Questions answered about the Affordable Care Act

I concluded It's flu season again with a programming note.

Stay tuned for more, including the Affordable Care Act and dealing with the stress of the holidays.

Time for the next daily installment of health news from Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (MAVEN to Mars), this time about the Affordable Care Act.

KPBS begins this report with a video asking Second Opinion: What Does Obamacare Mean For My Paycheck?

Jeff Schoellerman, a San Diego neuroscientist, is curious if the Affordable Care Act will eventually have an effect on what we pay toward Medicare and disability out of our paychecks.

KPBS also posted an answer, Jeffrey Clemens On Obamacare and Payroll Taxes.

Jeffrey Clemens, a UC San Diego economist, discusses how the Affordable Care Act might effect what we pay in taxes for Medicare and disability.

Follow over the jump for more on the ACA and other cost containment measures.

University of Alabama, Birmingham, returns to these reports with Michael Morrisey talks Medicare and the ACA.


In case Dr. Morrisey looks familiar, it's because he also talked about the ACA and its subsidy structure in UAB's Michael Morrisey talks health care premiums, which I included in Special elections and runoffs change health news sources.  In case my readers missed him the first time, here he is again.


Finally, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reported UIHC doctors thinking more about business of health care.
Studies show common lab tests are ordered less when doctors know how much they cost
Written by Sara Agnew
Nov. 20, 2013

Faced with the rising cost of health care, doctors at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics decided to examine the cost of something they do every day: order lab tests.

What they discovered was that when doctors know the cost of a lab test, they ordered fewer.

They also learned that tightening the ordering process and forcing resident physicians to consult with faculty physicians and pathologists before ordering some high-priced tests could not only save money but also improve patient care.

Here's to procedures like this lowering the cost of health care while the ACA improves access.

Stay tuned for dealing with holiday stress, the brain, and other health topics.