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Viewpoints: Where's Obama's 'Mission Accomplished' banner?; health law critics overlooking those denied affordable care in the past

Great news: The White House says that Healthcare.gov and the 36 federally run insurance exchanges are finally good to go. The only thing missing from Sunday's relentlessly upbeat progress report was President Obama in front of a "Mission Accomplished" banner. Sunday's eight-page report was intended to meet Mr. Obama's deadline for fixing the site after its October 1 debut was a calamity. But the more important goal was political -- namely, claiming enough progress to prevent Democrats on Capitol Hill from joining the GOP demand for delaying the individual mandate to buy insurance or even the entire program (12/1).

3 Dec 2013

Consumers, employers face new round of health coverage challenges, decisions

News outlets offer consumer tips for using healthcare.gov and take a look at where things stand in terms of obtaining coverage as of Jan. 1.

3 Dec 2013

Medicaid expansion could exacerbate doctor shortage

As more people gain access to coverage as a result of the health law's expansion of the state-federal insurance program for the poor, finding doctors willing to treat them may be a challenge. Other stories look at how Americans in similar circumstances face vastly different health coverage options because of where they live.

3 Dec 2013

Insurers worry about back end repairs to HealthCare.gov

The system that is supposed to deliver consumers' information to insurers still needs to be repaired -- with only 30 days to go before coverage is supposed to begin for many people. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reports that insurers will initially estimate what they are owed by the government rather than have the government calculate the bill due to another software problem.

3 Dec 2013

Oregon struggles to clear health insurance exchange's high-tech hurdle

Oregon's state-based health law online insurance exchange is still struggling in its quest to sign people up, and officials there are using paper applications to get the job done -- a time-consuming task. Exchanges also make news in Kentucky, California, Mississippi and Washington state.

3 Dec 2013

Administration officials give thumbs up to HealthCare.gov's technical fixes and capacity upgrades

The health law website reportedly now is operating 90 percent of the time, but more work still must be done, according to the Obama administration's Sunday progress report on their efforts to correct healthcare.gov's problems.

3 Dec 2013

Obamacare 'navigators' hope for do-over

The groups charged with helping people sign up for health coverage are looking for a fresh start after experiencing the same difficulties getting plan information as many consumers.

2 Dec 2013

First Edition: December 2, 2013

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about healthcare.gov's status, the challenges that lie ahead and the concerns being expressed by consumers and insurers.

2 Dec 2013

Valley Presbyterian Hospital receives First 5 LA grant to implement Welcome Baby program

Valley Presbyterian Hospital was awarded a $772,643 grant from First 5 LA to implement the 'Welcome Baby' prenatal and infant care program. The grant period is from December 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 and is expected to be extended for an additional year, through June 30, 2015.

2 Dec 2013

Viewpoints: SCOTUS should support contraception mandate; our brains 'not wired' for Obamacare; President's personality impairs law's success

More than a year after it upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court has set the stage for a showdown over the law's requirement that employer health plans cover birth control.

28 Nov 2013

Walk-in clinics staffed by nurses can reduce health care costs, says URI professor

People who don't have health insurance are often forced to seek treatment at hospital emergency rooms for colds, body aches and other routine illnesses. Those visits cost patients, hospitals and taxpayers millions of dollars every year.

28 Nov 2013

How Washington State made its health insurance exchange work; Philly plans big exchange push

It was on a cold, sunny day in Baltimore last January that Curt Kwak, chief information officer of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, first realized that the signature feature of President Obama's Affordable Care Act could be in trouble.

28 Nov 2013

Consumers urged to give healthcare.gov another try -- just not too many of them

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday that healthcare.gov is "improved every day." But she delayed a big marketing campaign planned for December and is asking allies to hold back their enrollment pushes to avoid a crush of new users that might overwhelm the site again.

28 Nov 2013

Administration to small businesses: Online health insurance exchanged delayed

News outlets covered the pre-Thanksgiving announcement of the delay.

27 Nov 2013

Nearly 400,000 poor Americans flock to expanded Medicaid

The Washington Post reports the rollout of the law's expanded Medicaid program appears to be 'the silver lining' in the health law's implementation -- signups of nearly 400,000 people appear to be going smoothly. Meanwhile, news outlets cover Medicaid developments in Wisconsin, Ohio and South Carolina.

27 Nov 2013

Supreme Court to hear arguments on health law's contraceptive coverage mandate

The justices accepted a pair of cases that raise questions not just about religious freedom and equality for female employees, but whether the religious beliefs of the owners of secular corporations allows them to not comply with a law.

27 Nov 2013

First Edition: Nov. 27, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz, in collaboration with McClatchy, reports: "Like half the states, South Carolina chose not to expand Medicaid under the federal health law next year, citing the program's high costs and inefficiency. Yet, state officials still forecast a 16 percent enrollment jump by the end of June, 2015, triple that of a typical year and even higher than the 12 percent average increase expected in states that are expanding eligibility.

27 Nov 2013

Anthem Blue Cross exposes 24,500 doctors' social security, tax numbers

In a departure from most medical privacy cases, Anthem Blue Cross said it accidentally posted online Social Security or tax identification numbers for about 24,500 California doctors. .

27 Nov 2013

State exchange news: Oregon's 'epic failure'; Kansas' next steps on canceled policies; rural challenge in Minnesota

Oregon once led the country in implementing Obamacare. Now it's just about dead last. Not one person has yet enrolled in the Cover Oregon insurance exchange - a major embarrassment to state policymakers who early on had wholeheartedly embraced the Affordable Care Act even as other states tried their best to hinder it. ... The uncertainty is leading to fears that Oregonians whose plans have been canceled as of Dec. 31 will find themselves without affordable coverage when the new year begins (Winfield Cunningham, 11/26).

27 Nov 2013

Health insurance coverage does not increase risky behavior

People with health insurance are more likely to use preventive services such as flu shots and health screenings to reduce their risk of serious illness, but they are no more likely than people without health insurance to engage in risky health behaviors such as smoking or gaining weight, researchers at UC Davis and University of Rochester have found.

27 Nov 2013