Cover the Uninsured Weekly News Digest - Week of October 5, 2009

Report: Health Bills Show Some Price Gaps
Older Americans who buy health insurance on their own could pay nearly 50% more in premiums under the Senate Finance Committee bill compared with other versions pending in Congress, an independent study says.
(USA Today, 10/9/09, John Fritze)

Health Care Bill Gets Green Light in Cost Analysis
The Senate Finance Committee legislation to revamp the health care system would provide coverage to 29 million uninsured Americans but would still pare future federal deficits by slowing the growth of spending on medical care, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.
(New York Times, Robert Pear and David M. Herszenhorn, 10/08/2009)

AP Poll: Health Care Overhaul Has a Pulse
The fever has broken.
(Associated Press, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Trevor Tompson, 10/07/2009)

Obama Finds Support Outside Party and Washington For Healthcare Plan
At the president's request, Republicans, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and independents from beyond the Beltway offer qualified support for healthcare overhaul.
(Los Angeles Times, Peter Nicholas, 10/07/2009)

State-Run Health Plans Garner Support
Some influential centrist Democrats in the Senate are warming to a compromise that envisions health-insurance plans run by state governments, and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger added his voice Tuesday to a small group of Republicans expressing support for a Democratic-led overhaul plan.
(Wall Street Journal, Greg Hitt and Janet Adamy, 10/07/2009)

Insurers Say Coverage Penalty Has To Have Bite
The health insurance industry doesn't want Congress to let you off easy if you decide to ignore a proposed requirement that all Americans must have coverage.
(Associated Press, Erica Werner, 10/05/2009)

In Debate on Health, It's Coverage vs. Cost
As Democrats prepare to take up health care legislation on the floor of the Senate and the House, they are facing tough choices about two competing priorities.
(New York Times, Robert Pear, 10/06/2009)

States Resist Medicaid Growth
Governors fear for their budgets.
(Washington Post, Shailagh Murray, 10/05/2009)