Advocates for low-income Americans are looking for a lawmaker to champion draft legislation requiring states to keep Medicaid-eligible people on the public program for 12 months at a time.

The advocates are worried about people entering and dropping out of Medicaid several times a year as their income changes. The practice, known as churning, has been shown to reduce access to screening for diseases such as breast cancer while increasing hospitalization rates.

The insurance disruption also creates administrative and processing costs for states and the federal government as people re-enroll multiple times. Healthcare reform could make the situation even worse, because people will shift from Medicaid to the state health insurance exchanges. 

Texas Rep. Ted Poe accused another Republican of proposing legislation that would violate the Constitution.

The government should "stay out" of deciding a patient's end-of-life care, President Obama's Medicare chief said Wednesday morning, weighing in on what's become a heavily politicized issue over the past two years.

Medicare Administrator Don Berwick, who Republicans have hammered for past statements about healthcare rationing, said the government should allow doctors to have whatever discussions they want with their patients, including conversations about advanced care planning.

End-of-life care, which consumes a large chunk of healthcare dollars, became a hot-button issue during the healthcare reform debate when some conservatives accused the Obama administration of trying to create government-run "death panels" that would have ultimate power to ration costly care to the elderly and disabled. The claim was rebuked as Politifact's top lie in 2009, but the stigma has stuck with the issue.

A group of 73 House Democrats on Wednesday demanded U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recuse himself from any case examining the constitutionality of healthcare reform.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and 72 other colleagues wrote Thomas on Wednesday to ask him to sit out any Supreme Court review of President Obama's healthcare law, citing the work by Thomas's wife on behalf of efforts opposing that healthcare law.

"As members of Congress, we were surprised by recent revelations of your financial ties to leading organizations dedicated to lobbying against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act," the Democrats wrote. "We write today to respectfully ask that you maintain the integrity of this court and recuse yourself from any deliberations on the constitutionality of this act."

The letter reflects the growing political gamesmanship on both sides of the aisle in regard to court challenges to healthcare reform.

For instance, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has called for Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself in similar cases. Kagan had worked in the Obama administration as solicitor general, and Hatch argued this would bias her in any consideration of the healthcare law.

The legal challenges to the new healthcare law are ultimately expected to reach the high court. Two federal district courts have upheld healthcare reform as constitutional, while two courts have struck it down, most recently a federal judge in Florida, who threw out the entire law over concerns about the provision requiring all individuals to have health insurance, the so-called "individual mandate."

The efforts by the Democrats — and by Hatch — would presumably tip the balance on the Supreme Court going into any hearing about the law. The court is seen as leaning conservative, with a 5-4 majority, though Justice Anthony Kennedy is often seen as a potential swing vote.

The Democrats' demand in this instance is based on concerns about the political advocacy conducted by Ginny Thomas, a Tea Party and conservative activist. Mrs. Thomas advertises herself as a lobbyist for "clients who want a particular decision — they want to overturn health care reform," the Democrats said.

"Given these facts, there is a strong conflict between the Thomas household’s financial gain through your spouse’s activities and your role as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court," they wrote. "We urge you to recuse yourself from this case."

Alternatives to the individual mandate would leave millions of Americans uninsured, according to a new study produced for the liberal Center for American Progress.

The study, by MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, comes as two federal judges have ruled the mandate is unconstitutional. In addition, several centrist Democratic senators up for reelection in 2012 have floated alternatives to the unpopular measure.

The study looked at two alternatives that have been proposed.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said to defund healthcare, Republicans should use precedent set by Democrats in defunding Vietnam War.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says he expects an amendment to eliminate funding will be offered next week.

Lawmakers heated up the abortion debate on Tuesday as the House began hearings on legislation that would place new restrictions on abortion. Democrats hammered the GOP for shifting the focus away from the economy, while Republicans said they are making good on a campaign pledge.

Tax argument in abortion debate: Senate Dems, battling back against two abortion-related House bills, are pushing a new fiscal message early in the abortion battle. The Democrats, speaking at a Tuesday morning press conference, said the newly proposed abortion restrictions are not only harmful to women, but they would raise taxes on employers. For example, the Democrats said small businesses would no longer be eligible for a healthcare tax credit if their plan covers a "full range" of reproductive health services. 

"The Republicans in the House are proposing tax hikes because they don't like a health plan a private sector business chooses," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

Many American businesses want more guidance from the Obama administration before they make decisions about the healthcare benefits they offer, a new poll found, though the majority think Republicans will not succeed in repealing the reform law.

The Society for Human Resource Management conducted the poll in late December, before a federal judge struck the law down and the House voted for repeal. At the time, 48 percent of respondents said they were waiting for more regulatory guidance from the administration on specific provisions of the reform law, while 13 percent said they were hoping for full repeal.

"A majority of organizations are not counting on repeal. They are seeking guidance and moving forward to make sure they comply with the law," Mark Schmit, the group's director of research, said in a statement. "This is the smart approach because a health-care plan design affects the entire organization."