Republican Ryan backs new bipartisan Medicare Plan

2011-12-15T14:00:19Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican lawmaker Paul Ryan, who caused an uproar this year by proposing a plan to privatize Medicare, unveiled a new bipartisan approach on Thursday for cutting the cost of the government's $525 billion healthcare plan for the elderly.

The chairman of the <...

Canada seeks a way to limit health-spending increases

2011-12-14T14:30:20Z

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's top finance officials will try at a meeting next week to come to grips with the thorny problem of how to limit the rising costs of the country's universal public health-care system in the face of an aging population.

Health care in Canada is a responsibility of the provinces, a...

Special report: The legacy of Romney's healthcare Rx

2011-12-05T15:00:19Z

BOSTON (Reuters) - For many years, Rebeccah Pearson, a retail store manager in Newburyport, Massachusetts, was among the state residents who had to forego medical insurance. "It was pretty much pay rent and eat, or go to the doctor. I chose the rent and food," she recalls. "I would have to save up for two ...

The legacy of Romney's healthcare Rx

2011-12-05T14:30:16Z

Medicare to cover obesity counseling, screening

2011-11-30T14:30:35Z

(Reuters) - The U.S. Medicare program for the elderly will cover counseling for obesity in an effort to reduce the condition that has reached epidemic proportions and leads to serious health problems.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said on Tuesday obesity counseling and screening has be...

Medicare chief to resign after political standoff

2011-11-23T13:30:28Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. official who helped lead President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul will step down from the helm of the Medicare program after Republicans blocked his Senate confirmation...

Deficit battle won't cause fight between old and young

2011-11-22T08:30:14Z

(Reuters) - Now that the Super Committee has ground to a halt, the threatened "sword of Damocles" is poised to slash $1.2 trillion in federal spending. As we move to this next phase of the budget wars, deficit hawks will rev up one of their most phony arguments -- namely, that protecting entitlement programs rewards the old at the expense of the young.

The debt ceiling deal last summer calls...

U.S. healthcare cuts minimal, more pain looms

2011-11-22T07:30:20Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The breakdown of deficit talks in Congress will exact little pain on the U.S. healthcare industry, but it's a temporary reprieve from steeper cuts that could be put back on the table in 2013.

The failure of the congressional "super committee" to reach a deal triggers a two percent across-the-board cut to

Healthcare cuts minimal, more pain looms

2011-11-21T15:30:19Z

The failure of the congressional "super committee" to reach a deal triggers a 2 percent across-the-board cut to

High-Income Seniors Hit With Medicare Surcharge

2011-11-21T11:30:31Z

You'll have to pay more for Part B and Part D if your income tops a certain level.

After several years of being retired, I had a big bump-up in income in 2009 when I exercised stock options. That triggered a high-income surcharge for my Part B and Part D Medicare premiums this year. Does this mean I will have to pay the high-income surcharge next year, too?

More Americans than not want health law repeal: poll

2011-11-16T15:00:10Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the Supreme Court prepares to review President Barack Obama's healthcare reform, more Americans want to see it repealed than want to keep it, a poll released on Wednesday shows.

A Gallup survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults found that 47 percent favor the repeal of health...

Public employers search for healthcare savings

2011-11-08T15:00:32Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Public employers can find savings on healthcare costs and still deliver high-quality benefits, according a study released on Tuesday.

Benefits for public employees, especially pensions, have been under attack for more than a year

Fiscal conservatives say cities and local governments, suffering from a collapse in revenues from the recession that began in 2007, sho...

Health cost of 6 U.S. climate disasters: $14 billion

2011-11-07T13:30:23Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deaths and health problems from floods, drought and other disasters related to climate change cost an estimated $14 billion over the last decade, researchers said on Monday.

"When extreme weather hits, we hear about the property damage and insurance costs," said Kim Knowlton, a senior scientist at Reuters) - U.S. health officials said on Monday they were further delaying rules that would force drugmakers and device companies to report all payments and gifts to doctors.

The Physician Payment Sunshine Act became part of President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul last year, and requires manufacturers to report all pa...

Medicare Premiums to Decrease for Some

2011-10-31T10:30:53Z

However, high-income beneficiaries will continue to pay extra for Medicare Part B and Part D.

Do you know how much the Medicare Part B premiums will be for 2012? How much extra will high-income people pay for Medicare coverage next year?

SEE ALSO: Our Special Report on Navigating Medicare

The <...

Open enrollment: Higher pay could mean higher premiums

2011-10-28T12:30:08Z

(Reuters) - Open enrollment for benefits ends today at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Jason Rothstein, 40, has just finished all the needed paperwork. Once again, his health insurance premiums will go up - about 5 to 6 percent in 2012. And, as an employee with earnings in the ...

Medicare 2012 premium hike smaller than feared

2011-10-27T14:30:23Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most elderly Americans covered by the government's Medicare insurance program will see a smaller-than-expected rise in their monthly premiums next year, health officials said on Thursday.

Standard premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers doctor visits, outpatient services and some home healthcare, will be $99.90. For mo...

Wal-Mart to cut some US health coverage

2011-10-21T20:30:14Z

American retail giant Wal-Mart said it will no longer provide health insurance to new part-time US employees working less than 24 hours a week and charge more for workers who smoke.

Wal-Mart, which has 1.4 million employees in the United States, will also increase coverage costs for all employees, as health costs rise. The changes, which wil...

Most in Massachusetts want state push on health costs

2011-10-21T15:30:11Z

BOSTON (Reuters) - Most Massachusetts residents want their state government to take action to reduce high healthcare costs that they blame on drug and insurance companies charging too much, a survey showed on Friday.

Massachusetts has almost universal healthcare insurance coverage thanks to a 2006 law driven by current Republican pres...

Walmart trims certain employee health coverage

2011-10-21T09:00:09Z

(Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc will no longer offer health insurance to new part-time employees who work fewer than 24 hours a week and will charge workers who use tobacco more for coverage as healthcare costs rise, the company said on Friday.

Walmart, the largest U.S. retailer and the nation's largest private employer,...

Wal-Mart trims certain employee health coverage

2011-10-21T08:30:30Z

Wal-Mart, the largest U.S. retailer and the nation's largest private employer...

Medicare relaxes rules for coordinated care

2011-10-20T14:30:24Z

(Reuters) - U.S. health regulators on Thursday relaxed rules to make it easier for hospitals and doctors to receive financial incentives if they work together to coordinate patient care.

The so-called Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are an experimental part of President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, meant to imp...

Organizing care for special needs kids saves money

2011-10-20T12:30:42Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Families with special needs kids can save up to a third of their out-of pocket medical expenses by having a so-called "medical home" coordinate the care for their child, a news study suggests.

A medical home could be a primary care doctor's office that incorporates the family in medical decision-making and coordinates and follows up on visits to specialists.

HHS loosens Medicare red tape as part of Obama plan

2011-10-19T08:31:12Z

(Reuters) - Health officials on Tuesday proposed loosening some Medicare rules in what they say could lead to $1.1 billion in first-year savings as part of President Barack Obama's effort to cut federal red tape.

Most of the savings would come through changes to the conditions of participa...

U.S. deficit panel weighs Medicare doctor payments

2011-10-12T15:00:16Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The congressional "super committee" charged with reducing U.S. budget deficits is considering tackling a measure that could make their job even harder by preventing a steep pay cut for Medicare doctors.

The bipartisan panel that has been tasked with finding at leas...

Deficit panel weighs Medicare doctor payments

2011-10-12T14:00:35Z

The bipartisan panel that has been tasked with finding at least $1.2 trillion in budget savings over 10 yea...

Wells Fargo gives staff tough choices for healthcare

2011-10-12T14:00:23Z

(Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co, one of the largest U.S. employers, plans to cut costs by moving its workers into insurance plans that encourage them to spend less on healthcare.

The bank confirmed to Reuters that it's rolling out a new insurance plan next year that will give employees accounts to help cover medical expenses. Th...

FDA, Medicare to review medical devices in tandem

2011-10-07T12:30:16Z

(Reuters) - U.S. health officials are launching a trial of a program meant to speed up Medicare payment decisions for new medical devices.

The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the safety and effectiveness of the devices, will review...

Some Medicare plan prices drop: now is time to shop

2011-10-05T15:30:19Z

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If you're a senior on Medicare - or if you help out aging parents with their money matters - it's time to get ready to shop. The annual enrollment period for Medicare prescription drug and Advantage managed care plans is about to begin, and it's one of the best opportunities of the year for seniors to save money.

The new he...

Medicare prescription drug abuse a problem: GAO

2011-10-04T11:30:18Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Prescription drug abuse by elderly and disabled beneficiaries of Medicare cost the U.S. program nearly $150 million in 2008, highlighting an area where the government can seek to save health costs.

According to a government report released on Tuesday, some of these patients went to at least five doctors to ge...

Analysis: States lobby against Medicaid cuts in Congress

2011-09-28T22:30:08Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With billions of dollars in Medicaid spending at risk in Congress, states are forming a loose confederacy to oppose any federal cuts that could damage state budgets already awash in red ink.

The "red" and "blue" states that mark America's political divide between conservative and liberal sympathies are often ...

U.S. health insurance premiums climb faster in 2011

2011-09-27T09:00:28Z

(Reuters) - The cost of health insurance continues to climb for U.S. companies and workers, with annual family premiums this year growing at a pace triple that of 2010 and outpacing wage increases, according to a survey.

As the United States continues to grapple with a stubbornly weak economy, family premiums in employer-sponsored hea...

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...

MEDICAID CUTS

2010-12-13T12:32:10Z

Chart shows breakdown of percentage of Medicaid costs associated with each enrollment group; and the decade long trend between enrollment and Medicaid spending.

...

Medicaid Cuts Fallout