NEWS

Health care stocks rise after Dems drop public option - Reuters

Shares of U.S. health insurers rose on Wednesday after efforts to overhaul the health system moved away from creating a government-run insurance plan long viewed as damaging to the industry.

Senators await price tag on health bill - The Hill

Liberal and centrist senators at the center of the healthcare debate bought themselves more time Wednesday, saying they would decide how to vote after they saw the bill’s final price tag.

For Some Ages 55 to 64, Medicare Will Cost Too Much - Wall Street Journal

Millions more Americans could get access to Medicare under the latest health proposal by Senate Democrats. But the program may not be cheap enough to entice some of them to sign up.

Public Option Keeps Toehold in Senate Deal on Health Bill - New York Times

The “broad agreement” that Senator Harry Reid announced Tuesday night on the proposed overhaul of the health care system was less a comprehensive accord among Democrats than an effort by the party’s leaders to keep the process moving ahead, even as Republicans attempt to prolong a seemingly endless floor fight.

White House Pins Hopes on Senate's Deal - Wall Street Journal

President Barack Obama on Wednesday endorsed a Senate Democratic compromise that backed away from a big government-run health plan, calling the idea a "creative framework" that could propel a health bill to passage.

Anti-Reform Groups Have Astroturfed Mafia Wars & FarmVille - Media Matters

The anti-health care reform astroturf specialists have carpeted a new arena.  Not content to just manufacture "protests" on Capitol Hill and around the country, these health insurance industry funded groups have infiltrated the popular Facebook applications Mafia Wars and FarmVille.

A Senator at Odds With His Constituents — And, Some Say, His Faith - Jewish Daily Forward

On a recent Saturday afternoon, after completing his Sabbath morning prayers, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut braved a four-mile, snowy walk to the Capitol building from his Georgetown synagogue.

Little-known federal agency could shoulder big healthcare responsibility - The Hill

A little-known federal agency with a relatively small staff and budget is a surprising new player in the debate to reform the nation’s healthcare system.

OPINION

The Non-Public Option - New York Times

At this point, even the 10 Senate negotiators have not fully agreed to all elements of the deal. They have simply agreed to have the budget office evaluate it. Until that is in, it is impossible to know whether this nonpublic option is an acceptable alternative.

Hope I Die Before I Get Health Care Reform? - Matt Yglesias

A reader asked today “If no PO, what do young and healthy (obama’s biggest supporters) get besides better insurance regulation?”

The short answer is not much.