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Bipartisan House leaders are working on a $213 billion plan to permanently change how doctors are paid for treating Medicare patients, a costly problem that's vexed Congress for years, a document circulating among lawmakers showed Tuesday. Many of the tentative plan's details had already been disclosed by lobbyists, legislators and congressional aides. Some particulars were new, such as setting a 2020 starting point for higher out-of-pocket expenses for people buying new Medigap policies, which cover costs not insured by Medicare. (Fram and Taylor, 3/17)

Senate Democrats insist they’ll hold a hard line on four years of CHIP funding in the House’s Medicare SGR deal, which is expected to fund the children’s health insurance program for only two years. (Haberkorn and Mershon, 3/17)

A widely supported anti-trafficking measure stalled again in the Senate over a contentious abortion provision, which Democrats refuse to accept. Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was unapologetic as he rallied his party to reject 55-43 cloture on the bill (S 178), which would use fines and penalties against perpetrators for restitution and assistance funds for victims. Sixty votes were needed to advance the bill. (Chacko, 3/17)

The Senate remains deadlocked over what appeared to have an easy bipartisan bill. The legislation creates a victims restitution fund for victims of human trafficking, typically children. But Democrats object to language they say only recently discovered that bans federal money for abortions. One consequence of the logjam is a delay for a vote on attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch. (Chang, 3/18)