In This Issue:

- Permanent Medicare Doc-Fix Could be a Reality, CHIP Reauthorization May Be Lynchpin

- Implementation of the Affordable Care Act

- Other Federal Regulatory Initiatives

- Congressional Initiatives

- Other Health Care News

- Upcoming Congressional Hearings

- Excerpt from Permanent Medicare Doc-Fix Could be a Reality, CHIP Reauthorization May Be Lynchpin:

In a surprising turnaround of events, House leadership are moving closer to a bipartisan deal led by Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Although rumors of a potential deal surfaced weeks ago, many stakeholders were unsure what progress the two House party leaders could make in coming up with savings to pay for a roughly $200 billion legislative fix that would replace the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and likely include a slew of extensions to other Medicare programs (“Medicare extenders”). Many observers believe the current deal would involve a series of budgeting maneuvers, some beneficiary cuts, hospital and long term care cuts, and only partially pay for the full cost of repeal.

On March 11, Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee released a statement basically confirming that Boehner and Pelosi were working on a deal and urging them to include a reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as part of the package. Legislators and many state governors are calling on Congress to reauthorize CHIP before June 30th. Although the program is funded through September 30, 2015, most state governments set their budgets closer to July. Following that statement, other Congressional Democrats, especially in the Senate, reiterated their desire for a full four-year extension for CHIP in order to get their buy-in for a potential SGR deal.