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Members of health care sharing ministries pay monthly shares and pool their money to cover each others' expenses. Under the new health law, ministry members are exempt from the mandate to buy individual coverage. But they may not be covered for expensive pre-existing conditions.

Seniors getting health care in their homes will soon have to see a doctor to certify the need for care, or Medicare will not pay for it. Some opponents of the new rule say it places an undue burden on patients and doctors.

Living donors of kidneys and other organs face can face difficulties with health costs, if they're uninsured. Recipients' coverage can take care of most acute problems. But some medicines and tests may not be part of the deal.

College students have 30 days from the end of their student health plan to get on their parents' insurance plan. Under the new federal health law, young adults can stay on their parents' plan until age 26.

Of nearly 11,000 malpractice claims paid on behalf of doctors in 2009, some 43 percent were for errors in outpatient settings. Diagnostic errors were the most common problem leading to malpractice payments for outpatients.

Hospitals and outpatient centers have mandatory rules for surgeons to help them avoid operating on the wrong patient — or part of the patient. But patient safety experts say these devastating mistakes continue unabated and a more comprehensive approach is needed.

Medicare's method of paying hospices a flat fee for each day a patient is receiving care there encourages operators of the facilities to seek out patients early on — and try to keep them as long as possible.

New rules going into effect July 1 will limit first-year medical residents to 16-hour shifts in the hopes of reducing the number of errors made by fatigued interns. But some say residents gain invaluable experience through longer hours and managing the fatigue that inevitably comes with practicing medicine.

The new health law required the government set up a website to help consumers understand their health insurance options. The site, www.healthcare.gov, launched today.

Insurance brokers are waging a campaign to exclude the sales commissions insurers pay them from the companies' administrative expenses. Though that battle may sound arcane, there's big money at stake for consumers.