Feds may help offset insurers' losses on canceled policies; if website falters again, some consumers face increased risks

Also, a new poll examines how much people know about the law.

The New York Times: Insurers Are Offered Assistance For Losses
The White House is offering more money to insurance companies as an incentive for them to let people keep insurance policies that were to have been canceled next year. The administration floated several proposals on Monday to "help offset the loss in premium revenue and profit" that it said might occur if insurers went along with President Obama's request to reinstate canceled policies (Pear, 12/2).

The Associated Press: Year-End Signups Crucial Test For Health Care Site
President Barack Obama's new and improved health care website faces yet another test in just a couple of weeks, its biggest yet. If HealthCare.gov becomes overwhelmed by an expected year-end crunch, many Americans will be left facing a break in their insurance coverage. ... Some of those at risk are among the more than 4 million consumers whose individual policies have been canceled because the coverage didn't comply with requirements of the new health care law. A smaller number, several hundred thousand, are in federal and state programs for people whose health problems already were a barrier to getting private insurance before the overhaul (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/2).

The New York Times: Cost Of Health Care Law Is Seen As Decreasing
The rollout of President Obama's health care law may have deeply disappointed its supporters, but on at least one front, the Affordable Care Act is beating expectations: its cost. Over the next few years, the government is expected to spend billions of dollars less than originally projected on the law, analysts said, with both the Medicaid expansion and the subsidies for private insurance plans ending up less expensive than anticipated (Lowrey, 12/2).

CNN: Younger Americans Least Familiar With Obamacare, Polls Show
Americans 18 to 29 are the least familiar with the Affordable Care Act, a new Gallup poll has found. ... Gallup found that 63% of those 18-29 respondents say they are "very familiar "or "somewhat familiar" with the law, while 37% say they are "not too familiar" or "not familiar at all." The age group that reports the most familiarity with Obamacare is the 50-64 age range, with 77% of those respondents describing their knowledge of the law as "very familiar" or "somewhat familiar" (12/2).