HomeCare Editors’ Top 5: Week of October 19

Shop Around Before Renewing Medicare Plan
Ten years after a prescription drug benefit was added to Medicare, 39 million older or disabled Americans have coverage to help pay for their medicine, including most of the 17 million with private insurance policies known as Medicare Advantage, an alternative to traditional Medicare. (Susan Jaffe/Kaiser Health News)

Makeover Coming for HealthCare.gov
Acknowledging at least tacitly the difficulties of some health care consumers, the Obama administration plans major changes to HealthCare.gov this year to make it easier for shoppers to find health insurance plans that include their doctors and to predict their health care costs for the coming year. (Robert Pear/New York Times)

A Different Kind of Care Package
U.S. health care is in a revolution that is starting to shake up one of the most conservative parts of medicine: its antiquated model for training doctors. (Carolyn Johnson/Washington Post)

DOL Wage Rule Takes Affect, Provider Reaction Mixed
Federal overtime and minimum wage protections for home care workers officially took effect Tuesday, after a protracted and still ongoing legal battle between the Department of Labor and provider associations. (Tim Mullaney/Home Health Care News)

Financial Health Shaky at Many Obamacare Insurance Co-Ops
A new breed of health insurers created under the Affordable Care Act—representing one of the government’s most innovative attempts in decades to foster better coverage—is on shaky financial ground in many of the 23 states where the plans began. (Amy Goldstein/Washington Post)