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NPR Topics: Health Care

• 'Public Option' Remains Possible Snag As Vote Looms

  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid needs 60 votes — that's every Democrat and both Independents — to clear the way for a vote on historic heath care legislation Saturday. The final two Democrats fell in line Saturday afternoon — Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. But the holdouts still expressed strong reluctance about the "public option" in Reid's bill.

• Breast Cancer Guidelines' Impact On Black Women

  White women have higher breast cancer rates overall, but black women get the disease more often before age 40. They also tend to have more aggressive cancers and lower survival rates. That concerns Dr. Marisa Weiss, a Philadelphia oncologist. She tells host Guy Raz how the breast screening recommendations released this week by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force could have an especially rough impact on black women.

• Health Care Bill Clears Key Hurdle In Senate

  Senate Democrats pushed through a procedural wall Saturday night and formally opened the floor debate on their effort to overhaul the nation's $2.5 trillion health care system. The Senate mustered 60 votes, the exact number required to end a Republican filibuster against consideration of the bill, in a straight party-line vote.

• Expect Senate Health Bill To Change, Durbin Says

  The historic health care overhaul plan proposed by Congressional Democrats makes its way to the Senate for a test vote tonight. The sweeping legislation sets the stage for a showdown between Republicans and a fragmented Democratic majority. Sixty votes are required to advance the bill toward full debate. Host Scott Simon speaks with Sen. Dick Durbin, the majority whip of the Senate.