First Edition: January 13, 2015

Kaiser Health News: Insuring Your Health: Most Marketplace Customers Have New Filing Requirements This Tax Season
Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews writes: "In addition to the normal thrills and chills of the income tax filing season, this year consumers will have the added excitement of figuring out how the health law figures in their 2014 taxes. The good news is that for most people the only change to their normal tax filing routine will be to check the box on their Form 1040 that says they had health insurance all year." (Andrews, 1/13)

The Associated Press: Got Help Paying For Health Care? Watch Your Mailbox
If you're among the millions of consumers who got financial help for health insurance last year under President Barack Obama's law, better keep an eye on your mailbox. The administration said Monday it has started sending out tax reporting forms that you'll need to fill out your 2014 return. Like W-2s for health care, they're for people who got health insurance tax credits provided under the law. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/12)

Reuters: U.S. House Republican Optimistic About Obamacare Replacement Plan
Congressional Republicans believe they can replace Obamacare with their own health care reforms, if the Supreme Court strikes down a key segment of the current health care law in a ruling expected in June, a senior U.S. lawmaker said on Monday. (1/12)

Politico: GOP Targets Budget Process For Tax Reform
Several influential Republicans want to use a filibuster-proof budget procedure to overhaul the corporate tax code — rather than wield it as a weapon against Obamacare, as conservatives are demanding. The quiet push, led by South Dakota Sen. John Thune, seeks to use the potent tool known as budget reconciliation to give both the GOP and President Barack Obama the sweeping victory on tax policy that business groups want, which could include a significant cut in corporate tax rates as well as provide funding for a long-term transportation bill. In contrast, an attempt to use reconciliation to gut Obama’s health care law might showcase Republicans’ new strength on Capitol Hill but would inevitably end in a veto. (Raju and Everett, 1/13)

The New York Times: When Picking A Fight Can Also Be A Way To Start To Talk
With his quick veto threats — he issued three more on Monday night — Mr. Obama signaled that he would be aggressive in rejecting legislation he sees as chipping away at his policy priorities, such as the health care law, or his presidential authority to do things like approve an oil pipeline. But by insisting that he wants to collaborate with Republicans, the president — who will host congressional leaders of both parties at the White House on Tuesday — also hinted that there is negotiating room beyond those threats. “The president’s attitude is that we shouldn’t let our disagreements, as big as they are on some issues, prevent us from working together on the things we do agree on,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama. “If Republicans take a similar attitude, there is an opportunity to prove people wrong and make some progress.” For now, Mr. Obama and congressional Republicans are dwelling mostly on the big disagreements. (Hirschfeld Davis, 1/12)

Reuters: Supreme Court Rejects New Challenge To Obamacare Law
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up another broad challenge to President Barack Obama's signature health care law. The court rejected an appeal filed by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and the Alliance for Natural Health USA. The groups had challenged various aspects of the law known as Obamacare including the so-called individual mandate that requires people to obtain health insurance or pay a tax.(1/12)

NPR: VA Data Show Disparities In Veteran Benefits Spending
If you're a veteran and rely on benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, where you live may have an effect on whether you receive the benefits you've earned...Veterans' benefits cover a wide range, including health care, monthly disability checks, home loans, life insurance, and education through the GI bill, among others. Among the states, West Virginia and Arkansas had the highest per-veteran spending in 2013 – just over $7,600. Indiana, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania had the lowest – less than $5,000. Nationally, the average is just over $6,000. That's after filtering out things like costs to build and operate VA facilities. (Lawrence and Bebinger, 1/13)

The Wall Street Journal: Aetna Sets Wage Floor: $16 An Hour
Amid signs of a tightening labor market, Aetna Inc. plans to boost the incomes of its lowest-paid workers by as much as a third in a bid to draw top prospects and reduce turnover. The move by the big health insurer highlights larger debates over the pace of the economic recovery and the compensation of people toward the bottom of the wage scale. Around 12% of Aetna’s domestic work force will see a raise to a floor of $16 an hour, primarily employees in customer service and billing-related jobs. Aetna, which also said it will cut health-care costs for many of the same employees next year, follows Gap Inc., Starbucks Corp. and others in raising the lower limit on workers’ wages. (Wilde Mathews and Francis, 1/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Tenet Upbeat On 2014 Results
Tenet Healthcare Corp. said Monday said that it expects 2014 results to be near the top of its previously raised range, as the hospital operator continues to benefit from the Affordable Care Act, which helped spur a 21% admissions jump in the fourth quarter. For 2014, earnings should be near the top of range of the $1.90 billion to $1.95 billion range, Tenet said. For 2015, the Dallas-based company forecast revenue ... slightly above the $17.4 billion predicted by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. It also foresees admissions growth of 2.5% to 3.5%. (Chen, 11/12)

NPR: Imagining A Future When The Doctor's Office Is In Your Home
Extracting medical care from the health care system is all too often an expensive exercise in frustration. Dr. Eric Topol says your smartphone could make it cheaper, faster, better and safer. That's the gist of his new book, The Patient Will See You Now. Lots of people are bullish on the future of mobile health to transform health care, but Topol gets extra cred because of his major medical chops: Former head of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic and present director of the Scripps Translations Science Institute in La Jolla, Calif. (Shute, 1/13)

Los Angeles Times: Heritage Provider Network Teams Up With Hospital Chain Trinity Health
Southern California-based Heritage Provider Network is forming a joint venture with the nation's second-largest nonprofit hospital system to better coordinate patient care across much of the country. The agreement announced Monday calls for Heritage and Trinity Health to build networks in different markets that focus on integrating the fragmented care many patients receive from multiple providers. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. (Terhune, 1/12)

The Associated Press: Senate Acts On Women's Rights Bills; Education Lobbies Rally
While hundreds of public education supporters jammed Capitol stairwells calling for more state support, New York's Republican-controlled Senate has approved eight bills intended to ensure women's rights in the workplace and housing while excluding an Assembly-backed measure to codify abortion rights. (1/12)

The New York Times: Manhattan Clinic That Treated Joan Rivers Will Lose Federal Funding
The Manhattan clinic where Joan Rivers went into cardiac arrest while being treated for a voice problem has failed to correct deficiencies implicated in her death and will be prohibited from having its services paid for by Medicare and Medicaid funds, according to a letter released on Monday from the federal agency that oversees those two programs. (Hartocollis, 1/12)

The Associated Press: N.Y. Clinic Linked To Joan Rivers' Death Losing Accreditation
The New York City clinic where Joan Rivers suffered a fatal complication during a medical procedure is losing its accreditation at the end of the month, a federal agency said Monday. "Yorkville Endoscopy no longer meets the conditions for a supplier of ambulatory surgical center services," the Centers for Medicare Services said in a statement. As of Jan. 31, the Manhattan medical facility will no longer be eligible to receive federal funds for services provided to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. (1/12)

Los Angeles Times: Clinic Where Joan Rivers Stopped Breathing Has Medicare Coverage Pulled
In a letter sent to the clinic on Friday, the federal agency said it is terminating the Medicare agreement Jan. 31 because the clinic "no longer meets the conditions of coverage for a supplier of ambulatory surgical center services" and will no longer receive federal funds for services provided to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. (Megia, 1/12)