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State insurance regulators have defined one of the thorniest provisions of the new health overhaul law: the requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of revenue on direct medical care.

Two recent California efforts to reign in hospital prices - or at least reduce pricing disparities between hospital providers in the state for the same procedure - have been stymied, thanks to the hospital lobby.

Federal requirements that are part of the new health law will make insurance appeals easier and more uniform.

Women's health advocates say birth control prescriptions should be included in the free preventive care new health plans must offer.

As part of the new health law, officials published information on 4,000 individual insurance plans today. A health insurance trade group says the site is misleading. A government spokeswoman says that it holds insurance companies more accountable.

A new analysis says that Social Security and Medicare will be bolstered by the new health law because lower insurance costs for employers will mean higher pay for workers. And that will mean higher tax receipts. Skeptics disagree.

Doctors are leaving private practices in large numbers and going to work for hospitals. Last year, hospitals hired half of the new doctors just out of medical school. Hospital administrators say having more doctors improves care.

Starting next year, Medicare will pay for all sorts of preventive services and recipients won't have to shell out a dime. But workouts, aren't on the list.

In an unusual August session, House Democrats pushed through an aid package that will boost state Medicaid budgets. But, the lawmakers whiffed on extending a popular insurance subsidy for the unemployed.

Opting for an insurer's network of high-performing doctors and hospitals may ease premiums and out-of-pocket costs. It's a relatively new approach that some providers criticize for focusing more on cost than quality.