Australians trust their family doctor, approve of the Medicare system and overwhelmingly favour healthcare funded by the public purse, a survey shows.

On August 14, Centers for Medicare & medicaid services hosted a teleconference featuring medical groups that are participating in the demonstration.

Reducing hospital readmissions by Medicare beneficiaries could play a large role in reducing program spending enough to avoid cutting physician fees, Robert Pozen, a trustee of the Commonwealth Fund, and Cathy Schoen, senior vice president of the fund, write in a Boston Globe opinion piece.

Some Medicare beneficiaries still are having incorrect amounts withheld from their Social Security checks for Medicare Advantage and Medicare prescription drug benefit premiums, but the programs have made significant improvements since 2006 in matching their databases to deduct the correct amounts, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report, CQ HealthBeat reports.

Medicare’s drug plans will cost beneficiaries an average of $28 a month in 2009, about $3 more than this year, federal officials said Thursday…

The attorney general’s office cites factors including ‘pending criminal investigations’ and a civil complaint. The latest deal to sell Anaheim Memorial Medical Center collapsed Thursday when state officials nixed its $57-million purchase by Pacific Health Corp., which faces allegations that it defrauded Medicare and Medi-Cal.

Washington — Federal officials said the typical Medicare recipient can expect to see about a $3 hike in their monthly premiums for prescription drug coverage next year.

The $28 monthly rate is lower than initially projected, officials said.