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How A Debt Stalemate Could Squeeze Health System

U.S. Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) is surrounded by reporters at the Capitol Friday after a briefing on the debt ceiling. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

How A Debt Stalemate Could Squeeze Health System

Kaiser Health News

July 29, 2011 • If an impasse were to drag on for more than a few weeks, health care providers could be unable to pay their staffs or even face insolvency, say health care experts and former government officials.

Overhaul Law To Boost Health Spending, Barely

July 28, 2011 • The Affordable Care Act will boost the number of people with health insurance by about 30 million over the next decade, while health costs overall will rise by one-tenth of a percentage point more than they would have if the law hadn't passed.

For-Profit Hospices Keep Patients Longer, Push Costs Up

Some hospices are keeping people longer to get payments from Medicare. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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For-Profit Hospices Keep Patients Longer, Push Costs Up

Kaiser Health News

June 28, 2011 • Medicare's method of paying hospices a flat fee for each day a patient is receiving care there encourages operators of the facilities to seek out patients early on — and try to keep them as long as possible.

Memo To GOP: Cutting Medicaid Is Unpopular, Too

Congresswoman-elect Kathy Hochul (D-NY) thanks customers for their support at a restaurant in Depew, N.Y., Wednesday. David Duprey/AP hide caption

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David Duprey/AP

Memo To GOP: Cutting Medicaid Is Unpopular, Too

May 26, 2011 • Changing Medicare is looking politically risky, so budget-cutters may focus on Medicaid instead. That, too, could prove unpopular because a recent poll shows the public does not favor large cuts to the program.

Paul Ryan Defends Medicare Plan After GOP House Seat Loss Tied To It

May 25, 2011 • The morning after Republicans lost a long-safe congressional seat in New York, partly from anger over GOP proposals to remake Medicare and Medicaid, the plan's author came out swinging. He accused Democrats of "demagoguing." A White House aide said Democrats were actually "explaining."

Bad Economy Speeds Medicare Crisis Up

May 13, 2011 • Medicare will become insolvent in 2024, five years sooner than the forecast made in the last annual report by the program's trustees. A crummy economy shoulders a lot of the blame for the deterioration.

Audit Finds Widespread Use Of Antipsychotic Drugs In Nursing Homes

Seroquel, made by AstraZeneca, was the most prescribed of the atypical antipsychotics scrutinized in a federal audit of nursing home claims. Anonymous/AP hide caption

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Anonymous/AP

Audit Finds Widespread Use Of Antipsychotic Drugs In Nursing Homes

May 11, 2011 • About 14 percent of elderly nursing homes residents receive a so-called atypical antipsychotic medicine despite an increased risk of death when the medicines are used to manage dementia in older people.

Vice President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans and Democrats leave Blair House in Washington, Thursday, May 5, 2011, after meeting in hopes of striking a deal on deficit reduction. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

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J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Shots - Health News

Medicare Shuffle For House Republicans?

May 5, 2011 • Where do House Republicans stand when it comes to Medicare cuts as formal negotiations on cutting the deficit begin? They're not ready to show their cards just yet.

Doctors: Health Law Will Worsen ER Crowding

Most doctors surveyed said they think visits to emergency rooms will increase as the new health law is implemented. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Shots - Health News

Doctors: Health Law Will Worsen ER Crowding

April 28, 2011 • Overcrowding in emergency rooms isn't caused by people who don't have insurance — it's caused by people who do, but still can't find a doctor to treat them. And doctors say there is not nearly enough attention paid to emergency departments in the new health care law.