These four stories give a sense of the sweep of subjects covered on the beat. -One is a deep dive into the local economy of Pittsburgh, a city that has been buoyed by an influx of health care jobs and is struggling against the problems that an expanding health sector can bring. The story examines how the country’s growing reliance on health care growth as an economic driver is beginning to collide with its hope to curb health care costs. -One, from April, forecast the technical challenges that have plagued the Affordable Care Act’s online exchange systems. Six months before healthcare.gov’s disastrous launch–and even before Sen. Max Baucus warned of an impending “train wreck”–this story examined evidence from insurers and state officials and concluded that website testing was way behind schedule and officials were already making contingency plans. -The Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act, often lauded as a triumph for the Obama administration, has turned out to be a much larger impediment to the law’s success than many people realized. The enclosed story published to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the decision, documented the lasting damage it has done on the law’s hoped-for expansion of insurance coverage. -While federal policy makers are trying to lower health care costs through payment reforms and the establishment of new marketplaces, the private sector continues to work its way towards similar goals. The enclosed story looks at a particularly promising private-sector innovation, Wal-Mart’s move to offer its sickest employees access to the best surgeons in the country.
