health care reform bill

Last month, new regulations were issued under the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) requiring insurance companies to make choosing a plan simpler. Specifically, the new rules require insurers to publish forms providing "clear, consistent and comparable information" about the health-care plans they offer.

A year after President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law, many Americans are still struggling to get their insurance to cover basic medical treatments. And now, they are increasingly exploring less expensive alternatives to traditional Western medicine -- like acupuncture.

In his State of the Union address, President Obama didn't shy away from tackling the ongoing questions about the health care reform law head on. And though he opened with a joke, he made it clear that while he's serious about repairing any flaws in the law, repeal is not an option.

As the battle over repealing Obama's health care law moves to the Senate, some supporters of the president's efforts point out that reform measures have been in effect in Massachusetts for four years. So it's fair to ask: What impact has health care reform had in the Bay State?

As health-care costs skyrocket, the ranks of uninsured Americans are growing at their fastest rate ever. A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finds that 50.7 million people, or 16.7% of the population, had no health coverage in 2009, up from 46.4 million, or 15.4%, in 2008.

Development of technologically advanced -- and expensive -- lifesaving treatments will continue to increase as the new health care reform law is phased in over the next few years.

Health care costs will increase between 10.5% and 11% over the next year, marginally higher than last year's rise, consulting firm Aon said Wednesday. Aon pins the increase on factors such as rising prescription drug costs and the effects of the health care reform law passed this spring.

Among the legal news Wednesday: Missouri voters passed a ballot measure that would block the government from forcing people to buy health insurance; BP faces a class action suit from pollution at a Texas refinery, art dealer Lawrence Salander, who defrauded his clients of $120 million, is sentenced to state prison.

U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled Monday that Virginia's lawsuit against the health care reform law can proceed to a hearing on the merits. By agreeing that the state has a right to bring the suit, he has, in effect, agreed to rule on the constitutionality of health care reform.

When President Obama signed the health care reform bill into law on March 23, medical coverage as we know it changed forever. But what does that really mean? WalletPop expert Josh King -- general counsel for Avvo.com, a free online legal directory -- takes a close look at the nearly 2,600-page...