Julie Rovner

Dental coverage is a required benefit for children under the Affordable Care Act. But it's not turning out to be quite that simple. For one thing, there are no federal subsidies to help pay for stand-alone dental policies.

Health care costs grew at 3.7 percent in 2012, the fourth year of a trend of smaller annual increases. The Obama administration says that the Affordable Care Act is a factor. But the actuaries who wrote the report beg to differ, saying the recession is a more likely cause.

Children automatically get dental coverage through Affordable Care Act policies, and adults can buy dental insurance if they wish. That's one of the big changes under the health care law. And everyone has until March 31 to buy insurance and avoid penalties.

The 205 restrictions enacted between 2011 and 2013 outpaced the 189 enacted during the entire previous decade. Also, the number of U.S. states deemed by a leading reproductive rights group to be "hostile" to abortion rights continues to rise — from 13 states at the turn of the millennium to 27 today.

If people have insurance coverage, the theory went, they won't end up in the emergency room as often. But an analysis of Oregon's expansion of Medicaid found that people who gained coverage were 40 percent more likely to go to the emergency room.

Wednesday marks the first day for millions of Americans to be covered by health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. But a lingering controversy over one of the law's required benefits, contraceptive coverage, is still playing out in the courts.

Just six people managed to sign up for health insurance through the federal website the day it opened for business. The numbers are better now, but the botched rollout may have not only inconvenienced people, but also permanently changed people's perceptions of the Affordable Care Act.

People who are uninsured now have one more day to sign up for health coverage that start on the first of 2014. On Monday, the White House extended the deadline to sign up for plans under the Affordable Care Act from midnight on Dec. 23 to Christmas Eve at midnight, describing the move as a way to accommodate people in different time zones.

The White House announced another rule change for people signing up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Just in time for the holiday rush, the Obama Administration said people whose policies have been cancelled will be allowed to buy so-called catastrophic coverage plans. The high-deductible, low-premium plans that cover the basics and not much more had previously been limited to people under the age of 30 who had demonstrable financial need.

People whose health policies were canceled get hardship exemptions that excuse them from penalties. They'll also have the option to buy catastrophic coverage. These little-noticed plans cover only three primary care visits, specified preventive services and medical costs that exceed a high minimum.