Lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation to remove restrictions on tax-exempt health spending accounts.

The medical-device lobby released a report Thursday championing the industry's value for money as debt-ceiling negotiators seek to cut healthcare spending wherever they can.

The 17-page report, authored by two government experts, concludes that prices for devices and diagnostic tests have increased by 1 percent per year on average, almost three times slower than the general rate of inflation. Spending on medical devices, the report concludes, has slowly increased from 5.3 percent of national health expenditures in 1989 to only 5.9 percent in 2009.

"In view of the conventional wisdom about the role of medical technology in driving up costs," the report says, "it is surprising that the cost of medical devices during this period has risen little as a share of total national health expenditures and, since 1992, has remained essentially constant as a percent of national health expenditures."

The government on Thursday awarded $95 million in grants to help 278 school-based health centers across the country expand and provide more healthcare services to students, their families and their communities.

The healthcare reform law set aside $200 million for the grants for 2010 through 2013. House Republicans voted to defund the provision to cut down on government spending. 

Federal officials say Thursday's grant recipients serve about 790,000 patients and will be able to increase their capacity by more than 50 percent — serving another 440,000 patients — thanks to the awards. School-based programs, the government says, "improve the overall health and wellness of all children through health screenings, health promotion and disease prevention activities and enable children with acute or chronic illnesses to attend school."

Advocates praised the news.

"More than 350 applicants from around the nation applied for this much-needed federal funding, which will allow (school-based health centers) to switch over to electronic medical records, purchase dental equipment to provide oral health services, help build new clinics or expand or improve existing space, and more," Linda Juszczak, executive director of the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care, said in a statement. "These projects benefit whole communities by creating construction and renovation jobs. We hope members of Congress who question the value of the program will tour the (school-based health centers) in their communities to see the importance of these grants for children and their families."

Advocates for people with disabilities and special health needs are out in force as President Obama and lawmakers weigh deep cuts to Medicaid as part of debt-ceiling talks.

Georgetown's Health Policy Institute released a report Thursday concluding that almost eight in 10 children with autism, cancer and other special healthcare needs who are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program — about 2.9 million children — rely on those programs as their primary source of coverage. For many others, government programs fill the gaps for services not covered by private insurance or help with cost-sharing.

"Children have the most to lose in the budget debate if Medicaid takes the brunt of the budget cuts because they make up a disproportionate share of Medicaid beneficiaries," the paper concludes. "Children and youth with special health care have more at stake in the deficit debate than any others."

Earlier this week, several people with disabilities who benefit from Medicaid services met with officials in the White House to share their personal experiences with the state and federal programs. They were joined by representatives of United Cerebral Palsy and the American Association of People with Disabilities — putting a human face on this critical resource for millions of Americans with disabilities and their families.

"People with disabilities join all Americans in recognizing the need to tackle our national debt," United Cerebral Palsy President and CEO Stephen Bennett said. "There are alternative ways to reform Medicaid without gutting the vital supports that create real opportunities for people with disabilities."

Raising the Medicare age to 67 would save $125 billion, USA Today reports.

Eight states face major physician shortages ahead of healthcare reform's Medicaid expansion, according to Stateline.org.

An Institute of Medicine study finds that many Americans don't have access to dental care.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new safety guidelines for outpatient care, Kaiser Health News reports.

Rep. Allyson Schwartz testified Wednesday against a major provision of the healthcare reform law intended to help control Medicare costs. 

The so-called "IPAB-athon" wrapped up Wednesday after two consecutive days of hearings on the healthcare law's Independent Payment Advisory Board. The controversial cost-cutting panel is in Republicans' sights as they try to chip away at healthcare reform and quit playing defense on healthcare.

Among the witnesses at Wednesday's Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee hearing was Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.), one of the highest-profile Democrats to co-sponsor an IPAB repeal bill. She told Healthwatch's Julian Pecquet that she agreed to testify in part because she was concerned about President Obama's proposal to bolster the panel's authority to recommend savings for Medicare.

"I would say on behalf of myself and Democrats who care about this as well, it would be better to repeal this part of the law," she said.

Read the story here.

House Republicans made a point this week to set aside their broader objections to healthcare reform and target a specific provision that "scares the s--- out of us," Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) said Wednesday.

The House GOP's criticism of the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) is the most focused, sustained attack on a single piece of the health law since Republicans won the repeal of an unpopular tax reporting provision.

The push came together this week with what some members called the "IPAB-athon" — two IPAB hearings in two days, both with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Republicans have held hearings on several pieces of the reform law, but the IPAB is among their clearest targets in months.

Gingrey said he believes a bill to repeal the IPAB, sponsored by Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) will start moving toward the floor shortly after the August recess.

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Rep. Diane Black's bill would change how the healthcare reform law calculates who is eligible for government help.