US hospitals charge uninsured, self-paying patients more than twice the amount they receive for insured patients, according to a new study on health policy.

Study author Gerard Anderson of the Center for Hospital Finance and management at Johns Hopkins University said that on average, patients that have to pay for their own care in the United States get charged 2.5 times what insurers are billed for their customers for the same care in hospitals.

"The markup on hospital care for these individuals, especially for those who can afford it least, is unjustifiable," Anderson said in a statement summarizing his research.

The hospitals also charged those patients an average of three times the allowed costs for the same services set by the government-run Medicare health insurance program available mainly to elderly people.

For-profit hospitals were the worst offenders, on average marking up a 100 dollar Medicare-set cost to 410 dollars for someone not using insurance to pay for the service.

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Anderson argues that the US needs to either provide health insurance to uninsured people to overcome the problem, or for hospitals to charge the same rate for everyone.

"Hospitals should do the right thing and lower the prices they charge the uninsured," he said.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S., it was right, Blair said, to "stand shoulder to shoulder with our oldest ally, and I did so out of belief."

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In a short, almost apologetic speech, Blair added: "I may have been wrong. That's your call."

Three retired generals challenged a dozen members of Congress in a new ad campaign [by VoteVets.org] Wednesday, saying the politicians can't support President Bush's policies in Iraq and still expect to win re-election.

"I am outraged, as are the majority of Americans. I'm a lifelong Republican, but it's past time for change," retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste told reporters.

"Our strategy in Iraq today is more of the same, a slow grind to nowhere which totally ignores the reality of Iraq and the lessons of history," Batiste said. "Our president ignores sound military advice and surrounds himself with like-minded and compliant subordinates."

On Friday, May 4, John Edwards returned to New Orleans to talk about his plans for ending poverty in America, and to roll up his sleeves to help those in need today.

This month, John's asking all of us to do the same. We've put together a simple, powerful plan to combat the worst effects of poverty in our communities today while building the support we need to end poverty in America tomorrow, and we need you to take the lead.

Please sign up to host an event on Saturday, May 19th. All you have to do is set up a table outside of a supermarket to collect food goods for a local food bank, pass out information about the Edwards plan to end poverty, and sign up people who want to join the cause.

Months after a politically embarrassing $1 billion shortfall that put veterans' health care in peril, Veterans Affairs officials involved in the foul-up got hefty bonuses ranging up to $33,000.

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Among those receiving payments were a deputy assistant secretary and several regional directors who crafted the VA's flawed budget for 2005 based on misleading accounting. They received performance payments up to $33,000 each, a figure equal to about 20 percent of their annual salaries.

Also receiving a top bonus was the deputy undersecretary for benefits, who helps manage a disability claims system that has a backlog of cases and delays averaging 177 days in getting benefits to injured veterans.

The bonuses were awarded even after government investigators had determined the VA repeatedly miscalculated - if not deliberately misled taxpayers - with questionable methods used to justify Bush administration cuts to health care amid a burgeoning Iraq war.