Medicare

San Francisco General Hospital struggling with unpaid medical bills, higher costs

By: Chris Roberts 02/25/13 9:33 PM

Thanks to managed care, patients at San Francisco General Hospital are charged less for medical attention. But that savings — along with skyrocketing unpaid bills and ballooning employee costs — has put the hospital in the red. Read More

CCSF faculty grateful for voters’ support

By: Examiner readers 12/06/12 9:58 PM

We faculty at City College of San Francisco want to say, “Thank you, San Francisco!” Thank you for your show of support for City College by approving Proposition A by a resounding 72 percent. Your vote of confidence shows us that City College is valued, vital and essential to our city. Thank you also for approving Proposition 30. Read More

Social Security benefit hike won't make up for Medicare increases

By: Dan K. Thomasson 10/25/11 11:03 PM

The government giveth and the government taketh away.With one hand, the Social Security Administration will provide a 3.6 percent raise to some 55 million older Americans, the first since 2009. With the other hand it will decrease the amount they receive by increasing the premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers doctors’ visits and other medically necessary services such as outpatient and home care costs. Part B is automatically deducted from the monthly Social Security payment. Read More

Medicare drug abusers easily feed their addictions or sell painkillers

By: SF Examiner Editorial 10/04/11 7:50 PM

WHAT: A new Government Accountability Office audit found that some 170,000 Medicare recipients obtained prescriptions from multiple doctors for 14 frequently abused medications in 2008. HOW: One California recipient got prescriptions for a five-year supply of fentanyl — a very strong narcotic used for treating relentless cancer pain — from 21 different physicians. Read More

Mississippi cancer doctor charged with diluting meds, reusing needles

By: Staff report 09/22/11 11:16 PM

WHAT: Dr. Meera Sachdeva, 50, of Mississippi was charged in federal court with stealing $15.1 million from Medicaid and Medicare by overcharging for unused chemotherapy drugs and reusing old needles on multiple patients. HOW: Court records list how many drugs Sachdeva actually purchased and compares it to the costs billed to Medicaid and Medicare. The clinic billed for 142,200 milligrams of Erbitux, even though it only bought 45,100 milligrams. Read More

Obamacare pain adds up

By: Conn Carroll 08/22/11 10:09 PM

When the United States Supreme Court examines the individual mandate provision of the Affordable Care Act sometime next spring, it will undoubtedly give great weight to the text of the United States Constitution and relevant Commerce Clause case law. But some on the court may be hesitant to invalidate the new law due to the significant strain it would place on an already divided Congress. These worries are misplaced. Read More

US health care costs will nearly double by 2020

By: Curtis Steudeman 07/28/11 9:54 PM

WHAT: America’s health care bill will jump from $2.7 trillion this year to $4.6 trillion in 2020. It will take $1 of every $5 in the economy instead of the current $1 out of $6 and go from $8,650 per capita up to $13,710. WHY: Medicare’s nonpartisan Actuary Office said health care spending grows faster than the economy mostly because an aging society consumes more services. Most health dollars go for care of the sickest people. Read More

Bipartisan compromises that will break the debt-limit impasse

By: Philip Klein 07/14/11 10:16 PM

Lately, the most abused word in Washington, D.C., has been “impasse.” Prospects for a deal between President Barack Obama and Republicans on raising the debt ceiling are appearing increasingly grim as Aug. 2 nears, the date of the promised debt-pocalypse. Read More

Federal budget battle is a clash of two eras

By: SF Examiner Editorial 07/11/11 8:48 PM

Senate Democrats led by Patty Murray of Washington and Chuck Schumer of New York have an odd way of looking at things. Murray is the chairman of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, and Schumer is among the party’s messaging gurus. Read More