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A little-noticed provision of a bill passed by the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support would provide doctors new protections against medical malpractice lawsuits. The bill, which requires the government to measure the quality of care that doctors provide and rate their performance on a scale of zero to 100, protects doctors by stipulating that the quality-of-care standards used in federal health programs — Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act — cannot be used in malpractice cases. (Pear, 3/30)

Congress was one vote away from ending its perennial Medicare “doc fix” dilemma for good, after nearly two decades of last-minute deals to prevent a healthcare meltdown. But instead of capping a rare week of productivity on Capitol Hill with the approval of a bipartisan fix ahead of a crucial Tuesday deadline, the Senate punted on the legislation in the wee hours of Friday morning. (Ferris, 3/31)

Among domestic issues, Rubio amendments would prevent cuts to the Medicare Advantage program; allow for the elimination of the retirement earnings test in the Social Security program; and allow for the elimination of Social Security payroll taxes for individuals who have attained retirement age. (Adams, 3/30)