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Washington --- In an action likely to have an enormous impact as the baby boom generation retires, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider whether it is unconstitutional for [...]

Washington --- Medicare officials expect to save about $1 billion next year by using competitive bids to purchase medical equipment and supplies in 10 geographic regions around the country. 'It's [...]

Washington --- Some of Congress' most liberal members joined labor and human rights groups Thursday in likening the plight of tomato pickers in South Florida to slavery. They called on [...]

Washington --- Americans are likely to spend nearly twice as much on health care a decade from now, and the costs will shift from private insurance to Medicare as the [...]

Washington --- The sugar industry is abandoning efforts to insert a provision in the federal farm bill that would renew restrictions on the sugar trade between the United States and [...]

Washington --- Chronic diseases cost the nation's economy more than $1 trillion a year in lost productivity, and the amount could jump to about $6 trillion by midcentury, according to [...]

Deaths along much of the Arizona-Mexico border are ahead of the record pace set two years ago despite tightened border security expected to discourage migrants from crossing. The Pima County [...]

Washington --- Insurers and Realtors disagree about whether Congress should require the National Flood Insurance Program to charge actuarially based rates for vacation and secondary residences. Currently, owners of all [...]

Washington --- The nation's doctors are threatening to turn away new Medicare patients unless Congress halts a scheduled Medicare payment cut. In a survey of nearly 9,000 doctors released Monday [...]

Washington --- For at least a decade, the trustees who monitor Social Security and Medicare have called for changes to ensure the programs' long-term financial health. At least on Medicare, [...]

Washington --- The Senate blocked debate Wednesday on a bill that would let the government negotiate with drug manufacturers for lower Medicare prices. The 55-42 vote was five short of [...]

Washington --- For the sixth year in a row, manufacturers' prices of brand-name prescription drugs rose last year at roughly twice the rate of inflation, according to a report released [...]

Washington --- Medicare Part B premiums could increase a whopping $15.90 a month next year to $109.40, a 17 percent increase, according to a forecast released Tuesday. The projection of [...]

Washington --- President Bush's plan to slash spending for Medicare and Medicaid drew a sharp rebuke Monday from the Democratic-led Congress and special interest groups. Calling Medicare's long-term costs 'unsustainable,' [...]

Washington --- The House voted overwhelmingly Friday to require the federal government to negotiate for lower Medicare prescription drug prices. But the 255-170 vote, in which two dozen Republicans joined [...]

A new round of car bombings and other violence struck Iraq on Wednesday, with 55 people killed or found dead. The day's violence began with a bombing at a bus [...]

Washington --- Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) on Tuesday she would not name him chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, bowing to concerns about his [...]

Washington --- Americans with health insurance are receiving better care than ever, but a record number of Americans have no coverage, according to two reports released Wednesday. Insured Americans have [...]

Washington --- Price increases for employer-sponsored health insurance slowed for the third straight year in 2006, but still rose at twice the inflation rate, researchers reported Tuesday. Nationwide, premiums paid [...]

Washington --- The 'vast majority' of Medicare beneficiaries will pay less for their medications next year because of competition among drug plans, the program's director said Thursday. Dr. Mark McClellan, [...]

Washington --- Independent pharmacists said Monday that low and slow payments under the Medicare prescription drug program could force them out of business. 'If something is not done, community pharmacies [...]

Washington --- The long-term financial outlook for Social Security and Medicare turned grimmer Monday as the trustees for the programs released their annual report. It projected that Social Security will [...]

Q. I haven't signed up for Medicare Part D yet because I have asked AARP and my local pharmacist, and both said I didn't need to. I still am unsure. [...]

Q. Because I am in a low-income bracket, I receive several of my higher-priced medications from the manufacturer at no charge. This benefit will end in November because I probably [...]

Q. After you spend $2,250 and are in the 'doughnut hole' --- the slice of drug costs that Medicare does not pay --- can you change pharmacies for a better [...]

Q. Once in the 'gap,' how can I find out the cost of my drugs? I cannot make a plan comparison without this information. --- Judith, Port St. Lucie, Fla. [...]

Q: We are a group of retirees in similar circumstances: We don't take any prescription drugs and are in relatively good health. We realize we must make a decision and [...]

Q: My husband and I are members of the Humana Gold Plus Plan. For years we've been getting our prescriptions filled at our local drugstore. This year the costs have [...]

Washington --- Prescription price increases since the Medicare drug program began seven weeks ago have been 'widespread, rapid and significant,' congressional Democrats reported Tuesday. The House Committee on Government Reform's [...]

Q: All the information I have read about Medicare Part D says there will be a 1 percent penalty if a person doesn't sign up before May 15. My question [...]

Q: I have never heard, seen or read an explanation for calculating prescription drug costs to the individual before reaching the 'doughnut hole.' How does it work? --- David, Boynton [...]

Washington --- Bush administration officials acknowledged Tuesday that 'tens of thousands' of Medicare beneficiaries have had trouble buying prescriptions under the new drug program, but said the federal government and [...]

***** CORRECTION: 01/18/06, page A/2: An article in Sunday's main news section about the Bush administration's shift in focus away from restructuring Social Security ended in midsentence. The final paragraph [...]

Thomas, W.Va. --- Towering up to 228 feet above the Appalachian Mountain ridge, windmills are lined up like marching aliens from 'War of the Worlds.' Up close, they emit a [...]

Washington --- How should America deal with the aging of 78 million baby boomers? What changes should be made in income security, health care, employment, transportation and community development? With [...]

Washington --- Responding to widespread confusion about the new Medicare drug benefit, community organizations across the country are launching an intense education campaign to help beneficiaries understand the program. Sponsored [...]

Washington --- Medicare unveiled Internet tools Monday to help beneficiaries choose an insurance plan offering the new prescription drug benefit. Some users found the tools hard to use, and officials [...]

Washington --- Social Security beneficiaries will get a 4.1 percent cost-of-living increase next year, pushing the average monthly check for retirees above $1,000 for the first time. The increase, worth [...]

Washington --- Already strapped from last year's four hurricanes in Florida, the National Flood Insurance Program is expected to go even deeper into the red to cover losses from Hurricane [...]

Washington --- Congress will have to weigh the Bush administration's desire to cut projected Medicaid spending by $10 billion over the next five years against the need to provide more [...]

Washington --- One month before companies begin advertising their Medicare prescription drug plans, the nation's largest organization for seniors announced an intensive education campaign to help beneficiaries understand them. Companies [...]

Washington --- Medicare beneficiaries will be able to purchase prescription drug plans this fall offering more generous benefits and costing less than originally predicted, the Bush administration announced Monday. While [...]

Washington --- As it turns 40, Medicare may be the greatest success story of the Great Society, but the federal health insurance program is facing a midlife financial crisis. Certainly [...]

Washington --- With President Bush pressuring the House to pass a trade agreement Wednesday against broad Democratic opposition, Rep. Sanford Bishop, a Democrat from Albany, found himself in the middle [...]

Washington --- The Senate narrowly approved a free trade agreement Thursday between the United States and five Central American countries plus the Dominican Republic. The House Ways and Means Committee, [...]