ProPublica: Medicare could save billions with generic drugs

The nonprofit news service analyzed millions of prescriptions. Also, a CMS official says "the Medicare program is stronger today than in recent memory."

ProPublica: Medicare's Failure to Track Doctors Wastes Billions on Name-Brand Drugs
Medicare is wasting hundreds of millions of dollars a year by failing to rein in doctors who routinely give patients pricey name-brand drugs when cheaper generic alternatives are available. ProPublica analyzed the prescribing habits of 1.6 million practitioners nationwide and found that a tiny fraction of them are having an outsized impact on spending in Medicare's massive drug program (Ornstein, Weber and LaFleur, 11/18).

Georgia Health News: Who Likes The ACA? Top Medicare Official Says Law Is Boon For Seniors
Recent problems with the Affordable Care Act -- a poorly functioning insurance exchange website and an uproar over canceled policies -- have dominated headlines and reignited political debates. But Jonathan Blum has a positive message to deliver about the ACA and its effect on the Medicare program, which covers about 1.4 million Georgians (Miller,11/18).