Kellie Schmitt

A key goal of health reform has been to get insured individuals to seek out primary care rather than the ER. In the Bay Area, safety net systems are trying new approaches to funnel more patients into primary care, including putting nurses in firehouses.

The ACA expanded insurance coverage, but many children throughout the country are still not receiving important health care benefits. The extent of the coverage exclusions varies widely depending upon which state a child calls home.

With millions of their patients newly insured because of health care reform, community health centers, once viewed as providers of last resort, are remaking themselves as providers of choice.

Is Obamacare really at risk now that Republicans have taken the Senate? The core of the law will likely survive, thanks to the presidential veto power. Still, sections of it could be pruned away by the legislature. Here are a few possibilities the media has highlighted.

In recent years, there's been growing concern that a lack of doctors will keep newly insured patients from accessing care. Now, a new tool can predict the supply of physicians and help journalists ask and answer new questions from the data. Fresh story ideas abound.

In Washington state, a lack of psychiatric beds has led to a court ruling that says patients can't be held against their will in ERs while awaiting long-term care. While the ACA has expanded benefits, it has also revealed just how scarce resources often are.

The ACA is projected to save hospitals billions in uncompensated care, with the biggest savings in states that expanded Medicaid. But the good news for some hospitals is tempered by ongoing cuts in federal funding that could threaten the sustainability of safety-net systems.

With the upcoming enrollment for California's health exchange expected to be half as long and twice as hard, officials are looking to improve on call wait times, outreach to diverse communities, and persuading the remaining uninsured to sign up.

The Affordable Care Act has spurred new conversations about how to best deliver mental health benefits. Ideas range from incorporating more mental health services into primary care visits to the use of avatar systems to help schizophrenics control hallucinations.

One way the Affordable Care Act aims to spur innovations in health care delivery is through the CMS Innovation Center. Four California-based projects give a sense of the kinds of programs and ideas the office is currently funding and tracking.