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Senate Democrats on Tuesday reached an early agreement to pursue a sweeping $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that would expand Medicare benefits, boost federal safety net programs and combat climate change, aiming to sidestep Republican opposition and deliver on President Biden’s top economic priorities. The wide array of planned health, education and social programs would represent a historic burst of federal spending if lawmakers ultimately adopt it, as Democrats aim to seize on their slim but powerful majorities in Washington to expand the footprint of government and catalyze major changes in the economy. (Romm, Kim and Stein, 7/13)

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Budget Committee Democrats, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have reached a deal on a $3.5 trillion price tag for a Democratic-only infrastructure package. Schumer, emerging from an hours-long meeting with Budget Committee Democrats, said they had reached a deal on the budget resolution — which greenlights reconciliation, the process Democrats will use to bypass a GOP filibuster on the infrastructure bill — including a $3.5 trillion top-line figure. President Biden is going to meet with Senate Democrats on Wednesday as Democrats work to lock down support for the deal. (Carney, 7/13)

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the $3.5 trillion would be in addition to the $579 billion in new spending in the bipartisan infrastructure agreement. He said the deal would include a "robust expansion of Medicare" that would include new benefits like dental, vision and hearing coverage, along with major funding for clean energy. "If we pass this, this is the most profound change to help American families in generations," he said. (Kapur and Thorp V, 7/13)

All told, the ambitious proposal reflects Biden’s vision for making the most substantive potential investments in the nation in years, some say on par with the New Deal of the 1930s. Together with a slimmer, $1 trillion bipartisan effort of traditional road, highway and public works also being negotiated, they represent close to the president’s initial $4 trillion-plus effort that could reach almost every corner of the country. The Democrats’ goal is to push a budget resolution reflecting Tuesday’s agreement through the House and the Senate before lawmakers leave for their August recess. The resolution sets only broad spending and revenue parameters, leaving the actual funding and specific decisions about which programs are affected — and by how much — for later legislation. (Fram and Mascaro, 7/13)

KHN: As Congress Wrestles With Plans To Expand Medicare, Becerra Says Any One Will Do 
The Biden administration will support whatever expansions to Medicare Congress is willing to make, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Tuesday. Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working on plans both to add benefits to the health program for seniors and to lower its eligibility age from 65 to 60. But the efforts are mired in competing priorities among different wings of the party as they try to push through a spending plan this year that Republicans have vowed to oppose. President Joe Biden called for the change in Medicare age eligibility while campaigning in 2020. (Rovner, 7/13)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Becerra Urges Congress To Expand Medicare, Address Rx Prices 
The Biden administration stands ready to work with Congress to address drug prices and expand Medicare, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a wide-ranging interview with “What the Health?” on Tuesday. The former California attorney general also said his top priority while in office is to attack health disparities. “There are a whole bunch of Black and brown communities that have never had the kind of access to care that others have,” he said. “And when they come to the doctor, they come with the kind of conditions that show they didn’t have health care before.” (7/13)

In other news about Medicare and Medicaid —

Florida plans on tapping into $945 million in additional federal health care dollars made available by President Joe Biden’s administration to enhance access to home- and community-based health care services for poor, disabled and elderly people, a top Republican in charge of health care spending in the state told The News Service of Florida Monday. State Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, said Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is poised to send a proposal to the federal government that would allow the state to draw down a 10 percentage-point increase in federal Medicaid funds. (7/13)

CMS wants to make it easier for Medicare beneficiaries to use telehealth services, improve its diabetes prevention program and overhaul its Quality Payment Program, according to the proposed 2022 Medicare physician fee schedule released on Tuesday. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CMS temporarily allowed Medicare providers to deliver a wide range of healthcare services via telehealth until the public health emergency ends. Now, many patients, providers and lawmakers want to make those changes permanent. But some experts worry that CMS doesn't have enough information about how those expanded telehealth services affect the Medicare program and its beneficiaries in terms of healthcare use and quality. (Brady, 7/13)

The state is devoting $8 million this year and $15.6 million next year to an initiative it is calling the Covered Connecticut program, which is expected to provide free health coverage for up to 40,000 people. During the 2021 legislative session, lawmakers were aiming to improve health care access by expanding the state’s Medicaid program, known as HUSKY, by adjusting the qualifying threshold so more people could enroll in coverage. Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration floated an alternative: Use state funds to boost subsidies on the exchange that could make health plans free for people who meet certain guidelines. Lamont’s plan was ultimately successful, and the state expects a 50% federal reimbursement in the second year. (Carlesso, 7/13)