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The federal government wants hospitals to take responsibility for discharged patients to make sure they are not admitted again within 30 days. Medicare will penalize hospitals with many repeat admissions, but some think putting this whole burden on hospitals is not fair.

Medicare is withholding 1 percent of its regular hospital payments to fund bonuses for hospitals that score well on quality tests. Separately, Medicare will penalize hospitals that have higher than expected readmission rates.

There are a lot more older people with worn-out knees, and the rate at which those people get knees replaced has gone way up in the last 20 years, too.

President Obama demonstrated that he intends to cut Republican challenger Mitt Romney no slack for his "47 percent" comment. He told AARP members that "Medicare and Social Security are not handouts." Meanwhile, Rep. Paul Ryan said critics of the Republican ticket's proposals are misleading seniors.

The federal health law makes it easier for most people with private insurance to get recommended vaccines without a copay. But the changes don't apply to people covered by Medicare.

Some of the cost variations from a UnitedHealthcare database are startling. For treating a basic asthma episode, cases in the 10th percentile of distribution cost $98 each while those in the 90th percentile the cost was $1,535 per case.

In Florida, the ad war centers on Medicare. In New Hampshire, a big topic this week is federal student loans. The ads show how the campaigns are tailoring their message to specific voters in key states.

Democratic and Republican strategists have acknowledged that Paul Ryan's ideas about transforming Medicare may cause problems for the Romney-Ryan ticket among older voters. NPR's Scott Horsley talks with Weekend Edition Sunday guest host Linda Wertheimer about Ryan's trip to Orlando, Fla., Saturday to address his views on Medicare.

By adding Paul Ryan to the GOP ticket, Mitt Romney may risk turning off an important voting bloc: senior citizens. But while some Florida seniors are set against any big changes to Medicare, others are embracing Ryan's plan for reshaping the program.

The Supreme Court may issue a ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act as early as Monday. Guy Raz talks to NPR Health Policy Correspondent Julie Rovner about what will happen next if the court rules against the law. In Oregon, Rocky King, the state's health insurance exchange director, says the imminent decision keeps him up at night and historian Jeff Shesol explains why there hasn't been a ruling this important since the 1930s.