Health care overhaul plans provoking fears, worries among older Americans already on Medicare

SPRINGFIELD, Va. — Turns out you can fear a government takeover of health care even if the government already took over your health care.

Health care overhaul plans provoking specific concerns among older Americans

SPRINGFIELD, Va. — Turns out you can fear a government takeover of health care even if the government already took over your health care.

Millions face smaller Social Security checks next year as rising drug costs diminish payments

WASHINGTON — Millions of older people face shrinking Social Security checks next year, the first time in a generation that payments would not rise.

12 NJ hospitals paying more than 500 doctors to save money in a Medicare experiment

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. — A dozen New Jersey hospitals are paying doctors as an incentive to save the hospitals money.

Health care: Republican backers of end-of-life counseling back away after conservative outcry

WASHINGTON — Until last week, Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson was among the most enthusiastic backers of end-of-life counseling in government health care programs like Medicare.

Key senators excluding end-of-life provision from health overhaul bill

WASHINGTON — Key senators are excluding a provision on end-of-life care from health overhaul legislation after language in a House bill caused a furor.

Oregon legislator blasts Palin, Gingrich over ‘death panel’ claim in health care bill

WASHINGTON — For more than a decade in Congress, Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer has been known for his ever-present bow-tie and tireless advocacy of bikes.

AARP says Obama erred in claiming it has endorsed health care legislation

WASHINGTON — A group usually seen as one of Barack Obama’s allies in the health care debate — AARP — says the president went too far Tuesday when he said the seniors lobby had endorsed the legislation pending in Congress.

Obama tries to reassure seniors worried about Medicare cuts in health care overhaul

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — President Barack Obama is seeking to reassure the nation’s seniors that health care overhaul won’t mean cuts in Medicare.

AP IMPACT: Mortgage middlemen to profit from gov’t housing bailout despite checkered past

WASHINGTON — Billions of dollars the government is spending to help financially pressed homeowners avert foreclosure are passing through — and enriching — companies accused of preying on the people they’re supposed to help, an Associated Press investigation has found.

Republicans pledge ‘hot summer’ on health care; Democrats retool pitch for the middle class

WASHINGTON — The health care debate is heading back to Main Street, to cities and towns where people are worried about medical costs but increasingly concerned that overhauling the system may do more harm than good.

Recession, job cuts lead to surge of Social Security disability claims

WASHINGTON — Social Security officials say they expect an even larger spike in new disability claims than they had expected, as aging, injured baby boomers tumble out of the work force and need income.

Seniors worry Medicare cuts in health care overhaul will undermine benefits

WASHINGTON — Democrats are pushing for Medicare cuts on a scale not seen in years to underwrite health care for all. Many seniors now covered under the program don’t like that one bit.

Work on health overhaul bill resumes in House after deal breaks logjam

WASHINGTON — Action on a sweeping health care overhaul bill has resumed in the House after a week-and-a-half delay caused by objections from fiscally conservative Democrats.

Lawmakers report health care progress; Obama pitches retooled message in NC, VA visits

RALEIGH, N.C. — Congress reported progress on legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care Wednesday as President Barack Obama introduced a retooled message asserting his plan would protect Americans and limit insurers’ power.

Dozens across nation, including doctors, arrested in Medicare fraud busts

MIAMI — Federal authorities arrested more than 30 suspects, including doctors, and were seeking others in a major Medicare fraud bust Wednesday in New York, Louisiana, Boston and Houston, targeting scams such as “arthritis kits” — expensive braces that many patients never used.

Obama retooling health care pitch to emphasize consumer protections in visits to NC, VA

RALEIGH, N.C. — Senators reported progress on legislation to overhaul the nation’s health care Wednesday as President Barack Obama introduced a retooled message asserting his plan would protect Americans and limit insurers’ power.

Obama says savings in Medicare won’t mean cuts in benefits to seniors

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says cutting Medicare costs won’t mean cuts in benefits to seniors.

Text of Obama’s opening remarks at news conference

Text of President Barack Obama’s opening remarks at a news conference at the White House on Wednesday, as prepared for delivery and provided by the White House:

Study: Seniors saving more on prescriptions in Medicare drug plan, but challenges remain

LOS ANGELES — Medicare’s 3-year-old prescription drug plan has largely met its main goal of making lifesaving medicines more affordable for seniors, a new report found.

No overnight overhaul: Timeline for far-reaching House health care legislation spans 2010-2018

WASHINGTON — President Lyndon Johnson signed the Medicare law on July 30, 1965, and 11 months later seniors were receiving coverage. But if President Barack Obama gets to sign a health care overhaul this fall, the uninsured won’t be covered until 2013 — after the next presidential election.

Calif. lawmakers optimistic they are close to solving the state’s $26B budget shortfall

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers are close to striking a deal with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to solve the state’s $26.3 billion budget deficit, leading Democrats said Friday after emerging from three hours of closed-door negotiations.

Efforts to close Calif. budget deficit resume amid differences over education funding

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Negotiations over closing California’s $26.3 billion budget deficit resumed Friday, as government offices closed for the second time this month and a health program for low-income children stopped accepting new applicants.

Calif budget talks at standstill as state offices close and health program halts enrollment

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Negotiations over closing California’s $26.3 billion budget deficit appeared stuck Friday, as government offices closed for the second time this month and a health program for low-income children stopped accepting new applicants.

House panels to vote on health care as budget office warns lawmakers’ plans won’t cut costs

WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Thursday pushed ahead with legislation that would deliver on President Barack Obama’s promise to remake the health care system and cover some 50 million uninsured, despite concerns from their own party’s moderate and conservative lawmakers that the $1.5 trillion plan costs too much.

House prepares to vote on health care bill as Obama steps up campaign for overhaul

WASHINGTON — House Democrats are preparing to advance legislation that would deliver on President Barack Obama’s promise to remake the nation’s costly health care system and cover some 50 million uninsured.

First House votes on health care bills as Obama steps up campaign for overhaul

WASHINGTON — Health care legislation would raise costs, not lower them, Congress’ top budget cruncher said Thursday, complicating President Barack Obama’s push to overhaul the system.

California lawmakers say reaching a deal over state budget deficit will take more time

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The prospects for a quick budget-balancing deal between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California’s top lawmakers dimmed late Wednesday as negotiations hung up over education funding, cuts to social services and borrowing money from local governments.

Assembly speaker: Sides closer in solving Calif’s $26.3 billion budget deficit

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass says lawmakers and the governor are just several hundred million dollars apart on finalizing a $90 billion-plus state spending plan.

Starting a home-based business? Be aware of some income tax and insurance pitfalls

NEW YORK — For many of the people laid off during the recession, the next career move is a home-based business. It’s an ideal solution for many, but these new entrepreneurs need to be aware of some caveats in running a company from home.