Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz unveiled his ticket’s plans to improve the lives of rural voters as Vice President Kamala Harris looks to cut into former President Donald Trump’s support.

Thinner benefits and coverage changes await many older Americans shopping for health insurance this fall.

A constitutional challenge to the Biden administration program enabling Medicare to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs has been revived by a federal appeals court.

At least one mystery about President Joe Biden’s often convoluted answers during the presidential debate has been solved.

People on Medicare who survived a drug overdose were much more likely to later receive opioid painkillers than any medication to treat addiction — and some went on to die of an overdose.

The Supreme Court's decision regarding Idaho's abortion ban may hinge on whether federal spending power can protect doctors against a state's criminal code.

The go-broke dates for benefit programs Medicare and Social Security have been pushed back as an improving economy has contributed to changed projected depletion dates, according to the annual Social Security and Medicare trustees report.

CVS Health missed first-quarter expectations and chopped its 2024 outlook more than a dollar below Wall Street’s forecast.

About one-quarter of U.S. adults age 50 and older who aren't yet retired say they expect to never retire and 70% are concerned about prices rising faster than their income.

President Joe Biden frequently cites insulin prices as he promotes a $35 price cap for Americans with diabetes who are on Medicare.

Certain Medicare patients may get help paying for the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy, as long as they also have heart disease.

Biogen will stop selling its Alzheimer’s treatment Aduhelm.

A bill to create a bipartisan commission that would tackle the nation’s soaring debt and make policy recommendations to Congress has won approval from a House committee.

President Joe Biden is touting his administration's efforts to lower medical costs.

Some private insurers are balking at paying for the first drug fully approved to slow mental decline in Alzheimer’s patients.

U.S. officials granted full approval to a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug on Thursday, clearing the way for Medicare and other insurance plans to begin covering the treatment for people with the brain-robbing disease.

Merck is suing the federal government over a plan to negotiate Medicare drug prices, calling the program a sham equivalent to extortion.

Even with new spending restraints included in the congressional debt limit deal, the U.S. government’s deficits are still on course to keep climbing to record levels over the next few decades.

President Joe Biden says his administration is expanding eligibility for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges to hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

Americans are deeply opposed to cutting into Medicare or Social Security benefits, and most support raising taxes on the nation’s highest earners to keep Medicare running as is.

An annual report on Social Security and Medicare says the financial safety nets millions of older Americans rely on and millions more young people are counting on will run short on funds to pay full benefits within the next decade.

In the federal budget standoff, the majority of U.S. adults are asking lawmakers to pull off the impossible: Cut the overall size of government, but also devote more money to the most popular and expensive programs.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is calling for “common sense and compassionate solutions” to reform entitlement programs and the nation’s debt burden.

President Joe Biden says his administration is focused “intensely” on lowering health care costs.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is proposing changes to entitlement programs for younger generations, opening the door to potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare if elected.

President Joe Biden says GOP lawmakers could put millions of people’s health care at risk.

It seems no one wants to cut Social Security or Medicare benefits.

President Biden is in Tampa and will discuss his plan to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare and lower health care costs.

President Joe Biden is taking direct aim at Republicans who have floated cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

When President Joe Biden suggested that Republicans want to slash Medicare and Social Security it brought howls of protests from the GOP side of the aisle during the State of the Union address.

For all the sound and fury about raising the nation's debt limit, most economists say federal borrowing is not at a crisis point.

The Supreme Court seems likely to reject a call to overturn decades of precedent and limit the ability of individuals to use federal civil rights law to sue.

With Medicare’s open enrollment underway, health experts are warning older adults about an uptick in misleading marketing tactics that might lead some to sign up for Medicare Advantage plans that don’t cover their doctors or prescriptions and drive up their out-of-pocket costs.

For the first time in a decade, Americans will pay less next year on monthly premiums for Medicare’s Part B plan, which covers routine doctors’ visits and other outpatient care.

President Joe Biden has signed Democrats’ landmark climate change and health care bill.

Some older Americans are cheering news of a deal on Capitol Hill that could lead to lower drug costs.

The Biden administration is warning pharmacies not to discriminate against women who may seek reproductive health prescriptions, including some that might be involved in ending a pregnancy.

Senate Democrats want to boost taxes on some high earners and use the money to extend the solvency of Medicare.

A stronger-than-expected economic recovery from the pandemic has pushed back the go-broke dates for Social Security and Medicare, but officials warn that the current economic turbulence is putting additional pressures on the bedrock retirement programs.

Medicare recipients will get a premium reduction — but not until next year.

Biogen is looking for a new CEO less than a year after its launch of its Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm largely fizzled.

Medicare says it’s considering a cut in enrollee premiums, after officials stuck with an earlier decision to sharply limit coverage for a pricey new Alzheimer’s drug projected to drive up program costs.

Medicare says that millions of enrollees will finally have access to free over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at drug stores.

The House has passed a bill capping the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for insured patients.

When the end of the COVID-19 pandemic comes, it could create major disruptions for U.S. health care.

Legislation to limit insulin costs for people with diabetes is getting a new push in the Senate.

Two widely supported bills are encountering delays in the Senate.

The Biden administration says people with Medicare will be able to get up to eight free over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per month, starting in early spring.

Medicare says it's shining a light on key markers for nursing home quality.

Medicare says it will limit coverage of a $28,000-a-year Alzheimer’s drug whose benefits have been widely questioned.

U.S. health secretary Xavier Becerra is ordering Medicare to reassess a big premium increase facing millions of enrollees this year.

The head of a Senate panel that oversees Medicare says the Biden administration should cut back a hefty premium increase soon to hit millions of enrollees.

A new $56,000-a-year Alzheimer’s medication that’s leading to one of the biggest increases ever in Medicare premiums is highlighting the limitations of President Joe Biden’s strategy for curbing prescription drug costs.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is asking the White House to cut back a big Medicare premium hike set to take effect in weeks and tied to a pricey Alzheimer’s drug whose benefits have been widely questioned.

Workers and families with private health insurance would reap savings on prescription drugs from a little-noticed provision in President Joe Biden's social agenda bill.

Bridget chats with two representatives from Anthem Blue Cross and Kroger to better understand the new insurance plans available to you.

Medicare’s “Part B” outpatient premium will jump by $21.60 a month in 2022, one of the largest increases ever.

Medicare enrollees who take expensive medicines could save thousands of dollars a year under the Democrats’ sweeping social agenda bill, but those dividends won’t come overnight.

Democrats say they have sealed a deal to lower pharmaceutical drug costs for most older Americans as part of President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.75 trillion domestic proposal.

House Democrats have added paid family and medical leave, immigration law changes and a state-and-local tax break to President Joe Biden's $1.75 trillion social services and environmental bill.

Two congressional aides say Democrats have made significant progress on adding compromise provisions curbing prescription drug prices to their massive social and environment package.

Medicaid issues are turning up as winners in President Joe Biden’s social budget framework even as divisions force Democrats to hit pause on far-reaching improvements to Medicare.

Negotiating Medicare drug prices is a linchpin of President Joe Biden's ambitious health care agenda.

Democrats are fretting about how they’d divide a shrinking pie amid signs that negotiations over President Joe Biden’s massive domestic policy bill could yield a smaller serving of health care spending.

A House committee has dealt an ominous if tentative blow to President Joe Biden’s social and environment package.

The sharp shock of the coronavirus recession pushed Social Security a year closer to insolvency but left Medicare’s exhaustion date unchanged, the government reported Tuesday.

On Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., President Joe Biden is expected to address the nation about the need for, along with the availability of, COVID-19 booster shots by September.

With COVID-19 on the rise again and many nursing home staffers unvaccinated, families still lack easy access to crucial Medicare immunization data that will help them pick the right facility for their loved one.

A government watchdog says that deaths among Medicare patients in nursing homes soared by 32% last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Affordable Care Act is now secure in the framework of the nation’s health care programs, and Democrats are eager to leap above and beyond.

Democrats are committed to passing legislation this year to curb prescription drug prices.

A new report says the $56,000 Alzheimer’s drug approved this week would raise Medicare premiums broadly.

The Justice Department is announcing criminal charges against more than a dozen people from Florida to California in a series of Medicare scams that exploited coronavirus fears to bill tens of millions of dollars in bogus claims.

Medicare says it will require nursing homes to report COVID-19 vaccination rates for residents and staff.

President Joe Biden’s call for authorizing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices has energized Democrats on a politically popular idea they’ve been pushing for nearly 20 years only to encounter frustration.

ROANOKE, Va. – A family-owned Roanoke business has to pay $2.1 million after fraudulently charging Medicare and Virginia Medicaid for medicine. Back in June 2020, Allergy and Asthma Associates (AAA) pleaded guilty for billing Medicare and Virginia Medicaid $627,540 for prescriptions medicine they did not purchase. “When a medical practice fraudulently bills our Medicare and Medicaid programs, it diverts funds from the most vulnerable in our communities and must be held accountable,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel Bubar. AdReports also show that the company bought 129 vials of Xolair that weren’t given to Medicaid patients, costing the health care program $88,878. The practice will pay $1,994,607 in settlement fees to the United States government and $154,648 to Virginia for violating the false claims act.

The agency oversees government health insurance programs covering more than 1 out of 3 Americans and is a linchpin of the health care system. CMS also plays a central role in the nation’s $4 trillion health care economy, setting Medicare payment rates for hospitals, doctors, labs and other service providers. The agency also sets standards that govern how health care providers operate. “She is well-respected and liked by the department veterans who have worked with her in the past.”Years ago, Brooks-LaSure worked with Biden's nominee to run HHS, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. AdUnder Biden, Brooks-LaSure will be expected to grow Obamacare enrollment by promoting HealthCare.gov and trying to persuade holdout states to adopt Medicaid expansion.

The Trump regulation would tie what Medicare pays for certain drugs administered in a doctor's office to the lowest price paid among a group of economically advanced countries. Some opponents have likened the Trump policy to a form of socialist price controls. Trump came into office accusing drug companies of “getting away with murder” and promising to slash costs for American patients. Even if the Trump rule is ultimately blocked, the idea of using international prices to lower costs for Americans is very much alive. It's at the heart of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's legislation to empower Medicare to negotiate drug prices.

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2020, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks from the Blue Room Balcony of the White House to a crowd of supporters in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)WASHINGTON – The Trump administration is trying to revive the president's stalled election-eve plan to send millions of Medicare recipients a $200 prescription discount card. White House spokesman Judd Deere confirmed the administration is continuing to move forward. “It’s simply good policy, and demonstrates President Trump is continuing to deliver on his promises to our nation’s seniors to lower drug prices." Pallone dismissed the latest White House push.

WASHINGTON – Trying to close out major unfinished business, the Trump administration issued regulations Friday that could lower the prices Americans pay for many prescription drugs. The Trump administration disputes that and says its rule could potentially result in 30% savings for patients. Trump has taken other action to lower prescription drug costs by opening a legal path for importing medicines from abroad. Also, Medicare drug plans that cap insulin costs at $35 a month are available during open enrollment, currently underway. The Food and Drug Administration has put a priority on approving generics, which cost less.

And just like the Trump administration, Biden is expected to aggressively wield the rule-making powers of the executive branch to address health insurance coverage and prescription drug costs. With COVID-19 surging across the country, Biden's top health care priority is whipping the federal government’s response into shape. “We’re going to work quickly with the Congress to dramatically ramp up health care protections, get Americans universal coverage, lower health care costs, as soon as humanly possible,” the president-elect said earlier this week. A factor that may work in Biden's favor is that many Republicans want to change the subject on health care. Coronavirus relief legislation could provide an early vehicle for some broader health care changes.

The regulations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, will also increase what Medicare pays hospitals for COVID-19 treatments. Under Wednesday's announcement:— Seniors with traditional Medicare will pay nothing for COVID-19 vaccines, and any copays and deductibles are waived. — The government will pay private Medicare Advantage plans to administer the vaccine to seniors. — Workplace and individual health insurance plans will cover the COVID-19 vaccine as a preventive service, with no cost sharing. — State Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance plans will have to provide vaccines for free for the duration of the coronavirus public health emergency.

WASHINGTON – Medicare will cover the yet-to-be approved coronavirus vaccine free for older people under a policy change expected to be announced shortly, a senior Trump administration official said Tuesday. It's questionable under normal circumstances if Medicare can pay for a drug that receives emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, as expected for the eventual coronavirus vaccine. A White House-backed initiative called “Operation Warp Speed” is pushing to have a vaccine ready for distribution in the coming months. States have already begun submitting their plans for vaccine distribution to the federal government. Initially, it's expected vaccines will go to people in high-risk groups such as medical personnel, frontline workers and nursing home residents and staff.

A White House official had no comment on the status of the prescription cards, which Trump announced with a flourish last month during a health care speech in Charlotte, N.C. We will provide more information about the prescription drug cards soon.”One administration official said the odds are 75-25 the plan will not happen. Among them:— The White House asserted that Medicare could legally send out the discount cards under its authority to conduct “demonstration programs” testing new ideas. The $200 would test if extra cash made seniors more likely to stay on their medications and avoid costly hospitalizations. “It would do relatively little for seniors with truly catastrophic prescription drug expenses,” she said.

Medicare enrollees can get prescription drug coverage by purchasing a “Part D” drug plan or by joining a Medicare Advantage plan. Announcing the savings cards Thursday at a speech in Charlotte, N.C., Trump called it a “historic provision” to benefit seniors. “These cards are incredible.”Using Trump's figure of 33 million people getting the $200 cards, the cost would work out to $6.6 billion, not including administrative expenses. The White House says the prescription cards are definitely coming. Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, coauthor of the bipartisan drug cost bill that stalled even with the president's endorsement, called the whole exercise a gimmick.

The consultants, many with Republican Party ties, billed taxpayers up to $380 per hour on work largely aimed at polishing the profile of Medicare administrator Seema Verma, the investigators wrote. The contractors were “handpicked” by Verma's aides, the report said, creating “a shadow operation" that sidelined the communications staff of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “Congress did not intend for Administrator Verma or other senior CMS officials to use taxpayer dollars to stockpile CMS with handpicked consultants or promote Administrator Verma’s public profile and personal brand,” the report said. “Given the reckless disregard she has shown for the public’s trust, Administrator Verma should reimburse the taxpayers for these inappropriate expenditures,” it said. The report released Thursday was prepared by the Democratic staffs of two Senate and two House committees.

Before the pandemic, Medicare rules required her make regular two-hour, one-way trips to New Hampshire to meet with her doctor to discuss her treatment. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring)WASHINGTON Telehealth is a bit of American ingenuity that seems to have paid off in the coronavirus pandemic. Telehealth visits dropped with the reopening, but they're still far more common than before. As the government's flagship health care program, Medicare covers more than 60 million people, including those age 65 and older, and younger disabled people. Expanded Medicare telehealth could:help move the nation closer to a long-sought goal of treating mental health the same as physical conditions.

The order President Donald Trump plans to sign Monday applies to one segment of Medicare recipients people living in rural communities. Taken together, the steps are modest far short of the health plan Trump promised when he was elected but has not been able to deliver. The telehealth measure directs the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, as well as other agencies, to work together to promote the availability of services in rural communities. And it aims to permanently expand the kinds of services that can be provided via telehealth. Medicare has greatly expanded coverage of telehealth across the country as part of its emergency plan to confront the coronavirus pandemic.

A big study to help Medicare officials decide whether to start covering brain scans to check for Alzheimers disease missed its goals for curbing health care costs, calling into question whether the pricey tests are worth it. Advocates for coverage say they hope to persuade the agency that the scans still offer benefits even if they dont save much or any money. They were given scans and compared to Medicare recipients who were similar in age, sex and other factors but not given scans. If it was any other disease, people would want a specific diagnosis" and the scans give that, he said. But with a blood test on the horizon for diagnosing the disease, relying on scans may become a moot issue, he said.

At a White House ceremony Friday, Trump signed four executive orders. Friday's event was definitely not the bill-signing the White House had once hoped for. Neither side in Congress has had an incentive to deal, and the White House has been unable to work Trump's will. Another Gallup-West Health survey found 65% saying the Trump administration had made little or no progress limiting increases in prescription drug costs. Drugmakers are particularly leery of the approach, since Democrats want to use it more broadly to allow Medicare to directly negotiate prices.

WASHINGTON Unable to land the big deal with Congress to curb drug costs, President Donald Trump is moving on his own to allow imports of prescription medicines, along with other limited steps that might have some election-year appeal. At a White House ceremony, Trump is set to sign four executive orders. Neither side in Congress has had an incentive to deal, and the White House has been unable to work Trump's will. It had no path forward in the Senate, and the White House calls it unworkable. Another Gallup-West Health survey early in the year found 65% saying the Trump administration had made little or no progress limiting increases in prescription drug costs.

The contracts, which are no longer active, were for strategic communications services, such as public engagement and interacting with the media. In a response that accompanies the report, she said CMS has deep concerns" with the conclusions, which are based on unsubstantiated assumptions and incomplete analysis." She also said the report relies on mischaracterizations of contractor tasks and duties and misrepresents federal acquisition rules. As head of CMS, Verma has enjoyed strong support from the White House but has clashed with health secretary Alex Azar. Vermas expansion of Medicare telehealth services may well be her most lasting accomplishment.

WASHINGTON Blacks were nearly four times more likely than whites to be hospitalized with COVID-19 among people with Medicare, the government said Monday. From Jan. 1-May 16, more than 325,000 Medicare recipients were diagnosed with COVID-19, and nearly 110,000 were hospitalized, according to the analysis of claims data. Low-income Medicare recipients who are also covered by their state Medicaid programs had a hospitalization rate that was slightly higher than the rate for African Americans. There were fewer COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations among Medicare recipients in rural areas, when compared to cities and suburbs. The Medicare data released Monday lack complete information about deaths, since they only record those who passed away in a hospital.

The new insulin benefit will be voluntary, so during open enrollment this fall Medicare recipients who are interested must make sure to pick an insurance plan that provides it. White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway told AP the administration can't wait for the Democratic-controlled House on drug prices. Medicare estimates that about 6 in 10 beneficiaries are already in prescription drug plans that will offer the new insulin benefit. The insulin benefit will be available in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Participation is voluntary for insurers and Medicare recipients alike.

Older adults who pick a drug plan offering the new insulin benefit would pay a maximum of $35 a month starting next year, a savings estimated at $446 annually. Verma, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said 1,750 insurance plans that offer drug coverage to Medicare recipients have agreed to provide insulin for a maximum copay of $35 a month next year. Medicare's prescription drug benefit is offered by private insurers, either as a stand-alone Part D drug plan added to traditional Medicare, or as part of a managed care plan under Medicare Advantage. Medicare estimates that about 6 in 10 beneficiaries are already in prescription drug plans that will offer the new insulin benefit. The insulin benefit will be available in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

For now, though, the Democratic presidential field has been left to wait, and speculate, on what Warren's forthcoming plan to pay for "Medicare for All" will look like. The debate over Medicare for All, which Sen. Bernie Sanders pushed into the mainstream during his first presidential campaign, has mushroomed into a broader test during the 2020 primary. For now, though, her decision -- and how it is perceived by voters -- could affect her candidacy in conversations that run wider and deeper than the health care debate. "These proposals, such as relying on a public option or expanding Medicare Advantage, offering private plans within Medicare, provide too few details to allow real cost comparisons. But it is unlikely they will do as much as Medicare for All would to reduce national health care spending or reduce costs for families."