The relentlessly rising cost of health insurance is prompting some small Massachusetts companies to drop coverage for their workers and encourage them to sign up for state-subsidized care instead.

See article on Boston.com.

On Tuesday, Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana signed into law two pro-life bills including one that opts the state out of abortion funding under the federal health care law and another that allows women a chance to see an ultrasound of their unborn child before the abortion.

via Louisiana Governor Signs Bill Allowing Women to See Ultrasound Before Abortion.

Recess is usually a time for game-playing–and in Washington, it’s no different. With Congress out of his hair for the week, President Obama couldn’t resist hiring another radical socialist for one of the most important jobs in America. Knowing that many in his party wouldn’t support him, the President used a recess appointment to force Dr. Don Berwick into the top spot at Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). By sidestepping the confirmation process, the White House also avoided a messy public debate over Berwick’s fanatical support for “death panels” and rationing.

via Family Research Council.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7408379/Patients-medical-records-go-online-without-consent.html

Obama fails to see America as a land of opportunity, rejects wealth creation, and intends to “grow the middle,” not by lifting the poor, but by shrinking the top. This explains his obsession with health care-the “keystone” is in reach.

via American Thinker Blog: Why Obama won’t stop pushing health care reform.

Democratic congressional leaders confronted the reality Tuesday that they may not be able to pass the comprehensive health care overhaul sought by President Barack Obama. Republican leaders prepared to do everything in their power to make sure they cant.

Democrats saw the sweeping health bill that Obama unveiled ahead of a bipartisan health care summit Thursday as their last, best chance at a top-to-bottom remake of the nations health care system that would usher in near-universal health coverage. But some were clear-eyed about the difficulties after a year of corrosive debate and the loss of their filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate.

via My Way News – Hoyer: Comprehensive health bill may be no go.

President Barack Obama is expected to publish his healthcare plan as early as Sunday or Monday, combining features of the two Democratic bills passed by the Senate and House of Representatives, congressional aides and healthcare advocates said on Friday.

The administration’s bill will aim to jump-start the stalled healthcare overhaul and comes just days ahead of a planned televised White House summit with congressional Republicans, who are calling on Democrats to scrap the bills and start over with a far less sweeping proposal.

Democrats are struggling to push healthcare legislation over the finish line in the face of sagging public support and solid Republican opposition bolstered by recent election victories in Massachusetts, Virginia and New Jersey.

The legislation the White House will post on its website is expected to reflect common ground negotiated over the past several weeks by House and Senate Democratic leaders.

Those agreements are likely to be combined as a privileged budget reconciliation bill, which only needs a simple 51-vote majority to pass the 100-member Senate instead of the 60-vote supermajority that has become routine in the Senate and gives Republicans power to block the healthcare bill.”I believe that’s the path we are going to take,” a senior congressional Democratic aide said.

via Obama to spell out new healthcare plan – Yahoo! News.

The White House has agreed to concessions in its health care legislation aimed at sparing union workers the bulk of a new tax.

We have seen tremendous progress over the last couple of days,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, signaling an easier path for the legislation in the union-friendly House.

read the rest here… Obama, Dems cut deal to exempt union health care from taxes | Washington Examiner.

…So Obama’s plan amounts to this: partial coverage of the uninsured; modest improvements (possibly) in their health; sizable budgetary costs worsening a bleak outlook; significant, unpredictable changes in insurance markets; weak spending control. This is a bad bargain. Health benefits are overstated, long-term economic costs understated. The country would be the worse for this legislation’s passage. What it’s become is an exercise in political symbolism: Obama’s self-indulgent crusade to seize the liberal holy grail of “universal coverage.” What it’s not is leadership.

read the rest here… Passing Health Reform Could Be a Nightmare for Obama

Expectations that Congress will pass health care reform in the coming year soared following the Senate’s Christmas Eve vote. Sixty-seven percent 67% now expect it to pass. Still, most voters continue to oppose the health care plan and 63% believe it will raise the cost of care. Most voters 54% also believe they personally will be worse off if the health care plan passes. Just 25% think they will be better off. A commentary by Michael Barone notes that it been more than 150 years since such significant but unpopular legislation was passed through Congress on a partisan basis.

Thirty-eight percent 38% now believe the economic stimulus plan passed earlier this year has hurt the economy. Just 30% believe it helped. That’s the first time since the legislation passed that a plurality offered a negative assessment.

read the rest here… Daily Presidential Tracking Poll – Rasmussen Reports™.