USA Today (12/28, Kennedy) reports that "it can be difficult to dig through the rhetoric to determine just what the 2010 health care law has done," but "proponents and foes say big pieces of the law have been enacted and have already affected millions of people's lives." Don Berwick former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, remarked, "It's complicated, but there are very many benefits affecting millions of people. They will not know it's the Affordable Care Act, but it is." The piece highlights "five major changes in health care that occurred in 2011 because of the health care law," including a crackdown on fraud and more benefits for young adults and seniors.

The AP (12/28) reports, "Just as Medicaid prepares for a vast expansion under the federal health care overhaul, the 47-year-old entitlement program for the poor is under increasing pressure as deficit-burdened states chip away at benefits and cut payments to doctors. Nearly every state has proposed or implemented a plan in its current budget to rein in costs, and many are considering additional cuts in the year ahead." The piece notes that for those "who rely on the program...the cuts translate into longer waits for doctors, restrictions on prescription drugs, a halt to vision and dental care, staff cuts at nursing homes and dwindling access to home health care."

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