Bloomberg News (1/8, Rowley, Donmoyer) reports that, according to Democratic aides, "House lawmakers may agree to pay for the nation's healthcare overhaul by adopting versions of Senate proposals to raise Medicare payroll taxes and tax health benefits for the first time." They added that "House leaders may also discard a plan to impose a surtax on the wealthiest Americans, which has come under fire from some Senate Democrats."

        CQ Today (1/8, Armstrong, Schatz, subscription required) says that "the final version is likely to include a modified version of the Senate's tax on high-cost insurance plans that union groups would like to kill. But it also may reflect the House's preference for boosting taxes on the wealthy to finance a big expansion of health coverage to uninsured Americans." CQ notes a "continuing push from the White House" for the tax on "Cadillac" insurance plans.

        Labor leaders to meet with Obama Monday. The AP (1/8, Hananel) reports that "union officials say President Barack Obama plans to meet with them" on Monday "to discuss their concerns about a proposed tax on high-cost insurance plans." The meeting is expected to include officials from labor organizations including the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO.

Obama to meet with House Democrats on health reform next week.

AFP (1/8) reports that Rep. John Larson (D-CT) told reporters that President Obama "will personally push his Democratic allies in the US Congress next week to approve a sweeping remake of US healthcare at their annual retreat." The retreat "was expected to tackle intra-party disputes that have held up efforts to forge a final compromise between House and Senate versions of the legislation that would pave the way to final passage of" the bill. Rep. Larson said, "What we want is affordable, accessible, accountable program for the American people and that's what's we're going to get at the end of the day. And I'm just confident that between the president, and the respective leadership and the concerned members that we're going to achieve that goal."

        According to The Hill's (1/7, Zimmerman, subscription required) "Blog Briefing Room," the Democrats' meeting "will focus on jobs and innovation, but Obama will also likely seek to soothe House Democrats' concerns about outstanding differences with the Senate on healthcare reform."

        House Democrats discuss health reform in conference call. The Washington Post (1/8, Pershing) reports, "Worried House Democrats held a caucus-wide conference call Thursday to strategize about healthcare reform before lawmakers return to Washington next week." With "more than 100" House Democrats participating, the discussion centered on the "differences between the House's health bill and the one passed by the Senate." According to the Post, "liberals are particularly worried" about Obama's support of a "Cadillac tax."

        The conference call "was a chance for members to ask questions about the state of negotiations with the Senate and the White House, and also to voice concerns about specific parts of the bill," CQ Today (1/8, Armstrong, subscription required) explains. "During the call, almost every major area of disagreement with the Senate came up for discussion." But some members were particularly concerned about "how the tax on high-cost insurance plans would affect individuals in their districts."

Sen. Nelson says all states should get Nebraska Medicaid deal.

The AP (1/8, Ross) reports that "Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) said Thursday he has asked Democratic leadership to extend to all states the extra Medicaid funding promised to Nebraska in the healthcare reform bill." Sen. Nelson told reporters "that if he can't secure a similar deal for every state, he wants states to be freed from paying the cost of Medicaid expansion." That could entail "eliminating the provision, finding another way to pay for it or allowing states to opt out."

        "I've been in serious discussions with Senate leaders and others to secure changes in the bill to treat all states equally," Nelson said, according to Bloomberg News (1/8, Litvan). He added, "At the end of the day, whatever Nebraska gets will apply to all states."

        CQ Today (1/8, Wayne, subscription required notes, "Many of Nelson's colleagues have criticized the provision" he negotiated for Nebraska, "saying it is unfair to their states, and a group of Republican attorneys general from other states have said they would challenge the constitutionality of the provision if it is enacted. Polls show that Nelson's political standing in his state has suffered since the controversy erupted."

Nevada governor promises to sue federal government should health reform pass.

The Las Vegas Sun (1/8,Schwartz) reports that Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) "continued to attack Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and the healthcare reform being debated in Congress, promising to sue the federal government if the healthcare legislation becomes law." According to a press release from Gibbons' office, "The United States Constitution makes numerous references to states having 'equal standing,' also duties, imposts and excises are to be 'uniform throughout the United States.'" The Sun notes that "it's unclear whether Gibbons has the authority by himself to file a lawsuit," but Robin Reedy, Gibbons' chief of staff, said, "It is my understanding that anyone can sue anyone for anything."

Groups say wellness loophole could discriminate against workers with chronic conditions.

The AP (1/8, Werner) reports that advocacy groups including the American Heart Association (AHA) and Health Care for America Now "lobbied President Barack Obama and Congress on Thursday, trying to eliminate what they called a 'loophole' in Senate healthcare legislation they said could allow insurers to raise rates on customers based on their weight or blood sugar levels." The "loophole" cited is "a provision that allows employers to establish 'workplace wellness' programs giving financial incentives to workers who meet certain health or fitness criteria." The groups said that the measure "would contradict one of the main goals of the congressional healthcare overhaul, which is to eliminate insurance company practices such as charging more, or denying coverage, based on health status."

        CQ HealthBeat (1/8, Norman, subscription required) explains that the "provision would apply to the 150 million US employees enrolled in employers' group health insurance plans and would launch pilot programs in the individual market in 10 states." Sue Nelson, vice president of the AHA, "said that essentially, the provision allows insurers to raise premiums across the board and then lower them selectively for workers who meet certain targets in wellness programs."

WTimes says battle of federal funding for abortion could still derail health reform.

The Washington Times (1/8) editorializes, "If the complete government takeover of America's healthcare system is to be stopped, the battle will be over federal funding for abortion. That important fight could still prove the stumbling block for the Democrats' socialist healthcare bill." The Times argues that "with the 11 Democratic members" and Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao (R-LA) "promising to vote against the bill if it includes abortion funding (which is included in the Senate bill), Democrats will have to persuade 10 of the 38 Democratic congressmen who voted against the original bill to change their vote to make up the 12 lost votes." The Times also prints the names and telephone numbers of the 38 representatives that "will make the difference."

Some health reform changes seen as not accounted for in CBO scores.

The Financial Times (1/8, Fifield, subscription required) reports on hospital systems that bundle care and have incentives to cut down complications and readmission rates. These systems are seeing gains from the same incentives that are included in the federal healthcare reform legislation. Notably, some experts say they cannot be adequately accounted for in Congressional Budget Office scoring.

Nebraska lawmaker calls for transparency on Medicaid benefits.

The AP (1/8) reports, "A Nebraska lawmaker says taxpayers are picking up the health-insurance tabs for too many businesses and wants to make the names of the businesses public." Sen. Jeremy Nordquist introduced a bill on Thursday "that would require the state to publicly list all businesses that employ at least 10 people who receive Medicaid benefits." Nordquist bemoaned the fact that the government-funded insurance plan was often being used "as a long-term alternative to private insurance that can be offered by businesses."

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