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The insurance pool for people with expensive pre-existing conditions will stay open until the end of March, after another extension by the federal government. Starting this year, the Affordable Care Act bars insurers from rejecting people because of health problems, but they may need more time than originally thought to sign up for coverage.

Some of the priciest markets for insurance include rural counties in Georgia and the areas around ski resorts in Colorado. While many people in these places will receive government subsidies to help pay for premiums, the portion that they pay will still be higher than what they would have to foot elsewhere.

The Affordable Care Act included a Medicaid pay hike for primary care doctors. It's an incentive for them to see the larger number of patients who will be covered by an expansion of Medicaid under the law. Some other specialists who say they also provide primary care won't be eligible for the increase.

As the long, slow demise of company-sponsored retiree health insurance continues, some firms are contracting with Medicare exchanges to try to ease the transition for their former employees.

Despite a Justice Department decision giving same-sex married couples equal recognition in federal courthouses, prisons and other programs, inconsistency in the treatment of same-sex married couples under the health law remains. States still make their own decisions.

What sets these bargain markets apart? They tend to have robust competition among hospitals and doctors, allowing insurers to wrangle lower rates. Many of the best deals are to be had in Minnesota, where managed care has long held prices in check.

Under the federal health law and 2006 regulations, insurers can't deny medical coverage for an individual's injuries because they resulted from a medical condition such as depression, even if it wasn't diagnosed before the injury.

People with severe injuries tend to fare much better at specialized trauma centers than in typical emergency rooms. But a study suggests less equipped hospitals are hanging on to patients who can pay.

When a relative signs up for Medicare, it is often perplexing — and unnerving — for the rest of the family who may have grown used to cushy employer-sponsored coverage.

Screening tests like mammograms and colonoscopies are supposed to be covered under the Affordable Care Act. But some people are finding that they still end up having to pay for anesthesia and other associated services. And not all insurers are covering all forms of birth control.