By Robert Pear, Sharon LaFraniere & Ian Austen; The New York Times ~ Oct 13, 2013

WASHINGTON — In March, Henry Chao, the chief digital architect for the Obama administration’s new online insurance marketplace, told industry executives that he was deeply worried about the Web site’s debut. “Let’s just make sure it’s not a third-world experience,” he told them.

Two weeks after the rollout, few would say his hopes were realized.

For the past 12 days, a system costing more than $400 million and billed as a one-stop click-and-go hub for citizens seeking health insurance has thwarted the efforts of millions to simply log in. The growing national outcry has deeply embarrassed the White House, which has refused to say how many people have enrolled through the federal exchange.

By Associated Press; The Washington Post ~ Oct 13, 2013

WASHINGTON — For the second straight year, millions of Social Security recipients, disabled veterans and federal retirees can expect historically small increases in their benefits come January.

Preliminary figures suggest a benefit increase of roughly 1.5 percent, which would be among the smallest since automatic increases were adopted in 1975, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Next year’s raise will be small because consumer prices, as measured by the government, haven’t gone up much in the past year.

By Lena H. Sun & Sandhya Somashekhar; The Washington Post ~ Oct 12, 2013

The dead-tree version of health insurance enrollment is turning out to be surprisingly popular.

Unable to use new government insurance Web sites that have been plagued by technological problems, those tasked with helping the uninsured sign up for health coverage are bypassing the sites altogether, relying instead on old-fashioned paper applications.

It is a slow and labor-intensive substitute for what was supposed to be a snappy online application, similar to Amazon or Travelocity. But faced with a flood of people eager to get health benefits for the first time, what had been considered Plan B has become the plan — at least until the

By Josh Peterson; The Daily Caller ~ Oct 12, 2013

Obamacare’s website, healthcare.gov, recently added an option that allows users to preview their new health care premiums — but the new feature leaves out key pieces of information customers need to choose a health care plan.

While The Huffington Post celebrated the changes at Healthcare.gov in a Friday report, the publication admitted that users were only provided limited data about the program in exchange for basic information about where they live and what kind of coverage they are seeking.

By Patrick Condon, AP; Anderson Independent-Mail News ~ Oct 11, 2013

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — After more than a week in action, is a key feature of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul a success or a bust? Judging by the dearth of data, it’s virtually impossible to say.

The federal government has released no comprehensive data on how many people have enrolled for health insurance using federally run exchanges, the online marketplaces being used in 36 states for residents to compare and buy insurance. In the 14 states running their own exchanges, the situation isn’t much better.

By Amy Goldstein & Ariana Eunjung Cha; The Washington Post ~ Oct 11, 2013

The federal health-care exchange that opened a dozen days ago is marred by snags beyond the widely publicized computer gridlock that has thwarted Americans trying to buy a health plan. Even when consumers have been able to sign up, insurers sometimes can’t tell who their new customers are because of a separate set of computer defects.

The problems stem from a feature of the online marketplace’s computer system that is designed to send each insurer a daily report listing people who have just enrolled. According to several insurance industry officials, the reports are sometimes confusing and duplicative. In some cases, they show — correctly or not — that the same person enrolled and canceled several times on a single day.

By Anne Tergesen; MarketWatch ~ Oct 08, 2013

Just a week before Medicare’s annual enrollment period is set to begin, here’s something for married couples to consider: Just because you were on the same health insurance plan during your working years doesn’t mean you should opt for the same coverage in Medicare.

In fact, spouses “may be better served by having different Medicare plans … because their healthcare needs – and costs – are going to be different,” says Mary Dale Walters

By Mark Miller; Reuters ~ Oct 08, 2013

CHICAGO (Reuters) – President Barack Obama warned last week that Social Security benefits might not go out “on time” if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling.

Should seniors and disabled American really be worried about their benefits if the U.S. government runs out of borrowing capacity later this month?

By Jonathan Capehart; The Washington Post ~ Oct 08, 2013

As we get closer to the global economic abyss, the warnings grow ever louder. “Bankers warn on debt proposal,” reads a headline on the front page of the Wall Street Journal today. Yesterday, China’s vice finance minister, Zhu Guangyao, said, “The executive branch of the U.S. government has to take decisive and credible steps to avoid a

By Leila Abboud & Sinead Carew; Reuters ~ Oct 08, 2013

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – AT&T Inc Chief Executive Randall Stephenson on Tuesday said that he sees a “huge opportunity for somebody” in Europe to invest in mobile broadband and reap the big profits already being generated from such services in the United States.

Stephenson, who has been exploring opportunities for AT&T to expand into Europe, said Europe has the potential to be “incredibly exciting” during his appearance at an industry conference held by ETNO, the European telecommunications lobby.

However, the executive said that Europe needs to make big changes to its mobile spectrum policy in order to spur much needed investments in networks there.