The New York Times: Senate Republicans Rebuff House Colleagues With Their Budget Plan
Senate Republicans on Wednesday released an austere budget that maintains strict caps on military spending and cuts trillions of dollars from health care and welfare, sending a rebuff to their House colleagues. ... Over all, the Senate version hews closely to the budgetary intent of the House proposal. It repeals the Affordable Care Act, turns Medicaid and food stamps into block grants and cuts domestic programs to balance the budget by 2025 without tax increases. The Senate budget also relies on a significant gimmick: It repeals the health law but also assumes that $2 trillion from the law’s tax increases continues to flow into the Treasury. (Weisman, 3/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Senate GOP Plan Seeks To Balance Budget In 10 Years
Senate Republicans unveiled a 2016 budget blueprint on Wednesday that will match the House GOP’s ambition to eliminate the annual federal deficit over a decade, but provided fewer details on how safety-net programs would be changed to provide the savings. ... The Senate Republican budget would reduce spending by $5.1 trillion over 10 years, slightly less than the House’s proposal for $5.5 trillion in reductions over that period. Both chambers rely on repealing the Affordable Care Act, shifting more responsibility to the states for Medicaid and food stamps, and making changes to Medicare for the bulk of their savings. (Peterson and Timiraos, 3/18)

The Wall Street Journal: Republicans Put Entitlements On The Table
House and Senate Republicans have resurrected efforts to curb spending for Medicare and other safety-net programs, releasing budgets this week that bring government entitlements back to the center of political conversation. ... The plan, the first budget from Senate Republicans since they took control of the chamber, provides few details on how or where Congress would produce those savings from Medicare and other so-called entitlement programs. ... The plan provides a measure of political protection to Senate Republicans who could face tough 2016 re-election contests in swing and Democratic-leaning states. (Hook and Peterson, 3/18)

USA Today: Senate GOP Unveils First Budget In Nearly A Decade
The 10-year fiscal blueprint achieves balance, raises no new taxes, repeals Obamacare, but keeps Medicare and Social Security intact. ... It is a more modest vision than the House GOP budget unveiled Tuesday, which reaches balance faster, includes deeper spending cuts to domestic programs, and fundamentally overhauls the Medicare system. The House plan would convert Medicare from a guaranteed benefit to a "premium support" system where future retirees would purchase insurance with government subsidies on the private market. (Davis, 3/18)

Reuters: U.S. Senate Republican Budget Clashes With House On Defense
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi's plan, like the House of Representatives plan, has little to no chance of becoming law as is. Instead, both mark the onset of the annual congressional budget battle and a test of Republicans' ability to get things done since winning control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 2006. (Lawder, 3/8)

Los Angeles Times: GOP Budgets Don't Agree On How To Boost Military, Cut Medicare
Differences over military money, and other aspects of the Republican budgets -- including a Medicare overhaul -- risk leaving the GOP unable to pass their budget, something they criticized Democrats for failing to do when they controlled Congress. The setback would derail not only the GOP goal of increasing the Pentagon coffers, but also other party priorities this year -- including the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. (Mascaro, 3/18)

The Senate GOP budget also signals the intent to use reconciliation -- a parliamentary manuever -- to go after the health law -

Politico: GOP Aims To Sink Obamacare With Reconciliation
Senate Republicans want to use a powerful budget maneuver known as reconciliation to go after President Barack Obama’s health care law — particularly if the Supreme Court strikes down key provisions of Obamacare this June. Using the fast-tracking procedure offers some advantage for Republicans, largely because a reconciliation package can’t be filibustered. (Kim, 3/18)

And here's an examination of key, health-related elements of the House Republican blueprint -

The Fiscal Times: 3 Big Health Care Changes In The House GOP’s Budget
House Republicans are taking aim at the government’s largest health care programs in their 2016 budget blueprint, which they claim would cut spending by $5.5 trillion over the next decade. From a complete repeal of Obamacare to overhauling Medicare and transforming Medicaid into block grants, the House GOP’s $3.8 trillion budget plan would balance the budget by 2026. (Ehley, 3/18)

Reuters: U.S. House Leaders Pursue Lasting Fix For Doctors' Medicare Pay
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi are pursuing a bipartisan deal to spare physicians from recurring Medicare pay cuts, but the two leaders face a familiar conundrum: how to pay for it. Hundreds of thousands of doctors who participate in traditional Medicare face a 21 percent cut in their reimbursements on April 1. The cut is part of a 1990s cost-saving initiative for the government health care program, which today serves 54 million elderly and disabled people. (Cornwall, 3/18)

The Associated Press: Boehner, Pelosi See Victories In Fixing Medicare Docs' Fees
An uncharacteristic joint effort by House Speaker John Boehner and his usual nemesis, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, to resolve a gnawing problem about how Medicare pays doctors underscores the political victories each sees in finally sweeping the issue off the deck — if they can. Boehner, R-Ohio, has taken the unusual step of working with Pelosi toward a compromise he can offer Republican lawmakers. (3/19)

The Dallas Morning News: How An Abortion Provision Stalled A Human Trafficking Bill
Senate Democrats have blocked a measure to curb human trafficking over language that bars funding for abortions. The bill, authored by Texas Sen. John Cornyn, had enjoyed broad bipartisan support until Democrats noticed that provision. Now, both sides are pointing fingers. (Abril, 3/18)

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Sen. Klobuchar Aide Knew About Abortion Language, Failed To Tell Boss
An aide to Sen. Amy Klobuchar knew about the controversial abortion language stuck into a bipartisan measure to help victims of human trafficking before her boss voted on it, but failed to say anything, a spokeswoman acknowledged Thursday. (Sherry, 3/19)

The Wall Street Journal: Obama Slams GOP Budget Plans as Hurtful to Middle Class
The president used his speech in Cleveland to counter the newly released budgets proposed by House and Senate Republicans. The plans reflect each party’s values and priorities, he said in the midst of a scathing critique of GOP policies. ... While the Senate plan includes fewer details about how to achieve the savings, both chambers have called for making changes in Medicare, repealing the Affordable Care Act, and shifting more responsibility to the states for Medicaid and food stamps to achieve the bulk of the reductions. The White House has said that the proposed changes amount to an attack on the American health-care system. (McCain Nelson, 3/18)

Los Angeles Times: Obama Touts Economic Policies As Republicans Fight Internally Over Budget
Noting that Republican House Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio often asks, "Where are the jobs?," Obama told a crowd in Cleveland he was there to "not only answer that question" but also to renew a central debate over the two major parties' economic visions. Obama said that his administration's policies, such as investing in manufacturing and the landmark Affordable Care Act, have helped the nation emerge from a deep recession but that the Republican budget would "double down" on the theory that wealth trickles down from the rich to the rest. (Memoli and Mascaro, 3/18)

The Associated Press: Health Care Law Paperwork Costs Small Business Thousands
Complying with the health care law is costing small businesses thousands of dollars that they didn't have to spend before the new regulations went into effect. Brad Mete estimates his staffing company, Affinity Resources, will spend $100,000 this year on record-keeping and filing documents with the government. He's hired two extra staffers and is spending more on services from its human resources provider. (Rosenberg, 3/18)

The Washington Times: IRS Blames Obamacare For Shoddy Customer Service
The IRS is blaming Obamacare for the agency’s poor customer service, with Commissioner John Koskinen telling Congress on Wednesday that he has had to take money away from answering phone calls and instead spend it on technology and personnel to carry out President Obama’s health care law. Just 43 percent of taxpayers’ phone calls are being answered so far this year. Mr. Koskinen warned that it would get worse without an infusion of money and Americans may start to feel emboldened to cheat on their taxes. (Dinan, 3/18)

The Hill: 2M Children Would Lose Coverage Without CHIP Funding
Almost 2 million children would lose health insurance if Congress does not extend the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and if the Supreme Court rules against ObamaCare subsidies, according to a new report. (Sullivan, 3/18)

Fox News: Growing Numbers Seek Faith-Based Alternative To Obamacare
Faced with the rising cost of insuring their family of five, Lisa and Jonathan Adams canceled their high-deductible health insurance policy and put their faith in Medi-Share, a Christian organization whose members help pay one another's major medical expenses. (Serrie, 3/18)

Meanwhile, the controversies surrounding Medicare and the ACA are compared  -

California Healthline: Medicare, ACA Have Faced Similar Criticism. But Is That Where The Comparison Ends?
As Medicare turns 50, many observers are looking back at the program's beginning and drawing comparisons with more recent health reform efforts, namely the Affordable Care Act. (Stuckey, 3/18)

The New York Times: Poll On Health Care Law Shows Increased Support
The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll, conducted in early March by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health policy research group, found that 43 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of the law, while 41 percent viewed it favorably. Though more Americans continue to reject the law than embrace it, the margin has narrowed considerably even since last July, when 53 percent viewed it unfavorably in the Kaiser poll and 37 percent viewed it favorably. (Goodnough, 3/19)

The Associated Press: Poll: Many See Negative Impact If Court Nixes Health Law Aid
With a decision due by summer in a Supreme Court case that could unravel President Barack Obama's health care law, a new poll finds many Americans have heard nothing about the case. But when the potential fallout is explained, most say it would hurt the country and they would look to Congress or the states to fix it. Even after recent oral arguments before the Supreme Court got national media attention, 53 percent said they were unfamiliar with the case. Opponents of the law say its precise wording allows the government to subsidize coverage only in states that set up their own insurance markets, or exchanges. Most have not done so, defaulting to the federal HealthCare.gov. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/19)

Kaiser Health News: Most Americans Unaware Obamacare Subsidies Are At Risk
Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports: "Despite months of news coverage, most people say they have heard little or nothing about a Supreme Court case that could eliminate subsidies helping millions of Americans afford coverage under the federal health law, according to a poll released Thursday. But when respondents were told about the case, King v. Burwell, about two-thirds said that if the court strikes down the subsidies, then Congress or state officials should step in to restore them, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation." (Galewitz, 3/19)

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Study: Those Who Buy Insurance Through Exchanges Use More Medications
People buying coverage on the nation’s new health insurance exchanges last year used more medications than a comparison group with commercial insurance, according to a new report. The finding fits with expectations that many of those who found coverage through the new marketplaces had unmet health care needs, said Michael Showalter, chief marketing officer at Eagan-based Prime Therapeutics, which released the report Wednesday. There was a surprisingly high use of medications for hepatitis C and HIV among people on the exchanges, Showalter said in an interview. But he said the higher use doesn’t necessarily signal a lasting financial problem for the new marketplaces. (Snowbeck, 3/19)

Health News Colorado: Lawmaker Increases Oversight Of Health Exchange
There’s a new sheriff in town. And her name is Ellen Roberts. For years, the legislative committee charged with keeping an eye on Colorado’s health exchange rarely met and mostly rubber-stamped reports and budgets from Connect for Health Colorado. Now Sen. Roberts, R-Durango, is the new chair of the committee and she plans to hold regular hearings to find out why glitches are hampering Colorado’s exchange. (Kerwin McCrimmon, 3/18)

Also, news outlets look at developments in efforts to expand Medicaid in other states.

The Associated Press: New Signups For Indiana Health Care Program Reach 100k
Indiana’s expanded health care program for low-income residents has enrolled more than 100,000 new people in the two months since it received federal approval. Gov. Mike Pence said Wednesday that sign-ups for the new Healthy Indiana Plan are off to a good start. (3/19)

The Associated Press: Walker Plans Medicaid Expansion
Gov. Bill Walker said he will introduce legislation to overhaul and expand the Medicaid system in Alaska. Walker, who campaigned on expanding Medicaid coverage, discussed his plans during a news conference Tuesday, surrounded by supporters. He and others wore blue buttons reading: “It’s the right thing to do.” (Bohrer, 3/18)

Kaiser Health News: Battle Over Dementia Drug Swap Has Big Stakes For Drugmakers, Consumers
Executives at drug company Actavis knew they had to move fast to avoid a plunge in sales of their top-selling drug, Namenda, a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease which would lose patent protection in July. When that happened, generic knockoffs would flood the market and doctors and pharmacists could switch patients to the lower-cost equivalents. (Appleby, 3/19)

NPR: Why Is Insulin So Expensive In The U.S.?
Dr. Jeremy Greene wondered why that was the case. Why was a medicine more than 90 years old so expensive? He started looking into the history of insulin, and has published a paper about his findings in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The story of insulin, it turns out, starts back in the late 1800s. That's when scientists discovered a link between diabetes and damaged cells in the pancreas — cells that produce insulin. (Kelto, 3/19)

Los Angeles Times: Why Did It Take 7 Months To Learn Blue Shield Lost Tax-Exempt Status?
Health insurance giant Blue Shield of California and state tax authorities both came under fire for not disclosing seven months ago a landmark decision taking away the insurer's tax-exempt status, which had been in place since 1939. The Times first reported Wednesday that the California Franchise Tax Board had quietly revoked Blue Shield's tax-exempt status in August after a lengthy audit of the nonprofit health plan. (Terhune, 3/18)

Kaiser Health News: Blue Shield of California Loses Its State Tax Exemption
California tax authorities have stripped Blue Shield of California, the state’s third largest insurer, of its state tax exemption and ordered the company to file returns dating to 2013, potentially costing the company tens of millions of dollars. At issue in the unusual case is whether the company is doing anything different from its for-profit competitors to warrant its tax break. As a nonprofit company, Blue Shield is expected to work for the public good in exchange for the state tax exemption. (Gold, 3/18)

Los Angeles Times: With Billions In The Bank, Blue Shield Of California Loses Its State Tax-Exempt Status
Authorities have revoked the tax-exempt status of nonprofit Blue Shield of California, potentially putting it on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in state taxes each year. The move by the California Franchise Tax Board comes as the state's third-largest health insurer faces fresh criticism over its rate hikes, executive pay and $4.2 billion in financial reserves. (Terhune, 3/18)

Reuters: New York Charges Narco Freedom Execs In Alleged Medicaid Fraud Scheme
Leaders of a Bronx nonprofit that provides drug and alcohol treatment to tens of thousands of New Yorkers have been indicted over an alleged scheme to plunder the charity and defraud Medicaid of more than $27 million, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said. Schneiderman said Narco Freedom cheated Medicaid by submitting claims for excessive services, operating unregulated treatment programs and coercing patients who live in its Freedom Houses to remain in treatment. (Stempel, 3/18)

The Associated Press: Missouri To Receive $2.4M For Medicaid Fraud Settlement
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says the state will get more than $2.4 million from a Medicaid fraud settlement. APS Healthcare and Innovative Resource Group contracted with Missouri from 2008 to 2010 to provide services for the state's chronic care and administrative services programs. The company was responsible for managing preventative care for chronically ill patients on Medicaid to avoid emergency room expenses. (3/18)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. Recovers $3.3 Billion In Federal Health-Care Fraud
The government recovered $3.3 billion in fiscal 2014 from individuals and companies that tried to defraud federal health programs, part of an effort by the Obama administration to improve enforcement and prevent abusive billing practices. The administration recovered $7.70 for every dollar spent investigating health-care-related fraud and abuse in the past three years, according to a report to be released Thursday by the Health and Human Services Department and Justice Department. That marks the third-highest return on investment since the antifraud program was launched nearly two decades ago, the report said. (Armour, 3/19)

The Associated Press: Nebraska Lawmakers Take Up Bill That Would Tighten Abortion Standards
Supporters and opponents of abortion rights clashed Wednesday over the intent of a bill that would impose tougher regulations on certain Nebraska abortion providers. Planned Parenthood Voters of Nebraska and Nebraska Right to life each rallied dozens of people to pack a legislative hearing on a measure by Sen. Beau McCoy of Omaha that would reclassify facilities that perform five or more abortions a month as ambulatory surgical centers. Nebraska law requires an ambulatory surgical center to be licensed as a health clinic and to have a written agreement with a hospital in which patients could be transferred in case of an emergency beyond the capabilities of clinic staff. (Gronewold, 3/19)

The Associated Press: House Delays Debate On Blocking Women From Buying Insurance Coverage For Abortions
The Arizona House has delayed debate for a second time on a bill barring women from buying any health care plan through the federal marketplace that includes abortion coverage. Supporters say Senate Bill 1318 ensures tax dollars don't support abortions. Opponents say the bill is another attempt by politicians to insert themselves into women's health care decisions. (3/18)

The Associated Press: Ala. Abortion Law Lets Judges Appoint Lawyers For Fetuses
The American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday asked a federal judge to block an Alabama law that allows a fetus to be represented in court when a minor is seeking judicial permission for an abortion. (3/18)

The Associated Press: Oregon Hospitals To Maintain Community Benefit Spending
Oregon hospitals won't reduce spending on services that benefit the community, even though the facilities are spending far less on uncompensated charity care because more people are insured, an industry group said Tuesday. The need for charity care has dropped precipitously since President Barack Obama's health care overhaul — the Affordable Care Act, or ACA — took effect. Only 5 percent of state residents remain uninsured, compared to 14 percent before the ACA. (Cooper, 3/18)

The Associated Press: Consumer Advocates Want NY Doctor Listings Continued
Consumer and patient advocates in New York are urging lawmakers to continue funding for the state's online profiles of doctors with credentials and safety records. The Cuomo administration has proposed eliminating the program in the coming year, saying the information is available on other publicly available websites. (3/18)

Bloomberg Business: Retirees Could Lose 'Guaranteed' Health Care Benefits
California's struggling to pay for health care for retired state employees, with an estimated $72 billion in medical costs coming in the next 30 years. Governor Jerry Brown's solution: Make workers start contributing money to pay for the health care they'll need after retiring. Three years ago Brown pushed through a pension system reform to increase the amount public workers must contribute to their pensions, but that effort left health costs for retirees untouched. And while pensions are certainly in trouble, retiree health care is potentially a much bigger deal. Health-care inflation rises faster than pension inflation, and unlike with pensions, employers are not required to prefund health benefits. (Schrager, 3/18)

The Associated Press: Measure Would Require Providers To Offer Safer Painkillers
An Illinois House committee has advanced a measure designed to make it harder to abuse prescription painkillers. The Human Services Committee approved the measure 9-3 Tuesday. It moves to the House floor. The legislation would require government and insurance programs to cover the use of painkilling opioids that can't be crushed into powder. (3/18)

Georgia Health News: Key Panel Gives Doctors A Pay Raise For Medicaid
A state Senate panel gave Georgia primary care doctors a potential financial boost Wednesday, putting millions of dollars into the state budget for a pay raise to deliver services to Medicaid patients. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a budget that awards $5.9 million in state funds for a Medicaid pay raise to ob/gyns, and $13.6 million to internists, pediatricians and family medicine physicians. (Miller, 3/18)

North Carolina Health News: Nurse Practitioners Ask Lawmakers To Ease Restrictions For Practice
Nurse practitioners from across North Carolina came to the General Assembly on Tuesday to advocate for loosening the grip on the way they are allowed to practice. In light of a new study conducted by Duke University economist Chris Conover and commissioned by the North Carolina Nurses Association, nurse practitioners swarmed the legislature with optimism that they’d be able to convince lawmakers on the positive economic and health care impacts of allowing nurse practitioners to practice without license restrictions. (Namkoong, 3/19)

North Carolina Health News: State-Run Substance Abuse Centers Closer To Transition
A move to place state-run substance abuse centers under the control of local mental health agencies is one step closer, as members of the House Health Committee gave House Bill 119 a favorable report on Wednesday morning. The bill now goes to the appropriations committee. If passed, HB 119 would significantly change the funding and management of the three state-run alcohol and drug abuse treatment centers and create a data system to track long-term outcomes of patients, such as employment or if people are abstaining from drugs and alcohol. (Namkoong, 3/19)

The Seattle Times: Feds Warned Premera About Security Flaws Before Breach
Three weeks before hackers infiltrated Premera Blue Cross, federal auditors warned the company that its network-security procedures were inadequate. Officials gave 10 recommendations for Premera to fix problems, saying some of the vulnerabilities could be exploited by hackers and expose sensitive information. Premera received the audit findings April 18 last year, according to federal records. (Baker, 3/19)

The Texas Tribune: Texas Sues Feds Over Benefits For Same-Sex Couples
The state of Texas is suing the Obama administration for giving medical leave benefits to certain same-sex couples, according to an announcement Wednesday from Attorney General Ken Paxton. The lawsuit comes in response to a rule change announced by the president last month, which grants paid time off to legally married same-sex couples, even if they are living in a state, like Texas, that does not recognize gay marriage. The rule change to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, or FMLA, is scheduled to take effect March 27. (Walters, 3/18)

The Texas Tribune: Post-Scandal, Texas Lawmakers Change Gears On Health Agency
As the state’s largest health agency reels from a scandal over how it awarded contracts to private vendors, lawmakers on Wednesday said they are slowing down on their ambitious — and controversial — plan to restructure it. A panel of lawmakers and citizens last year recommended that the state’s five health and human services agencies, including the massive Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), be combined into one “mega-agency” that was supposed to be more efficient. But now that lawmakers are scrutinizing HHSC's awarding of a $110-million contract outside of the competitive bidding process, state leaders say the massive structural changes recommended by the so-called Sunset Commission should take more time than originally planned. (Walters, 3/18)

The Baltimore Sun: Bill Would Require Fertility Benefits For Lesbians
If Fiona M. Jardine had a husband, the expensive fertility treatments she's now undergoing would be covered by her health plan. But Jardine, 29, is married to a woman, so she and her wife have to pay out of pocket. A bill that would grant married lesbian couples the same fertility treatment benefits as husbands and wives is advancing in the Maryland General Assembly. The measure passed unanimously in a House subcommittee Tuesday, and full Senate and House committees are likely to vote this week. (Dresser, 3/18)

The Denver Post: Colorado Vaccination Law Lacks Enforcement, And No Change Is In Works
The law Colorado has on the books for vaccination reads strong — parents must either show proof their schoolchildren have had specific vaccines at certain times or provide documentation of an exemption. If they don't, schools are to suspend or expel students. But many schools don't document either a child's immunization or the exemption. Nor do they bar anyone from school. As a result, officials don't know if Colorado has the worst vaccination rates in the country or just the worst records. (Draper, 3/18)

The Washington Post: VA’s Colorado Hospital Has A ‘shocking’ Sticker Price: $1.7 Billion. Yes, Billion
The troubled new Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Aurora, Colo., is expected to cost what Congress members are calling a “shocking” $1.73 billion, more than five times its original $328 million estimate, according to fresh estimates from VA officials. The hospital is one of four VA medical center projects — including sites in Las Vegas, Orlando and New Orleans — that were listed as behind schedule and over budget, with a total cost increase of $1.5 billion and an average increase of $366 million, according to a Government Accountability Office report in 2013. (Wax-Thibodeaux, 3/18)

The Washington Post: Sen. Ted Cruz Seeks To Upend D.C. Laws On Contraception Coverage, Gay Rights
One, the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act of 2014, would prevent employers from taking action against workers based on their decision to use birth control or seek an abortion. (Davis and DeBonis, 3/18)

USA Today/The Tennessean: 'Right To Try' Law Would Be No Miracle Cure
Marty Nord does not expect a miracle cure if Tennessee gives her the right to try experimental drugs for Lou Gehrig's disease. Her disease has progressed to the point that she uses a wheelchair and relies on a device to help with breathing. Nevertheless, she supports a Tennessee bill that would allow doctors to prescribe medicines not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — legislation being pushed by the Goldwater Institute, an organization that advocates for personal freedoms over federal regulations. (Wilemon, 3/19)

USA Today: Deadly Bacteria Outbreak Inflames Disinfection Concerns
The outbreaks in Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago and other cities infected scores of patients with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, mostly a strain called CRE that has nightmarish mortality rates of 40% or more. And in each case, the hospital relied on an automated endoscope reprocessor, or AER, to disinfect the scopes between uses, an ongoing USA TODAY investigation finds. (Eisler, 3/18)

Los Angeles Times: House Budget Proposal Talks A Bigger Game Than It Plays
Describing its proposed budget resolution for fiscal 2016, the House Budget Committee declares, "This budget repeals Obamacare in its entirety -- including all of the tax increases, regulations, subsidies and mandates." It adds that the resolution also repeals the more than $700 billion in Medicare reductions made by the healthcare law, along with the expansion in Medicare. Only it does none of those things. (Jon Healey, 3/18)

The Washington Post's Plum Line: Give House Republicans Credit For Producing A Budget This Cruel
That isn’t to say the budget is free of gimmickry or outlandish projections (we’ll get to that in a moment). But let’s look at some of the rather notable things it would do. ... Turn Medicare into a voucher program. ... Roll back the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid and lay the groundwork for further cuts. ... Repeal the rest of the ACA. ... Sure, the White House is going to criticize it, because the Democrats’ priorities are very different. Now we can have a debate. Should we turn Medicare into a voucher program? Should we toss millions of people off Medicaid and take away the subsidies that allow millions more to afford insurance? Should we cut food stamps and education grants? What are the alternatives? (Paul Waldman, 3/18)

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: The Politics Of Paying For The Medicare ‘Doc Fix’
One ramification of the proposed $137 billion increase in deficit spending: Seniors would fund a significant portion. As CBO noted in its 2009 score of an earlier, unsuccessful SGR repeal bill: “Beneficiaries enrolled in Part B of Medicare pay premiums that offset about 25 percent of the costs of those benefits. ... Therefore, about one-quarter of the increase in Medicare spending would be offset by changes in those premium receipts.” The House Republican leadership is well aware of the premium effects of an unpaid-for SGR repeal. When then-Speaker Pelosi brought an unpaid-for SGR repeal bill to the House floor in November 2009, then-Minority Leader Boehner called it an “absolute train wreck,” because it “forces seniors to pay higher premiums.”(Chris Jacobs, 3/18)

Modern Healthcare: Proposed SGR Deal Would Advance GOP Goal Of Privatizing Medicare
The proposed bipartisan House deal to repeal and replace Medicare's hated sustainable growth-rate physician payment system offers Republicans a chance to make two significant benefit changes they've long sought. Now it remains to be seen if they can accept and lock in that victory. It also raises the question of what Democrats, if they help enact the SGR bill, would have left to offer when Republicans come back the next time – probably quite soon – with more and bigger demands to revamp and reduce spending on Medicare. (Harris Meyer, 3/18)

The Washington Post: Manufactured Medicare Outrage
Medicare Advantage (MA) is a $150-billion-plus-a-year program that pays insurance companies to enroll elderly and disabled clients in managed-care plans — unlike traditional Medicare, which reimburses health-care providers directly on a fee-for-service basis. About 16 million people participate in MA, roughly a third of the Medicare-eligible population. MA plans absorb a similar share of Medicare’s $450 billion annual outlays. Intended as a more efficient alternative, MA has never quite lived up to this promise — at least not in any generally agreed-upon sense. (Charles Lane, 3/18)

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire: After Five Years, Public Opinion on Health Law Remains Divided
The number of people who say they have been helped by the law (19%) is also about the same as the number who say they have been hurt by it (22%). Most people–57%–say that they have not been affected. Opinion has been little influenced by the King v. Burwell case recently argued before the Supreme Court; the poll found that the public has not been following the King case much at all. Just over half (53%) of the public say they have heard nothing about the case, and 25% say they have heard a little, while about two in 10 say they have heard at least something about the case. (Drew Altman, 3/19)

Bloomberg: Obamacare Repeal? Call Back Next Week.
Other than hard-core partisan Republicans, no one would blame Obama if her insurance disappeared under President Scott Walker and a Republican Congress. Indeed, the dynamic would flip: Republicans would suddenly be blamed for every health-care policy problem, whether it was caused by repeal or not. Even a successful replacement plan wouldn’t shield Republicans from blame -- all legislation requires trade-offs, and most of the time the losers care more than the winners. But passing a successful replacement for Obamacare would be extraordinarily difficult. (Jonathan Bernstein, 3/18)

Los Angeles Times: States Keep Concocting Ways To Restrict The Right To Abortion
State legislatures across the country continue to concoct new ways to restrict a woman's constitutional right to a legal abortion. Already this year, four states, including New York, have introduced legislation that would force women to wait for periods of 24 to 72 hours between receiving state-mandated abortion counseling and undergoing the procedure. Among the 26 states that already have such waiting periods, four have introduced bills to make them longer. (3/18)

The Wall Street Journal: When Unions Trump Hospitals
California Attorney General Kamala Harris is running for Senate, and some liberals call her a future President. So it’s worth putting on the record how she blew up a deal by Prime Healthcare Services to rescue a group of struggling Catholic hospitals so she could curry favor with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). (3/18)