She said that half the hospital's revenues came from Medicare patients.

The remainder are either Medicare patients, have commercial insurance or pay for their own care.

The findings were based on a study of more than 1,700 Medicare patients from 1992 to 1999.

What about the doctor who sees a hundred Medicare patients a day?

Doctors say the cut will deter them from taking new Medicare patients.

Many drug companies had notified Medicare patients in recent months that such programs would no longer be available.

Medicare patients who need drugs not on the free list will get a reduced price, he added.

Over 88,000 Medicare patients in our district have benefited from it.

Even large hospitals say they are losing money on Medicare patients.

For many doctors, not accepting Medicare patients is the only way to stay in business.