Some providers accounted for a large portion of Medicare costs in 2012

Doctors who make the most in Medicare, by state and specialty

Instead of admitting Medicare patients quickly, hospitals are "observing" them for as long as two days.

The roll-out of Obamacare isn't the first time the government has done something this big.

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.

A new analysis by ProPublica finds that many doctors in the U.S. prescribe brand-name drugs to Medicare patients when generics can be dramatically cheaper — and it's costing taxpayers hundreds of millions a year.

Medicare enrollment is already confusing enough. The new health care exchanges will only make it more so. And that could end up being costly for taxpayers.

Staffing cuts at the Department of Health and Human Services mean fewer cases of Medicare, Medicaid fraud are investigated.

The prescription drug plan has created millions of senior customers for the pharmaceutical industry over ten years.

Current recipients have different reactions. Some scholars say basing the amount of payments on need could make the program less popular.