Medicare

If there's a settlement or judgment against another party in a liability case, Medicare is entitled to reimbursement for the money it spent on a beneficiary's medical care. The process is complex and prone to delays. A new law is expected to fix the problems.

Economists have calculated that spending on health care continued to increase slowly in 2011, at a rate similar to the two previous years. Researchers point to the stagnant economy for holding back health inflation.

The Senate-approved budget compromise that is meant to allow the U.S. government to avoid higher tax rates and austere budget cuts has tax rates as its central issue. We list some of the bill's effects, from tax credits to rising rates.

The nation's biggest insurer is starting to dole out bonuses and penalties to nearly 3,000 hospitals as it ties almost $1 billion in payments to the quality of care provided to patients.

In a switch, Medicare began covering smoking cessation counseling for smokers without symptoms of disease back in 2010. Beneficiaries are eligible for up to two four-session smoking cessation counseling attempts a year.

Republicans are insisting on more austere entitlement programs as leaders negotiate a deal to keep the nation from going over the "fiscal cliff" in the new year. But many Democrats are wary of including any far-reaching and long-lasting entitlement reforms in a hastily thrown-together deal.

Means testing Medicare is one of the few areas where Democrats have shown a willingness to even consider the subject of spending less on the program. But not everyone supports that idea.

Despite his re-election and bolstered Democratic numbers in Congress, President Obama has far from a free hand to make a comprehensive deal with House Speaker John Boehner that would include cuts to entitlement programs. Strong resistance to that notion is coming from the political left — and with a warning.

On Jan. 1, Medicare is set to cut payments to doctors by nearly 30 percent. Lawmakers of both parties want to prevent this. So why is it imminent?

By delaying the age at which people can join Medicare, the federal government could save millions of dollars. But if 65- and 66-year-olds have to find health insurance on the open market, states, employers and individuals of all ages will end up paying a lot more.