The Wall Street Journal: Republicans, White House In Fresh Budget Talks
The preliminary talks are geared at finding a way around discretionary spending caps outlined in a 2011 budget law that many lawmakers see as draconian. ... The House and Senate are expected Wednesday to pass a stopgap spending measure to keep the government running through Dec. 11. ...The chances of a two-year deal are uncertain and could depend on whether House conservatives balk at negotiating an agreement with Democrats. Conservative suspicion that establishment GOP leaders are too willing to give in to Democrats has already delayed passage of an interim spending bill. Social conservatives don’t have the votes to stop the short-term bill, which is a plain-vanilla measure that extends government funding at current levels and doesn’t include language to end funding for Planned Parenthood. (Hughes and Peterson, 9/29)

Politico: White House, GOP Weighing Big Budget Talks
A major budget deal could be elusive, however. Democrats and many Republicans are eager for a broader agreement that would lift federal spending for domestic programs — the top demand of congressional Democrats — while hawkish GOP lawmakers want more money for defense programs. But many conservatives want to keep strict spending caps in place, praising them as a measure of fiscal discipline. In exchange for increasing some key spending levels, McConnell will insist on offsetting those costs and will take a hard line against any tax hikes. (Kim, 9/29)

Politico: How McConnell Outfoxed Ted Cruz
McConnell may not like to talk about [Texas Sen. Ted] Cruz, but he and his leadership lieutenants have quietly and methodically worked to isolate the conservative senator and minimize his effect on the critical fall spending debate. The end result, in spite of Cruz’s invective toward Republican leaders, is music to McConnell’s ears: no government shutdown. ... By moving to quarantine Cruz from the rest of the conference over the past three months, the majority leader demonstrated that he’s learned the lessons of the Cruz-backed government shutdown in 2013 and the Texas senator’s rogue strategy last winter that helped Democrats confirm a raft of judges in the lame duck session. (Everett, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: McConnell's Old-School Style Could Make Him GOP Conservatives' Next Target
But with the abrupt resignation of House Speaker John A. Boehner, McConnell's pragmatic goals are suddenly looking like political liabilities. ... The GOP leader's old-school strategy of getting the Senate back to "regular order" with committee hearings and amendment votes is too timid for conservatives who just kicked his top colleague out the door and prefer bold, unconventional methods. ... In many ways, McConnell, like Boehner, rose to the job just as the political ground shifted beneath him. ... And despite the pressure, Boehner and McConnell are expected this week to shepherd a temporary spending bill through Congress, bypassing conservatives who want a veto showdown with Obama over Planned Parenthood funding. That will assure the government stays open past Wednesday's fiscal year deadline. (Mascaro, 9/29)

The Washington Post: House GOP Hard-Liners Agitate To Have One Of Their Own In A Leadership Role
A generation of House Republicans who have spent the past five years trying to shake up Washington spent Tuesday trying to shake up their party’s leadership contests that have moved coolly toward reinforcing the status quo. They had little success. A campaign to draft one prominent, relatively young conservative, Rep. Trey Gowdy (S.C.), into the race for majority leader was extinguished before day’s end, leaving restless conservatives to continue their search for a standard-bearer. (DeBonis and Costa, 9/29)

Politico: GOP Full Throttle On Obamacare Repeal
Congressional Republicans have agreed on a plan to use a fast-track budget procedure to send an Obamacare repeal to the president’s desk, a largely symbolic move – given an expected veto – but one conservatives have been pushing for since the GOP took control of Congress. House Republican leaders are planning to put the bill – which is being crafted in three committees this week – up for a vote as early as next month, according to House aides. After it is approved, Senate leaders are expected to put the legislation on the floor in the upper chamber. (Haberkorn and Kim, 9/29)

The Associated Press: House Republicans Advance Bill To Undo Health Law
House Republicans advanced legislation Tuesday to dismantle President Barack Obama's health law that could actually reach the president's desk. The House GOP has voted more than 50 times to repeal all or parts of the health law. Almost all the bills died in the Senate. (9/29)

CQ HealthBeat: Ways And Means Panel Advances Reconciliation Recommendations
The first of three House committees advanced its recommendations Tuesday for a legislative package that would employ the expedited budget reconciliation process to scrap a handful of mandates and taxes in the 2010 health care law. (Attias, 9/29)

The New York Times: Planned Parenthood’s Leader Pushes Back Against G.O.P. Critics
The embattled president of Planned Parenthood on Tuesday forcefully disputed what she called “outrageous accusations” by Republicans that her organization profits from the sale of fetal tissue, telling Congress that the charges were “offensive and categorically untrue.” (Shear, 9/29)

Los Angeles Times: Planned Parenthood Chief Takes On Republican Critics In Emotional Hearing
She fought back against allegations that Planned Parenthood profits from such donations, noting that it provides an array of healthcare services. Any charges for procuring the fetal tissue merely cover its costs, the organization says. Federal law bans the sale of fetal tissue for profit. (Howard, 9/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Planned Parenthood Head Testifies On Capitol Hill
Ms. Richards defended Planned Parenthood’s practices and management throughout her testimony, largely avoiding missteps that could be quoted later by opponents. In her first appearance on Capitol Hill since the release of the videos, she described allegations that clinics profited from the use of fetal tissue as “outrageous” and untrue, and said they were part of a broader campaign aimed at rolling back abortion rights. (Armour and Radnofsky, 9/29)

The Associated Press: House Chair: Planned Parenthood Doesn't Need Federal Money
[A] House committee chairman insisted Tuesday that the organization does not need federal money and spends much of it on political activities. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, made the remarks to Cecile Richards, the group's president, as she waited to testify before his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. ... Chaffetz lashed out at the organization for what he called "exorbitant" spending for salaries, travel, parties and lobbying. "That's money that's not going to women's health care," said Chaffetz. He added, "It's a political organization." (Fram, 9/29)

USA Today: Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards Mounts Defense Before Congress
Richards argued that most of the federal funding Planned Parenthood receives is reimbursement under Medicaid and other programs for health care services like birth control, cancer screenings, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections."No federal funds pay for abortion services," she said in written testimony, "except in the very limited circumstances permitted by law — when the woman has been raped, has been the victim of incest, or when her life is endangered." But Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said it appears to him "this is an organization that doesn't need federal subsidy." He said the group has its own revenue streams, and "Planned Parenthood is an organization with massive salaries... (and) exorbitant travel expenses." (Singer, 9/29)

Politico: GOP Chair Attacks Planned Parenthood President's Salary
Committee Democrats labeled the hearing as the latest in a long GOP war against women and abortion rights. The lengthy hearing broke little new ground but is unlikely to quiet calls from House Republicans to eliminate the organization's federal funding. While the organization will be spared from cuts in the latest stopgap government spending bill expected to pass Congress this week, both opponents and proponents know that defunding efforts will return. The hearing started just hours before the House approved a bill that would let states block Medicaid funds to providers who perform abortions. (Haberkorn, 9/29)

The Washington Post: Planned Parenthood Leader: Video Allegations Are ‘Offensive’ And ‘Untrue’
Meanwhile, several House committees began taking steps to implement a separate legislative strategy that could draw President Obama into the dispute. Later this week, they will begin assembling a budget-reconciliation bill that would cut off Planned Parenthood’s funding, as well as repeal Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Because legislation moved through the reconciliation process cannot be filibustered, it is likely to be approved by both chambers, forcing Obama to veto the bill. The wrangling could keep the congressional debate over Planned Parenthood alive into next year, keeping the organization — and the abortion issue — in the spotlight through the Republican presidential primaries. (Somashekhar, 9/30)

Fox News: Planned Parenthood Boss Clashes With Lawmakers Over Taxpayer $$, Videos
So two House committees plan to approve filibuster-proof legislation shifting Planned Parenthood's Medicaid funds -- about $350 million -- to community health centers. The bill would also keep a promise made during this spring's budget debate to repeal key elements of Obama's signature health care law. Panel votes are expected Tuesday and Wednesday. In addition to the four congressional committee investigations of Planned Parenthood, Boehner has said he will also appoint a special committee to probe the group. (9/29)

Reuters: Republicans, Planned Parenthood Square Off In Congress
Republicans favor shifting Planned Parenthood's federal funds to community clinics, and they grilled Richards on why doing so would restrict access to care. ... Democrats had asked that David Daleiden, the anti-abortion activist behind the videos, attend the hearing as well, but Republican leaders did not invite him. (Cassella, 9/29)

The Hill: GOP Unloads On Planned Parenthood Executive
Some of the tensest exchanges came from some of the same 31 Republicans who threatened to shut down the government in an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood, including Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Trey Gowdy (S.C.). Jordan interrupted Richards 19 times in five minutes as he grilled her about the previous apology she had given about the leaked footage. (Ferris, 9/29)

The Washington Post's The Fix: 5 Moments When Congress’s Planned Parenthood Hearing Got Heated
Tuesday's showdown between House Republicans and Planned Parenthood was a battle some conservatives hoped to be having on a much larger scale this week. But they got a battle nonetheless. (Phillips, 9/29)

Bloomberg: Planned Parenthood Leader Says Fetal Tissue Claims Are False
Planned Parenthood operates through a national office and 59 affiliates, which provide disease screenings and other medical services through approximately 700 local health centers. The group receives about one-third of its annual revenue, or about $450 million, from federal programs, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Of that amount, about $390 million is provided by Medicaid. Planned Parenthood affiliates reported spending $64.4 million in Title X funding, a federal family planning program, in fiscal 2012, according to the Congressional Research Service. (Miller, 9/29)

The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Planned Parenthood Head Defends Group Before House Committee
A House of Representatives committee grilled the head of Planned Parenthood on Tuesday about the organization's political activities, its use of federal tax dollars and its donation of tissue from aborted fetuses to medical researchers. The move comes amid Republican outrage over videos released by an anti-abortion group that suggest the organization profits from fetal tissue donations. Some Republicans have tried to insert language in a must-pass spending bill to rescind the roughly $500 million the organization gets each year from the federal government, and direct it to other women's health care providers. (Eaton, 9/29)

McClatchy: GOP Critics Attack, Planned Parenthood Chief Counters
Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards told a congressional hearing Tuesday that claims that the group was selling fetal tissue for profit, making the health care provider a political target of both Republican lawmakers and the party’s presidential hopefuls, were "offensive and categorically untrue." Richards was under fire from the GOP-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from the outset, defending the group’s work in face of embarrassing undercover videos prepared by abortion opponents that show employees negotiating in a matter-of-fact manner over fetal tissue donations. (Toohey, 9/29)

NBC News: Planned Parenthood Chief Cecile Richards Faces Off With Congressional GOP
Republicans both in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail have condemned Planned Parenthood for the recordings, and some have called for shutting down the government unless federal funding for the group is eliminated. In addition to quizzing Richards on Planned Parenthood's fetal tissue practices, Republicans questioned the group's spending -- and why, with an annual budget of $1.3 billion, it still relies on federal dollars. (Rafferty, 9/30)

The Washington Post's Morning Mix: In Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards, GOP Faces Formidable Fan Of ‘Kick-Butt’ Politics
Republican lawmakers have an incentive to make these hearings as contentious as possible: abortion rights and Planned Parenthood’s funding are likely to be sticking points in budget negotiations this December and major election issues after that. The account of Richard’s performance and who came out on top depended on who was reporting the hearing. “Planned Parenthood blasted over salaries, expensive parties,” was the headline at the Washington Examiner. “Planned Parenthood boss clashes with lawmakers over taxpayer $$, videos,” reported Fox News. But according to MSNBC, it was a triumph for Richards. “Planned Parenthood chief embarrasses GOP rep.” (Kaplan, 9/30)

The Huffington Post: Americans Like Planned Parenthood More Than They Like Politicians
Congress may be split over whether to defund Planned Parenthood, but Americans seem largely decided -- in favor of the family planning provider. An NBC/WSJ poll released Sunday found that Americans feel more favorably toward Planned Parenthood than they do about either the Democratic and Republican Party, the current Republican and Democratic presidential front-runners and President Barack Obama. (Velencia, 9/29)

The Connecticut Mirror: Aetna, Anthem Merger Plans Under Scrutiny, Again, By Congress
Members of both political parties expressed increasing skepticism Tuesday when they continued their scrutiny of the proposed mergers of insurance giants Aetna and Humana and Anthem and Cigna. Lawmakers have been subjected to heavy lobbying from the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association, who oppose the proposed mergers, as well as from local doctors and hospitals who warn of an unhealthy concentration of market share in the health insurance industry. (Radelat, 9/29)

Marketplace: Insurance CEOs Again Called Before Lawmakers
Top health insurance executives are making the rounds these days in Washington. Last week, CEOs from Aetna and Anthem – who are each looking to complete mega-mergers – testified before the Senate, and the two return again Tuesday for a hearing in the House. Lawmakers have pressed the executives to detail how consumers will benefit from these potential deals. (Gorenstein, 9/29)

Modern Healthcare: Hospitals, Doctors Rip Insurance Deals At Capitol Hill Hearing
The CEOs of Aetna and Anthem returned to Capitol Hill Tuesday to defend their respective transactions to House members, the second such congressional hearing in a week, but hospitals and doctors said the deals remain unjustified and deserve sharp federal scrutiny. (Herman, 9/29)

The New York Times: Hillary Clinton To Propose Scrapping Health Law’s ‘Cadillac Tax’
Hillary Rodham Clinton will in the coming days speak out against the so-called Cadillac tax on certain health care plans, a move that is part of a series of reforms she’s suggesting for the Affordable Care Act, according to a union official briefed on her plans. Mrs. Clinton’s campaign aides informed Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, of her intentions in the last few days, according to a senior official with the labor group. The union made an early endorsement of Mrs. Clinton in July. (Haberman, 9/29)

The Wall Street Journal: Hillary Clinton Supports Repealing ‘Cadillac Tax’ On Health Plans
Mrs. Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, has attempted to strike a balance on the 2010 health law. She has vigorously defended the law while also promising to address what are seen as its shortcomings. Last week, she proposed new caps on out-of-pocket costs on private insurance plans. On Tuesday, she described repealing the tax as “strengthening” the law while reiterating her view that the law is working well. (Meckler and Armour, 9/29)

The Washington Post: Clinton To Call For Nixing ‘Cadillac Tax’ On Health Plans Under Obamacare
Clinton will propose alternative revenue plans to make up for the lost money, her campaign said. ... She had indicated skepticism about the Cadillac tax and said she was examining possible changes. The tax is a major “pay-for” to offset increased costs under the ACA, and was one of the major cost-curbing mechanisms in the law, with then-CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf calling it one of two "powerful policy levers for encouraging changes in medical practice.” (Gearan, 9/29)

The Associated Press: Clinton Calls For Repeal Of Health Care Law's 'Cadillac Tax'
Many unions have held off from endorsing Clinton, often because their rank-and-file members prefer her primary opponent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and their leadership wants to wait and see if Vice President Joe Biden decides to enter the 2016 race. Last week, Sanders and seven other Democratic Senators introduced a plan to repeal the tax. (9/29)

Reuters: Clinton Calls For Repeal Of 'Cadillac Tax' On Healthcare Plans
The move by Clinton, the Democratic front-runner in the 2016 White House race, is a break with the Obama administration that could win her more backing from some of the labor unions critical to her White House bid. Labor unions oppose the tax because their members often receive more generous healthcare plans and they fear it would raise their costs. (Whitesides, 9/29)

The Hill: Clinton Opposes Obamacare Cadillac Tax
The controversial tax, which has been repeatedly delayed, is still three years away from implementation. It has drawn opposition from union groups and Democrats in areas such as New England and the West Coast, where health insurance costs are higher. (Ferris, 9/29)

CBS News: Hillary Clinton: Repeal Obamacare's Cadillac Tax
Clinton has been rolling out proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act, including plans to crack down on high prescription drug costs and lower out-of-pocket costs for families. But she has been a vocal supporter of the law as she campaigns for the Democratic nomination. (Kaplan, 9/29)

In other news -

The Boston Globe: For Kennedy, A Frustration Over Clinton Approach To Health Care
Some 15 years had passed since Bill and Hillary Clinton’s health care legislation failed when Senator Edward M. Kennedy sat for a 2008 oral history interview, but his frustration over the couple’s handling of the measure seemed to anger him as much as ever. “I think everybody understands now that that was a catastrophic mistake,” Kennedy told a historian from the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, according to transcripts released this week. (Kranish, 9/30)

The Washington Post: Carly Fiorina Emerges As The Right’s New Champion On Abortion Issues
On the facts, Carly Fiorina has been proved wrong. But on the politics, her impassioned condemnation of a Planned Parenthood video has turned her into a champion of the antiabortion movement and given her outsider candidacy new momentum. Republicans have rallied to her side, not just to defend one of their own against fact checkers and attacks from Democrats for misrepresenting what was in the video, but also because she brings a fresh voice and perspective to what has long been a predictable debate over abortion. (Rucker, 9/29)

Politico: Paul On Cruz: He's Pretty Much Done For In The Senate
Rand Paul on Tuesday had a blunt message for his presidential rival and fellow Republican senator Ted Cruz: You're a hack. In no uncertain terms, Paul called out Cruz for trying — and failing — to disrupt GOP leadership's efforts to fund the government without attacking Planned Parenthood, as well as past name-calling from the Texas senator. (Collins, 9/29)

The Wall Street Journal: U.S. To Give Almost $700 Million In Grants To Improve Patient Care
Dozens of hospital groups, health departments, doctor associations and others will get almost $700 million to improve patient care as part of the Obama administration’s initiative to overhaul payment methods for medical providers. The grants, unveiled Tuesday and funded under the Affordable Care Act, coincide with discussions between Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and congressional lawmakers on changing health-care delivery. (Armour, 9/29)

Modern Healthcare: CMS Awards $685 Million To Aid Providers In Transformation Efforts
The CMS Innovation Center is awarding $685 million to more than three dozen physician groups, health systems and other organizations for training, education and investment in information technology, care coordination and quality-improvement efforts. (Dickson, 9/29)

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Mayo Receives $9M Federal Innovation Grant
Mayo Clinic will receive up to $9 million in federal funding to help affiliated doctors and clinics outside Rochester adopt some of the team-based medical techniques and integrated care that have been hallmarks of its success. The grant award, announced Tuesday, is part of a broader $685 million effort by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to move American medicine away from paying per doctor and per procedure and toward more holistic patient care. (Olson, 9/29)

The Arizona Republic: Phoenix Group Secures $3.6 Million Federal Health Grant
A Phoenix-based non-profit group on Tuesday received a $3.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help local doctors and providers improve quality of care and reduce health costs. (Alltucker, 9/29)

Salt Lake Tribune: Leaders Roll Out Latest Plan To Provide Health Care To Utah’s Poor
Utah lawmakers got their first preview of a proposal hammered out in closed-door meetings by legislative leaders and Gov. Gary Herbert, seeking to provide health insurance coverage to as many as 126,500 low-income Utahns. A key component, and likely a key challenge to passage of the newly rebranded Utah Access Plus proposal, is that it calls on medical providers — hospitals, doctors, pharmaceutical companies, home health care providers and others — to cover the bulk of the cost for the expanded coverage. The idea is that they will be the ones who will benefit from the new revenue. (Gehrke, 9/29)

KSL: Lawmakers Get First Look At New Medicaid Expansion Plan
Lawmakers got their first look Tuesday at what's being called UtahAccess+, the new Medicaid expansion plan put together by Gov. Gary Herbert and Republican legislative leaders. No action was taken on the plan, unveiled in closed Republican caucuses in the House and Senate, that would bring some $450 million in federal funds to Utahns available under President Barack Obama's health care law. The public, along with the health care providers who'll be taxed to pay the state's share of the program's cost, will get an opportunity to weigh in on the plan next week at a Health Reform Task Force meeting. (Riley Roche, 9/29)

The Associated Press: Utah Democrats Criticize Closed-Door GOP Medicaid Talks
Utah's Democratic Party is criticizing Republican lawmakers for meeting behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss a proposal to expand Medicaid. Democratic Party chair Peter Corroon says GOP House representatives and senators should have opened their Tuesday meetings to the media and the public when discussing such an important issue. (9/29)

Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader: Medicaid Expansion Plan Gets Initial ‘Go Ahead’ In D.C.
An advisor to Gov. Dennis Daugaard says a plan to expand Medicaid in South Dakota earned an initial “go ahead” Tuesday from a top federal health administrator. Daugaard’s Senior Advisor Kim Malsam-Rysdon said the governor felt confident about the potential for expansion after meeting with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Burwell in Washington. “Secretary Burwell expressed an openness to consider some of the options we’re looking at,” Malsam-Rysdon said in a phone interview from Washington. “Her staff will continue to work on the specifics of what they can do at the federal level.” (Ferguson, 9/29)

At issue in some states is the question of requiring new Medicaid enrollees to work.

Stateline: Should Medicaid Recipients Have To Work?
If Arizona gets its way, its able-bodied, low-income adults will face the toughest requirements in the country to receive health care coverage through Medicaid. Most of the state’s Medicaid recipients, and new applicants, would have to have a job, be looking for one or be in job training to qualify for the joint federal-state program for the poor. They would have to contribute their own money to health savings accounts, which they could tap into only if they met work requirements or engaged in certain types of healthy behavior, such as completing wellness physical exams or participating in smoking cessation classes. And most recipients would be limited to just five years of coverage as adults. (Ollove, 9/30)

The Washington Post: Federal Health-Care Plan Costs To Rise By Most In Five Years
The enrollee share of premiums in the health insurance program for federal employees and retirees will rise by 7.4 percent on average in 2016, the largest increase since 2011, the government announced Tuesday. (Yoder, 9/29)

Kansas Health Institute: Premium Increases Ahead For State Employee Health Plan
Most Kansans who work for the state are facing increases in their insurance premiums next year, especially if they have their spouse and children on the state employee health plan. As the open enrollment period for 2016 nears, information about employee options published online this week showed hikes of 23 percent and 19 percent for families in the state’s two low-deductible plans and 166 percent and 152 percent for families in the two high-deductible plans. (Marso, 9/29)

Connecticut Mirror: Specialty Drug Prices Threaten Health Care Affordability
Reining in health care costs for state employees sometimes feels like shoveling water from a flooded basement while the water is still pouring in, state Comptroller Kevin Lembo said. The state employee health plan has tailored its design to encourage people to manage chronic conditions, get preventive care and avoid emergency room visits. But those savings have been eaten into by the rising expense of specialty drugs for conditions including Hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer, Lembo said. (Levin Becker, 9/29)

PBS NewsHour: Is Profit Or Innovation Driving The Rising Costs Of Drugs?
Turing Pharmaceuticals sparked outcry when it raised the price of a single pill from $13 to $750. Judy Woodruff discusses the rising costs of prescriptions drugs with Dr. Peter Bach of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Dr. Thomas Stossel of Harvard Medical School. (9/29)

Kaiser Health News: Think Health Prices Are High Near You? Maybe Yes — And No
A long-established belief about health costs is that some areas of the country, like McAllen, Texas, are expensive, while others like San Francisco are cheap. But an analysis released Wednesday provides evidence that prices can be exorbitant for some medical services and bargains for others—all in the same place. (Rau, 9/30)

Providence Journal: Top Medicaid Official In R.I. Resigning
With Governor Raimondo's administration in the midst of its Reinventing Medicaid initiative to realize $70 million in savings in the coming year, the state's top Medicaid official has announced that she is resigning. Medicaid Director Deidre Gifford is leaving the $124,165 job she has held for more than a year at the end of October. Gifford plans to seek career opportunities in Washington, D.C., where her husband, former state health director David Gifford, works for the American Health Care Association. (Salit, 9/29)

The Associated Press: Emails Show Complaints About Medicaid Fraud Detection System
Former Texas health official Jack Stick tried to persuade dozens of other states to buy Austin technology company 21CT's Medicaid fraud detection system even as he privately complained that the results it produced for Texas were worth "a bucket of warm spit," according to his email messages. (Rosenthal, 9/29)

The Associated Press: El Paso Abortion Clinic Reopens Amid Texas Court Battles
An El Paso clinic shuttered by Texas' tough 2013 abortion law reopened Tuesday, the first in the state to do so since the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked enforcement of some key restrictions three months ago. The Reproductive Services clinic, so close to the Texas-Mexico border that its windows offer views of Ciudad Juarez across the Rio Grande, is taking appointments and expects to begin performing abortions next week. (9/29)

The Texas Tribune: Embattled El Paso Abortion Clinic To Reopen
After shuttering last year in response to the state’s heightened abortion regulations, an embattled El Paso abortion provider is set to reopen on Tuesday. Reproductive Services — one plaintiff in the ongoing legal challenge to the state’s restrictive 2013 abortion law — will resume providing abortions next week, according to the clinic's lawyers. But the reopening could be short-lived, with the U.S. Supreme Court expected to decide within weeks whether it will take up a lawsuit against the abortion legislation known as House Bill 2. (Ura, 9/29)

Reuters: Abortion Rights Group Seek to Halt Oklahoma Law That Targets Clinics
Oklahoma's Center for Reproductive Rights on Friday asked the state Supreme Court to stop a law the group's lawyers say unfairly targets physicians and medical facilities that provide abortions. The law goes into effect Nov. 1 and lawyers for the group say it mainly sets an array of rules against providing abortions to minors and includes unconstitutional provisions that permit searches without a warrant of abortion providers. (9/29)

The New Orleans Times-Picayune: Religious Group To Build Clinic Next To Planned Parenthood Site, Website Reports
A Christian organization plans to build a "pro-life," full-service women's health clinic on a plot of land next to Planned Parenthood's 7,000-square-foot clinic currently under construction on South Claiborne Avenue, the Clarion Herald reports. (Webster, 9/29)

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Unpaid Care Costs Fall At Hospitals In Minnesota, State Health Department Says
The costs of unpaid care at Minnesota hospitals fell 6 percent last year as medical centers in the state reported a significant decline in charity care costs. The drop in unpaid care is the largest in at least 20 years, and suggests financial burdens were less of a barrier to care for hospital patients last year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Minnesota Department of Health. (Snowbeck, 9/29)

Health News Florida: Few Consumers Use Health Plan Pricing Tools
Most health insurance providers offer pricing tools for consumers. But Floridians are skeptical of the information they see on these sites, the Governor's Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding learned Monday in Tampa. The nonprofit Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR) shared its 2015 "Report Card on State Price Transparency Laws," which shows Americans don't trust their insurance companies to give them accurate price information. (Miller, 9/29)

U.S. News & World Report: The Next Religious Freedom Fight?
A court battle in the Pacific Northwest has opened another front in the fight over religious liberty, raising questions over whether pharmacies are legally obligated to provide patients with emergency contraception despite moral objections. Plaintiffs in Washington state are challenging a mandate that pharmacists not refer customers elsewhere because of religious objections to drugs like the so-called morning-after pill. The state, thought to have the most restrictive policies in the nation, also requires that pharmacies stock a representative assortment of drugs – such as the pill – to meet patients' needs. And with the country's renewed focus on religious freedom in the wake of a Kentucky clerk's denial of same-sex marriage licenses, the debate could ripple to other states – particularly if the case ends up before the Supreme Court. ( Leonard, 9/30)

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Judge Approves Ambitious State Plan To Reform Disability Services
Hundreds of Minnesotans with disabilities could gain access to better jobs, housing and medical care under an ambitious state plan approved this week by a federal judge. In a ruling late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank applauded the state for creating a detailed blueprint with realistic goals, while pushing back against the perception that the plan would forcibly integrate people against their wishes. (Serres, 9/29)

New Hampshire Public Radio: State Launches Investigation Into How Opioids Were Marketed In N.H.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office is investigating marketing claims by the manufacturers of prescription opioids, action that could lead to lawsuits against the companies for deceiving physicians and patients about the drugs. (Wallstin, 9/29)

The Associated Press: Delaware Hospital Agrees To $4 Million Federal Settlement
Federal prosecutors say St. Francis hospital in Wilmington has agreed to a $4 million settlement related to improper Medicare and Medicaid billing. The settlement announced Tuesday involves improperly billing Medicare and Medicaid for patients admitted into a Wilmington inpatient rehabilitation unit between 2007 and 2010 when admission was not medically necessary and services did not fully qualify for reimbursement. (9/29)

USA Today: Houston Tries To Slim Down With Food, Fitness
This sprawling Southwestern metropolis used to have a Texas-sized obesity problem, topping the scales as America’s fattest city. And no wonder — healthy food and safe places to exercise were hard to come by for many residents. But an initiative launched by Mayor Annise Parker in 2012, called Go Healthy Houston, has worked to change that dubious distinction by giving people better access to healthy foods, physical activity and tobacco-free zones. It’s one of many similar initiatives in cities across the nation aiming to improve health and reduce the cost of care among whole populations by creating an environment that makes healthy choices easier. (Ungar and O'Donnell, 9/29)

NPR: Telemedicine Expands, Though Financial Prospects Still Uncertain
Say you're a Midwestern farmer in a hospital bed, recovering from surgery or a major illness. It's time for the nurse's check-in, but there's no knock on the door. At Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, a camera attached to the wall over the foot of the bed whirls around, as a video monitor next to the camera lights up to show a smiling face with a headset on. "Good afternoon, this is Jeff with SafeWatch," the smiling face says. "Just doing my afternoon rounds." (Smith, 9/30)

Reuters: U.S. 'Right To Try' Laws May Not Help Dying Get Unapproved Drugs
So-called “right to try” laws, intended to expand dying patients’ access to experimental treatments, may not work as expected – and might strip patients of federal safety protections, some experts say. The laws, enacted in at least 24 states, have been promoted as a way to help dying patients get hold of medicines and devices that haven’t been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (Rapaport, 9/28)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Forms Health 'Super Agency,' But Some Fear It Will Be Unwieldy
At a time when private healthcare is increasingly connected and holistic, critics complain that Los Angeles County's sprawling public health system is neither. A patient who arrives at a county hospital emergency room with a broken arm faces a bureaucratic maze. If he needs follow-up physical and mental health service, as well as substance abuse counseling through the county system, he might have to fill out different sets of forms at three different clinics. And his health professionals in one department won't have access to health records maintained by the other departments. (Sewell, 9/29)

The Huffington Post: Hillary Clinton Calls For Eliminating Obamacare's 'Cadillac Tax'
Hillary Clinton on Tuesday announced she wants to eliminate the “Cadillac tax,” a key feature of the Affordable Care Act that economists love and pretty much everybody else says they hate. White House officials, who fought to include the tax in their health care overhaul, won’t be happy about the news, first reported by Maggie Haberman of The New York Times. But many interest groups, particularly labor unions, will be ecstatic. And that probably has a lot to do with why Clinton's taking this position. (Jonathan Cohn, 9/29)

The Wall Street Journal: A Clintonian Misdirection On Drug Prices
Hillary Clinton’s prescription to soothe the economic hangover consumers have from ObamaCare’s regulatory binge is a single ingredient: more regulation. Mrs. Clinton begins her treatment plan by focusing on “price gouging” by pharmaceutical companies and the need for price regulation. (Scott Gottlieb, 9/29)

The Wall Street Journal: The GOP Choice: Protest Or Govern
The resignation of House speaker John Boehner symbolizes the most important question Republicans face: Do they want to be a party of protest or a party of governance? Governance requires compromise, but the protesters reject that as collusion. ... Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was one of the loudest voices defending the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses, and he seems determined to push for defunding Planned Parenthood in December. Every Republican presidential candidate will be compelled to take a position on the government-shutdown strategy. The ones who support it will represent the party of protest. The ones who reject it, if there are any, will be standard-bearers for the party of governance. (William A. Galston, 9/29)

The Washington Post: The GOP Still Has Nothing To Show For Its Anti-Planned Parenthood Campaign
They have been going after Planned Parenthood over the past few months like so many Captain Ahabs. They threatened to shut down the government to defund the group. Their insistence on a Planned Parenthood showdown drove House Speaker John Boehner to resign. They’re about to appoint a special committee to investigate Planned Parenthood. The party’s presidential candidates have made Planned Parenthood a central part of the campaign, and House Republicans are manufacturing new legislative vehicles to cut off the group. And what do they have to show for it? A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds that Americans have a more favorable view of Planned Parenthood than of any other entity tested, including the Republican Party and presidential candidates. (Dana Milbank, 9/29)

The Washington Post: Mr. Boehner’s Last Chance To Tidy Up A Messy House
Boehner’s resignation, and the month until it takes effect, offers the prospect — albeit a slim one — for a mini-grand bargain to let the government function more effectively until after the presidential election. Boehner would do his successor, his party and the country a huge favor if he were to do the necessary mucking. The bargain that’s in the realm of the possible is far from the sort of broad agreement on spending and entitlements that Boehner and President Obama envisioned in 2012. That deal entailed politically risky moves by both sides — for Democrats, raising the Medicare eligibility age and reducing cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients, along with huge spending cuts; for Republicans, acceding to $800 billion in new taxes. That moment is gone. (Ruth Marcus, 9/29)

The Washington Post: Could Kevin McCarthy Rein In The Fractious GOP?
Mr. Boehner’s resignation cleared the way for passage of a temporary spending bill this week, good news only briefly as it will leave the country facing the double prospect of shutdown and default in mid-December. So now would be a good time for [Rep. Kevin] McCarthy — indeed, for any and all candidates for speaker — to pledge not to permit a government shutdown and not to block increases in the federal debt ceiling, no matter how loud the clamor of GOP ultras to the contrary. (9/29)

Los Angeles Times: Kevin McCarthy's Conservatism May Not Be Enough For GOP Radicals
McCarthy will have to be not just pretty good, but masterful if he is to succeed at managing a renegade group of GOP congressmen whose definition of “conservative” does not include him. It is absurd to call McCarthy anything but dependably conservative, just as it was erroneous for militant right-wing activists to characterize Boehner as an untrustworthy moderate. As good old George Wallace used to say about Republicans and Democrats, there is not a dime’s worth of difference on policy between Republicans like Boehner and the tea party zealots who drove him out of the speaker’s chair. They all hate Obamacare, Planned Parenthood, taxes on “job creators” and any government rule that inhibits Wall Street financiers, and they are all desperate to slash programs for the poor, kill environmental regulations and rattle sabers at Iran, Russia, China and North Korea. (David Horsey, 9/29)

The Tennessean: What Medicare’s Bundled Payment Mandate Means For Nashville Market
On July 9, .... CMS announced that a forced bundled payment reimbursement model would be tested in 75 markets across the U.S. representing approximately 35 percent of the nation’s population. The Nashville-Franklin-Murfreesboro market is one of the 75 randomly selected markets where this model will be tested. The program specifically targets joint replacements for hip and knee. CMS data shows that more than 406,000 of these elective procedures were performed in 2013 at a taxpayer cost of nearly $7 billion. And with a stated goal of 2 percent reduction in annual spending on these procedures for each of the next five years, a potential for nearly $700 million in savings exists should the program be fully implemented across the country. Based on the same 2013 CMS data made public in June, the Metro Nashville market alone saw 1,832 primary hip and knee replacements in 2013 worth an estimated $19 million in hospital Medicare reimbursement. (Bill Hancock, 9/29)

The New York Times' Opinionator: Learning To Die
My mother taught me many things, including, in the end, how to die. Her death went well, I told the few friends who I knew would understand my meaning: She was not in pain, she was conscious until the day before she died, she was at home, my sister and I were with her. It was a peak experience, revelatory and meaningful — something I wouldn’t have traded for anything — except her life. (Margot Mifflin, 9/30)