The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has primary jurisdiction over Medicaid and other health care programs, has been instructed to reduce deficits by no less than $880 billion. Although it was originally thought that the E&C Committee could begin marking up its portion of the bill as soon as next week, four Republican leaders “with direct knowledge” now caution E&C might delay until the week of May 12th. Government Advocacy leaders from various AHPA health systems will be visiting Capitol Hill next week to advocate against any Medicaid payment reductions and policies that restrict access to care.