HCR Update from Mark Sanna: After several major delays Sunday, senators and the White House keep talking about a deal on tax rates that would also include a fix to stop cuts in Medicare payments to doctors. But they face tight deadline.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: It remains uncertain whether a bipartisan agreement can be reached to avoid the fiscal cliff. If there is a Reid-McConnell deal, officials said, it would probably include these elements: an extension of current income-tax rates for most Americans; a measure to block a scheduled expansion of the alternative minimum tax; an extension of unemployment benefits and possibly a measure to prevent a scheduled cut in Medicare payments to doctors.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Although negotiations broke down last week, Obama still hopes to broker a larger debt-reduction deal that includes tax increases on high earners and Republican-favored cuts to entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. If a compromise continues to prove elusive, lawmakers could pass a temporary extension that delays the cliff's most onerous provisions and gives Congress more time to work out a longer-term solution.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: With hospitals buying up medical practices around the country and seeking to make the most of their investment, the AMA reached out to doctors this week to remind them that patient welfare must always come first and not be overridden by the economic interests of hospitals that now employ doctors in ever-growing numbers.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Obama administration notified more than 1 million physicians Wednesday that their Medicare payment rate would be cut by 27% next month if Congress doesn't act to stop it. But proposals for a one-year patch and even a repeal of the flawed payment formula are now caught up in the "fiscal cliff" talks.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The debate over gun rights in the wake of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., has yielded one point of agreement among Republican and Democratic political leaders in Washington: laws on access to firearms among the mentally ill must be reviewed.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Affordable Care Act contains many provisions that should help relieve the shortage of primary care providers. It provides money to increase the number of medical residents, nurse practitioners and physician assistants trained in primary care, yielding more than 1,700 new primary care providers by 2015. It offers big bonuses for up to 5 hospitals to train advanced practice nurses and has demonstration projects to promote primary care coordination of complex illnesses, incorporating pharmacists and social workers in some cases.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin told reporters this week that the White House is no longer considering raising the Medicare eligibility age as part of fiscal cliff talks. Democrats and liberal groups have put heavy pressure on the White House in recent days not to support an increase in the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Hopes dimming for a wide-ranging bargain to avoid the fiscal cliff, the White House and many congressional Republicans are setting their sights on a more modest deal that would extend current tax rates for most Americans, raise rates for top earners and leave other, vexing issues for the new year.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Doctors will be lobbying in full force on Capitol Hill today in hopes of convincing lawmakers to block the nearly 27% Medicare cut set to take effect in a couple of weeks. They will not only ask lawmakers to stop the cut scheduled for Jan. 1 but also will ask them to repeal the current payment structure known as the sustainable growth rate formula.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The total cost of family health insurance, for both employers and employees, hit $15,000 last year, up 62 percent since 2003 -- and worker wages rose only 11 percent in that time, a new Commonwealth Fund report says.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Health information provider WebMD Health Corp. is expected to cut nearly a third of its workforce, Atlanta Business Chronicle has learned. The company is seeing a decline in Big Pharma advertising as several brand-name drugs lost patent protection in 2012. The FDA has also tightened regulations on how big pharma can advertise.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: A 56-year-old ex-convict says he purposely got arrested for shoplifting to get prison health care for his leukemia. Frank Morrocco of Amherst tells The Buffalo News that he stole shoelaces and other items from Wegman's as "an act of desperation" because he can't afford health care. He was released from federal prison a year ago after serving 20 years on drug charges.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Americans will soon be hit with new taxes adopted as part of the 2010 health care law. The new levies, which take effect in January, include an increase in the payroll tax on wages and a tax on investment income, including interest, dividends and capital gains. The Obama administration proposed rules to enforce both last week.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would decide whether a pharmaceutical company should be allowed to pay a competitor millions of dollars to keep a generic copy of a best-selling drug off the market.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The IRS on Wednesday released final rules for a new tax on medical devices, products ranging from surgical sutures to knee replacement implants, that starts next year as part of President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law. The 2.3% tax must be paid, effective after Dec. 31, by device-makers on their gross sales. The tax is expected to raise $29 billion in government revenues through 2022.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: While aspirin may prevent heart attacks and strokes, a commonly used coating to protect the stomach may obscure the benefits, leading doctors to prescribe more expensive prescription drugs, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Circulation.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: In a case that could have broad ramifications for the pharmaceutical industry, a federal appeals court on Monday threw out the conviction of a sales representative who sold a drug for uses not approved by theFood and Drug Administration. The judges said that the ban on so-called off-label marketing violated the representative’s freedom of speech.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: Unless Congress acts soon, the New Year will bring plenty of misery for doctors. On Dec. 31, a temporary measure known as the "doc fix" will expire, resulting in a 30% decrease in fees to all doctors who treat patients through Medicare and retired members of the military who are covered under the government's TRICARE program.

HCR Update from Mark Sanna: The Obama administration said Friday that it would charge insurance companies for the privilege of selling health insurance to millions of Americans in new online markets run by the federal government. The cost of these “user fees” can be passed on to consumers. The proposed fees could add 3.5% to premiums for private health plans sold in insurance exchanges operated by the federal government.