Medicare

Rep. Greg Walden blasted Obama's proposed entitlement cuts the same day that GOP leaders called for more.

AARP said Wednesday it is "deeply dismayed" by President Obama's proposal to cut Social Security benefits, and sounded a skeptical note about some of his proposed Medicare cuts.

AARP hammered Obama for including in his budget proposal the policy known as "chained CPI" — a new way of calculating benefits that would ultimately shrink seniors' Social Security checks.

“AARP is deeply dismayed that President Obama would propose cutting the benefits of current and future Social Security recipients, including children, widows, veterans and people with disabilities, to reduce the deficit," AARP Executive Vice President Nancy A. LeaMond said in a statement.

President Obama's budget proposal includes deep cuts in Medicare payments to pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and nursing homes.

Obama's budget includes roughly $400 billion in healthcare savings — the vast majority of which come from cuts to healthcare providers, rather than changes in benefits.

The pharmaceutical industry would take a hit of nearly $150 billion under Obama's budget. He proposed steep cuts in the prices Medicare pays for prescription drugs, as well as policies that would speed cheaper generic drugs to market more quickly.

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Marilyn Tavenner appears to be on track to sail through the Senate confirmation process to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). 

Tavenner received strong bipartisan support during a confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Finance Committee, where Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said he expects she will be confirmed.

His confidence makes sense, given the praise lavished on Tavenner from both parties as well as the relatively light questioning from Republican committee members. She was mostly pressed on parochial interests and pet projects, including Medicare's treatment of a specific hospital in New York and the agency's coverage of supplies for diabetes patients.

Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said he wants to hold a vote as early as next week, clearing the way for a floor vote soon thereafter.

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Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said Tuesday he hopes to hold a vote next week on Marilyn Tavenner's nomination to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Tavenner won bipartisan praise during a confirmation hearing Tuesday morning, and senators from both parties said they expect she will be confirmed.

Republicans lavished praise Tuesday on President Obama's nominee for a key healthcare post.

Marilyn Tavenner found broad bipartisan support as the Senate Fiance Committee considered her nomination to lead the Centers for Medicaid Services (CMS) — a post that includes overseeing both entitlement programs as well as implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) made the trip across the Capitol to introduce Tavenner and support her nomination.

Marilyn Tavenner is headed to Capitol Hill tomorrow for a hearing on her nomination to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). 

She's certain to face tough questions, especially from Republican senators, but just the fact that she's receiving a hearing at all raises the prospect of a major healthcare nominee receiving bipartisan support in the Senate.

This is the second time President Obama has nominated Tavenner to lead CMS; she didn't get a hearing last year because of the election-season tensions surrounding healthcare. But with the election in the rear-view mirror, Republicans agreed to consider Tavenner's nomination — and she has some friends on that side of the aisle.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has praised Tavenner after working with her when she ran Virginia's Medicaid program, and she has a reputation for both working hard and for bipartisanship.

The hearing starts at 10 a.m.
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Healthcare issues will fill the schedule this week as President Obama releases his fiscal 2014 budget and a Senate panel considers Marilyn Tavenner’s nomination to lead Medicare and Medicaid.
 
The White House budget is sure to dominate the news cycle and spark a new round of debates over entitlement reform and tax increases for deficit reduction.
 
Expect the two sides — represented last week by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — to intensify their rhetoric on entitlement cuts as the budget is released Wednesday. 

One group is threatening primary challenges to Democrats who support Obama in reducing federal benefits and Social Security payments.