BLOGGER Vs. BLOGGER: Debating the Latest Bowles-Simpson Plan

Last week, Erskine Bowles and former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) released a $2.4 trillion deficit-reduction proposal in an attempt to bridge the gap between Obama and the GOP and show that a budget deal to avoid the sequester still is achievable.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW: “They Said What?” – Top 12 Quotes of 2012

A lot happened in health care policy in 2012, and much of what transpired — or didn’t — was dependent on what was said, before or after. Here are 12 quotes that the American Health Line team agreed were among the most noteworthy of the year.

Did you hear or a read a quote that should be added to this list? Let us know in the comments below and include a link to the story in which it appeared.

BACK AND FORTH: What’s Really at Stake in This Year’s Fiscal Cliff Negotiations?

President Obama and Republican congressional leaders this week began negotiations to avoid mandated spending cuts scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2013 under sequestration, the Washington Post reports.

BACK AND FORTH: Child Advocacy Groups Attack Youth Program Cuts in GOP Budget Bill

A budget package from House Republicans designed to shift cuts from military to domestic programs has drawn major criticism from child advocacy groups. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that proposed cuts to CHIP in the legislation could cost 300,000 children their health insurance coverage.

What Republicans say: Republicans have argued that reducing government spending is critical to averting fiscal disaster. House Budget Committee Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) justified the cuts by saying “the program is not working” because “last year Medicaid made $22 billion in improper payments.” Republicans say the cuts will allow state governments to develop more efficient ways to provide health care coverage for low-income U.S. residents.

What child advocacy groups say: Bruce Lesley, the president of the children’s advocacy group First Focus, condemned the budget proposal saying, “When one in five U.S. kids live in poverty, it is not the time to slash investments in their healthcare, nutrition, economic stability, childcare and safety.” The group said the budget would reduce funding for children’s programs that provide health care and nutrition assistance by “tens of billions of dollars.”

Our Take: It is unlikely that the GOP budget proposal will pass the Democrat controlled Senate, suggesting that Republican’s are using this as a campaign issue to gain support from voters who want to avoid big cuts to the Pentagon budget.

By Heather Drost, staff writer

AHL’s Top Story: Stakeholders Respond to Obama’s Deficit-Reduction Proposal

Nearly all stakeholders expressed opposition to at least a portion of the $3 trillion deficit-reduction proposal President Obama released on Monday, The Hill’s “Healthwatch” reports. Obama’s plan would cut $248 billion from Medicare, 90% of which would come from reducing overpayments within the program. However, some of the cuts would affect beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the proposal would cut $72 billion from Medicaid. Administration officials said that the health care cuts would be balanced with new tax revenue. Republicans generally panned the plan for raising taxes, while Democrats were upset with the entitlement cuts. Meanwhile, advocacy and military groups criticized more specific provisions of the proposal.

Deficit ‘Super Committee’: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

The prospects that a “bipartisan, 12-member House-Senate committee on steroids” will achieve $1.5 trillion or more of long-term deficit reduction by Thanksgiving “are not great,” writes The Fiscal Times‘ Eric Pianin.

AHL’s Top Story: Coburn Leaves ‘Gang of Six’ Negotiations Over Entitlement Spending

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) yesterday announced that he is leaving the bipartisan “Gang of Six,” after meeting resistance to including reductions in entitlement spending, including immediate cuts to Medicare, CQ Today reports (Krawzak/Schatz, CQ Today, 5/17). The group was seeking to develop legislation based on recommendations made last year by President Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. However, after weeks of negotiating, the group has failed to reach a deficit-reduction agreement (Friedman/Sanchez, National Journal, 5/17). Coburn spokesperson John Hart said that Coburn’s withdrawal is not necessarily permanent. Coburn, who has a reputation of opposing increased spending and taxes, added conservative clout to the group. His departure could make it harder for the Gang of Six to develop a plan that would garner bipartisan support, according to CQ Today (Krawzak/Schatz, CQ Today, 5/17).

AHL’s Top Story: House GOP Outlines $30B in New Domestic Spending Cuts for FY 2012

House Appropriations Committee Chair Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) on Wednesday unveiled a broad outline of $30 billion in new federal spending cuts from current levels for fiscal year 2012, which includes $18.2 billion in cuts to health, labor and education programs, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, the proposed allocations — based on the GOP’s House-approved FY 2012 budget resolution (H Con Res 34) — allow Rogers’ committee to begin developing specific spending measures for the new fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1 (Hulse, New York Times, 5/11).

Top Story: Senate Approves Three-Week Stopgap Proposal; Obama To Sign Bill Today

The Senate on Thursday voted 87-13 to pass the new stopgap continuing resolution budget bill (H J Res 48), which will keep the federal government funded through April 8, Roll Call reports. The measure replaces the two-week stopgap CR that expires today (Dennis, Roll Call, 3/17). The new stopgap CR — approved by the House on Tuesday — will cut current discretionary spending levels by an additional $6 billion — or $2 billion weekly, in accordance with Republicans’ insistence that all stopgap bills reduce discretionary spending to 2008 levels (American Health Line, 3/17). Like the expiring stopgap CR, the new package will not block funds for the implementation of the federal health reform law. However, it will cut billions of dollars in spending by reducing or eliminating 25 federal programs, including some secondary health care initiatives, and billions more by eliminating earmarks that also are outlined in President Obama’s FY 2012 budget proposal (American Health Line, 3/16).

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American Health Line’s State Roundup

Welcome to AHL’s State Roundup, a weekly feature in which we recap news from around the nation.

A legal showdown is brewing in California — Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D) has announced that he plans to file a lawsuit against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) because he said the governor abused his executive powers when he cut an additional $489 million from a budget revision package last month. The line-item vetoes sliced an additional $394 million from health and human services funding, which already faced major cuts under the budget revision package, Steinberg said. The news follows an opinion by the state Legislature’s legal counsel that Schwarzenegger exceeded his authority when he used the line-item vetoes. Schwarzenegger administration officials disputed Steinberg’s claims and defended the legality of the governor’s line-item vetoes.

While things in California grow more dramatic, but budget issues are still playing out in states nationwide. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell (D) last week signed a stopgap budget that provides money to pay state workers and fund new government services, but the measure does not include the money that normally would fund health care services. Rendell said that he hopes the stopgap measure will lead to renewed discussions on a final fiscal year 2010 budget plan, which is now overdue because the fiscal year began on July 1.

Massachusetts’ Medical Security Program — which pays most health insurance costs for about 27,000 unemployed state residents — will run out of money in January 2010 as a result of rising unemployment over the past year, Enrollment for the program has increased by 186% since summer 2008. The only source of funding for MSP is a tax on employers. While health care advocates support increasing this levy — which has remained the same since 1990 — business leaders say that doing so would burden companies that are already at risk of failing.

In Louisiana, Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Alan Levine last week announced that medical facilities throughout the state should prepare to deal with significant budget cuts as the state reduces Medicaid reimbursements to private hospitals. The state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 reduced the health department budget by $260 million, which Levine says will translate into decreased funds for urban hospitals and physicians treating Medicaid beneficiaries.

Finally, some positive news coming out of West Virginia. The state’s Mountain Health Choices Medicaid program is providing enhanced health benefits to most of the state’s least healthy Medicaid-eligible adults, according to a new West Virginia University report. The program previously was criticized for cutting benefits for many low-income state residents. The program allows people who sign a pledge — stating that they will take certain actions such as seeing doctors regularly — to receive better benefits than those previously offered through the state Medicaid program. Those who do not sign the pledge receive a lower level of coverage. According to the report, most adults in the top-tier plan weigh more and have overall worse health than those in the basic plan. The top-tier group also sees doctors more often and receives more prescription drugs.

by Kimberley Lufkin, Contributing Editor