OVERNIGHT HEALTH: IPAB on the table?

By Sam Baker - 11/26/12 07:18 PM ET

House Republicans aren't letting up in their insistence that parts of President Obama's healthcare reform law need to be on the table during upcoming talks about the looming "fiscal cliff."

Majority Leader Eric Cantor said on Fox News that the law has to be on the chopping block, arguing that it's "yet to be seen" whether Obama would agree to cuts in his signature domestic achievement. In fact, the White House has ruled out cuts to the Affordable Care Act.

"If the president is serious about joining us and fixing the problem, he ought to be putting ObamaCare on the table," Cantor said.

He singled out the law's Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), a cost-cutting panel tasked with slowing the growth in Medicare spending. The IPAB is a popular political target for Republicans, but repealing it would increase unsustainable Medicare spending and add to the deficit — making it an unlikely part of any agreement to cut the deficit.

Courts get another crack at ACA: A federal appeals court can take another look at President Obama's healthcare law, the Supreme Court said Monday. The justices said Liberty University can have a new hearing before the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, because the 4th Circuit tossed out the school's lawsuit based on procedural grounds that the Supreme Court later said do not apply.

The Supreme Court's move is procedural. It doesn't suggest that the court sees merit in Liberty's claims, and the 4th Circuit will still be bound by the Supreme Court's ruling upholding the healthcare law as constitutional.

Healthwatch has the story on Monday's order.

ACOs abound: A new study from the consulting firm Oliver Wyman says one of healthcare reform's big delivery-system reforms — the creation of accountable care organizations — is catching on. Somewhere between 25 million and 31 million people already get their care from an ACO, the report says, the bulk of whom are non-Medicare patients in Medicare ACOs. The full report is here.

Medicaid math: A handful of states would actually save money by signing on to the healthcare law's Medicaid expansion, the Kaiser Family Foundation said Monday. Although Republican governors have protested the cost of the expansion, Kaiser said it actually won't cost the states much at all — they'll see about a 0.3 percent jump in their Medicaid spending, while the federal government would see a double-digit increase. Healthwatch has more.

State by state

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she needs more information as she weighs her options for an insurance exchange.

Missouri probably won't take part in the Medicaid expansion.

New Mexico is taking a fresh look at its insurance regulations.

Lobbying registrations

Covington & Burling LLP / Eli Lilly and Company

Tarplin, Downs & Young, LLC / 3M / "Medicare and Medicaid coverage and reimbursement implementation of FDA User Fees and general medical device issues"

Breaux Lott Leadership Group / Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center

Blank Rome Government Relations / Tompkins Strategies LLC on behalf of the National Federation of Independent Business / ACA implementation

Blank Rome Government Relations / Consumer Health Care Products Association

Blank Rome Government Relations / Ogilvy Government Relations on behalf of AdvaMed

Blank Rome Government Relations / Budco Health Service Solutions

Reading list

The Huffington Post looks at the cost of expanding Medicaid.

Hospitals are under pressure to cut readmissions, The New York Times reports.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker explains why he rejected a state-based exchange.

What you might have missed on Healthwatch

Obama faces huge challenge in setting up health insurance exchanges

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