OVERNIGHT HEALTH: Medicare on the table

Medicare and Social Security benefits are "clearly on the table" in negotiations to avoid the looming "fiscal cliff," House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday. Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, said entitlement cuts would be part of the negotiations, even if he doesn't end up supporting them.

Many Democrats have taken a hard line against proposals that would affect Medicare benefits — such as raising the eligibility age, or asking seniors to pay more out of pocket for their coverage. But Hoyer said those policies would have to be up for discussion, given their presence in earlier debt talks between President Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).

“They clearly are on the table,” Hoyer said of the Medicare changes during his weekly press briefing in the Capitol. “They were on the table in the Boehner-Obama talks. They've been on the table for some period of time. That does not mean that I'd be prepared to adopt them now, but they're clearly, I think, on the table.”

The Hill has the story.

All alone: Boehner's outline for a fiscal cliff deal didn't get much traction Tuesday. Obama said Boehner's plan — which calls for $600 billion in healthcare savings — is "still out of balance" because it does not raise tax rates on the wealthy. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also declined to endorse Boehner's outline, which has drawn criticism from conservatives because it opens the door to revenues. 

“I have no particular observation other than that I commend the House Republican leadership for trying to move the process along and getting to a point where I hope we can have a real discussion,” McConnell told reporters Tuesday.

The Hill's story on Obama's comments is here, and we have more from McConnell here.

Meanwhile, on Medicaid: Safety-net hospitals launched a campaign to protect the program's funding from further cuts under a deficit-reduction deal. The National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems argued that the low-income health insurance program is essential for a growing economy.

"[Deficit-reduction] proposals vary, but all would strip away billions of dollars from a program that already faces severe funding shortfalls," the NAPH said in a memo to the press. The group added that safety-net hospitals were left the in lurch by the Supreme Court decision on healthcare reform, which made the law's Medicaid expansion optional. Read more at Healthwatch.

Backlash: Could restaurant owners pay a price for their criticism of the Affordable Care Act? One major company seems to think so. Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden and Red Lobster, downgraded its earnings expectations Tuesday, in part because it's afraid of negative publicity surrounding its response to the healthcare law. Darden had previously said it would cut workers' hours to avoid the requirement to provide insurance. Bad publicity from that move might drive down sales in 2013, the company said Tuesday. Healthwatch has more.

Wednesday's agenda

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will speak at the White House Tribal Nations Conference.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) will hold a press conference to discuss a provision in the defense authorization bill that would cover abortions for women in uniform who are victims of rape or incest.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will speak at the National Press Club on the need to shield Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid from cuts in a fiscal cliff deal.

State by state

Florida Senate committee takes first look at implementing health care law

Landrieu tells Jindal that doing nothing on health care isn't leadership

S.C. Supreme Court temporarily stops state employee health insurance hike

Lobbying registrations

Alan Reuther / United Steelworkers

Alan Reuther / Retirees of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

Kountoupes Consulting / Advanced Particle Therapy

Reading list

Some health exchange plans to mirror FEHBP

Fewer poor cancer patients referred for drug trials

Safety initiative seen curbing birth injuries [reg. req'd]

What you might have missed on Healthwatch

Baucus: Don't shift health costs to seniors in 'fiscal cliff' deal

Analysis finds big state-by-state swings in prescription coverage

Study: Synthetic marijuana puts thousands in the ER

Comments / complaints / suggestions?

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