Administration working to get national health plans ready

The New York Times: U.S. Set To Sponsor Health Insurance
The Obama administration will soon take on a new role as the sponsor of at least two nationwide health insurance plans to be operated under contract with the federal government and offered to consumers in every state. These multistate plans were included in President Obama's health care law as a substitute for a pure government-run health insurance program -; the public option sought by many liberal Democrats and reviled by Republicans. Supporters of the national plans say they will increase competition in state health insurance markets, many of which are dominated by a handful of companies (Pear, 10/27).

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times examines the challenges that community clinics will face when the law is fully implemented.

Los Angeles Times: Crucial Test For An Outpost Of Healthcare In South L.A.
Nonprofit community clinics like this one in South Los Angeles are part of medical safety net created a generation ago to help fill the unmet needs of poor, uninsured and chronically ill patients in struggling rural and urban communities. With the major elements of President Obama's healthcare reform set to begin in 2014, they are being tested like never before. There are 1,250 federally funded clinics nationwide that provide healthcare and social assistance, surviving on a mix of grants, fundraising and reimbursements from government insurance plans (Gorman, 10/28).