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Among the thousands of hospitals in the U.S., Medicare has identified 95 where elderly patients were most likely to suffer significant setbacks and another 97 hospitals where patients tended to have the smoothest recoveries.

Among other things, the law prohibits treatment limits and copayments or deductibles that are more restrictive than a health insurance plan's medical coverage. Now regulations make the specifics clearer.

Even for those with the will and drive to pursue treatment, the process remains difficult, frightening and full of holes. Mental health advocates say little has come, on the federal level, from the task forces and promises that followed the Newtown shootings.

Taxes have been part of health plan costs for decades, but they're not usually itemized on customers' bills. But a leading insurer in Alabama has calculated its customers' shares of taxes being paid by the company under the Affordable Care Act.

A likely change in obscure rules governing the Affordable Care Act could save unions a bundle. A fee that starts at $63 for each person covered by union insurance in 2014 would be waived if the administration proceeds as expected.

Medicare has tied incentive payments and penalties to two-dozen quality measurements, including surveys of patient satisfaction and death rates. More than 1,200 hospitals are receiving bonuses. But more hospitals are being paid less for each Medicare patient they treat for the year that began Oct. 1.

Some Californians are choosing plans that don't comply with the Affordable Care Act to save money. They have only a few weeks left to pick coverage that will last a year. It will eventually be replaced by health insurance that includes a full range of essential benefits, but at a higher cost.

Clubfoot is a common birth defect that can make walking difficult. It used to be treated with surgery, which could have serious side effects, but a simple nonsurgical solution is now the norm. It took years of pushing by parents for that treatment to become accepted.

Dr. Tim Ihrig has almost become a member of the Avelleyra family. He's helping Augie and Phyllis, who've been married 60 years, lead the best lives they can under trying health circumstances. When Phyllis was diagnosed with congestive heart failure, Ihrig asked what she wanted from the rest of her life.

The federal government now factors patient satisfaction ratings into the rates Medicare pays hospitals. Some hospitals with lower ratings are finding it's difficult to change patients' perceptions.