Reading with your morning coffee...

U.S. Losing Ground on Preventable Deaths: The Washington Post's Ceci Connolly reports on a new study:

Although the United States now spends $2.4 trillion a year on medical care -- vastly more per capita than comparable countries -- the nation ranks near the bottom on premature deaths caused by illnesses such as diabetes, epilepsy, stroke, influenza, ulcers and pneumonia, according to research by the nonpartisan Commonwealth Fund published in the journal Health Affairs.

  White House lobbies for Public Plan in Final Bill (Seattle Times)
Democrats Try to Balance Cost and Coverage in Health Plan (also in the Seattle Times)

Health Insurance Exchanges: Will They Work? (NYT)
Counterpoint: How a Mandate Could Cost Employees Their Company Insurance (NYT)

What's Missing From Health Care Reform (Forbes)