Week ahead: Lawmakers take on Medicare ‘doc fix’

{mosads}Republicans and Democrats on the committee praised the legislation as a bipartisan milestone last week, meaning it could soon see traction on the House floor.

Elsewhere in the House, Republicans will continue examining the Obama administration’s decision to delay the healthcare law’s employer mandate until 2015.

Two Education and the Workforce subcommittees will convene a joint hearing on the issue Tuesday, with testimony from think-tank experts and advocates.

The event will be the third time a House committee has looked at the delay since it was announced on July 2. An official with the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs was invited to testify Tuesday but declined, stating that his office had no role in the deferral of the mandate.

On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights will hold a hearing on pay-for-delay deals by the pharmaceutical industry. The Supreme Court issued a key ruling on the issue last month, which is sure to be a topic as lawmakers meet.

Wednesday is a busy day for healthcare issues in the Senate, as Finance Committee lawmakers convene a hearing on health information technology and the ways it improves care.

The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee will look at ObamaCare’s implementation amid criticisms of the law from small business. That event is also likely to cover the employer mandate delay.

Advocates will climb Capitol Hill Tuesday as pro-abortion-rights group All Above All holds a briefing on barriers to abortion coverage and services, with a focus on low-income women. The event will take place in Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2226, and include remarks from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).

Physical therapists will also push their agenda for SGR reform and an end to Medicare therapy caps in meetings with lawmakers Monday and Tuesday.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has a busy week, traveling to Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago, where she’ll speak at the National Association of Counties Annual Conference and the BlogHer Conference, respectively.

Sebelius will also meet with healthcare and community stakeholders in Texas, and give remarks Tuesday at the launch of the National Association of Broadcasters’ Mental Health Campaign.

—This post has been updated to reflect a new location for the abortion rights briefing.