Even with health overhaul, insurance premiums could be a stretch for middle-class Americans

WASHINGTON — Many middle-class Americans would still struggle to pay for health insurance despite efforts by President Barack Obama and Democrats to make coverage more affordable.

Senate health care bill could lead to higher Medicare prescription drug costs for seniors

WASHINGTON — Medicare recipients could see higher premiums for prescription drug coverage as a result of changes to complex provisions in a Senate health care bill, a senior Republican said Friday.

Obama reaches historic milestone on health care but with no guarantee he’ll prevail in the end

WASHINGTON — Eight months in office, Barack Obama has now pushed closer than any other president in generations to creating a basic health care safety net for working Americans. Yet the fate of legislation delivering on his goal is far from certain: Republicans are nearly unified in opposition, Democrats hardly united in support.

Seniors want to know: What would health care overhaul do to Medicare?

CHICAGO — Businessman Stewart Grill, 75, believes there’s waste in Medicare. He’s just skeptical Congress can find and eliminate it without touching what he likes about his government health care plan.

Health bill’s progress is historic _ but opposition shows it’s still a long way from passage

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama has pushed closer than any president in generations to creating a basic health care safety net for most Americans, yet the fate of legislation delivering on his promise is far from certain.

Conn. officials demand to know if insurers discussed proposed health reform with policyholders

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut officials demanded to know Friday if the state’s five largest insurance companies have sent policyholders information about a possible impact on Medicare of health care changes debated in Washington.

ALL BUSINESS: Pay package for new Freddie Mac CFO is sending a disturbing message

NEW YORK — The pay package given to Freddie Mac’s new chief financial officer should have sent a message from Washington to corporate America about how executive compensation standards must change. Instead, it did just the opposite.

Health care issues: Expanded Medicaid Eligibility

A look at key issues in the health care debate:

Bank of America board authorizes $713 million dividend payment on government investment

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bank of America Corp. said Friday its board authorized a $713 million dividend payment on preferred stock issued to the Treasury Department as part of the government’s bank rescue program last year.

AP answers your news questions, from status of ‘Sully’s’ jet to what’s up with Somali pirates

Capt. Chesley Sullenberger officially returned to the skies this week, eight months after he gained fame by guiding his crippled jetliner into the Hudson River in New York City without the loss of a single life. But what about the damaged US Airways jet? Has that been returned to service?

Democratic liberals and moderates in key Senate committee close ranks

WASHINGTON — Health care legislation backed by President Barack Obama all but cleared a major hurdle in the Senate early Friday as Democratic liberals and moderates on a key committee closed ranks behind the most sweeping set of changes in a half-century.

Slow recovery means unemployment rate to keep rising, possibly to 10 percent

WASHINGTON — The unemployment rate hasn’t topped 10 percent since June 1983, but it could return to that painful level soon — possibly as early as Friday, when the Labor Department issues its monthly jobs report.

Health overhaul just a step away from Senate floor, Dems ease impact on working-class families

WASHINGTON — Capping months of struggle, Democrats pushed health care legislation atop President Barack Obama’s agenda to the brink of a major Senate advance early Friday after last-minute changes to ease the impact on working-class families. The most far-reaching overhaul in decades aims to protect millions who have unreliable insurance coverage or none at all.

September US auto sales fall following Cash for Clunkers buying spree over the summer

DETROIT — A Cash for Clunkers hangover hit every major automaker except Hyundai last month, pushing down sales and leaving the industry searching for signs of a recovery in October.

Ford says US auto sales in Sept. fell 5.1 percent; clunker hangover hurts demand

DETROIT — Chrysler Group LLC reported a 42 percent sales drop last month, while Ford Motor Co. says its September sales fell 5.1 percent, revealing a tough hangover from this summer’s Cash for Clunkers buying spree.

Health care issues: How to pay doctors under Medicare

A look at key issues in the health care debate:

Consumer spending surges by largest amount in nearly 8 years in August but incomes lag

WASHINGTON — Consumer spending, propelled by the wildly popular Cash for Clunkers auto sales program, shot up in August by the largest amount in nearly eight years even though personal incomes continued to lag.

Wis. judge orders Pharmacia to pay $4.5 million in forfeitures for Medicaid and pricing fraud

MADISON, Wis. — A judge on Tuesday imposed $4.5 million in forfeitures on prescription drug company Pharmacia Inc. for misrepresenting prices and defrauding Wisconsin’s Medicaid system.

A look at the health care bill taking shape in the Senate Finance Committee

The Senate Finance Committee pushed ahead Wednesday on a comprehensive health care bill. The panel hopes to finish the legislation by week’s end. It then will be combined with a bill approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee this past summer. Some highlights:

Health care vote predicted soon by Senate panel; GOP challenges swept aside as emotions rise

WASHINGTON — A White House-backed overhaul of the nation’s health care system weathered repeated challenges from Republican critics over taxes, abortion and more on Wednesday, and the bill’s architect claimed enough votes to push it through the Senate Finance Committee as early as week’s end.

Survey of state governments highlights growing pressure on Medicaid programs

Medicaid programs could face a revenue crunch that hurts programs and provider reimbursement in fiscal 2011 after federal stimulus money dries up, said a survey released Wednesday.

GOP lawmakers seek scolding for Democrat who said Republicans want the sick to ‘die quickly’

WASHINGTON — House Republicans say it’s payback time for the recent reprimand of one of their own for heckling President Barack Obama. They want a Democratic lawmaker to apologize or face a reprimand for saying the GOP wants Americans to “die quickly” if they get sick.

Will health care overhaul weaken the safety net for seniors, or help heal Medicare?

WASHINGTON — Medicare is looking like a big fat piggy bank for health care overhaul.

A glance at crime victim programs in the stimulus

The federal stimulus includes $225 million to combat violence against women and $100 million for crime victims. Some victim services programs are also tapping other categories of law enforcement money.

Early retirements swamp Social Security, easing federal benefit program into projected deficit

WASHINGTON — Big job losses and a spike in early retirement claims from laid-off seniors will force Social Security to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes the next two years, the first time that’s happened since the 1980s.

Federal stimulus provides money for crime victims, domestic abuse programs around the US

MINNEAPOLIS — The government’s economic stimulus money isn’t just for hard hats, contractors and teachers. It’s also keeping battered women’s advocates on the job and compensating crime victims for lost wages and uncovered medical costs.

UN envoy says Afghanistan war effort facing “decision time”

UNITED NATIONS — A top U.N. envoy warned Tuesday that Afghanistan was facing “decision-time,” including certification of results of the flawed presidential elections and its decision on whether to pursue a peace process with the rebels to try to end the country’s eight-year-old war.

Bloomberg, others seek continued federal funding to protect NYC from radioactive threats

NEW YORK — Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other officials are urging Congress to make sure a program that helps the city protect against a radiological or nuclear terrorist attack gets adequately funded.

Report: Government can better target poorly performing nursing homes in need of extra scrutiny

WASHINGTON — A government program that brings extra scrutiny to poorly performing nursing homes leaves out hundreds of troubled facilities, investigators report.

Backers of new Kansas transportation program relaunch campaign with national group’s report

TOPEKA, Kan. — Backers of a new transportation program in Kansas have relaunched their campaign to get it passed with a report warning of approaching problems in the state’s highway system.