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First Edition: Jan. 2, 2014

The early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about what to expect of the health law in 2014.

2 Jan 2014

White House: More than 1 million now enrolled in Obamacare

Nearly 1 million people signed up for health insurance through the federal Obamacare exchanges between Dec. 1 and the Dec. 24 deadline for getting coverage by the start of the new year, according to figures released by the administration Sunday. The 975,000 people who enrolled during that window bring the total number of federal sign-ups to more than 1.1 million since the rocky rollout of the government's Healthcare.gov website on Oct. 1 (Allen, 12/29).

30 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: 'Parade of delays' on health law; McConnell on White House 'stunts;' update on SHOP exchange

If the website malfunctions in October and November were infuriating to supporters of health care reform, the continuing parade of delays that followed it have simply been depressing. They have contributed to the impression that the Obama administration is desperately trying to keep the new system from spinning out of control, countering the good news that 1.2 million people have signed up for insurance through the federal and state exchanges. ... Having cracked once on this subject, the White House will be pushed to do so more forcefully by the law's critics when the policies take effect next month. This should be the last concession (David Firestone, 12/23).

25 Dec 2013

In state-run exchanges, last minute rush to enroll in coverage

States who run their own health insurance exchanges are trying to cope with people attempting to enroll before the deadline to get coverage that would begin Jan. 1.

24 Dec 2013

Monday's deadline to buy health law insurance coverage leaves many scrambling

People who want policies in place by Jan. 1 face a deadline today, but a series of changes in how the health law is being implemented has complicated the process for consumers and insurers.

24 Dec 2013

Insurers unnerved by rule changes for consumers with canceled policies

The Obama administration's announcement last week that consumers whose policies had been canceled could buy catastrophic health plans and were also exempt from the law's mandate in the first year spurred handwringing in some quarters.

24 Dec 2013

New optical device puts the power to detect retinal disease in the palm of a hand

A new optical device puts the power to detect eye disease in the palm of a hand. The tool-about the size of a hand-held video camera-scans a patient's entire retina in seconds and could aid primary care physicians in the early detection of a host of retinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration.

22 Dec 2013

'Deluge' of signups reported by some state exchanges

A handful of states with relatively smoothly operating insurance websites have seen enrollment increases of 30 percent to 40 percent this week. But others, including Massachusetts, Maryland and Colorado, continue to experience political as well as technical challenges.

20 Dec 2013

Ex-Microsoft exec takes over HealthCare.gov fixes

Kurt DelBene, who previously was president of the Microsoft Office Division, was named by President Barack Obama to replace Jeffrey D. Zients and oversee efforts to rescue the federal government's health care website.

19 Dec 2013

Maryland insurers agree to delay deadline for Jan. 1 enrollment

For consumers seeking coverage on the state's health exchange, Maryland's insurers will extend the enrollment deadline from Dec. 23 to Dec. 27. Rhode Island also plans to extend its deadline. Meanwhile, news outlets offer updates from Texas, Connecticut, California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado and Washington.

19 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 18, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the former Microsoft executive who has been tapped by the Obama administration to take over the repairs of healthcare.gov.

18 Dec 2013

Problems in states' health insurance exchanges persist as officials ready deadline push

In Maryland, Gov. Martin O'Malley has hired new contractors to make sure the state's online health insurance exchange works properly even as new problems arise. In the meantime, Minnesota lawmakers are sparring over fixes to that state's exchange and California's marketplace faces enrollment challenges as deadlines loom.

17 Dec 2013

Obama seeks advice on healthcare.gov from tech giants

President Barack Obama was slated to meet Tuesday with executives from leading technology companies, including Google, Microsoft and Apple, to solicit suggestions on the federal health care exchange website. The impact of federal surveillance efforts on those companies is also expected to come up.

17 Dec 2013

Fix in health website helps stop freefall in Obama's popularity

An ABC News/Washington Post poll suggests opposition to the health law has eased in the past month. Meanwhile, the administration says that the president will soon name someone to replace Jeffrey Zients to oversee the operation of the insurance website.

17 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 17, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the health law is viewed by immigrant populations.

17 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: Health law still facing major challenges; Ky. gov. questions McConnell's assessment of overhaul; Pa.'s Medicaid experiment is a 'sham'

The White House is claiming that the Healthcare.gov website is mostly fixed, that the millions of Americans whose health plans were canceled thanks to government rules may be able to keep them for another year, and that in any event these people will get better plans through ObamaCare exchanges. Whatever the truth of these assertions, those who expect better days ahead for the Affordable Care Act are in for a rude awakening. The shocks - economic and political - will get much worse next year and beyond (Michael J. Boskin, 12/15).

17 Dec 2013

States race to fix insurance exchange glitches

In Maryland, Vermont and Oregon, state officials are still hammering out technological issues preventing consumers from signing up for coverage. In California, in contrast, the pace of enrollment in December has been nearly three times that of a month earlier as the deadline approaches to sign up for coverage that takes effect Jan. 1.

17 Dec 2013

Groups say Md. health insurance exchange problems could leave people without Jan. 1 coverage

In the meantime, despite considering delaying the launch of the exchange, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday that he is confident that problems with the website will be fixed and that the exchange will meet its goal of enrolling 260,000 by the end of March 2014.

16 Dec 2013

Red state residents enrolling in Obamacare at lower rates

People in GOP-controlled states are signing up for coverage in the health law's exchanges at lower rates than those in blue states, reports the Associated Press. Meanwhile, news outlets offer snapshots of how signups are going in Montana, Wyoming, Connecticut, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state.

16 Dec 2013

UTHealth professor wins Founders' Laurel Award for exceptional service in the field of medical education

Arthur L. Day, M.D., professor of neurosurgery at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and a neurosurgeon at the Mischer Neuroscience Institute at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, has received one of the top honors awarded by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

14 Dec 2013