Seeking Obamacare Alternative, US Republicans Eye Tax Credits
If the U.S. Supreme Court blows up the tax subsidies at the heart of Obamacare in June, Republicans hope to deliver on their promise to offer an alternative healthcare plan. But key parts of it may resemble the one President Barack Obama delivered five years ago in the Affordable Care Act, partly reflecting Republican concerns that they could pay a political price if insurance subsidies are yanked from millions of Americans later this year. (Susan Cornwell/Reuters)
CMS Takes Tougher Medicaid Stance to Texas
Texas officials and the Obama administration are nearing a showdown over Medicaid expansion that threatens billions of dollars of federal funding that helps healthcare providers care for low-income Texans and improve the quality of care. (Virgil Dickson/Modern Healthcare)
Talks Begin on Capitol Hill Budget Measure
Lawmakers quarreled Monday over Medicare, taxes and almost $40 billion in unrequested money for overseas war-fighting as House and Senate negotiators kicked off work on a Republican budget blueprint for next year and beyond. (Andrew Taylor/The Associated Press via Washington Post)
Obama, Lawmakers Mingle to Mark Rare Bipartisan Breakthrough
House Speaker John Boehner pecked Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on the cheek. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy conferred amiably with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. Republicans and White House officials slapped each other on the back. By Washington standards this was politics through the looking glass—an alternate world of negotiation, conciliation, achievement and, yes, even camaraderie. (The Associated Press via The New York Times)
Republicans Reach 'Tentative' Budget Agreement
House and Senate negotiators are putting the finishing touches on a budget agreement, nearing the finish line of a weeks-long effort to align both chambers’ fiscal frameworks—a key priority for the GOP-controlled Congress. (Rachel Bade/Politico)
