HEALTH (MSM)

Medicare paid doctors $90 billion in 2013, up 17 percent: officials

Medicare, the government-run health insurance program for elderly and disabled Americans, paid physicians $90 billion in 2013, up 17 percent from $77 billion in 2012, U.S. healthcare officials reported on Monday. Physician payments accounted for less than one-fifth of Medicare’s 2013 net outlays of $492 billion, which rose from $466 billion in 2012. Payments to hospitals for the top 100 inpatient stays cost Medicare $62 billion in 2013, while the

Foster Farms backs away from using human antibiotics in poultry

(Reuters) – Foster Farms, one of the top U.S. chicken producers, plans to largely eliminate antibiotics used to treat humans from its poultry production, it said on Monday. The move brings California-based Foster Farms in line with other top chicken producers, including market leader Tyson Foods Inc, that are backing away from using the drugs over concerns about antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Privately held Foster Farms is working to end the use