HC Reform Update from Mark Sanna: Senate leaders have reached a tentative, one-year deal on the Medicare “doc-fix,” sources close to the negotiations say. The deal pays for the must-pass patch to prevent a deep cut in Medicare doctors’ payments with changes in the tax subsidy program that some consumers will use after 2014 to buy health insurance on the new exchanges. The rest of the Senate was to review the deal Monday night with hopes of passing it with a unanimous consent agreement later this week, possibly on Wednesday. But it could get pushback from liberal Democrats in the House or Senate. Democrats are under pressure to pass a full-year patch of the doc-fix during the lame duck session, because Republicans are already eyeing it as a vehicle to tie to repeal efforts in the next congress.