Abortion

OVERNIGHT HEALTH: House panel OKs national late-term abortion ban

by Sam Baker and Elise Viebeck - 06/12/13 10:30 PM ET

Dems also took issue Wednesday with the lack of GOP women on the Judiciary panel. Read more about Franks’s comments and the markup itself at Healthwatch.

Doc fix timeline: Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, said Wednesday he expects to move a bill through committee by August that would permanently replace Medicare’s payment formula for doctors. Speaking at a BakerHostetler conference on healthcare and tax policy, Upton said he wants to have a permanent “doc fix” bill ready this month, so it can be ready for the floor by August.

Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said he and Upton are on the same page with the “doc fix,” but haven’t yet tackled the most controversial part of the effort — finding a way to pay for it.

{mosads}Lawmakers have looked more seriously at a permanent solution this year because of a dramatic cut in the Congressional Budget Office’s cost estimates.

Medicaid: Energy and Commerce Democrats made clear Wednesday that they oppose proposals to overhaul Medicaid by capping how much it spends on various categories of beneficiaries. Committee Republicans said during a hearing on Medicaid’s future that the program is badly in need of reform and is already struggling to provide quality care despite low payment rates and high-cost beneficiaries.

Witness testimony and other materials from the hearing are online here.

Thursday’s schedule

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) will outline new Medicare reforms during a speech to the National Accountable Care Organization Summit.

The House Appropriations Committee will mark up its 2014 bill covering agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.

The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on the Environment will hold a hearing on the Toxic Substances Control Act.

State by state

Michigan House panel approves Medicaid expansion

Ohio Senate chief: Medicaid reform not part of budget

Judges grill Arizona lawyer over anti-abortion law

Reading list

What happens to women who are denied abortions?

Soda ban would target heavy youth, not poor, says study