Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told senators on Thursday that she would submit for the record the administration's parameters on medical malpractice reform.

President Obama raised the issue during his State of the Union address, stating his willingness to "look at ... medical malpractice reform to rein in frivolous lawsuits." But he offered no details, prompting Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to request, during a Senate Health Committee hearing, that the secretary submit in writing what the president had in mind.

"Sure," Sebelius answered.

A senior House Democrat is asking an outspoken critic of the healthcare reform law to disclose his organization’s funding.

Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) asked Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former Congressional Budget Office director and current president of the conservative American Action Forum (AAF), to disclose the AAF’s funding sources in a Thursday morning letter.

Holtz-Eakin has repeatedly questioned CBO projections that the reform law would reduce the deficit by nearly a quarter-trillion dollars over 10 years. In testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday, he said the reform law would increase healthcare costs.

Now Levin, the committee's ranking Democrat, is questioning whether Holtz-Eakin had a “conflict of interest” in presenting testimony to the committee. Levin said the AAF is billed as an “independent and nonpartisan research institution,” but Levin said the group has clear links to Republican sources, including former President George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove.

“Since you testified before the Ways and Means Committee, in order to rule out any conflict of interest in your testimony, I am requesting that you provide the Committee with the funding sources for the American Action Forum,” Levin said in the letter. “You and I are both aware that the IRS does not currently require disclosure of funding sources. However, it doesn’t prohibit disclosure either.”

The group said Thursday afternoon it received the letter.

“We have just received the letter, which is of obvious importance and which we take seriously," said AAF spokesman Jim Landry. "The American Action Forum is fully compliant with all disclosure requirements.”

This story was updated at 2:34 p.m. with the AAF response.

The department says it denied waiver requests from about 50 groups for a healthcare reform provision setting annual coverage requirements.

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), speaking to a pro-healthcare-reform group Thursday morning, floated the idea of creating a public option in the future.

“I think of the current healthcare bill as a starter home,” Harkin said to the annual conference of Families USA after saying the exclusion of the public option was a necessary compromise to pass the reform law. During debate on the measure, the government-run insurance option was removed from the bill in order to clear it through both chambers.

Touting the consumer protections included in the healthcare bill, Harkin said Democrats should go on the offensive against Republican plans to repeal and replace the reform law.

“People have these benefits,” Harkin said. “It’s not a promise, it’s in the law and now [Republicans] want to take them away.”

Harkin told the pro-reform advocates he is bracing for a fight to keep the reform law intact as Senate Republicans push for a vote on repeal.

"I'm determined to do everything in my power as both the chairman and an individual senator to protect this important law against any attempt to weaken or repeal it," he said.

Welcome to The Hill's evening roundup of the day's health policy news and advance look at tomorrow's schedule.

Wednesday’s health news:

GOP ups repeal efforts: A day after President Obama’s State of the Union address called for forward progress on the reform law, the GOP unleashed a number of attacks to weaken the law.

Senators introduce repeal bill: Three dozen Republican senators co-sponsored a version of the repeal bill approved by House Republicans last week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would block the bill, but Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is promising a vote. http://bit.ly/g8qkLP

IPAB elimination eyed: Republicans on Wednesday introduced a bill that would eliminate a new advisory board with power to set Medicare rates. They say the measure has bipartisan support: In December 2009, four House Democrats co-signed a letter that opposed the Independent Payment Advisory Board. However, no Democrats have signed on to the new bill yet. http://bit.ly/g90Uhk

An Obama official said the Medicare actuary is still underestimating the healthcare reform law's long-term savings.

Former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) joined the Alston & Bird law firm Wednesday, almost one year after stepping down as president and CEO of the main brand-name drug lobby.

Tauzin was a conservative Democrat when he was first elected to Congress in 1980 and helped found the Blue Dog Coalition. He switched parties in 1995.

Tauzin is best known for taking the helm of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) in 2005. He took the position soon after he helped push through Congress a Medicare prescription drug benefit that's widely considered to have benefited the drug industry by not allowing the government program to negotiate prices.

In 2009 and 2010, Tauzin was a key player in Democrats' healthcare reform effort, helping to negotiate a deal in which the drug industry agreed to contribute $80 billion to the effort in exchange for the increased business from the millions of additional insured Americans.

"Alston & Bird is immensely pleased to have a man of Billy Tauzin's ability, experience and drive join our legislative practice," Robert Jones, leader of the firm's legislative and public policy practice, said in a statement. "I don’t think there’s a member of Congress - past or present - who doesn't know Billy's reputation as a dedicated, hard fighter for whatever task he assumes."

The news comes one week after Republicans announced plans to investigate waivers granted to organizations for healthcare reform provisions.

Federal spending on healthcare programs will more than double over the next 10 years, according to a decade-long outlook issued by the nonpartisan congressional scorekeeper on Wednesday.

Spending on Medicare, Medicaid and other healthcare programs will jump from $810 billion in 2010 to $1.8 trillion in 2021, the Congressional Budget Office said. That spending in 2021 will represent 7.4 percent of that year's GDP, up from 5.8 percent in 2011.

Compared to last year’s report, the new CBO figures predict faster growth of healthcare spending in terms of GDP. The 2010 outlook predicted healthcare spending in 2020 would represent 6.8 percent of the GDP.

The report warns that Medicare spending over the decade could jump $250 billion if Congress continues to provide temporary patches to the formula determining Medicare physician rates. Medicare doctors are scheduled to receive about a 25 percent decrease in Medicare reimbursements starting in 2012, but Congress has acted each year since 2003 to delay scheduled cuts.

The CBO report also projects faster growth in Medicaid enrollment in light of the healthcare reform law. The 2010 report projected that 76 million people will be enrolled in Medicaid in 2020, while the new report predicts the number will be closer to 97 million in 2021.