BACK AND FORTH: Differing Visions for Our Government’s Fiscal Future

After several weeks of debate, the House and the Senate each voted to approve separate fiscal year 2014 budget proposals, with very different visions for the future.

President Obama is expected to add his own budget proposal to the mix next month. But in the meantime, congressional committees could schedule a conference in an attempt to reconcile the rival House and Senate proposals and work towards a deficit-reduction deal.

AHL’s TOP STORY: House Approves Senate-Amended Continuing Resolution Extension To Keep Government Funded Through FY 2013

The House today voted 318-109 to approve a Senate-amended continuing resolution extension bill (HR 933) that would fund the federal government through Sept. 30 and would avert a government shutdown on March 27, when the current CR expires, Politico reports (Rogers, Politico, 3/21). The measure now goes to President Obama for his signature (Helderman, Washington Post, 3/21).

On Wednesday, the Senate voted 73-26 to approve its version of the CR bill, which was attached as an amendment to the House version that was passed Thursday, the New York Times reports (Peters/Weisman, New York Times, 3/20).

AHL’s TOP STORY: House Committee Debates Effect of ACA’s Age-Rating Provision

Republican and Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on Friday debated whether certain provisions in the Affordable Care Act would significantly increase health insurance premiums, particularly for young adults in the individual and small-group markets, The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” reports (Viebeck, “Healthwatch,” The Hill, 3/15).

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.

AHL’s TOP STORY: Lawmakers Struggle To Reach Deal on Entitlements, Sequester Negotiations Move Slowly

Negotiations to avoid looming mandated spending under sequestration progressed slowly yesterday, as Democrats and Republicans struggled to reach a deal to curb entitlement spending, the Washington Post reports (Montgomery/Helderman, Washington Post, 11/28).

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.

BLOGGER VS. BLOGGER: #ReplaceObamaCareDemocrats Targeted on Health Reform

Last week, Democratic leaders in Charlotte, N.C., took to the stage at the Democratic National Convention to urge voters to re-elect President Obama.

Sam Baker of The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” wrote that Democrats put health reform “front and center” during the convention. Democrats “believe they can win on the issue in light of the uproar over contraception and the Republican ticket’s controversial Medicare reform proposal,” he wrote, adding that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called ObamaCare a “badge of honor” for Democrats.

AHL’s TOP STORY: Obama, Biden Accept Nominations, Defend Health Reform Law

President Obama formally accepted his party’s nomination to run for a second term yesterday during the final day of the Democratic National Convention, noting in a speech that the November election will offer voters an opportunity to decide whether they value his policies, such as the Affordable Care Act, Modern Healthcare reports.

AHL’s TOP STORY: Democrats Use Second Night of DNC To Back Argument That U.S. is ‘Better Off’ Because of ACA

Top Democrats and other party luminaries continued to embrace and promote the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday during the second day of the Democratic National Convention, using the law to back their argument that the U.S. is “better off” today than it was four years ago, Modern Healthcare reports (Daly, Modern Healthcare, 9/5).