parsa khan's List: REV Media Mashup: HealthCompare 1.18.2010

With the Massachusetts special election for United States Senate increasingly unpredictable, Democrats in Washington are contemplating an array of backup plans should a Republican upset on Tuesday deprive the Democrats of the crucial 60th vote that they need to pass far-reaching health care legislation.

California could be disproportionately hit by a proposed annual tax in the national health overhaul legislation that critics say penalizes restrictive managed-care policies, which are far more popular in the Golden State than in the rest of the country.

Small businesses and self-employed individuals hope to get better deals on health insurance through the new exchanges that would be created under health care reform legislation.

(CNN) -- Faced with the once-unthinkable prospect of losing the Massachusetts Senate race, Democratic officials on Capitol Hill are quietly talking about options for passing health care reform without that critical 60th Senate vote.

"When it becomes law, families will save on their premiums," President Obama declared in his weekly radio address before Christmas, pitching his health care reform.

The Wall Street Journal: "The White House wants to include a national health-insurance exchange in the health bill, which would give House Democrats one of their top remaining demands, according to an official involved in the discussions."