In Case You Missed It — Healthcare Daily Digest for Tuesday, 22 January

What I want to talk about is, of course, the Feelings I have about Michelle Obama’s new bangs (spoiler: SO! GOOD!), but this isn’t Hair Updates with Mike Bevel (though it can be if you email me so instead we’ll focus on Obama’s defense of healthcare programs in his inauguration speech.

Obama reiterated a message he has made in other recent speeches: government programs for the elderly do not make the United States a “nation of takers.”

Republicans reiterated their message: Boy, we sure don’t like that guy.

Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman said Obama missed the opportunity to talk about where lawmakers could find common ground on deficit reduction. (This is sometimes known as: “If you could only see this our way.”) Specifically, “Republicans want to overhaul the benefits programs and favor changes opposed by Democrats, such as raising the eligibility age on Medicare and making wealthier retirees pay more for their healthcare.”

Politico.com is casting the move on Obama’s part as: “Medicare, Social Security changes only on my terms.”

Other headlines you may have missed over the Long Weekend:

• Shady Deeds Done in the Shade: Not healthcare related at all, but did you guys see this? Ugh.

• Uber Confused Frugal Girl Needs Help: Anyone out there got any advice for One Frugal Girl? She’s a blogger looking down the barrel at a $1,400-a-month COBRA payment. There’s got to be a cheaper option, right?

• Looking for a 563-page Read?: The new HIPAA rules are out. Curl up with a mug of something warm in your favorite ergonomic office chair and read through all 563 pages. Read quickly, though: “Starting March 26, covered entities and their business associates will have 180 days to comply with the 563-page rule.”

• A Tale of TWo Options: Jeffrey Levi over at the Huffington Post asks, “Will We Have a Health Care System or a Sick Care System?

• A Conservative Look at the Medicare Tax: It could be that my colleague, Evan Albright, is trying to provide a much-needed corrective to my left-leaning write-ups. On Forbes, Merrill Matthews argues that “[w]hat Democrats did was to effectively force Americans to pay the new Medicare tax twice: The wealthy pay it now and everyone will pay some portion of it later.”