House Sends Tax and Benefits Bill to Senate

Despite defections from some conservative and freshman Democrats, the House endorsed a $113 billion package of tax breaks and social spending programs, concluding a week of frenzied activity that saw the measure shrink dramatically. Read more »

Medicare Agency Will Briefly Delay Cuts in Doctor Payments

With a 21-percent payment cut slated to take place June 1 for doctors who see Medicare patients, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has notified physicians that it will delay processing claims for two weeks. Read more »

Employees with Health Insurance Worry over Rising Costs, Survey Finds

When it comes to health care coverage, it's all about the money — even among Americans with relatively stable health insurance coverage. Read more »

Feds Ask That Virginia Suit Challenging Health Care Law Be Dismissed

The Justice Department has filed a brief arguing that a lawsuit by the commonwealth of Virginia challenging the new health care law would overturn "decades of settled precedent" and should be dismissed. Read more »

The Check Is in the Mail for Some Medicare Part D Enrollees

Checks for $250 each will be distributed beginning June 1 to seniors who have fallen into the "doughnut hole" when it comes to their prescription drug plans, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. Read more »

Companies Leap at Chance to Share in $5 Billion from Health Care Law

The White House is looking for good news to spread these days when it comes to the new health care law, and found it in the form of a study from Hewitt Associates. Hewitt, a consulting firm, said it conducted a survey that found that most employers who offer retiree health benefits plan to participate in a new program that would offset their costs for early retiree medical claims. Read more »

Kaiser Report Analyzes State-by-State Impact of Medicaid Expansion

The expansion of Medicaid under the new health care law will mean a decrease in the numbers of the uninsured and a significant increase in public coverage, with most of the tab picked up by the federal government, according to a new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Read more »