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Unions and advocates for low-income workers are criticizing a possible Senate Finance Committee move to drop an employer mandate in favor of a "free-rider" penalty. The provision would require companies to pay for part of the subsidies for uninsured workers to buy health insurance on the proposed exchanges. Business lobbyists say it's better than a straight mandate.

After weeks of painstaking talks, Democrats celebrated breakthroughs on health care overhaul on both sides of the Capitol. Yet many lawmakers and health care experts said that yesterday's events marked only one step on the very bumpy road to a final deal that President Barack Obama might sign into law.

Jackie Judd talks with Eric Pianin, reporting from Capitol Hill, on today's significant developments. A stalemate between Blue Dogs and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman was broken, and in the Senate Finance Committee, a new CBO score was substantially less than what had been projected.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said Wednesday that a preliminary Congressional Budget Office score of his panel's draft health care overhaul package would cost under $900 billion over the next decade and provide health coverage to 95 percent of uninsured Americans.

To raise money to help pay for a health overhaul, Sen. John Kerry is proposing taxing insurance companies on expensive "Cadillac" policies. A new group of opponents is emerging: employers who "self-insure." They say they shouldn't have to pay taxes on the benefits they give their workers.

Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin of Kaiser Health News provide an update on health overhaul negotiations on Capitol Hill.

Mary Agnes Carey and Eric Pianin of Kaiser Health News provide an update on health overhaul negotiations on Capitol Hill.

In today's Health On The Hill, Jackie Judd talks to Kaiser Health News' Mary Agnes Carey about what will be a crucial week for health care legislation.

As efforts continue to trim the cost of health reform, some lawmakers and patient groups are worried that the resulting insurance benefits will be less generous and affordable than they had hoped. Fiscal conservatives counter that Congress needs to be realistic about what the country can afford.

Two senators - Democrat Ron Wyden and Republican Bob Bennett say they have a health care solution, but are they too junior to get attention?

Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, says "We will have a bill by the end of the year for the president to sign on health care that controls costs, expands coverage and provides choice."

Public support for an overhaul the U.S. health care system has slipped somewhat, according to a new poll. But a majority of Americans still believe that "it is more important than ever to take on health care reform now."

Transcript of President Obama's fifth news conference.