget cuts, and one leading lawmaker accused him of distorting a GOP Medicare proposal at the center of the partisan divide over spending.
Date: 06/01/2011 | Nation & World
House GOP lawmakers to meet Obama on borrowing
WASHINGTON — Scores of House Republicans are heading to the White House for a meeting with President Barack Obama to demand trillions of dollars in spending cuts as the price for providing any increase in the government's power to borrow.
Date: 06/01/2011 | Nation & World
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