FACT CHECK: Premiums would rise under Obama plan  —  WASHINGTON — Buyers, beware: President Barack Obama says his health care overhaul will lower premiums by double digits, but check the fine print.  —  Premiums are likely to keep going up even if the health care bill passes, experts say.

House Majority Leader: 'We're Going to Have a Clean Up or Down Vote'  —  Steny Hoyer, Eric Cantor Spar Over Health Care Vote Count, Parliamentary Tactics  —  House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer today hinted that Democrats may use a controversial parliamentary procedure to pass the health care bill …

Oberstar will back final bill  —  Minnesota Rep. James Oberstar, an ardent backer of the House abortion restrictions, will vote for the final package after a further review of the Senate's language, giving top Democrats a critical endorsement as they lean on their rank-and-file to back the Senate bill.

Bibi's Tense Time-Out  —  So, Barack Obama can lose his temper without a teleprompter.  And we have the supremely aggravating Bibi Netanyahu to thank for that.  —  On St. Patrick's Day, of all days, we wouldn't want to think that our president did not know how to pick his donnybrooks.

The Medicus Firm Physician Survey: Health Reforms Potential Impact on Physician Supply and Quality of Medical Care  —  Key Findings from The Medicus Firm Survey  —  Physician Support of Health Reform in General  —  62.7% of physicians feel that health reform is needed but should be implemented …

Breaking: Kucinich To Vote Yes  —  In a big get for House Dems, Dennis Kucinich just made it official: He's voting for the Senate bill, making him the first member to go on record fliping his vote from No to Yes.  —  “In the past week it's become clear that the vote on the final bill will be very close …

Insurer targeted HIV patients to drop coverage  —  (Reuters) - In May, 2002, Jerome Mitchell, a 17-year old college freshman from rural South Carolina, learned he had contracted HIV.  The news, of course, was devastating, but Mitchell believed that he had one thing going for him …

The Kucinich Switch And The Whip Count  —  Dennis Kucinich's reversal and decision to support the health care bill changes the dynamic around the vote, but the ultimate question of whether or not the bill will pass was always going to be decided by the right flank of the caucus.

Health care reform protesters mock man carrying sign saying he has Parkinson's disease.  —  Activists staged “competing rallies” outside of Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy's (D-OH) district office yesterday, in a noisy, often confrontational attempt to influence the undecided congresswoman's vote.

Was Medicare popular when it passed?  —  For some time, I've been trying to find good polling from the passage of Medicare.  According to Greg Sargent, though, the Democrats beat me to it: … I wonder how many of the legislators who took the tough vote to move Medicare forward regret doing that today.

Allies everywhere feeling snubbed by President Obama  —  The contretemps between President Obama and Israel needs to be seen in a broader global context.  The president who ran against “unilateralism” in the 2008 campaign has worse relations overall with American allies than George W. Bush did in his second term.

Catholic nuns urge passage of Obama's health bill  —  WASHINGTON — Catholic nuns are urging Congress to pass President Barack Obama's health care plan, in an unusual public break with bishops who say it would subsidize abortion.  —  Some 60 leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 …

McConnell Strategy Shuns Bipartisanship  —  WASHINGTON — Before the health care fight, before the economic stimulus package, before President Obama even took office, Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader, had a strategy for his party: use his extensive knowledge of Senate procedure …

Jobs Bill Passes in Senate With 11 Votes From Republicans  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate approved and sent to President Obama on Wednesday what Congressional Democrats hope will be the first in a series of bills spurring employment by providing tax breaks and other hiring incentives to businesses.

Excise tax questions re-emerging  —  AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is headed into a meeting with President Obama this afternoon after the White House and Congressional leaders have begun to discuss a higher-than-expected excise tax on some health care plans, in order to maintain their claim …

Democrats: Vote your conscience on health care  —  I feel your pain.  Eighteen years ago, I was elected on the coattails of a popular young Democratic president who promised a post-partisan Washington.  A year later, with partisan gridlock capturing the Capitol, there was a razor-thin vote …

Campbell Clark  —  OTTAWA — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail  —  The Conservative government has offered an explanation for why it will exclude contraception from its initiative to improve the health of mothers in poor countries: Birth control doesn't fit with saving lives.

Combat dogs take to the skies for secret missions in Afghanistan  —  Two members of the Austrian special forces join Nato's Operation Cold Response, one of Europe's biggest military exercises, in Narvik, Norway.  —  Dropping from 10,000ft, they glide in order to land unnoticed.

Friends do not Treat Friends in this Manner  —  A friend of TWS passes along this letter that Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt wrote to his congressman, Steny Hoyer:

House and Senate GOP plan joint closed-door meeting Thurs.  —  Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick's (D-Ariz.) support for healthcare reform legislation brings the final count to 207, Chris Bowers reports on Open Left.  Also, President Barack Obama's decision to appear on Fox News only adds …

The Crisis  —  Was Obama's confrontation with Israel premeditated?  —  JERUSALEM—Suddenly, my city feels again like a war zone.  Since the suicide bombings ended in 2005, life in Jerusalem has been for the most part relatively calm.  The worst disruptions have been the traffic jams resulting …