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As the nation faced Day 1 of the government shutdown, federal lawmakers made no progress on funding government operations in the new fiscal year, and healthcare leaders pondered the effects of the budget impasse on patients, providers, researchers and public health programs.

Heavy volume contributed to technical problems and delays that plagued the rollout Tuesday of the online insurance markets at the heart of President Obama's health care law, according to state and federal governments, with officials watching closely for clues to how well the system will work and how many people will take advantage of it.

The country is abuzz with news of the state-based exchanges opening today. For the millions of uninsured, it means they can finally obtain affordable coverage. Yet, a lack of outreach and education about what the exchanges entail has created a missing link between consumers and their ability to make effective decisions.

Whatever HHS officials envisioned for the first day of open enrollment on the health insurance exchanges, they surely didn't expect to face it with more than half of the department's employees furloughed.

As online applications, the health insurance exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act will leave something to be desired in at least some states when they start enrolling consumers on Oct. 1.

Medicare officials announced Thursday that they will delay enforcement of controversial new rules that define when hospital patients should receive observation care, rather than being admitted, a distinction that makes beneficiaries ineligible for follow-up nursing home coverage.

Tomorrow marks the official start date of open enrollment in the healthcare insurance exchange marketplace. For the first time in history, millions nationwide will have the opportunity to purchase health insurance as a benefit of the Affordable Care Act.

Hospitals and medical groups are the organizations that most commonly see uninsured patients and have a powerful incentive to find a payment source.

Less than a week before the health insurance marketplaces established by the 2010 healthcare law begin accepting customers, a New York Times/CBS News poll has found that there is some support among uninsured Americans for President Obama and his law, but also a wariness and a lack of understanding about what the law will mean for them.

This week the Department of Health and Human Services released a ton of information about how insurance sold in 36 states under the Affordable Care Act will work.

While the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has incited critically-needed interest and discussion of a more competitive insurance marketplace in order to control costs, there are still many emerging concerns about both the public and private healthcare exchanges.

There is growing concern that far fewer software developers have certified electronic health-record systems for use by healthcare providers under federal Stage 2 meaningful-use requirements than under Stage 1.

avid Muntz, the No. 2 official at HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, will be joining his boss, national coordinator Dr. Farzad Mostashari, in heading out the door next month. Muntz intends to return to the private sector.

House Republicans are poised to open a two-front war on ObamaCare, pushing for a vote this weekend on a bill that would delay the health care law in exchange for raising the debt ceiling -- a week after handing the Senate a separate bill that would defund the law.

The Obama administration on Wednesday released a long-awaited report on premiums in Obamacare's federal insurance exchanges - the first look at the rates that will apply in the vast majority of states.

While more than 35 million people worldwide are living with dementia, that number is expected to reach more that 115 million by 2050.

Health spending by privately insured patients increased 4% last year, with households picking up more of the cost, new data show.

The sweeping federal health care law making its major public debut next month was meant for people like Juanita Stonebraker, 63, from Oakland, Md., who retired from her job in a hospital billing office a year and a half ago.

Obamacare is going to kill traditional employer-provided insurance. And that's probably a good thing.

A so-called "family glitch" in the 2010 health care law threatens to cost some families thousands of dollars in health insurance costs and leave up to 500,000 children without coverage, insurance and health care analysts say.

The highly contentious debate over expanding state Medicaid programs may be given another alternative.

More than 35 million people worldwide live with dementia today, according to a new report. By 2050, that number is expected to more than triple to 115 million. The majority require constant care; they're dependent -- and that dependence can impact their loved ones in unmeasurable ways.

House Republicans pushed through a stopgap spending bill Friday that would strip all funding for President Obama's health care law, setting up another bitter fiscal showdown just 10 days before much of the federal government is set to run out of money.

Federally qualified health centers would receive higher Medicare reimbursements starting next year, under a proposed rule issued by the CMS.

The nation's total health spending will bump up next year as the health law expands insurance coverage to more Americans, and then will grow by an average of 6.2 percent a year over the next decade, according to projections released Wednesday by government actuaries.

Optimizing the length of stay at a hospital is critical to patient health outcomes, and more importantly, controlling healthcare costs.

Patient-centered diabetes care is most effective when targeted to patients with HbA1c >8.5 percent, according to a study.

Seven systems that include 25 hospitals in New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania have formed an alliance to build expertise in population health management and capitalize on economies of scale without the complications of merging assets.

In an effort to control insurance premium costs, major insurance companies in California are limiting the number of doctors and hospitals that will be available to patients obtaining health plans in the new state health insurance marketplace.

Access to affordable, quality healthcare for poor Americans varies dramatically among the states, according to a new study that found a wide disparity in measures of health between states with the best healthcare systems and those with the worst.