Topic - Medicare

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  Obama wants payroll-tax-cut action as deadline nears

  President Barack Obama is pressuring Congress to extend a payroll tax cut for the rest of the year as another deadline nears for Congress to act or see taxes go up for millions of working people.

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  Obama to unveil budget with higher taxes, more deficits

  President Obama's budget request to Congress on Monday will forecast a deficit of $1.33 trillion in the current fiscal year and calls for $1.5 trillion in tax increases over the next decade, senior administration officials said Friday night.

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  DECKER: Five questions with Gary Johnson

  Gov. Gary Johnson is a candidate for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination. During two terms as New Mexico's governor from 1995-2003, he vetoed over 750 bills (more than the rest of the nation's governors combined) and left government service with his state being one of only four with a balanced budget.

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  MILLER: Harry's dirty tactics

  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will do anything to score political points. A congressional conference committee has been brought to a standstill because the top Democrat in Congress refuses to allow his own members to negotiate a deal that includes spending cuts. With little else on the Hill's agenda this year, the Nevada Democrat is looking to blame the delay on Republicans.

• FOSTER: An evolutionary and natural choice for Medicare reform

  Unless you've been isolated on Gilligan's Island, you probably know Medicare spending is soaring. So are Medicare's unfunded promises, now in the tens of trillions of dollars. You may also know that Medicare reform is coming to a theater near you, perhaps next year.

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  Closed-door payroll-tax holiday deals now the norm

  Bitterly divided Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill aren't making much progress publicly on a legislative deal that would extend the national payroll-tax holiday, continue unemployment benefits to the long-term jobless and grant full payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients.

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  LAMBRO: Obama's recipe for poverty

  The Congressional Budget Office gave us a forecast Tuesday of a frightening fiscal catastrophe that threatens to engulf the government in a sea of debt.

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  ARMSTRONG: Our dead American Medical Association

  So, what's up with the AMA? You know, the American Medical Association, venerated representative of the American physician, right? Wrong.

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  Budget chief: Big challenges, 'worrisome trends' for U.S.

  After years of putting off big decisions the federal government faces daunting budget challenges this year, according to Congress's chief scorekeeper, which said Tuesday that continued high unemployment, low tax rates and above-average spending are creating a volatile mixture.

• Study questions proton therapy for prostate cancer

  A warning to men considering a pricey new treatment for prostate cancer called proton therapy: Research suggests it might have more side effects than traditional radiation does.

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  Retiring later a tough sell in cutting deficit

  Suppose Congress could adopt a simple measure that all at once takes a giant step toward taming huge budget deficits and gives a powerful boost to the economy and employment. It would pass in a minute, right?

• Insurer WellPoint to revamp primary care pay

  Health insurer WellPoint Inc. plans to improve primary care reimbursement and start paying for care management it doesn't currently cover, changes that could give patients more quality time with their doctors.

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  Senate paves way for final debt increase

  The debt fight that dominated Congress last year whimpered to a close Thursday as the Senate voted to clear the way for President Obama to raise the federal government's borrowing limit by another $1.2 trillion to $16.4 trillion, which he hopes will last past the November election.

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  Senate clears way for hike to $16.4T debt limit

  The debt fight that dominated Congress last year whimpered to a close Thursday as the Senate voted to clear the way for President Obama to raise the federal government's borrowing limit by another $1.2 trillion to $16.4 trillion, which he hopes will last past the November election.

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  ORIENT: Uncle Sam exacts penalty for quitting Medicare

  Should people be allowed to leave Medicare? This is a real question, not a rhetorical one. Even though Medicare is said to be highly popular, indispensable and a great boon to American seniors, some people really want out.

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