Health care bill

LAYTON — The Rev. Myke Crowder, of the Layton Christian Academy, is front and center when it comes to opposing President Barack Obama’s health care mandate.

Representing the National Clergy Council along with other members, Crowder is attending a three-day U.S. Supreme Court proceeding in Washington, D.C., where justices are hearing arguments on whether Obama’s health care mandate is constitutional.

WASHINGTON -- Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff is appearing at the U.S. Supreme Court as justices hear a three-day debate on the Obama administration’s overhaul of the nation’s health care system.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Utah lawmakers have signed off on a plan to join in a compact with other states to petition the federal government for local control of Medicare and Medicaid.

WASHINGTON — Health insurance plans must cover birth control as preventive care for women, with no copays, the Obama administration said Monday in a decision with far-reaching implications for health care as well as social mores.

WASHINGTON -- One year later, Nancy-Ann DeParle can understand why Americans are still sharply divided over whether health care reform was a good idea.

"For many of them, the benefits of the new law are just beginning to be felt," said DeParle, who was President Barack Obama's point person on health reform.

But for those who are already seeing the benefits, such as young adults who can now stay on their parents' insurance plans until they turn 26, the reforms already have proven their worth, DeParle said.

"If you talk to somebody whose child just graduated from college and doesn't have health insurance, I can tell you they're happy," she said. "I've had a number of them come up to me in church and various other places to say, 'Thank you for helping my child to be able to stay on my plan until they're 26.' "

One year ago on March 23, Obama signed the historic health reforms into law, putting in place the most sweeping changes to the nation's health delivery system since the creation of Medicare more than four decades ago.

WASHINGTON -- Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, an opponent of the recently enacted health care overhaul, says Justice Elena Kagan should not take part in the widely expected Supreme Court consideration of the new law.