The health care bill that passed a crucial test vote in the Senate on Saturday is proof that getting reform passed and getting it right are two very different things.
QUESTION 1: I haven't heard much about consumer driven health care plans or high deductible health care plans. Will these types of plans, with the health savings account feature, have a place under a new Health Care Bill? -- Keagan
The federal government made $98 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2009, and President Barack Obama will issue an executive order in coming days to combat the problem, his budget director announced Tuesday.
The federal government made $98 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2009, and President Obama will issue an executive order in coming days to combat the problem, his budget director announced Tuesday.
Question: I worked for the same company for more than 27 years and then was laid off eight months ago. Although at age 57 I have lots of experience, my employment prospects look bleak. My 401(k) has gone down the drain the past two years and is currently worth about $320,000. As I approach retirement, I wonder: Will this be enough to live on? --David, Los Angeles, Calif.
Medicare has become a scary word to the doctors at the largest private group practice in Kansas City, Mo.
The battle over health care reform reached another milestone Thursday as top House Democrats unveiled sweeping legislation that includes a highly controversial public health insurance option.
House Democratic leaders unveiled a sweeping health care bill Thursday that includes a more moderate version of the government-run public health insurance option.
"Keep the government's hands off my Medicare." Those words -- quoted by so many TV talking heads -- never seem actually to have been spoken by anyone. It's like that poodle in the microwave story: Everybody has a neighbor who heard it from his cousin.
Organized crime gangs are exploiting a new target for illegal profit: Medicare and Medicaid.
The health care bill that passed a crucial test vote in the Senate on Saturday is proof that getting reform passed and getting it right are two very different things.
QUESTION 1: I haven't heard much about consumer driven health care plans or high deductible health care plans. Will these types of plans, with the health savings account feature, have a place under a new Health Care Bill? -- Keagan
The federal government made $98 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2009, and President Barack Obama will issue an executive order in coming days to combat the problem, his budget director announced Tuesday.
The federal government made $98 billion in improper payments in fiscal 2009, and President Obama will issue an executive order in coming days to combat the problem, his budget director announced Tuesday.
Question: I worked for the same company for more than 27 years and then was laid off eight months ago. Although at age 57 I have lots of experience, my employment prospects look bleak. My 401(k) has gone down the drain the past two years and is currently worth about $320,000. As I approach retirement, I wonder: Will this be enough to live on? --David, Los Angeles, Calif.
Medicare has become a scary word to the doctors at the largest private group practice in Kansas City, Mo.
The battle over health care reform reached another milestone Thursday as top House Democrats unveiled sweeping legislation that includes a highly controversial public health insurance option.
House Democratic leaders unveiled a sweeping health care bill Thursday that includes a more moderate version of the government-run public health insurance option.
"Keep the government's hands off my Medicare." Those words -- quoted by so many TV talking heads -- never seem actually to have been spoken by anyone. It's like that poodle in the microwave story: Everybody has a neighbor who heard it from his cousin.
Organized crime gangs are exploiting a new target for illegal profit: Medicare and Medicaid.
Senate Democrats struggled Tuesday to find enough votes to pass a controversial measure intended to ensure that doctors experience no cut in Medicare reimbursement payments over the next 10 years.
Prospects for bipartisan cooperation on health care reform faded Wednesday as a key Senate Democrat called his GOP counterparts obstructionist and both conservative and liberal activists attacked the sweeping $827 billion Senate Finance Committee bill.
Regular readers of Money Magazine have learned to think a lot about risk. You know that you can't predict every market crash, but you can take steps to lower your exposure to the unexpected. The health-care reform debate we're having in this country happens to be largely about risk.
President Obama on Wednesday made a passionate call for Congress to fix the nation's ailing health care system in the same spirit that created Social Security and Medicare in difficult times.
Power-driven wheelchairs are costing Medicare and its beneficiaries nearly four times what suppliers pay for them, and competitive bidding could have reduced those costs, according to an inspector general's report released Wednesday.
More coverage. More choice. Better care.
One of the good things about spending vacation time away from the computer and second-by-second news is that it's easier to see the big picture. And one thing that came into focus during my recent beach time -- and is even more clear today -- is that the health care "reform" making its way through Congress has disaster written all over it unless there's a clear, understandable, and affordable public option in the final version.
Are you confused by all the back and forth on health care reform? Here's a guide to some of the terms commonly tossed about in the debate.
The heated national debate on health care reform has taken an unusual turn, with many eyes focused on a minor provision regarding end-of-life care embedded in the House bill.
Debbie Brown used to process medical and dental forms for a living before a debilitating illness forced her into early disability retirement and left her in a simple, no-frills wheelchair -- a rented wheelchair that has cost taxpayers and the patient about $1,200.
President Obama tried Tuesday to alleviate senior citizens' concerns about health care reform, saying his plan will maintain Medicare benefits and allow people to keep the coverage and doctors they now have.
Health care reform has gotten off track. The president's news conference fell flat. Polls show growing unease with the proposals currently in play. And Congress will not meet the deadline that President Obama imposed.
The White House has criticized the Congressional Budget Office's findings that the Obama administration's proposal to control Medicare costs would yield a moderate savings of $2 billion over the next decade.
The Obama administration is touting a provocative proposal to give a medical advisory council the power to help decide the scope of coverage that would be eligible for reimbursement under Medicare.
Who knew that fighting breast cancer for the third time in seven years would reveal my purpose in life.
There may be reasons to tax the rich more, as a lot of people in Washington are talking about doing.
House Democrats' push on health care legislation hit a snag Thursday when a group of fiscally conservative Democrats, known as "Blue Dogs," put on the brakes, pressing the Democratic leadership for significant changes to the draft bill.
Lawmakers searching for a way to pay for health care reform are facing some rough waters.
Question: I'm 63 and my employer has eliminated my health insurance and dramatically cut my pay. If I retire now, I'll get about $1,300 a month in Social Security, plus I can collect another $2,000 a month by investing my $310,000 in savings in an immediate annuity with lifetime payments. All in all, I should have about the same income I have now. So I figure why work without health insurance when I can retire and not have health insurance? Do you think my plan makes sense? --Bill P., Martins Ferry, Ohio
More than 50 doctors and health care executives have been indicted and dozens of them arrested by the FBI in a $50 million Medicare fraud case centered in Michigan, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.
President Obama on Monday strongly praised a decision by the nation's pharmaceutical industry to agree to a deal cutting drug costs for elderly Americans, calling it an example of the kind of compromise required for successful national health care reform.
In a sign of progress in overhauling health care, the nation's pharmaceutical industry has agreed to a deal that will reduce drug costs for elderly Americans.
Five years from now, there's an excellent chance you won't have the same health insurance you have (or don't have) right now. That's because members of Congress are gearing up to reform the U.S. health care system, and unlike in 1993 when then-first lady Hillary Clinton tried her hand at changing the medical system, this time the important players -- doctors, insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers -- seem to be on board. You heard a lot about health care reform this week, and you'll be hearing even more in the months to come. It's an incredibly confusing, complex issue, so in this week's Empowered Patient, we break it down for you with 10 frequently asked questions about health care reform.
Americans are being told daily that health reform isn't just the right thing to do -- it will also help save the economy.
Americans want, deserve and demand health care reform.
Health-care costs are pinching just about everyone. You feel it every time your co-pays and deductibles go up, and you feel it in your paycheck - rising employer premiums are leaving less money for salaries. Medicare is on its way to financial disaster within a decade. And 46 million Americans are without health insurance.
Government spending on health care is growing at an alarming rate.
America is finally getting a detailed look at the sweeping, long-awaited health-care reform platform championed by President Obama. This week the Democrats have unveiled their two primary proposals -- a 700-plus page bill in the Senate and the outline of the forthcoming version in the House that presents essentially the same blueprint for change.
The debate over whether to have a government-backed insurance plan is fast becoming the most divisive health care reform issue.
If President Obama has his way, health care reform will be finalized this year. Key Senate and House committees are planning to mark up legislation in June, and the House is aiming to vote on the issue by August.
Sifting through the rubble, sorting through piles of junk, bottom feeding - there are a lot of colorful ways to describe how value investors ferret out high-quality stocks that get socked when the market plummets or when an industry falls out of favor.
The recession has taken its toll on Social Security. The officials who oversee the program forecast Tuesday that the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted by 2037 -- four years earlier than estimated last year.
The financial crisis has cast a shadow over a perennial debate in Washington: How to ensure the long-term financial health of Social Security.
The economy is in shambles, and the stock market is in the tank. If you're entering the waning years of your career - or if you've already retired - that's more than enough to suck the joy out of retirement. If you let it.
President Obama has taken the advice of famous Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. "Make no little plans," Burnham said, "they have no magic to stir men's blood."
Ask most Americans how much it costs to visit a doctor and they probably do not know.
Like one of its members unable to shake a bad cold, WellPoint, the largest health insurer in the U.S. through its Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, has a bad case of the sniffles. Profits dropped 25% to $2.5 billion in 2008, as rising unemployment cut its healthcare rolls. And a computer glitch that denied benefits to thousands of seniors resulted in harsh sanctions, including a temporary ban from marketing and selling Medicare plans. <P>Now the company, like other healthcare providers, is likely to find itself even more in the crosshairs of the Federal government, as the Obama administration tackles health care reform. Ah chooo! - <I>S.K.</I>
Even under the best of economic circumstances, tax season is a tense time for American households. The number of hours we collectively spend working on our returns is probably a lot more than government agencies claim.
There is much that is encouraging in President Obama's first budget, but also items of concern for those of us who worry that our growing deficits and debts will imperil America's future.
President Obama will ask wealthy Americans to deal with a tax increase and pay higher Medicare premiums to help fund a $634 billion health care "reserve fund" aimed at reforming the system, according to senior administration officials familiar with the budget being unveiled Thursday.
I think this time, it's different. I have this uneasy feeling our country is in the process of changing forever, and not necessarily for the better -- unless our perspective changes with it.
Staring into the abyss always focuses the mind, which can help you avoid falling in. So let's take a look at the potential catastrophe that awaits us once we survive our current crisis.
Seniors who switch between low-cost generic drugs and the original products based on who's footing the bill are likely driving up the cost of the government's Medicare drug plan, according to a new study.
We'll go out on a limb and assume you've heard the rumor that Social Security and Medicare are headed for trouble.
The monthly premium for the vast majority of the elderly and disabled participating in Medicare will hold steady at $96.40 next year
Many colon cancer patients aren't getting the screenings recommended after surgery to make sure the disease hasn't returned, new research shows
Entitlement has become a bit of a swear word. In Washington, D.C., it's technically a nonpejorative term for government programs like Social Security and Medicare that aren't subject to the usual budget process.
A review of Medicare payments to suppliers of wheelchairs, oxygen machines and other medical equipment showed nearly three in 10 were made in error -- about four times the rate previously cited by the federal government, investigators said Monday
The typical Medicare beneficiary can expect to see about a $3 increase in their monthly premiums for prescription drug coverage in 2009, federal officials said Thursday
Republicans were facing pressure Tuesday to vote for a rollback of across-the-board cuts in Medicare payments to health providers after a major doctors' group said the cuts could lead to a "meltdown" of the government's health care system for the elderly.
Congress voted to halt planned cuts in Medicare payments to doctors Tuesday, overriding President Bush's veto in a battle that pitted health insurers against physicians.
Both houses of Congress voted Tuesday to halt planned cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, overriding a veto by President Bush for the third time of his presidency.
Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy on Wednesday made his first appearance in Congress since being diagnosed with brain cancer nearly two months ago, casting a single vote to help break a Republican filibuster of an important Medicare bill.
$300 million initiative seeks to improve the quality of health care and to eventually provide models for national health reform
How much money do you need to pay the doctor's bills in retirement? The answer: More than you probably think.
When is the cost of medical treatment worth the benefit of extra years of life? Stanford economists have come up with a figure
Millions of baby boomers are about to enter a health care system for seniors that not only isn't ready for them, but may even discourage them from getting quality care
Until the mid-1960s, the elderly made up the largest population of Americans living below the poverty line. The economic trinity of Medicare, Social Security and corporate pensions stopped that insidious trend and brought financial security to millions of people beyond their wage-earning years - but today, that infrastructure is under attack, leaving many workers and entrepreneurs nervous about how they'll afford to eventually stop working.
Let's say a giant asteroid was headed toward Earth right now and experts say it has a good chance of ending civilization as we know it. Let's also say that we've known about this asteroid for years but even as it gets closer and closer our leaders do nothing.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, saying that Social Security is "financially unsustainable," called Tuesday for quick action to keep the system strong and released a report detailing the program's funding shortfalls.
The sales rate of prescription medications slowed by more than half in 2007 to levels not seen since the early 1960s, according to a report released Wednesday.
Twice I have asked Alan Greenspan what he considers the greatest threat to the U.S. economy, and both times he has answered immediately with a single word: Medicare. He isn't so worried about the trade deficit and the housing crash; he figures market forces will sort them out. But Medicare is something else - a multitrillion-dollar problem that's about to get dramatically worse, and one that nobody wants to talk about. You'd think that the greatest threat to America's economy would be Topic A for the presidential candidates. But it's actually a topic they hate to touch.
Dear FSB: What is the 2008 small business tax rate? Is it 15%, or has it dropped?
Nearly 2 million low-income Medicare participants could be switched to different insurance plans for their prescription drug coverage next year
Elderly and disabled people will see their monthly Medicare premiums rise 3.1 percent next year to $96.40 -- the lowest increase in six years
Medicare is running a cash deficit, Social Security coffers are draining, a talent shortage looms - and the bulk of the boomer generation is still years from retiring.
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