While mainstream news coverage is still a primary source of information for the latest in policy debates and the health care marketplace, online blogs have become a significant part of the media landscape, often presenting new perspectives on policy issues and drawing attention to under-reported topics. To provide complete coverage of health policy issues, the Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report offers readers a window into the world of blogs in a roundup of health policy-related blog posts. "Blog Watch," published on Tuesdays and Fridays, tracks a wide range of blogs, providing a brief description and relevant links for highlighted posts.

Louise of Colorado Health Insurance Insider recommends an expansion of Medicare to the non-elderly population as employer-sponsored insurance continues to decline because "there would be less anxiety about health insurance during economic downturns and recessions."

Trudy Lieberman of the Columbia Journalism Review's Campaign Desk reports on a speech by former Gov. and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) in which he called for a cultural change to improve Americans' health and said that "the real enemy is not the health care system; it's poor health." Lieberman writes that "his message is a fresh addition to the national health care discussion."

Gooz News' Merrill Goozner looks at a new study that found the cholesterol drug Crestor can reduce heart attacks, suggesting extra scrutiny should be applied to the study methods because it was funded by the drug's manufacturer and the lead study author may have had financial interest in the study's outcomes. Goozner also questions whether the treatment should be used widely.

John Iglehart on the Health Affairs Blog discusses the election of Barack Obama as president and how Obama's administration might proceed with health care reform, as well as signs that Obama's team has "taken to heart" the strategic failures of the Clinton health reform plan.

Bob Laszewski on the Health Care Blog explains why he believes there will not be a push for health reform in 2009. Laszewski cites a lack of consensus on the type of reform, insufficient funds and the absence of an outcry from voters as key forces working against reform.

The Healthcare Economist's Jason Shafrin looks at recommendations from a Progressive Policy Institute memo about how the next president could improve the health care system, including reducing unnecessary medical tests and treatment.

Managed Care Matters' Joe Paduda looks at how the worsening economy could contribute to rising health care costs.

Joanne Kenen on the New America Foundation's New Health Dialogue looks at rising unemployment numbers announced on Friday and notes that a study from the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured estimates that for each 1% rise in unemployment, an additional 1.1 million people lose their health insurance and Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment grows by 1 million. Kenen estimates 400,000 people lost their coverage in September.

Uwe Reinhardt on the New York Times' Economix blog looks at the value of a middle-income family's "gross wage base," or all wages and benefits an employee receives, and notes that, under realistic assumptions, rising health care costs could comprise as much as 41% of such a family's compensation within the next decade. Reinhardt says this trend "will put before Americans an uncomfortable choice": whether to increase taxes on high-income families to help middle- and low-income families afford care, or to create a "multi-tiered" health care system offering different services depending on affordability.