ObamaCare not high on voters' priorities, poll finds

ObamaCare not high on voters' priorities, poll finds-thehill: ObamaCare is not of central importance to voters ahead of the coming election, according to a new poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The poll finds that the 2010 healthcare law ranks eighth on voters’ list of issues important to them in the election. Twenty-three percent of registered voters said ObamaCare is extremely important to their vote, compared to 38 percent who said terrorism and 34 percent who said the economy.

Study: GOP win in ObamaCare suit would hike spending

Study: GOP win in ObamaCare suit would hike spending-thehill: A new study indicates that a favorable ruling for House Republicans in their ObamaCare lawsuit would cause a large disruption, but would not cripple the law.  The study from the Urban Institute finds that if Republicans win in the case of House v. Burwell, cutting off certain payments to insurers under the health law, insurers would face a major adjustment and have to hike premiums, but government subsidies would increase to help make up the difference and the system would likely not face major negative consequences.

Sanders places hold on Obama's FDA nominee

Sanders places hold on Obama's FDA nominee-thehill: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is formally blocking President Obama’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after announcing his opposition late last year.  "Dr. [Robert] Califf’s extensive ties to the pharmaceutical industry give me no reason to believe that he would make the FDA work for ordinary Americans, rather than just the CEOs of pharmaceutical companies,” Sanders, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Tuesday.

Congress May Speed Overhaul of Payments for Post-Hospital Care

Congress May Speed Overhaul of Payments for Post-Hospital Care-rollcall: Health providers who care for discharged hospital patients are bracing for changes to government payment policies that could come sooner than expected as Congress looks for billions of dollars in estimated savings.

GOP Corporate Tax Overhaul Would Place 25 Percent Levy on Companies’ Cash Flow

GOP Corporate Tax Overhaul Would Place 25 Percent Levy on Companies’ Cash Flow-rollcall: Senior House tax writer Devin Nunes is making an opening bid in the GOP’s hunt for a viable tax overhaul with a proposal to replace the 35 percent corporate rate with a 25 percent levy on cash flow, a measure of funds typically available after expenses, financing and investment.

Booming health care costs and growing deficits create budget headache for Republicans

Booming health care costs and growing deficits create budget headache for Republicans-washingtonpost: Congressional Republicans have promised to include deep spending cuts in their upcoming budget proposals and new data showing rising federal health care costs and a looming deficit increase will likely add to conservatives hunger for big funding reductions.

Federal healthcare spending tops Social Security for the first time

Federal healthcare spending tops Social Security for the first time-thehill: Spending on federal healthcare programs outpaced spending on Social Security for the first time in 2015, according to an expansive report from the congressional budget scorekeeper released Monday.  The government spent $936 billion last year on health programs including Medicare, Medicaid and subsidies related to the Affordable Care Act, a jump of 13 percent from 2014, according to the Congressional Budget Office.