A status check on small business health exchanges

News outlets examine key points about the health law, including a progress report on implementation issues by the Government Acountability Office.

The Wall Street Journal: What To Expect Of The Small-Business Insurance Exchanges
Looking to buy a small group plan from your state's new health-insurance exchange? There's a risk it won't be ready to open on time in October. A report released Wednesday from U.S. Government Accountability Office said that officials still have big tasks to complete, including reviewing plans that will be sold in the exchanges and training and certifying consumer aides who can help small businesses and individuals find plans (Needleman, 6/19).

Kaiser Health News: GAO Report Points To Challenges In Setting Up Federal Health Insurance Marketplaces
Testing of computer systems and training of consumer assistance guides are behind schedule, but the Obama administration has met other deadlines in its efforts to open new marketplaces where millions of consumers might shop for insurance starting this fall, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday (Carey, Appleby and Gold, 6/19).

Meanwhile, New York Doctors express concerns about the health law -

The Associated Press: New York Doctors: Health Care Overhaul Will Overwhelm Primary Care Physicians
New York's medical community worries that adding 1.1 million people to insurance rolls under the federal health care overhaul will overwhelm primary care physicians, many of whom are already swamped. Federal data showed nearly 18,000 physicians providing primary care at the start of 2011 in a state with 19.6 million residents. That was the 11th-best ratio among states (6/19).