Liberal Democrats pledge to protect Medicaid

CQ HealthBeat: Democrats Warn Against Medicaid Cuts
Some Democratic senators and congressmen said Tuesday that they would not support a budget-reducing deal that cut Medicaid, even as one leading House Democrat acknowledged that the party will probably have to accept Medicare cuts. "Whatever they're talking about with Medicare, maybe there are some things we can live with," Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif, said at a Capitol Hill event organized by consumer advocacy and union groups such as the Service Employees International Union and Families USA. "But we cannot live with any cuts in Medicaid" (Adams, 12/11).

The Hill: Liberals: Leave Medicaid Out Of Talks
Republicans have insisted on entitlement cuts in exchange for higher revenues in a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff," a combination of tax increases and automatic spending cuts set to take effect at the end of the year. Congressional Democrats oppose almost all cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, but they're taking an especially hard line against Medicaid cuts, including proposals President Obama has supported in the past. "If you want to boil it down to one message: Keep your hands off the Medicaid program," Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) said. "We don't believe in cutting Medicare, either, but whatever they talk about in Medicare, maybe there's some things we can live with. But we cannot live with any cut to Medicaid" (Baker, 12/11).

Meanwhile -

Los Angeles Times: 'Obamacare,' Fiscal Cliff Leads To Small Business Optimism Plunge
It's the fiscal cliff's fault, according to a new report from the National Federation of Independent Business. The threat of major spending cuts and tax hikes in the new year has caused a forward-looking gauge of Main Street sentiment to plummet. The election and the looming implementation of President Obama's health coverage overhaul is also weighing on small business owners, according to the report (Hsu, 12/11).