November 25, 2002

Health care crisis, once thought to be problem chiefly of poor and unemployed, is spreading up income ladder and deep into ranks of those with full-time jobs; Census Bureau statistics show 1.4 million Americans lost health insurance in 2001, increase largely attributable to economic downturn and resulting rise in unemployment; largest group of newly uninsured, approximately 800,000, had incomes in excess of $75,000; either lost jobs or were priced out of health care market by rapidly rising insurance premiums; many of new job losses are in high-wage industries, like technology and telecommunications; study by Center for Studying Health System Change finds 30 million Americans in working families, or 16 percent of those in families headed by worker, lack health coverage; additional 16 million, mostly low-income workers, are offered health insurance through jobs but decline because they get health care from government programs, or because premiums are too expensive; charts; graphs; photos (L)

SEC reportedly investigates real estate and travel company Cendant's dealings with online real estate company Homestore.com, which has acknowledged overstating revenue in first nine months of 2001 by more than 30 percent; this inquiry helps propel separate investigation into accounting at AOL Time Warner, which has advertising deals with Homestore and has acknowledged its own, smaller revenue overstatements; three former Homestore executive have reportedly told investigators that company counted increasingly on bogus deals with both Cendant and AOL Time Warner to help it meet quarterly revenue projections; investigator have reportedly asked Homestore executives about possible involvement by Robert W Pittman, former AOL Time Warner chief operating officer and former executive at Cendant, on whose board he still sits (M)

Bill Finley The Day in The NFL column discusses day of football games in Week 12 of NFL season (M)

CBS executives are expected to ask Don Hewitt to step down as executive producer of 60 Minutes, but Hewitt, who created show, says he will not go without a fight; show ranked among top 10 for two decades, but now ranks 20th, and network executives say it must start attracting younger audience; Jeffrey Fager, former Hewitt protege and producer of 60 Minutes II, would likely replace Hewitt; move would not only infuse original with new blood, but also merge operations of two programs; Hewitt's supporters say that he is still one of best in business, even as he is about to turn 80; photos; ratings graph (M)

Qwest Bondholders Weigh Fight of Debt Exchange Bondholders upset with Qwest Communications International's attempt to exchange $12.9 billion in debt for new securities with a lower face value will meet today to consider their options for fighting the proposal and to select a law firm to represent them. The exchange offer is the latest in a series of moves by the troubled telecommunications giant to avoid a bankruptcy filing. [Page C2.]