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Leading U.S. CEOs, angered by the Obama administration's challenge to certain "workplace wellness" programs, are threatening to side with anti-Obamacare forces unless the government backs off, according to people familiar with the matter. Major U.S. corporations have broadly supported President Barack Obama's healthcare reform despite concerns over several of its elements, largely because it included provisions encouraging the wellness programs. The programs aim to control healthcare costs by reducing smoking, obesity, hypertension and other risk factors that can lead to expensive illnesses. A bipartisan provision in the 2010 healthcare reform law allows employers to reward workers who participate and penalize those who don't. (Begley, 11/28)

Legal immigrants are running into fresh problems signing up for insurance on HealthCare.gov, presenting a hurdle in the Obama administration’s efforts to cover more Hispanics. Immigrant groups say people born outside the U.S. who are entitled to private insurance under the Affordable Care Act are having trouble proving their identities to the federal insurance marketplace and uploading documents that demonstrate they are in the country legally. Some also are being routed first to Medicaid, the state-federal insurance for the poor, even though they don’t qualify. (Radnofsky, 11/27)

When the Affordable Care Act rolled out last year, Californians enrolled in both Covered California and expanded Medicaid in high numbers. But there are still millions in the state without health insurance. Undocumented people don't qualify for Obamacare benefits. And many others still find coverage too expensive — or face other obstacles in enrolling. One of those people is Leaburn Alexander. ... He says he makes just under $11 an hour, and after taxes, child support and other expenses, he brings home just enough to cover rent. ... There's no room in the budget for health insurance. (Morehouse, 11/30)

The Obama administration will promote health insurance coverage at shopping malls starting on Black Friday and continuing through the busiest shopping days of the holiday season, officials announced Wednesday. They said more than 462,000 people selected a private insurance plan in the first week of 2015 enrollment through the online marketplace HealthCare.gov. The government's enrollment push with Westfield Shopping Centers will involve setting up outreach tables at malls in Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, New York and Washington state. Separately, the California insurance marketplace, Covered California, will work with Westfield malls in that state. (Johnson, 11/26)

While the law was touted as a way to keep health insurance costs down and limit the growth of the nation's debt, it taxes the rich in order to pay for health insurance for the poor. When all is said and done, the Congressional Budget Office says that 13 million Americans will gain coverage under the ACA's expansion of Medicaid — a program only available for the poor. And a substantial portion of the insurance subsidies offered under the ACA flow to those earning modest wages. (Goldfarb, 11/26)

What a difference a year makes. More than 460,000 people signed up for health insurance on the federal government’s website during the first week of open enrollment, officials said Wednesday. And there were no outages or other technical glitches. (Fox, 11/26)