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Medicare - March 27-2011 Millions of retired and disabled people in the United States had better brace for another year with no increase in Social Security payments. When Medicare premiums rise more than Social Security payments, millions of people living on fixed incomes don't get raises. On the other hand, most don't get pay cuts, either, because a hold-harmless provision prevents higher Part B premiums from reducing Social Security payments for most people.AARP estimates that as many as three-fourths of beneficiaries will have their entire Social Security increase swallowed by rising Medicare premiums next year. Most lost value in their homes when the housing market crashed and who can't find work because the job market is weak or they are in poor health.Some live on a $1,262 Social Security payment each month, with more than $500 going to pay the mortgage or rent. They cut back on about everything they can, and then take the rest out of savings if they have any.

  W ith birthday cake and balloons, a small group of Lake County Democrats celebrated the one-year anni­versary of President Barack Obama's signing into law health-care legislation that made sweeping changes to the nation's medical-care system.; As part of this week's celebration at the W.T. Bland Pub­lic Library, five Lake women, spoke about how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act benefited each of them. Diane Johnson, 52, re­counted how she spent eight years without health insur­ance after quitting her job at Valencia Community College to help her husband start his Own business. But Johnson could not be covered under her husband's insurance plan. And because she had a heart problem, she was denied insurance coverage for the pre-existing condition — even policies that would have required her to pay $1,500 a month, she said. Under the new law, Johnson enrolled in the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, which makes insurance cov­erage available to those

WASHINGTON—The federal Medicare fraud task force brought criminal charges Thursday against doctors, nurses and health care company executives — in all, 111 people in nine cities — in what officials billed as the nation's biggest health care fraud bust. The defendants are accused of cheating the government out of more than $225 million through false-billing schemes that included fraudulent claims,. kickback op­erations, money laundering and identity theft. The sweep of the case was so massive that it took more than 700 federal agents from the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct. In addition, 16 search warrants were served across the country in connection with ongoing investigations. "Our message is clear," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer from the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "We are determined to put Medicare fraudsters out of business." Daniel Levinson, the Health and Human Services inspector general, added: