First Edition: June 13, 2011

Today's health policy news highlights include reports about GOP presidential contenders' health policy positioning and posturing.

Kaiser Health News: Obama Plan To Cut Pediatric Training Draws Protests
Reporting for Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with The Washington Post, Lawrence Lindner writes: "The Obama administration's bid to slash funding for training pediatricians at children's hospitals is provoking intense protests from medical educators and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle" (Lindner, 6/13).

Kaiser Health News: Audio Slideshow: Nurses' Union Keeps Pressure On Health Overhaul
Kaiser Health News staff writers Jessica Marcy and Shefali Kulkarni report: "Nurses converged on Washington in their fight against Wall Street this week. Hundreds of nurses from across the country rallied to support broader access to health care and to call for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy" (Marcy and Kulkarni, 6/12).

Kaiser Health News: A Health Policy Reality Check (Guest Opinion)
In his latest Kaiser Health News column, John McDonough writes: "Let's face it, this is a strange time in U.S. health policy. Over the past two years, beliefs and policies that united liberals and conservatives have been blown apart. Repair work is needed, and one place to start is by exploring blown assumptions. From a liberal perspective I offer these" (6/12).

Kaiser Health News: On Political Expediency And Health Care Reform (Guest Opinion)
In his latest Kaiser Health News column, James Capretta writes: "Once upon a time, President Barack Obama and many others who championed his health care plan actually professed faith in the power of a functioning health care marketplace. That now seems like a distant memory. … But there's no doubt that while the health law was under consideration in Congress, the president and his team wanted to leave the impression with voters that the plan they were pushing would rely mainly on market signals, not heavy-handed government control" (6/12).

Kaiser Health News also tracked health policy headlines over the weekend, including reports about the continuing Medicare stalemate and how GOP presidential contenders are ramping up the rhetoric on health care.

Los Angeles Times: Republican Presidential Candidates Make Bold Right Turns
Mitt Romney imposed a healthcare mandate before he opposed it. Tim Pawlenty touted a climate change plan that he now disowns. Ditto Jon Huntsman. Republican presidential contenders aren't just debating one another these days. They're disputing their own decisions and disavowing past positions. Their pirouettes reflect a profound shift in the Republican Party, a rightward turn that will be evident on a New Hampshire stage Monday when seven candidates meet in the first major debate of the 2012 campaign (West, 6/13).

Politico: Pawlenty Assails 'Obamacare'
In a calculated attack, Tim Pawlenty on Sunday took his most aggressive swipe yet at GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney, using a television interview to coin a cutting phrase that lumped together the health care plans of the former Massachusetts governor and President Obama (Hirschhorn and Martin, 6/12).

The Hill: Healthcare Law Prompts Ellmer's Run
Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) is one of seven nurses in Congress, and among the more than 30 freshmen who had never held office before January. Hers is a classic 2010 story (Viebeck, 6/13).

Los Angeles Times: British Fear 'American-Style' Healthcare System
Two years ago, Britons were outraged when U.S. politicians like Sarah Palin, in the debate over healthcare reform, turned this country's National Health Service into a public whipping boy, denouncing it as "evil," "Orwellian" and generally the enemy of everything good and true (Chu, 6/13).

The Hill:  Panetta: Military Healthcare Costs Are On My Radar In Efforts To Save Money
President Obama's nominee to lead the Pentagon has made it clear military personnel programs, once considered sacrosanct, will be scrutinized as the administration looks for spending cuts. ... "I believe that the proposed healthcare efficiencies are sensible efforts to control DOD's health care costs while maintaining the same level of care," Panetta wrote. "I also believe the modest increases in beneficiaries' costs are reasonable" (Bennett, 6/12).

The Associated Press: Proposed Medicaid Cuts Put NJ In National Debate
As states across the country look for ways to trim billions off their spending on Medicaid, New Jersey is garnering particular attention for a proposal that opponents characterize as an unprecedented and draconian attempt to balance the state's precarious budget on the backs of society's most vulnerable populations (Lederman, 6/11).

Reuters: Anti-abortion Efforts In States Hit Obstacle Of Own Making
In a strange twist of fate, the Hyde Amendment -- whose purpose was to deny federal funding for abortions -- has become a stumbling block in efforts to stop abortions altogether ... This week lawmakers in Louisiana's state House effectively killed a bill that would have banned abortion outright. The author of that failed bill said lawmakers were put off by a state fiscal analysis that showed that $4.5 billion in federal funds could be at risk if the state criminalizes rape- and incest-related abortion, putting state law out of compliance with Hyde (Finn, 6/11).