Social Security and Medicare: GOP has eyes on cuts

In this Dec. 20, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump congratulates Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., while House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., looks on during a ceremony at the White House after the final passage of tax overhaul legislation. In this Dec. 20, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump congratulates Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., while House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., looks on during a ceremony at the White House after the final passage of tax overhaul legislation.

Trump administration rule would let more people drop Obamacare

Cathey Park of Cambridge, Massachusetts wears a cast for her broken wrist with "I Love Obamacare" written upon it prior to U.S. President Barack Obama's arrival to speak about health insurance at Faneuil Hall in Boston October 30, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque The Trump administration proposed a rule on Thursday to allow Americans who are self-employed or work for small businesses to buy health insurance that does not comply with all Obamacare requirements in an effort to unwind the 2010 healthcare law.

Trump administration eases penalties against negligent nursing homes

Reversing guidelines put in place under former President Barack Obama, the Trump administration is scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury. The shift in the Medicare program's penalty protocols was requested by the nursing home industry.

Doug Jones joins the Senate: How will he vote?

When Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones went before his cheering supporters the night of his improbable election in deeply Republican Alabama last month, he smiled widely and then hesitated. "I have been waiting my whole life and now I don't know what the hell to say," he said with a laugh.

Donald Trump, Paul Ryan to push for major welfare system reforms in 2018

President Trump has sided with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan to push for sweeping welfare reforms this year but they will have to persuade a skeptical Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell when the three huddle at Camp David over the weekend to set the GOP's legislative agenda for 2018. Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, is expressing grave reservations about tackling the hot-button issue without bipartisan support that the effort almost certainly will lack.

As U.S. budget fight looms, Republicans flip their fiscal script

The head of a conservative Republican faction in the U.S. Congress, who voted this month for a huge expansion of the national debt to pay for tax cuts, called himself a "fiscal conservative" on Sunday and urged budget restraint in 2018. In keeping with a sharp pivot under way among Republicans, U.S. Representative Mark Meadows, speaking on CBS' "Face the Nation," drew a hard line on federal spending, which lawmakers are bracing to do battle over in January.

Trump administration relaxes financial penalties against nursing homes

The Trump administration - reversing guidelines put in place under President Barack Obama - is scaling back the use of fines against nursing homes that harm residents or place them in grave risk of injury. The shift in the Medicare program's penalty protocols was requested by the nursing home industry.

Improving state’s image is a worthwhile goal

Alabamians are hopeful the ringing in of a new year brings a measure of sanity to politics in the Heart of Dixie. The waning hours of 2017 offered a touch of closure to another year of embarrassing shenanigans that kept the state under the glare of the national limelight.

Long list of priorities for President Trump and Congress in 2018 new

There are frigid temperatures outside, but inside the walls of the U.S. Capitol, the heat is on, with an ambitious legislative agenda in the House and Senate. The first order of business will be to pass a spending bill by Jan. 19 to prevent a government shutdown after the issue was delayed in 2017 to much criticism.

Year in Review: Top Five Legal Developments of 2017

The guidance provides an overview of scientific considerations for demonstrating the interchangeability of a biosimilar product to its reference product. As we previously reported , over 50 public comments were filed in response to the draft guidance, including multiple biopharma industry organizations , several groups representing physicians , and numerous biopharma companies .

Early Resolution of FCA Civil Damages Under the Eighth Amendment’s…

The False Claims Act authorizes civil penalties between $10,781 to $21,563 per false claim, as well as three times the amount of damages which the government sustains . The Eighth Amendment provides that "[e]xcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed , nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

Judge dismisses public-pay abortion challenge, appeal next

AP photo Illinois Assistant Attorney General John Wolfsmith argues in Sangamon County Circuit Court in Springfield, Ill., Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017, against a lawsuit challenging a law allowing publicly financed abortions set to take effect Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. Wolfsmith said the plaintiffs in the case, 11 Christian and conservative groups and a dozen state legislators, were trying to stall for time by delaying implementation of the law to June 1. A judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying the plaintiffs' arguments are "political questions" best left to the General Assembly.