Health care news and opinion

Politco – Democratic leaders trying to preserve a high-stakes Saturday vote on a House health reform bill battled a swift current of rank-and-file defections Friday as the White House swung into action to help corral the final votes.

Associated Press – House Democrats acknowledged they don’t yet have the votes to pass a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system, and signaled they may push back the vote until Sunday or early next week.

Kaiser Health News – SANTA ANA, Calif. – Robin Willer slumps on the metal bench, her sweater drawn up over her swollen cheeks. “The cold hurts it,” she says, pointing gingerly to three broken teeth.

Washington Post – House Democratic leaders were struggling Thursday to contain uprisings on the hot-button issues of abortion and immigration that have left them little margin for error as they attempt to push through a massive health-care reform bill this weekend.

Politics Daily – How “special” were the two special elections that the Democrats won on Tuesday night? So special that the winners, John Garamendi in California and Bill Owens in New York, will be sworn into their new jobs in the House of Representatives in time to cast their votes for the Democrats’ health care reform bill this weekend.

Wall Street Journal – As more parents lose their jobs – and their insurance – in the recession, more college students are having to scramble for health care.

Los Angeles Times – As House Democrats prepare to vote Saturday on a sweeping bill to overhaul the nation’s healthcare system, they have picked up an important endorsement today from the 40-million-member AARP, the nation’s largest senior citizens group.

Los Angeles Times – Their modest, incremental approach focuses on controlling costs through market-oriented measures. But its larger purpose is to show that they’re not just the ‘party of no.’

Associated Press – In a coup for House Democrats, AARP will endorse sweeping health care overhaul legislation headed for a history-making floor vote, officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Kaiser Family Foundation – On Wednesday a Kaiser Family Foundation live webcast examined how ready the health care system is for the influx of newly covered individuals that health reform aims to deliver. In the health care proposals being considered by Congress, changes to Medicaid alone could mean as many as 15 million people would become newly eligible for the program and many live in medically underserved areas. The program looks at how health reform could improve or exacerbate the existing issues that people living in underserved areas, including many people of color, face in getting access to needed health care. View the Webcast here.