Sen. Ben Nelson to announce support for health-care bill  —  Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), the final Democratic holdout on health care, was prepared to announce to his caucus Saturday morning that he would support the Senate reform bill, clearing the way for final passage by Christmas.

Ben Nelson's Medicaid deal  —  Sen. Mary Landrieu got the “Louisiana Purchase.”  Sen. Ben Nelson got the federal government to pick up most his state's future Medicaid tab — forever.  —  As part of the deal to win Nelson's support, the federal government will pay for Nebraska's new Medicaid recipients.

National Organization for Women opposes Senate health bill  —  A leading women's group called on senators on Saturday to defeat its healthcare reform bill.  —  The leader of the National Organization for Women (NOW) excoriated the language in the health bill curtailing federal support …

Senate healthcare bill steepens payroll tax for high-earners in 2013  —  The Senate's final healthcare bill steepens the payroll tax rates high-income Americans will face.  —  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) released a manager's amendment to the healthcare bill finalizing …

Democrats Clinch a Deal on Health Bill  —  WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats said on Saturday that they had clinched an agreement on a far-reaching overhaul of the nation's health care system, and that they were on track to approve the legislation by Christmas over fierce Republican opposition.

The Congressional Budget Office scores the amended Senate bill  —  Another day, another Congressional Budget Office report (pdf) saying that health-care reform will cover more than 30 million people while substantially cutting the federal deficit.  —  There are a couple of changes worth noting here.

Nelson's Nebraska To Receive Extra Medicaid Funds Under Senate Bill  —  This morning's managers amendment to the merged Senate health bill goes a long way towards satisfying the demands of Democratic hold-out and all-important 60th vote Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE).

Nelson Agrees to Abortion Funding in at Least 13 States?  —  Harry Reid has released the manager's amendment that Ben Nelson has reportedly agreed to vote for, meaning that the Senate bill has 60 votes.  The abortion language includes the phony segregation of funding language that was rejected in the House.

Senate Bill Would Allow States To Prohibit Abortion Coverage In Exchange  —  The new managers amendment to the merged Senate bill incorporates Sen. Bob Casey's (D-PA) language strengthening the segregation of private and public funds and increasing federal support for adoptions …

Obama slams insurance industry going into health reform's home stretch  —  As the Senate prepares for a final round of votes on its healthcare reform bill, President Barack Obama chastised the insurance industry for its lobbying against the legislation.  —  In his weekly address Saturday …