Jan 31 2012
Top GOP lawmakers took to the airwaves Sunday and said they expect to reach a deal with Democrats before the current payroll tax break and temporary Medicare physician payment fix expire at the end of February.
Los Angeles Times: GOP Leaders Pledge Quick Action On Payroll Tax Break
House-Senate negotiators are expected to meet this week on extending the tax break, which amounts to about $20 a week for the average worker, as well as continuing unemployment benefits and preventing a pay cut for doctors who treat Medicare patients (Simon, 1/29).
Reuters: Republican Leaders Expect Payroll Tax Deal
Top Republican lawmakers on Sunday said they expect to forge a deal with Democrats to extend the payroll tax cut before it expires at the end of February but offered no specifics on how they would pay for it. "I'm confident that we'll be able to resolve this fairly quickly," top congressional Republican John Boehner said on ABC's "This Week" television show (1/29).
Meanwhile, a new GOP budget blueprint will be released in March -
Fox News: Ryan: New GOP Budget To Be Released In March Will Build Off Previous Year, Call For Same Medicare Reforms
Republicans are going to work off the budget the House GOP passed last year to come up with its proposals for the next fiscal year budget, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said Sunday, adding that the GOP is "not backing off of any of our ideas, any of our solutions." Ryan, R-Wis., speaking on "Fox News Sunday," said the budget isn't written yet, and won't be ready until March, when bean counters have the "base line," or current budget figures used as the template for budgeting (1/29).
 This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.
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When health insurance costs more than the mortgage