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Unlike Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and other conservative states in the South, Mississippi is well on its way to having an insurance exchange ready for operation by the 2014 deadline laid out by the health overhaul law.

The government has identified hundreds of hospitals where Medicare patients are incurring especially high or low bills. Hospitals around McAllen, it turns out, aren't as terrible as they were made out to be, according to Medicare's calculations of how much it spent for the average patient from three days before admission to a month after discharge.

Last year, a little more than half of employers offered health benefits for domestic partner according to a nationally representative sample of about 3,000 employers surveyed by benefit consultant Mercer. That's up from a little less than one-third in 2010.

Insurers and employers are looking to stem the rising costs of expensive specialty drugs. One approach is to vary the copayment depending on the health value they calculate the drugs provide.

In Michigan, areas with more cardiac catheterization labs — places where patients are diagnosed for heart problems — tended to have more interventions than those with fewer labs.

Before a colonoscopy, ask the doctor about his or her detection rate for polyps. And find out how long, on average, the doctor takes to withdraw the scope from the patient. About 10 minutes is the optimal duration, a recent analysis says.

A change in guidelines for psychiatric diagnoses would add problem gambling as an addictive disorder. The designation would clear a path to add other behavioral problems — such as sex or Internet addiction — in the future.

Students aren't employees, and student health plans are generally individual policies that the students buy on their own, even if they're offered through the college. So mandatory coverage of birth control for students shouldn't be delayed past August, but it could take longer for the faculty, advocates say.

Until a national health insurance mandate takes effect in 2014, states run stopgap pools to cover people with pre-existing conditions. The federal funds to pay for the coverage are being stretched thin in many states.

Marilyn Tavenner is the acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Matt, assistant administrator at Jackson Purchase Medical Center in Mayfield, Ky., is her son.

The state legislature is now mulling a change to allow trained home care aides to administer medications to Medicaid patients while working under a nurse's supervision. If the proposal becomes law, it could save the state a bundle.

The California health exchange has focused on drumming up interest in coverage during the first month of operation. Certified enrollment counselors can barely keep up with the requests for assistance that are rolling in.

A college student will be able to shop for health insurance on one of the exchanges planned to open for business in October. But depending on the family's financial circumstances, he may be better off staying on his parents' plan or looking into Medicaid.

In the past, many psychotherapists ran their own little businesses. But changes in health care coverage mean that many must start accepting insurance and doing paperwork. That's leading some therapists to form group practices or join large medical groups — and may lead to better care for patients.

Maryland-based Evergreen Health Co-op is one of nearly two dozen nonprofit insurers created by the health act. They will be owned by the policyholders and are supposed to add competition and lower prices for coverage. they're supposed to add competition and lower prices for medical coverage. But they can't do either without customers.

There was a party atmosphere at Affordable Care Act events both in California, where the law has been embraced by the state government, and in Virginia, where it has been resisted. But consumers will have very different experiences in the two states.

About a quarter of uninsured people eligible for federal subsidies to help them pay for health coverage don't have bank accounts. A new rule would require insurers to accept payments made many different ways, including by money order and prepaid debit card.

With health care costs expected to outpace inflation, Sens. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D., want a bipartisan commission to control future Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security costs.

A new ad by a major activist group blames the health care system's ills on greedy insurance companies and promotes a government-backed insurer as the cure. But the diagnosis is flawed.

Most Americans get health insurance through their employers, but the plans vary widely in cost and coverage offered. Many companies don't offer a lot of choice, and the cost of premiums and deductibles has been rising.

Despite all the controversy, a new CBO estimate indicates that relatively few people would be helped by a public health insurance plan. Any "opt-out" provision means at least some states are likely to bar a government-backed plan within their borders.

The people in Southeastern Kentucky have the poorest health in the country. Since many people there already qualify for subsidies, some experts say the current health overhaul initiatives won't change much. Instead, a health care overhaul has to address the roots of the health problems.

About 60 million Americans are covered by Medicaid, a government program for low-income people, including pregnant women, children, the disabled and the elderly. Proposed legislation aims to increase Medicaid coverage, but the details have yet to be agreed on.

Some states permit insurers to deny policies to people who have received treatment for domestic violence. Now there's a move to prohibit the practice as part of a health care overhaul.

The Senate Finance Committee calls for cuts in private Medicare plans to help pay for health overhaul. Some senators on the panel, worried about the 10.5 million seniors in the plans — and the possible political consequences — have worked to lessen the impact on their constituents.