Week ahead: Health stakeholders assess the budget cuts

{mosads}Back on Capitol Hill, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight subcommittee will hold a forum on mental health issues in light of December’s school shooting in Newtown, Conn. Invited panelists include Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, and several individuals with family cases of mental illness.

At Ways and Means, the Oversight subpanel will take a look at the healthcare law’s tax provisions and hear testimony from former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin.

Wednesday, the Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee will examine rising U.S. entitlement costs, with a focus on Medicare and Medicaid. Later that day, the House Small Business panel will hold a hearing on requirements for small businesses under the healthcare law.

Thursday, the Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee will look at the healthcare law’s effect on insurance premiums for young adults and middle-class families. The Heritage Foundation will also unveil a comprehensive market-based healthcare proposal Thursday with a focus on lower costs and better quality.

Finally, on Friday, first lady Michelle Obama will continue touting her anti-obesity initiative at the Building a Healthier Future Summit in Washington. The event is sponsored by the Partnership for a Healthier America, a group uniting private-sector efforts to reduce U.S. waistlines.