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Insurance enrollment will be a key yardstick for assessing whether the Affordable Care Act is working. Almost as important as the total number of people who get coverage is whether a significant percentage of them are healthy.

Many health insurance policies for part-time workers will end next year and won't be renewed. Better quality choices will likely be on the menu for these workers, though they are also going to cost people more.

The medical screening tests offered by churches and other nonprofits may sound like a great idea. But some of the tests, which are performed by for-profit companies, are not recommended by national organizations because they can lead to invasive testing and unnecessary treatment.

Plans offering coverage that lasts 364 days can cost half as much as those that are in force for a year. But the savings may be illusory for people who need care for injuries or illnesses because the coverage can be skimpier.

No one knows for sure right now how many of the estimated 14 million people who buy their own coverage are getting cancellation notices, but the numbers appear to be big. Some insurers report discontinuing 20 percent of their individual business, while other insurers have notified up to 80 percent of policyholders that they will have to change plans.

President Obama says he's pretty frustrated with the messed-up computer system for insurance enrollment under the Affordable Care Act. If he gets it fixed by mid-November all will be well, analysts say. But further delay could mean real trouble.

Over the next few months people across the U.S. will have to make decisions about health coverage. The questions about how that it will all work keep coming in, with people seeking details about available plans and the size of the penalties if they don't comply.

The technological trials for the online health insurance exchanges have turned an enrollment period that was supposed to be a leisurely three-month stroll into a last-minute sprint for millions of Americans. People who want coverage that starts at the beginning of 2014 need to sign up no later than Dec. 23.

After Angelina Jolie announced she has a genetic variant that raises her risk of breast cancer, many women asked their doctors for the test. Insurers will pay for tests only if there's a clear indication that it would help shape medical care. That's often not the case.

Running a hospital that scores well on keeping more patients alive or providing extensive charity care doesn't translate into a compensation bump for top executives. Nonprofit hospitals have been under scrutiny for paying high salaries to chief executives while skimping on benefits for their communities.