Budget deal sets back key healthcare bills

Budget deal sets back key healthcare bills-thehill: Congress’s two-year budget deal is throwing up hurdles for a pair of healthcare bills, taking away almost $13 billion in offsets that had been proposed to pay for the legislation.  Both bills have already passed the House and are expected to reach the Senate sometime before 2016. One of those — the 21st Century Cures Act — passed with nearly 350 votes as lawmakers rallied behind the push for streamlined drug approvals and a boost in medical research funding.

Budget deal: Winners and losers

Budget deal: Winners and losers-thehill: Congress agreed early Friday morning to pass a two-year budget deal that raises funding levels and suspends the debt limit until 2017. The last-minute accord marked one of the last achievements of outgoing Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), and draws the curtain on the fiscal fights that were central to President Obama’s feud with congressional Republicans.

As Speaker, Paul Ryan May Need to Pare Lofty Goals

As Speaker, Paul Ryan May Need to Pare Lofty Goals-nytimes: Paul D. Ryan, a son and grandson of Midwestern lawyers, ascended rapidly in American politics as a man with big plans: to overhaul the tax code, slash federal spending and rewrite the social contracts for Medicare and Social Security.

Ryan Elected Speaker

Ryan Elected Speaker-rollcall: Rep. Paul D. Ryan has crossed the 218 vote threshold and is the 54th speaker of the House.  The Wisconsin Republican was elected Thursday on the House floor. He replaces John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, who delivered an emotional farewell address ahead of the vote on his final day in the House.

Senate plans vote on partial ObamaCare repeal next month

Senate plans vote on partial ObamaCare repeal next month-thehill: The Senate is planning a budget vote to repeal major ObamaCare mandates and defund Planned Parenthood as early as November, the No. 2 Republican said Wednesday.  Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters Wednesday that the chamber would hold a “vote-a-rama” on the massive budget bill, known as reconciliation, in the upcoming weeks.`

Bush follows Paul Ryan on Medicare overhaul

Bush follows Paul Ryan on Medicare overhaul-politico: Jeb Bush unveiled his proposal to overhaul Social Security and Medicare this morning, embracing a politically risky conservative platform as he tries to revive his flagging campaign.

Ben Carson’s Health Care Plan: New and More Confusing

Ben Carson’s Health Care Plan: New and More Confusing-nytimes: For the last few years, Ben Carson has been talking about a very disruptive but simple plan to reform the health care system in the United States: replace Obamacare, Medicare and Medicaid with an easy-to-understand universal, cradle-to-grave annual cash allowance for health spending.