Congress's agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling could be bad news for healthcare providers.

The deal reached by congressional leaders to raise the debt ceiling sets up a one-two punch in which healthcare industries will likely face two rounds of major Medicare cuts later this year.
 
The agreement spares Medicare for the time being, but puts the program on the chopping block just ahead of a separate, must-pass healthcare measure that will require tens of billions of dollars in Medicare savings.
 
“You’re staring down two guns right now,” said Mark Rayder, a senior policy adviser at the law firm Alston & Bird.
 
Lobbyists are already scrambling for ways to protect their clients, even as they search for more details about the debt agreement and the bipartisan joint committee it would create.

A federal court said Monday that the healthcare reform law does not provide taxpayer funding for abortion.

The court reached that conclusion in a lawsuit between former Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio) and the Susan B. Anthony List. SBA List said in campaign materials that by supporting healthcare reform, Driehaus had voted in favor of taxpayer-funded abortion. That statement was false, the court ruled.

"Whether it is possible, under contingent circumstances, that at some point in the future, upon the execution of x, y, and z, that the [Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act] would not prevent taxpayer funded abortion is entirely different from providing for 'tax-payer funded abortion,'" the opinion states. "The express language of the PPACA does not provide for tax-payer funded abortion. That is a fact, and it is clear on its face."

SBA List argued that its statements about Driehaus were protected as an opinion, based on its interpretation of the new law. But the court rejected that argument because SBA List said it is a "fact" that Driehaus supported taxpayer-funded abortion.

A federal judge in Kansas has blocked a new state law that strips family planning funding for Planned Parenthood, the Associated Press reports.

The judge, Bill Clinton appointee J. Thomas Marten, issued the injunction Monday. Planned Parenthood had argued that it would have been forced to close one or more of its clinics if the defunding had gone through, but the state said public agencies could handle those patients according to the AP.

The issue has emerged in states across the country as conservatives seek new ways to restrict abortions. Planned Parenthood is the nation's largest abortion provider but says its federal funding only helps pay for preventive care for low-income women.

Federal officials have warned New Hampshire and Indiana that they'll lose federal funding if they restrict Medicaid funding for the organization.

In Congress, House lawmakers passed similar legislation in February and again in April. The Senate voted down the restrictions.

Advocates for people with disabilities want federal Medicaid officials to set tougher standards when reviewing states' requests for deep cuts to the state-federal health program for low-income people.

The issue came to a head last month after California asked for permission to slash its Medicaid payments to hospitals and nursing homes by 10 percent, among other cuts. To advocates' surprise, Gov. Jerry Brown's (D-Calif.) massive request for $1.4 billion in cuts was just a few pages long and did not include any evidence documenting that they wouldn't harm the state's most vulnerable residents.

In a recent letter to Medicaid chief Cindy Mann, the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) said the agency should abide by proposed regulations unveiled in May that would require states to provide more information to federal regulators before they can go ahead with cuts.

The Obama administration announced that new health plans will have to cover contraceptives, though some religious groups will be exempted. 

Medicare cuts in the deficit trigger would come through lower rates for providers and insurance plans, not beneficiary cuts, reports The Hill.

Better treatment and health systems — not screening — are likely responsible for the fall in breast cancer deaths in recent years, writes ScienceDaily based on research published by the British Medical Journal.

Patients in Great Britain are struggling to even get on some of the National Health System's waiting lists, reports the Daily Telegraph.

The state of Missouri is likely to suffer a shortage of rural primary-care doctors, reports Modern Healthcare.

A pair of reports from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) will continue to make waves in the healthcare world as Congress scrambles to raise the debt ceiling and cut federal spending.
 
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is scheduled to make “an Affordable Care Act” announcement on Monday, which happens to coincide with the informal Aug. 1 deadline set by HHS for making a decision about the services discussed in one of the IOM reports.

The IOM said eight categories of women’s health services, including contraception, should be available without co-pays. HHS has the power, under the healthcare reform law, to make insurers cover the full cost of certain preventive services. Women’s groups have hailed the IOM recommendations, while conservatives have argued that providers should be able to opt out for moral reasons.

A motley group of lawmakers with little in common are now raising concerns about proposed restrictions on food advertising.