HEALTH CARE ROUND UP

NBC/WSJ Poll: Americans Believe ObamaCare Will Increase Costs And Lower The Quality Of Care. ObamaCare is a: good idea, 38 percent/bad idea, 42 percent. Health care quality will get: better, 21 percent/worse, 40 percent. Costs will go: up, 47 percent/down, 13 percent. Politico Pulse

ObamaCare Drives Up Premiums For Small Business, Young, and Healthy People. At the request of Congressional delegations worried about their constituents—call it a public service—WellPoint mined its own actuarial data to model ObamaCare in the 14 states where it runs Blue Cross plans. The study therefore takes into account market and demographic differences that other industry studies have not, such as the one from the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans, which looked at aggregate national trends. In all of the 14 states WellPoint scrutinized, ObamaCare would drive up premiums for the small businesses and individuals who are most of WellPoint's customers. ... Young and healthy consumers will see the largest increases—their premiums would more than triple in some states—though average middle-class buyers will pay more too. The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile In The Senate Democrats Aren’t Sold On The “Opt Out”. Among the Senate Democrats who have not committed to supporting the bill are Evan Bayh of Indiana, Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana, Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both of Arkansas, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska. … Several undecided Democrats said that they had concerns beyond the public plan, particularly how much the bill would cost, whether it would make insurance affordable for people who stand to gain coverage, and how it would affect health costs for those who already have benefits. The New York Times

And In The House, A Watered Down Public Option Remains In Doubt. Democratic leaders have plenty of work to do rounding up support for their package. They are still facing nettlesome challenges on two issues of social policy that have crept into the debate — over abortion and immigration. And on the public insurance option, Democratic sources conceded they were not yet sure how many votes they would gain by ditching Medicare rates in favor of negotiated ones. But they said after hitting a wall of resistance on the preferred liberal approach, there was little choice but to change tactics. “The other option is no bill,” one aide said. Roll Call

ECONOMY: The Administration Continues To Tout A Failed Stimulus As The American People Worry About A Sliding Economy And Out Of Control Spending

Stimulus Not Boosting American Opinion. Fifty-eight percent of those polled say the economic slide still has a ways to go, up from 52% in September and back to the level of pessimism expressed in July. Only 29% said the economy had "pretty much hit bottom," down from 35% last month. … Just 42% said the economy will get better in the next 12 months, down from 47% in September. In contrast, 22% said things would get worse, up from 20%, and 33% said the economy would stay in the same condition, up from 30%. The Wall Street Journal

Counting Jobs No More Than An “Estimate”. … But she and others warn that precisely counting saved jobs has proved almost impossible. "It was intended to be a count. The way it was done, I think it's going to end up being an estimate," she said. Indiana officials reported that the stimulus had created or saved about 13,000 school jobs. Asked whether he had any idea how many layoffs the plan had prevented, state Education Department spokesman Cam Savage replied: "I really don't." USA Today

Baum: “Jobs Saved Or Created Is Fantasy”. Administration Spending is a back-door way for government statisticians to measure what matters, which is the real output of goods and services. But the government has no money of its own to spend; only what it borrows or confiscates from us via taxation. Oops. “Government job creation is an oxymoron,” said Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at the National Federation of Independent Business. It is only by depriving the private sector of funds that government can hire or subsidize hiring. That’s why “jobs created or saved” is such pure fiction. It ignores what’s unseen, as our old friend Frederic Bastiat explained so eloquently 160 years ago in an essay. Bloomberg

Broken Promises: Americans Don’t Think Administration Can Control Spending. Confidence in Obama's ability to deliver on his campaign promises has eroded, especially on domestic issues. A majority of those surveyed now say his administration won't be able to control federal spending or improve the health care system. The biggest decline has been on his pledge to ease the nation's fierce partisanship: A year ago, 54% said he would be able to "heal political divisions"; now only 28% say so. USA Today

AFGHANISTAN: Administration Pushes “McChrystal Lite”, As Republicans Continue To Support Gen. McChrystal’s Assessment

Administration Pushes Plan That Would Be “McChrystal For The City, Biden For The Country”. President Obama’s advisers are focusing on a strategy for Afghanistan aimed at protecting about 10 top population centers, administration officials said Tuesday, describing an approach that would stop short of an all-out assault on the Taliban while still seeking to nurture long-term stability. … At the moment, the administration is looking at protecting Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz, Herat, Jalalabad and a few other village clusters, officials said. … A strategy of protecting major Afghan population centers would be “McChrystal for the city, Biden for the country,” as one administration official put it. The New York Times

Sec. Clinton Travels To Pakistan To Focus On Counterterrorism. Clinton praised the Pakistani offensive in South Waziristan and said it was "important for Americans to recognize the high price the Pakistanis are paying" in their fight against extremism, with thousands of military and civilian deaths. President Obama's ongoing strategy deliberations on the war in Afghanistan are focused on maintaining democratic stability in Pakistan and promoting a robust Pakistani military response against insurgents fighting in both countries from sanctuaries on the Pakistani side of the border. The Washington Post

IN OTHER NEWS

• WT: Democratic Donors Rewarded With W.H. Perks
• CT: A GOP Health Plan
• NYT: Brother Of Afghan Leader Is Said To Be On C.I.A. Payroll
• WP: Health Reform's Chevy Tax
• Hill: Pelosi’s Go To Gang
• Sokolski: Sanction Iran Now

THE SCHEDULE

• The House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes expected at 3:00 p.m.
• The Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m. and begin a period of morning business. Thereafter, resume consideration of the motion to proceed to H.R.3548, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009.