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Consider, for example, how some Republicans dealt with good news about health reform. Before Obamacare went into effect, they overwhelmingly insisted that it would be a disaster, that more people would lose insurance than would gain it. They were, of course, delighted by the technical problems that initially crippled the program’s website. But those problems were fixed, and enrollment soared. Their response? “They are cooking the books,” declared Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, who now leads the Senate Republican Policy Committee. But that was then. At this point we have multiple independent confirmations — most recently from Gallup — that Obamacare has dramatically expanded insurance coverage. So what do they say now? The law “will collapse under its own weight,” says Representative Paul Ryan, the new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. (Paul Krugman, 1/8)

If I could ask the new Congress to be guided by one principle, it would be this: Do no harm. And yet, in one of their first votes of the year, the House of Representatives will likely pass a bill Thursday that violates that simple request. Under health reform, employers with at least 50 full-time workers must offer coverage to those who work 30 hours a week or more (that’s the “employer mandate” you hear about that is just now starting to phase in). The House vote would redefine the hours-worked threshold under the employer mandate from 30 to 40 hours. (Jared Bernstein, 1/8)

Addressing lawmakers on Tuesday after his reelection as House Speaker, John Boehner chalked up partisan and intra-party divisions of the past six years to the “battle of ideas” that “never ends, and frankly never should.” ... Since 2009, about the only animating idea from congressional Republicans has been to say “no” to whatever President Obama and the Democrats have suggested. ... As a result, the past six years have not been a battle of ideas so much as a battle to stop ideas dead in their tracks. And when that has failed, as in the case of the Affordable Care Act, Republicans have worked to undo any progress — not for the sake of better ideas, but for the sake of denying the president success. Things will only get worse starting Thursday, when House Republicans are expected to bring to the floor an anti-“Obamacare” bill that is, from start to finish, an exercise in dishonesty. (Teresa Tritch, 1/8)

The primary purpose of the Affordable Care Act was to make health insurance affordable for people with modest incomes. Yet as the employer mandate begins to kick in for 2015, the law is already hurting some of the people it was intended to help. By this time next year, we may find that many workers who earn within a few dollars of the minimum wage have less income and less insurance coverage (as a group) than they did before the mandate began to take effect. (John C. Goodman, 1/8)

Maybe the new Republican majority really is getting politically smarter about how to advance its economic agenda, at least if a Thursday vote on ObamaCare is the measure. Inexplicably, however, some conservatives have joined the White House and liberals to impede this policy and political progress. ... So it’s a shame some conservatives are abetting Mr. Obama’s veto threat. As the White House put it in a statement echoing the conservative critics, “Furthermore, by moving the threshold to 40 hours, this legislation could cause the problem it claims to solve by greatly increasing the number of workers for whom employers may have an incentive to reduce hours to avoid the requirement.” (1/8)

There's been a lot of talk about the "hidden taxes" in the Affordable Care Act, but here's one I hadn't thought of before or seen mentioned anywhere: the sudden need for folks with simple tax returns to avail themselves of the services of a paid professional. If you have no income outside a modest salary, and not much in the way of potential deductions such as huge mortgage interest or state tax bills, then there was really no reason to use a tax preparer. Even the mathematically challenged should, with the aid of a calculator, be able to fill out their 1040EZ forms just fine. But Obamacare has introduced a significant level of complexity into the taxes of lower-middle-class wage earners. More of them are going to need an accountant to negotiate the process -- or risk owing the government hundreds of dollars because they didn't fill out the forms correctly. (Megan McArdle, 1/8)

How fast the law achieves [its enrollment] goal depends in part on how fast state Republican leaders give up their bizarre crusade against expanding Medicaid — at minimal cost to state budgets. About 4 million low-income people are caught unnecessarily in a coverage gap of the GOP’s making. Over time, rationality may win out. But in the meantime, people will go without health coverage. (1/8)

A New York Times NYT article earlier this week on changes to Harvard University’s health plan has drawn attention from all sides of the political spectrum. While New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait asserts that the developments at Harvard show the growth of conservative principles, one could also argue they demonstrate the inability of a liberal approach to health plan design to control cost. (Chris Jacobs, 1/8)

Noah Wilkerson seemed to be a happy, healthy infant when he was born on a Friday in June 2009 at a Colorado Springs hospital. The next morning, the hospital drew a blood sample for routine screening done by virtually all U.S. hospitals. It took two days for Noah's sample to be couriered to the state lab, which did not process samples on weekends. On Tuesday — one day before the results came back — Noah died, the victim of an easily treatable disorder that can lower blood sugar to dangerous levels and kill. (1/8)

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and reporter Ellen Gabler did a public service in 2013 by exposing weaknesses in the nation's newborn screeningsystem. Public health agencies and hospitals embraced this opportunity and achieved significant improvements benefiting mothers and infants. State health officials take this issue seriously. Three weeks after the newspaper's initial report, state health officials convened in person to review newborn screening performance and launch systematic improvements. We partnered with the March of Dimes, clinical organizations and public health experts to launch a national collaborative to share strategies and build momentum. (Paul E. Jarris, 1/8)

We all make resolutions and promises to live healthier and better lives, to make the world a better place. Not having my annual physical is one small way I can help reduce health care costs — and save myself time, worry and a worthless exam. (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, 1/8)

Several large technology companies including Apple, Google, and Samsung are entering the expanding market of population health with the introduction of wearable devices. This technology, worn in clothing or accessories, is part of a larger movement often referred to as the “quantified self.” The notion is that by recording and reporting information about behaviors such as physical activity or sleep patterns, these devices can educate and motivate individuals toward better habits and better health. The gap between recording information and changing behavior is substantial, however, and while these devices are increasing in popularity, little evidence suggests that they are bridging that gap. (Drs. Mitesh S. Patel, David A. Asch and Kevin G. Volpp, 1/8)