Medicare

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• ANALYSIS-Medicare premium support idea rising from ashes?

  *Democrats seen backing away from Medicare enrollment age hike. WASHINGTON, Jan 31- Just months after President Barack Obama's re-election ended Republican hopes of controlling U.S. healthcare policy, one of the most controversial Republican proposals for Medicare is showing signs of rising from the political ashes.

• US expects big Medicare savings from competitive bid program

  *$42 billion savings for Medicare, beneficiaries over 10 years. WASHINGTON, Jan 30- Medicare and its beneficiaries in 100 metropolitan areas will pay less for durable equipment beginning July 1. Medicare is forecast to spend $598 billion this year on benefits for 50 million elderly and disabled beneficiaries.

• Analyst lowers HMS Holdings rating to 'Perform'

  THE SPARK: Last fall, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded a contract to New York- based HMS to coordinate benefits and to ensure that Medicare is only paying when it is the primary form of coverage.

• Louisiana shelves cut to Medicaid hospice program

  Bobby Jindal's administration scrapped plans Wednesday to shutter Louisiana's Medicaid hospice program in February, meaning the state will continue to provide end-of-life care to people on their death beds who can't afford private insurance. said deRada, who works for a hospice service in St. Tammany Parish, 40 miles north of New Orleans.

• Raise the Age for Medicare & Soc. Security? 

  

  CNBC's John Harwood reports House Republicans are going to propose to extend the debt limit until April 15; and Max Richtman, National Committee to Preserve Medicare; and Bill George, Harvard Business School professor, debate whether eligibility for these programs should be raised to age 70.

• U.S. business executives call for raising retirement age to 70

  WASHINGTON, Jan 16- A business group of top executives on Wednesday proposed reforms to Social Security and Medicare that would raise the enrollment age for both programs to 70 but not raise Social Security taxes paid by upper-income Americans.

• What to Do If You Got Hit by New Tax Increases

  

  Many millionaires are certainly paying at least 30 percent of their income in taxes, a goal President Obama set out in last year's State of the Union address. But they're more likely to be doctors, lawyers and people working in the financial services industry who get the bulk of their earnings in the form of paychecks.

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce makes budget cuts top goal for 2013

  *Group seeks to slow spending on Medicare, Social Security. Donohue, in the chamber's 2013 "state of American business" address, said the upcoming budget fights in Congress should be addressed mainly by "controlling deficit spending through common sense entitlement reform."

• ANALYSIS-Obama may turn Medicare reform into wider health debate

  *Heathcare costs may provide Medicare debate common ground. WASHINGTON, Jan 6- President Barack Obama could seek common ground with Republicans in the looming battle over Medicare spending by broadening the debate over entitlement reform to encompass the spiraling healthcare costs that confront a wide range of Americans.

• Medicare in the Crosshairs on Capitol Hill 

  

  Sen. Lamar Alexander, (R-TN), explains why he voted "yes" on the "fiscal cliff" bill, and why Congress needs to reduce entitlement programs.

• Did You Hear About the 'Doctor' Cliff? 

  

  CNBC's Bertha Coombs countdowns the the crippling cuts to the Medicare program set to take effect if no deal is reached on the "fiscal cliff."

• Big Government Spending 

  

  A back brace can be found on the Internet for $99, but Medicare pays $900, points out Tom Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste president.

• Medicare Paying More than $900 for Back Brace that Goes for $250 

  

  Insight on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, with David Callahan, Demos Public Policy Center New York City, and Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute.

• CVS Caremark Expects to Reap Benefits from Obamacare

  

  CVS Caremark is looking at changes in U.S. healthcare as an opportunity to serve more customers, whether they are picking up prescriptions, getting them through the mail or stopping by an in-house MinuteClinic for a checkup.

• UPDATE 1-CVS Caremark sees Obamacare as expansion opportunity

  *Sees 2013 adjusted earnings per share of $3.84 to $3.98. Dec 13- CVS Caremark Corp is looking at changes in U.S. healthcare as an opportunity to serve more customers, whether they are picking up prescriptions, getting them through the mail or stopping by an in-house MinuteClinic for a checkup.

• CVS Caremark sees Obamacare as expansion opportunity

  Dec 13- CVS Caremark Corp is looking at changes in U.S. healthcare as an opportunity to serve more customers, whether they are picking up prescriptions, getting them through the mail, or stopping by an in-house MinuteClinic for a checkup.

• Going Off the Demographic 'Cliff?' 

  

  Bill Frezza, Competitive Enterprise Institute fellow, explains how the rise in single family households will eventually impact entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

• Medicare emerging as prime target in U.S. 'fiscal cliff' talks

  *Hits likely for Medicare beneficiaries and care providers. *Medicare changes could be politically safe for lawmakers.

• Medicare Costs & the Fiscal Cliff 

  

  If a fiscal cliff deal does not happen, what happens to Medicare and the health care industry? New York Presbyterian Hospital CEO Steve Corwin offers insight.

• Amid meningitis crisis, critics say Medicare may promote risky drug compounding,

  *Medicare manual contradictory on compounded drugs. *Critics say Medicare has policy grounds to deny coverage. Now a new potential culprit has emerged: Medicare, which reimburses for almost all compounded drugs.