OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Planned Parenthood still the center of controversy

The fallout from the Susan G. Komen foundation's on-again, off-again decision defunding Planned Parenthood continued Tuesday, all but assuring the fight over abortion rights would play a major role in the 2012 election.

The day started with the resignation of Komen vice president Karen Handel, who had become a lightning rod because of her past commitment to defund the nation's largest abortion provider. In her resignation letter, Handel said she was "deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it."

Liberals applauded the decision. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) wrote on Twitter that Komen could now "refocus on its mission of preventing & curing breast cancer."

Planned Parenthood isn't out of the woods, though. In a separate development, the anti-abortion-rights group Alliance Defense Fund released a report alleging "waste, abuse, and potential fraud" at Planned Parenthood and called on Congress to schedule investigatory hearings "immediately." Healthwatch has more on the ADF report here. 

Contraception controversy: Congressional Republicans continued to hammer the Obama administration Tuesday for its mandate requiring employers — including some religious institutions — to cover birth control for their employees. Senate Republicans took to the floor to attack the mandate, and Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa) sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius urging her to withdraw the policy.

“The federal government does not have the right to tell religious groups to provide a service that violates their faith. ... As currently written, this mandate will result in litigation that could be avoided if HHS issued a regulation that showed greater respect for religious freedom,” Grassley wrote.

On the flip side, Planned Parenthood released new polling Tuesday indicating that the contraception issue could be a liability for Mitt Romney in the presidential campaign. The survey found broad support for the administration’s policy, even among Catholic voters, and a plurality of respondents said Romney’s pledge to repeal the order made them less likely to vote for him. The Hill has more on the findings.

Doc fix debate: Members of the Massachusetts delegation, including Republican Sen. Scott Brown, pressed the payroll tax conference committee on Tuesday to permanently repeal Medicare's payment formula for doctors — and pay for a replacement using savings from the end of overseas wars. Doctors will face a cut of almost 30 percent if the committee does nothing, though it doesn't have to pursue a permanent fix.

"We urge you to include full repeal of the (sustainable growth rate) as part of the conference agreement to avert this draconian cut, bring stability to our nation's physicians, and ensure that seniors have access to needed medical care," the letter states.

Markup delayed: The House Judiciary Committee got through opening statements Tuesday in its markup of an anti-abortion bill but didn’t have time to vote. The panel will reconvene Wednesday at 1 p.m.

Stuck with Medicare: Medicare beneficiaries can't give up their benefits, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, even if it means their private insurance won't pick their hospital bill. Healthwatch's Julian Pecquet has more on the unusual case of people who don't want their government benefits.

Pass the salt: Nine in 10 U.S. adults eats too much salt, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new report, contributing to the heart disease and stroke epidemic that kills 800,000 Americans every year and costs the healthcare system $273 billion.

Wednesday's agenda

The Brookings Institution holds a forum on state health “information exchanges.”

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley will defend the federal healthcare law and discuss her state’s experience with a similar effort. The Center for American Progress is sponsoring the event.

Bill tracker

Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) will introduce on Wednesday legislation requiring the Food and Drug Administration to establish standards for arsenic and lead in fruit juices. The bill is called the Arsenic Prevention and Protection from Lead Exposure in Juice — or APPLE Juice — Act of 2012. 

Reg watch

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated its Hospital Compare website to include data about the occurrence of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in intensive care units across the country. These are among the most serious of all healthcare-associated infections and result in thousands of deaths each year.

State by state

Noozhawk delves into the prescription abuse epidemic in Santa Barbara.

Revolving door

The industry trade organization PhRMA — Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America — has elected three new board members: Deirdre Connelly, president of North American Pharmaceuticals at GlaxoSmithKline; Paul Fonteyne, president and CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim USA; and Ulf Wiinberg, president and CEO of Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals.

Reading list

Consumer Reports is going after "min-med" healthcare plans, ABC News reports.

The Center for Media and Democracy reveals how chemical giant Syngenta sought to discredit critical media coverage of the weed-killer atrazine's health effects.

The House and Senate are at an impasse over how to fund Medicare physician payments, The New York Times reports.

What you might have missed on Healthwatch

Obama administration announces $156 million to combat Alzheimer's

CDC vows focus on ending the black HIV/AIDS epidemic in America

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