First Edition: March 16, 2015
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
FAQ: Could Congress Be Ready To Fix Medicare Pay For Doctors?
With a deadline fast approaching, bipartisan negotiations are heating up in the House to find a permanent replacement for Medicare’s physician payment formula. But the tentative package being hammered out behind closed doors contains some key provisions that are likely to raise objections from both Republicans and Democrats. Unless Congress takes action by the end of this month, doctors who treat Medicare patients will see a 21 percent payment cut. (Carey, 3/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Republicans To Lay Out Budget Priorities
House and Senate Republicans release their 2016 budgets this week, mapping out a conservative blueprint for shrinking federal spending and challenging the vision laid out by President Barack Obama in his budget last month. ... If House and Senate Republicans can agree on a budget, they would be able to tap into a procedural shortcut known as reconciliation, which would enable the GOP to bypass Senate Democrats on related legislation, likely including changes to the Affordable Care Act. Should internal GOP fissures derail passage of the budget resolution, the party’s best chance at sending its most conservative bills to Mr. Obama’s desk this year is gone. (Peterson and Timiraos, 3/15)
The Associated Press:
GOP To Offer Budget Blueprint With Medicare, Food Stamp Cuts
Republicans now in charge of Congress offer their budget blueprint this week with the pledge to balance the nation's budget within a decade and rein in major programs such as food stamps and Medicare. More pressing for many Republicans, however, is easing automatic budget cuts set to slam the military. (3/16)
The Associated Press:
5 Things To Know About Congress' Budget Debate
First up is a nonbinding measure called a budget resolution. It sets out, in broad strokes, goals for spending, tax revenues and changes to crucial programs like Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps and student loans as well as the health care law. Lawmakers in the House and Senate vote on the resolution, but it stays in Congress, never reaching the president's desk. Instead, it requires follow-up legislation to implement any changes proposed by the resolution, and that's often a major challenge. (3/16)
The New York Times:
Chasm Grows Within G.O.P. Over Spending
The idea is to pass a budget this month that sticks to the spending caps, but then negotiate a budget law this summer that ends sequestration. The $540 billion in cuts still to come under the Budget Control Act would be replaced by savings from entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security as well as new revenue from closing some tax loopholes.(Weisman, 3/15)
The Wall Street Journal:
Medicare Panel Faults Payment Fix As Too Weak
A planned overhaul of Medicare payments to long-term hospitals doesn’t go far enough, a congressional advisory panel said, and it called for further changes to discourage timing patients’ discharges to financial incentives. Long-term-care hospitals get smaller payments for short visits, but after patients stay for a certain number of days the payments jump to much larger lump sums. (Weaver, Wilde Mathews and McGinty, 3/15)
The Associated Press:
Cool Reception For New Sign-Up Window Under Health Care Law
Several million people hit with new federal fines for going without health insurance will get a second chance to sign up starting Sunday, and that could ease the sting of rising penalties for being uninsured. But as the enrollment window reopens, it's unclear how many know about the time-limited opportunity, let alone will take advantage of it. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/15)
USA Today:
Funding, Focus Lacking For Health Care That Gets Results
As the Affordable Care Act pushes doctors and hospitals to join forces to slash health care costs, those with the least-expensive solutions say they're still largely being ignored. Community health groups and companies that specialize in healthy eating and fitness are arguing for more recognition of non-medical ways to prevent and treat chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Physicians and hospitals are rapidly forming what's known as accountable care organizations (ACOs) to reduce the duplication of services and keep large groups of patients well. But community groups, which could be far less expensive partners, have to fight for a "seat at the table" on the doctor-dominated boards of ACOs, according to a 2014 report by a North Carolina physicians' coalition. (O'Donnell and Ungar, 3/15)
The Associated Press:
IRS Warns Of Tax Scams Involving Health Care Law
Unscrupulous tax preparers are using President Barack Obama's health care law as a ploy to pocket bogus fines from unsuspecting taxpayers, including some immigrants not bound by the law's requirements, the IRS warned Friday. In an advisory, the tax agency said consumers can be sure something is wrong when a tax preparer says they collect the health law fines that may be due the government. The law requires virtually everybody in the country to have coverage or risk fines. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/13)
The Washington Post:
Chris Christie Will Make Entitlement Reform Central To A White House Bid
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) told leading GOP policy analysts this week that he will make overhauling Medicare, Social Security and other long-term entitlement programs a centerpiece of his likely presidential campaign, according to participants in the talks. Christie’s decision to embrace a politically risky campaign theme is central to an attempt to revive his wilting national prospects, according to people familiar with his plans. (Costa, 3/13)
The New York Times:
Progress Is Slow At V.A. Hospitals In Wake Of Crisis
The nation’s largest hospital system has made only halting progress in hiring new doctors, replacing incompetent supervisors, upgrading outdated computers and rebuilding trust with veterans, nine months after President Obama concluded that a “corrosive culture” had led to systemic problems at hospitals run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Now, patients, veterans groups and doctors say delays in receiving care are still common, and they accuse department officials of failing to provide opportunities to see private doctors. Critics, including Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill, say far too few senior managers have been held accountable for mismanagement at the hospital in Phoenix and at others around the country. (Shear and Philipps, 3/13)
The Washington Post:
Obama Visits Phoenix VA Facility At Heart Of Scandal
President Obama’s visit to the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital that was the epicenter of last summer’s nationwide scandal highlighted the work that VA must still do to weed out incompetent executives and win back the confidence of veterans. ... The president pointed to signs of progress over the past nine months: More doctors have been hired, and waiting times have been cut at some VA facilities. But the focus of Obama’s visit to Phoenix was the problems that remain. The president talked about the need to continue improving mental health care and suicide prevention programs for veterans, as well as changing a culture in which veterans’ needs were too often ignored. (Jaffe, 3/13)
Los Angeles Times:
Obama Tours VA Hospital That Was Site Of Long Waits Linked To Deaths
Almost a year after ordering a massive shake-up of the Veterans Affairs Department, President Obama gave one troubled outpost a once-over Friday to see whether his massive staff housecleaning led to improvements. In a trip to the VA hospital in Phoenix, where a whistle-blower exposed the existence of waits so long that dozens of veterans may have died awaiting treatment, Obama declared that his new VA leadership was “chipping away at those problems.” (Parsons and Memoli, 3/13)
Los Angeles Times:
VA Probing Whether Scopes Gave Patients Superbug Infections
Veterans Affairs Department officials are investigating whether patients have been exposed to antibiotic-resistant superbugs from tainted medical scopes in the wake of several hospital outbreaks. The VA said Friday it began looking into the possibility of patient infections in late February after a deadly outbreak was disclosed at UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center. (Terhune, 3/13)
The Wall Street Journal:
Four Health-Care Workers Being Flown To U.S. After Ebola Exposure
Four American health-care workers were being flown to Nebraska on Saturday after being exposed to the Ebola virus and possibly having contact with an American health-care worker who recently contracted the deadly disease while treating patients in Sierra Leone, Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha said. At least 10 Americans in all may be brought back to the U.S. from Sierra Leone for monitoring because of possible exposure to the Ebola-stricken health-care worker, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. A spokesman said none has been diagnosed with Ebola or shown symptoms of the disease. (Calvert and McKay, 3/14)
The New York Times:
Americans Evacuated From Sierra Leone After Possible Ebola Contact
The first of a group of 10 American aid workers who may have come into contact with the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone were evacuated on Saturday, American government and aid officials said. They will be the largest group of Americans to have returned home over fears of exposure to the virus since an outbreak in three West African countries was declared last year. (Fink, 3/14)