Apr 14 Congress OKs bill reshaping Medicare doctors' fees By Alan Fram, Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Conservatives hated that it's expected to swell federal deficits over the coming decade. Liberals complained that it shortchanged health programs for children and women. But after years of complaints and failed efforts, huge majorities of both parties in… Continue reading
Apr 13 5 things to watch as Congress returns from a 2-week break By Charles Babington, Associated Press Congress reconvenes Monday after a two-week recess, and plunges immediately into a fierce debate over how to control Iran's nuclear program. Lawmakers also will decide whether to confirm a new attorney general and whether to stabilize payments for Medicare treatments. Continue reading
Apr 11 Break over, Congress faces fights over Medicare, Iran By Associated Press Racing the calendar, Senate leaders are pushing toward congressional approval of a bipartisan compromise that reshapes how Medicare pays physicians as lawmakers return from a spring break tangled up in domestic and foreign policy disputes. Continue reading
Apr 01 What Medicare could do to get you lower drug prices By Philip Moeller Medicare has zillions of rules. But there's one more that columnist Philip Moeller would like to see adopted. Right now, Medicare beneficiaries are pawns in the drug pricing system, and plenty of Americans don't take the drugs they need because… Continue reading
Mar 26 Watch 4:50 House approves permanent fix for Medicare doctor payment By PBS News Hour For more than a decade, doctors who treat Medicare patients have been threatened with pay cuts due to a faulty formula of how doctors are reimbursed. But in a rare bipartisan agreement, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a deal… Continue watching
Mar 25 Watch 7:37 News Wrap: Investigators search through Germanwings wreckage on Alpine slopes By PBS News Hour Continue watching
Mar 25 Obama ready to sign bill revamping Medicare doctor fees By Alan Fram and Nedra Pickler, Associated Press President Barack Obama said Wednesday he's ready to sign "good, bipartisan" legislation protecting physicians from steep cuts in Medicare reimbursements and bolstering health programs for children and the poor as Senate Democrats seemed to soften their opposition to the package. Continue reading
Mar 25 Who loses from a permanent Medicare doc fix? By Philip Moeller Making Sen$e Medicare columnist Phil Moeller is excited about the possibility of a bipartisan breakthrough in Congress, and on the years-long fight over the Medicare "doc fix" no less. But someone, he explains, will have to pay for the impending… Continue reading
Mar 22 Estimated 16 million gained insurance since health law took effect By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press The polemic around "Obamacare" hasn't cooled much in five years, and the permanence of the president's achievement remains in question as the nation awaits the outcome of a Supreme Court case that could jeopardize insurance for nearly 8 million people. Continue reading
Mar 18 Guess who really pays for your Medicare By Philip Moeller As Congressional leaders grapple with a possible permanent solution to Medicare cuts to physicians, Making Sen$e Medicare columnist Philip Moeller delivers a little tough love about the role that Medicare beneficiaries play in the nation’s expanding "entitlement deficits."… Continue reading