Federal health market surpasses 1 million signups

HONOLULU — A December surge propelled health care sign-ups through the government's rehabilitated website past the 1 million mark, the Obama administration said Sunday, reflecting new signs of life for the problem-plagued federal insurance exchange.

Of the more than 1.1 million people now enrolled, nearly 1 million signed up in December, with the majority coming in the week before a pre-Christmas deadline for coverage to start in January. Compare that to a paltry 27,000 in October —the website's first, error-prone month — or 137,000 in November.

The figures tell only part of the story. The administration has yet to provide a December update on the 14 states running their own exchanges. While California, New York, Washington, Kentucky and Connecticut have performed well, others are still struggling.

Still, the end-of-year surge suggests that with HealthCare.Gov now functioning better, the federal market may be starting to pull its weight. The windfall comes at a critical moment for Obama's sweeping health care law, which becomes "real" for many Americans on Jan. 1 when coverage through the exchanges and key patient protections kick in.

"As we continue our open enrollment campaign, we experienced a welcome surge in enrollment as millions of Americans seek access to affordable health care coverage," Marilyn Tavenner, the head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a blog post.

The fledgling exchanges are still likely to fall short of the government's own targets for 2013. That's a cause for concern, because Obama needs millions of mostly younger, healthy Americans to sign up to keep costs low for everyone. The administration had projected more than 3.3 million overall would be enrolled through federal and state exchanges by the end of the year.

Tavenner said fixes to the website, which underwent a major overhaul to address widespread outages and glitches, contributed to December's figures. But the problems haven't totally disappeared. Thousands of people wound up waiting on hold for telephone help on Christmas Eve for a multitude of reasons, including technical difficulties.

The administration released the figures Sunday while President Barack Obama was vacationing in Hawaii. Although the president has spent most of his time relaxing with friends and family, he stepped into work mode late Friday for an update from aides on his signature domestic policy achievement. The White House said Obama told his team to focus on minimizing disruptions for those switching plans.

For Americans who successfully chose insurance plans by Dec. 24, coverage should start on New Year's Day for those who pay their first month's premium by the due date, which in most cases has been extended until Jan. 10.

But insurers have complained that another set of technical problems, largely hidden from consumers, has resulted in the government passing along inaccurate data on enrollees. The White House says the error rate has been significantly reduced. Yet with a flood of signups that must be processed in just days, it remains unclear whether last-minute enrollees will encounter a seamless experience if they try to use their new benefits come Jan. 1.

The political fallout from the website's calamitous rollout could pale in comparison to the heat that Obama might take if Americans who signed up and paid their premiums arrive at the pharmacy or the emergency room and find there's no record of their coverage. Republican critics, already on the lookout for health-law failures to exploit in the 2014 midterm elections, would be emboldened to argue that shortcomings with the law's implementation have jeopardized Americans' health.

As make-or-break January approaches, officials are also working to prevent gaps in coverage for millions of Americans whose individual policies were canceled this fall because they fell short of the law's requirements. In one of a series of last-minute tweaks, the administration in December said even if those individuals don't sign up for new plans, they won't face the penalty the law imposes on Americans who fail to get insurance by March 31.

A key indicator of whether state-run exchanges are keeping pace with the federal exchange will come next month, when the administration releases full December figures. Overall, the goal is to sign up 7 million Americans before the first-year open enrollment period closes at the end of March.

A few states offering their own updates have posted encouraging totals, including New York, where more than 200,000 have enrolled either through the state exchange or through Medicaid, a government program expanded under Obama's health law to cover more people. In California, a tally released Friday showed nearly 430,000 have enrolled through the exchange so far.

"The basic structure of that law is working despite all the problems —despite the website problems, despite the messaging problems," Obama told reporters before departing for Hawaii.

Another major unknown is whether the recent surge in enrollments skewed toward older Americans whose medical needs are expensive to cover, or whether the administration succeeded in recruiting younger and healthier people whose participation is critical to the law's success. Those details for December are expected to be released in mid-January.

Meanwhile, with the website now able to handle higher volumes without crashing or clogging up, the government plans in January to ramp up outreach to consumers to encourage more people to sign up, the administration said.

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Reach Josh Lederman at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

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Is an older Cadillac a good candidate for synthetic oil?

I recently purchased a 2001 Cadillac Deville with 52,000 original miles. The service advisor at the dealership recommended using conventional oil or a synthetic blend. I was told there can be problems with synthetic oil causing gasket failure on older engines. Is this true?

I don't think you'd have any issues using full synthetic oil in your vehicle — it's not that old and has low mileage. The theory behind oil consumption or leakage issues using synthetic oil in older engines is based on the fundamental difference between "natural" petroleum oil and "manufactured" synthetic oil. Every molecule of synthetic is exactly the same size, as opposed to the random size of conventional oil molecules. It was thought that the larger of the random-sized molecules in conventional oil tended to reduce oil leakage past gaskets and seals by blocking the smaller molecules from escaping. Since synthetic molecules are all the same size, there's no "blocking" action to slow/stop/prevent oil leaks.

Do I think this is a serious concern? No. First off, no oil will cause "failure" of a gasket or seal. Secondly, if your engine doesn't leak oil now, it very likely won't with synthetic. And if it did, just switch back to conventional petroleum oil. However, if your engine already has an oil leak, it may leak more using synthetic. Again, the solution is to switch back to petroleum oil.

Remember, GM recommends 5W-30 "SJ" rated oil for any ambient temperature above 0 degrees F. Conventional and synthetic oils both meet these specs.

• • •

I have a problem with my 2009 Toyota Camry with the 3.5-liter V-6 engine. It is impossible to check the oil level using the dipstick. Oil is constantly smeared up the dipstick several inches, even after sitting for several days. I change oil myself every 5,000 miles and can only verify that the engine is not consuming oil by measuring the 6.5 quarts that end up in my drain pan. The engine now has 105,000 miles. Do you have a suggestion?

A check of my ALLDATA database and online found no information on this issue, which tends to tell me that it is unique to your vehicle. I'm sorry to ask such an obvious question, but do you pull the dipstick, wipe it clean, reinsert it and then pull it again to check the oil level? In most cases, this will eliminate the excess oil that has splashed up into the bottom end of the dipstick tube from registering on the dipstick.

Assuming you've done this and still get smeared readings, the only things I can suggest are to pull the dipstick, wipe it clean and leave it only partially inserted in the tube overnight, then check the level in the morning. Also, try rotating the dipstick in 90-degree increments before reinserting into the tube and recheck. And finally, reduce the oil volume from 6.4 quarts to 6 quarts to see if the engine "likes" this slightly lower but still entirely safe amount of oil.

• • •

In 2003 we bought a Saturn Vue. We had a sheet of plastic film put on the front of the hood to deter chips from road debris. We are thinking of trading it in and it would look better without it as the years have made it look pretty bad. Do you have any thoughts on how to peel this off and not damage or peel off the paint?

Since your plan is to trade in the vehicle, I wouldn't bother trying to remove the protective film. Let the dealer's "detailer" do this. I've had some success using heat from a hair dryer or heat gun, or you could try a solvent like 3M's adhesive remover and surface cleaner.

I really don't think leaving the film on the car will have a significant effect on the car's trade-in value. In this case, I think the risk outweighs any potential benefit.

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrandstartribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. Because of the volume of mail, we cannot provide personal replies.

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Gaming foes await SJC decision

Attorney General Martha Coakley is pushing for swift action by the state Supreme Judicial Court on the legality of a ballot initiative to repeal the Bay State's two-year-old expanded gaming law, a question that looms large over the awarding of casino licenses.

Coakley rejected the initiative in September, arguing it would damage the contractual rights of those bidding for casino licenses. Those pushing the ballot question appealed Coakley's ruling to the Supreme Judicial Court, which is expected to hear arguments and make a decision in the spring, the same time the state Gaming Commission plans to award casino licenses.

"We expect to request that the SJC take up this matter promptly in order to reach a final determination," Coakley spokesman Brad Puffer said. "While our office determined that the question does not meet constitutional requirements, the most important thing is to get the right result."

If approved to go before voters on the November 2014 ballot, the question would pose huge problems for anyone looking to develop a casino in Massachusetts.

"It's an open question," said Matthew Cameron, an attorney for the repeal group. "I think, honestly, that the smartest thing would be an injunction (on casino development) if it clears the SJC. I think the industry's going to be pretty scared if they see that's going on the ballot."

The Gaming Commission has yet to take a stance on what would happen to casinos awarded licenses in the spring if it appears the law could be overturned in the fall.

"The commission has not taken up this topic yet," commission spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said.

For now, casino companies are keeping a poker face about the potentially game changing ballot question.

"We knew that was out there when we went after this, we knew that was looming, but we feel that this is a project that is worth pursuing," said Mitchell Etess, CEO of Mohegan Sun, which is going for a license to open a casino on the Revere side of Suffolk Downs and reached a host agreement with the city last week. "I can't control what's going to happen, we can only just keep going, one foot ahead of the other, and get everything done that we need to get done. It has by no means deterred us."

The proponents — a collection of casino foes who played a key role in defeating a Suffolk Downs casino plan in East Boston in November — are proceeding as if they are in the clear. On Dec. 9, Secretary of State William Galvin certified 72,901 signatures they had collected, exceeding the 68,911 needed to get on the ballot.

Revere Mayor Dan Rizzo, a strong casino supporter, said the initiative is frustrating.

"That horse left the barn back in November 2011, expanded gaming is allowed here in the state," Rizzo said. "Now, it's not good enough for them that they're not going to have a casino in East Boston. It's really become a huge distraction to what the state's trying to do, and that's create jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in enhancements."

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Mass. couple promote new craft beer business model

BELMONT, Mass. — Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow founded Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont in 2010, and today, at any given time, its 1,500 square feet of retail space are filled with more than 1,000 beers from 350 breweries. Beers are organized by region, from Worcester to the West Coast, with an emphasis on local brews. Employees have jobs like Head Beer Geek, Ambassador of Fine Ales and Lagers, and Hoptologist and wear hooded sweat shirts emblazoned with the words "Beer Geek."

"People take two steps in the door and they don't know how to proceed," says Brian Shaw, who opened a Craft Beer Cellar in Newton Centre recently, joining franchises in Winchester, Westford, and Braintree. "People say, 'Oh my God, I didn't know there was this much beer.'?"

Is there ever. And now Baker and Schalow are betting their model can work elsewhere as they expand to New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as Florida, St. Louis, and maybe Seattle. Their goal is to make people think about whether to buy a Pretty Things Jack D'Or or a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale as carefully as they would wrestle between a cabernet or a merlot.

It is a risky quest. Despite craft beer's popularity boom, creating a national franchise of specialty beer stores has not been done. One reason could be that craft beers accounted for only 10 percent of the dollars in total beer sales in the United States in 2012.

Craft Beer Cellar stores carry flavorful ales and lagers that are brewed to traditional standards and can be hard to find.

Baker and Schalow prefer to focus on other numbers, like the 2,403 brewers that operated in the United States in 2012, the most since the 1880s, according to the Brewers Association. Schalow and Baker hope to capitalize on this explosion by packing each small, service-oriented store with carefully curated beer while leaving out nips, cigarettes, and jugs of wine.

"Beer store is still not a 'category' in the world," says Schalow. "No one has done this. No one has put everything on the line and said, 'I can teach people about great beer.'?"

Schalow and Baker, partners in life as well as business, met in 2002 when Schalow, then a manager at Cambridge Common restaurant, hired Baker. The first beer Baker consumed in front of Schalow was a Budweiser.

"I almost fell over," Schalow says.

Around that time, Schalow wanted to take Blue Moon, a MillerCoors product, off the bar's tap list. When ownership said no, she challenged her staff to "sell the heck" out of something else, and Magic Hat's Circus Boy, a craft beer, eventually replaced Blue Moon.

Baker and Schalow married in 2010, and the couple decided that year to leave the restaurant and open the beer store.

"When I told her craft beer store, she was a lot supportive and a little skeptical," says Schalow. "I told her, 'If we make it amazing, they will come, it doesn't matter where it is.'?"

The pair have scoured the region looking for craft beer from hard-to-find brewers. Stores carry multiple styles from brewers like Northampton's Brewmaster Jack, Everett's Night Shift Brewing, and Plymouth's Mayflower Brewing, as well as beers from Belgium, Italy, and France.

"It's all about building and cultivating the relationships," says Baker. "And it could be with a distributor, or a bartender, or a homebrewer who has visions of creating their brewery."

"They're really in tune with the culture of craft beer," says Mark Vasconcelos, craft brand manager for Burke Distributing, a Massachusetts company that delivers 37 craft brands to stores around the state, in addition to larger brands like Coors Light. "They're proactive in letting us know if there's something that's going to be in demand by the consumers."

Carrying 350 beer brands is not without challenges. "Beer is the least marked up drinkable thing," Baker says. "There's a reason why no one has done this before."

A big reason is that light beer, in particular, remains hugely popular.

"We celebrate the beer renaissance currently taking place, and we are proud to offer beer drinkers a portfolio of great beers for every drinking occasion," Karina Diehl, a spokeswoman for MillerCoors, said in a statement. "Light beer is the largest segment in the American beer industry for a reason."

John Libonati and Chris Schutte own Social Wines in South Boston, which carries only premium beer, but also wine and spirits. They acknowledge the higher markups on wine make it easier to not carry the big-name beers.

"The growth of the craft beer market right now isn't being fueled by people who only want beer," says Jeff Wharton, co-founder of DrinkCraftbeer.com. "I think the world is ready for more liquor stores with a craft beer ethos."

Craft beer, by definition, means small, independently owned, and brewed to traditional standards; it accounted for 6.5 percent of the volume of all beer sold in 2012, according to the Brewers Association. Schalow knows craft beer is not yet on everyone's radar.

"We're the crazy hippies with the headbands, screaming and shouting and carrying the torches," she says.

To better reach the masses, the store has tried to engage potential customers through social media. Lee Movic, who runs Craft Beer Cellar's social media accounts, positions himself as an advocate for craft beer, not just the store. Movic attends events, even for competing stores, pushing craft. He tweets about those events, new beer arrivals, and generally positive messages like, "Good morning, beer geeks. We hope you have a great day today."

He is luring new customers the only way he knows how. "Everyone loves great customer service," he says, "so we start with that."

Franchising was not always the plan, says Baker. The pair spent "close to 50 hours" scouting store locations in St. Louis before hiring a real estate developer to help. They admittedly don't know the Brandon, Fla., market as they know Belmont. Selecting new franchise sites and owners has taken them away from their base.

"The first couple months were humbly painful," says Schalow. She says the store's regular customers weren't used to seeing them less.

Movic says the store's brand is intrinsically linked to Baker and Schalow. "But it is already becoming much more than that," he adds.

Despite early challenges, the owners — with a staff of about 30 people and growing — remain devoted to spreading their motto of "Don't drink crap beer." Schalow talks in great detail about educating her staff and the public ("If you can't buy good beer from me, just buy good beer," she says), and several staffers eagerly share their "a-ha" moments of talking dazed and confused customers "down from that scary place" and converting them into regulars.

Shaw, the Newton Centre store owner, says business has been brisk since the opening on Oct. 30. Kay Lorenz, one of the owners of the Braintree Craft Beer Cellar, says she has "been welcomed with open arms" by neighboring retailers. On a day in late November, a new 20-something employee introduced himself to Schalow on his first day.

"This is so much fun," he says, his voice rising in pitch with excitement. "I just love working here!"

Schalow smiles. "You'll fit right in."

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In governor's races, Democrats eye wage increase

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Republican governors running for re-election next year are looking to capitalize on distaste for Washington gridlock and President Barack Obama's dropping public approval amid the bumpy rollout of his signature health care law — and Democratic challengers may need to respond with a popular cause.

A minimum wage increase could be the answer.

Democrats vying to challenge a slew of Republican governors, particularly those seeking re-election in states that Obama won last year, are talking up an increase as their campaigns get off the ground 11 months before the election.

Polls say it's publicly popular, it revives the message of economic inequality that Obama wielded effectively last year, and it comes wrapped in a broader jobs and economic message that touches on the top priority of many voting Americans.

In Pennsylvania, championing a minimum wage increase is already popular among the big field of Democrats vying to challenge the re-election bid of Gov. Tom Corbett.

Now, Katie McGinty, a onetime environmental policy adviser to the Clinton White House and Corbett's Democratic predecessor, is distinguishing herself by telling audiences and potential donors that she was the first Democrat in the Pennsylvania field to make it an issue.

"This is core for me," McGinty said. "I think it is fundamentally true across the centuries that one of the things that can really bring a nation down is the increasing chasm in terms of income."

Thus far, the Republicans whom Democrats view as most vulnerable aren't changing their minds and supporting it.

In addition to Corbett, the Democrats' list of most vulnerable includes Maine's Paul LePage, Michigan's Rick Snyder and Wisconsin's Scott Walker. Florida's Rick Scott and Ohio's John Kasich might be insulated because their states' laws boost minimum wage with inflation and Iowa's Terry Branstad, New Mexico's Susanna Martinez and Nevada's Brian Sandoval aren't viewed as sufficiently endangered.

All of those governors won a first term in the national Republican sweep of 2010, and most have had strong Republican representation in their legislatures to support them.

But LePage was tasked with facing a Democrat-controlled legislature, and in July he vetoed a bill to incrementally raise the state's minimum wage.

For his likely Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, increasing the minimum wage is an issue the onetime paper mill worker from northern Maine discusses often, said campaign adviser David Farmer.

"He is closely aligned with working- and middle-class families," Farmer said. "He's not a millionaire."

Still, it would not be unheard of for a Republican to advocate a minimum wage increase. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who leads the Washington, D.C.-based Republican Governors Association, and New Mexico's Martinez each vetoed their legislature's minimum wage bill, but not without making a counteroffer of a more modest increase.

Republican governors are focused on lightening tax and regulatory burdens for businesses to improve wages, said Jon Thompson, a spokesman for the Republican Governors Association. But he also seemed to acknowledge the occasional political necessity for Republicans to embrace a minimum wage increase.

"It's complicated because there are some states that a minimum wage increase could be more helpful and useful than other states," Thompson said in an email.

For Democrats, campaign advisers and strategists say there's no mandate from national party leaders to wield the issue as a weapon next year. But there's no denying it's popular and salient to the political battlefield, said Danny Kanner, spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association.

"The defining issue in every single one of these races is who is fighting for the middle class," he said.

Democrats are pairing their advocacy of a minimum wage increase with criticism of cuts to corporate tax rates, public pensions or education aid that Republican governors pushed through. They also contend that it'll revive the economy by flushing more money into the hands of consumers who spend it and reduce reliance on food stamps or other government programs for the poor.

If vulnerable Republicans aren't budging on the issue, neither are the big-business groups that tend to back them. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warns that small employers will have the hardest time absorbing higher labor costs, while the National Federation of Independent Business warned of job losses.

"We're not going to waver," said NFIB spokeswoman Jean Card. "It's the kind of thing that sounds good, but rarely are polling questions backed up with the kind of economic downside that's inevitable."

For Democrats, Obama got the ball rolling on the issue by calling for an increase in his February budget speech, and union-organized demonstrations in front of profitable mega-chains such as Wal-Mart and McDonald's have kept it in the public eye.

And it's not only a popular issue with the labor unions that often provide money and volunteers to help power Democrats' campaigns — the public warmly embraces it, too.

An NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey this month found that more than six in 10 voting-age adults said they would support an increase of the federal minimum wage from $7.25, where it was last raised in 2009, to $10.10 an hour. Support to raise it to $12.50 fell to about four in 10 and fewer than three in 10 supported an increase to $15 an hour. A CBS News poll in November found that just one in four would like the federal minimum wage to remain at $7.25.

Some Democrats may nevertheless approach the issue with caution.

Mary Burke, who is expected to win the Democratic nomination to challenge Wisconsin's Walker, said she supports legislation there to increase the minimum wage by a relatively modest 35 cents an hour to $7.60.

Beyond that, the former state commerce secretary and daughter of Trek Bicycle's founder said a gradual and fair increase in the minimum wage could avoid economic harm. While she wasn't prepared to say what that is, the subject will be prominent in her campaign, Burke said.

"This race is going to be about jobs and people being able to support themselves," Burke said, "and that is an important way we can help more people move toward economic independence."

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Circle these dates: Health law's key tests in 2014

WASHINGTON — The new year brings the big test of President Barack Obama's beleaguered health care law: Will it work?

The heart of the law springs to life Wednesday, after nearly four years of political turmoil and three months of enrollment chaos. Patients will begin showing up at hospitals and pharmacies with insurance coverage bought through the nation's new health care marketplaces.

The course of 2014 will show whether Obama can get affordable care to millions of people in need, without doing intolerable damage to the 85 percent of U.S. residents who already were insured.

Lots of Americans are nervous.

Will their new coverage be accepted? It's a concern because insurers have reported problems with the customer information they've gotten from the government, including missing data and duplication.

How many more people will see old individual plans that they liked canceled? Will a flood of newly insured patients cause doctor shortages? Will businesses respond to the law by ditching their group plans or pushing more health costs onto workers?

About three-fourths of people who face changes to their job-based or other private coverage in 2014 blame the health law, a recent AP-GfK poll found. Yet the trend of employers trimming costly health benefits predates the law that critics dubbed "Obamacare."

Many people should benefit immensely.

People previously locked out of individual insurance by high prices or pre-existing health problems can get coverage to stave off the threat of medical bankruptcy. More low-income workers will come under Medicaid, in states that agreed to expand the safety-net program. Middle-class families without workplace coverage can get tax subsidies to help pay for their insurance. How much patients like the new plans, and whether they can afford the co-pays and deductibles, will become clear as they start visiting doctors.

The new year also launches the most contentious aspect of the law: the mandate that nearly everyone in the U.S. have health coverage, or pay a fine.

All this will unfold during the super-heated politics leading to November's midterm elections.

Republicans and Democrats will jostle all year to influence the public's assessment of changes to American health care not matched since Medicare and Medicaid were launched nearly a half-century ago.

Some dates — and moving parts — to watch in 2014:

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JANUARY 1

— Coverage begins. Many low-income Americans who didn't qualify for Medicaid in the past can use it now. People who signed up for private insurance in a state or federal marketplace by Dec. 24 (or later in some states) and have paid their first premium are now covered, too.

—Coverage begins for workers at companies that have signed up for new small business plans through the marketplaces, also called health care exchanges.

—Coverage lapses for people whose existing plans were canceled, if they haven't signed up for a replacement or received an extension. At least 4.7 million people got cancellation notices, despite Obama's promise that Americans with insurance they like could keep their old plans. Obama recently gave insurance companies the option of extending old plans for existing customers for a year, but only where state insurance commissioners give their OK.

—The clock starts on the "individual mandate." Nearly all U.S. citizens and legal residents are required to have "minimum essential coverage" for most of 2014, or pay a penalty. Most people already are insured through their jobs, Medicare, Medicaid, or military coverage and so don't need to do anything.

—Insurance companies are no longer allowed to turn away people in poor health or kick customers out of plans when they get sick.

—Women and people with pre-existing conditions pay the same rates as healthy men in the new plans. The law also limits how much more insurers can charge older people.

—New insurance plans can't put an annual dollar limit on care, or require individuals to pay more than $6,350 in out-of-pocket costs per year.

___

JANUARY 10

Payment due. In most cases, marketplace customers who signed up by Dec. 24 have until now to pay the first month's premium and get coverage for their January medical bills. Major national insurers agreed to accept payments 10 days into the month because of technical troubles plaguing online enrollment at HealthCare.gov. But buyers should check early with their insurance companies — some may not honor the grace period. A few states running their own marketplaces are granting even more time. Those who miss their deadline can get coverage starting Feb. 1.

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JANUARY 31

— A temporary program for people denied coverage because of poor health ends. Tens of thousands of Americans with serious illnesses such as heart disease and cancer were in the special program and needed new coverage for 2014. The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, originally set to expire Dec. 31, was extended one month to help sick people whose enrollment was stymied by HealthCare.gov computer crashes.

— Some people could lose coverage for a prescription they've been taking. The Obama administration urged insurers to temporarily let customers keep filling prescriptions covered by a previous plan, but not their new one, through January.

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LATE MARCH

— The patched-up health care website will face a major test if too many people rush to sign up in the final days of open enrollment. Watch for a possible return of rampant crashes and error messages.

— On the other hand, low enrollment signals another danger. The law's design relies on younger, healthier enrollees to offset the cost of older and sicker consumers. If the numbers stay low, it's likely that enrollees will be disproportionately people with more expensive medical needs, putting a financial strain on insurers. The White House set a goal of 7 million sign-ups for private coverage. More than 1 million had enrolled by Dec. 20, Obama said.

__

MARCH 31

— Last chance for open enrollment through the federal marketplace or 14 states running their own exchanges. Late March enrollees will be covered beginning May 1. (It's possible the administration could decide to extend open enrollment, if major website problems resurface and interfere with sign-ups.)

—This is the deadline for most people to get coverage to avoid a fine. The Obama administration says, however, that those whose existing health insurance was canceled because of the Affordable Care Act will be exempt from the penalty. People who lose coverage during the year can go without for three months before facing a penalty.

—The enrollment deadline doesn't apply to people signing up for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, based on income. People can apply for those programs at any time and coverage begins at once.

—The March 31 deadline also won't stop those who need to sign up later in 2014 because of a "qualifying life event." The events include things like getting married, having a baby, or leaving a job that provided insurance. Qualifying events trigger a special enrollment period lasting 60 days.

___

APRIL 15

No worries yet. Those who go without insurance won't owe penalties until federal taxes are due in 2015 for the previous year's income. Tax returns filed in 2015 will include health insurance information; insurers will send notices to confirm that taxpayers were covered in 2014. People who bought plans in the marketplaces and received either too little or too much in premium subsidies during the year also will square things with the IRS in April 2015.

___

NOVEMBER 4

The midterm elections will be yet another referendum on the health care law passed in March 2010 with no Republican support. Obama will still be in the midst of his final term, however. So even if Republicans emerge with control of both chambers of Congress, they will still face two more years with Obama in the White House to veto attempts to undermine his signature law.

___

NOVEMBER 15

Open enrollment for 2015 begins. Americans can sign up for insurance or switch to a different plan. And they'll see what rate increases are in store for the coming year.

___

DECEMBER 31

— The extension ends today for people who were able to keep their old individual plans for an extra year, even though the coverage wasn't up to the law's minimum standards.

___

COMING IN 2015

Jan. 1: Large employers — those with more than 50 employees — that don't offer health plans face a possible tax penalty. The penalties are designed to discourage businesses from dropping their existing health plans, although some have already begun to do so.

Jan. 15: Open enrollment for 2015 ends.

April 15: Penalties for individuals who weren't insured in 2014 kick in. The penalty is $95 or 1 percent of income, whichever is higher. It goes up in later years. The IRS can deduct the penalty from a taxpayer's refund.

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COMING IN 2018

So-called "Cadillac health plans" offered by some employers come under a new tax. It hits plans that spend more than $10,200 per worker or $27,500 for a family. Most job-based coverage isn't that generous, but corporate executives get such plans, and so do some workers in jobs with strong union contracts. Some companies will pass the tax on to workers and others may trim employee benefits to avoid it.

___

Follow Connie Cass on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ConnieCass

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Market Basket’s CEO blasts board’s website

Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas has taken the grocery chain's contentious board to task over alleged inaccuracies on a website that it's using to communicate with workers.

In a letter to chairman Keith Cowan that Demoulas shared with employees, he stated his opposition to the "unprecedented" website and highlighted information on it that he said is significantly "wrong." He also asked the board to shut down the site.

"I am completely opposed to the board having a website," Demoulas said in the letter to Cowan. "Any company should speak to its associates, its customers and the public through its CEO. I urge you to promptly either close the website or, at a minimum, fix the site and eliminate the half-truths and inaccuracies."

Demoulas said the site takes the position of so-called "A" directors aligned with his rival, Arthur S. 
Demoulas, who waged an earlier campaign to remove his cousin from the CEO's post and rein in his duties amid a long-running family feud.

The board, meanwhile, has made only one of Demoulas' recommended changes to the site's "frequently asked questions" page, but updated others. It acknowledged that it's hired an executive search firm to "assure that both corporate succession planning and the identification and development of additional executive talent is an integral part of long-term planning ... The search firm is not looking for a new president."

The board has no intention to take down the site, according to a board spokeswoman. "The board has made it clear why it created the website, and the board will continue to use this vehicle to provide factual information to the company's stakeholders," she said.

A spokeswoman for 
Arthur T. Demoulas said he declined comment. In his letter to employees, Demoulas said he was forwarding the Cowan letter to "set the record straight."

"It is important that when the company decides to communicate with its associates, it do so truthfully," he said in the letter.

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Briar Group card breach investigated

An investigation of a new credit card security breach at the Briar Group will include ensuring the Boston restaurant chain complied with security measures outlined in a settlement with the state Attorney General's office after a 2009 data breach.

As part of its probe of reports that thieves had stolen and used the credit card information of Seaport District workers and visitors, the Attorney General's office said it had urged the Briar Group to determine if its payment system had been illegally accessed.

"We continue to work with the Briar Group and will review the findings of its internal investigation now that a breach has been determined in its systems," Christopher Loh, a spokesman for Attorney General Martha Coakley, said in a statement. "Data breaches are a serious concern, and we expect the Briar Group to assist consumers impacted by this breach."

The Briar Group, whose 10 restaurants and bars include Ned Devine's, Harp and Anthem, as well as M.J. O'Connor's and City Bar in the Seaport District, said that hackers had gained access to its customers' credit card information.

The company has not pinpointed the exact dates of the latest breach, but believes it occurred from sometime in October to early November. It also couldn't confirm yesterday how many customers were affected. A Briar Group spokeswoman said it was in compliance with both the settlement agreement and payment card industry data security standards.

"We feel confident that, based on the information we know to date, that it's no longer possible for the person who originally infiltrated this system to continue taking data," spokeswoman Diana Pisciotta said.

In 2011, the Briar Group agreed to pay $110,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Coakley for its failure to secure customers' personal information during the 2009 security breach. A malicious software code had been installed on its point-of-sales computer system that April and was not removed until December. The judgment required the Briar Group to comply with Massachusetts data security regulations and the PCI standards, and to set up and maintain an enhanced computer network security system.

"We've put in completely new security systems and are working regularly with a company called McGladrey, who updates our system on a very regular basis," Pisciotta said.

McGladrey started investigating a possible breach in mid-November and installed additional security safeguards at that time, said Pisciotta, who had no information to share about the source of the breach and how it occurred.

The company is not offering free credit monitoring for affected customers.

The breach follows a massive one announced Dec. 19 by Target Corp. in which hackers got access to up to 40 million customer credit and debit cards from Nov. 27 to Dec. 15.

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‘First look’ gives homebuyers an edge over investors

WASHINGTON — An important resource for first-time and other homebuyers who find themselves in unfair competition with deep-pocket investors bearing cash just got better: The two biggest players in the mortgage market, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are now giving non-investor shoppers 20-day exclusive rights to bid on and buy new listings they are selling.

During the 20-day "first look" period, investors will be excluded from submitting bids. To qualify, non-investor buyers will need to commit to make the home their principal residence for at least a year. The idea, according to Fannie and Freddie officials, is to encourage greater owner-occupancy, stabilize neighborhoods that have seen significant numbers of foreclosures and generally help out shoppers who find it difficult to outbid all-cash investors.

All-cash purchases of homes hit a high mark last month, according to a new report from RealtyTrac, a housing data firm. A stunning 42 percent of all residential sales nationwide went to buyers who paid cash — the highest rate since RealtyTrac began measuring the phenomenon in early 2011, and nearly double what it was as recently as May.

First-time buyers looking for affordably priced homes have been hit especially hard by the profusion of investors waving cash at sellers. They locate a home that fits their budget, make an offer with a mortgage contingency and then lose the sale to an investor who has no financing requirements. A mortgage contingency ties the contract to the ability of the bidder to obtain a loan, which slows the process and often makes the offer less attractive to the seller.

Fannie and Freddie have large inventories of previously foreclosed homes for sale — byproducts of the economic woes of 2008-10. As of last week, Fannie had roughly 35,000 houses listed for sale around the country through its "HomePath" (HomePath.com) program. Freddie Mac had 13,000 active listings in its "HomeSteps" (HomeSteps.com) program. Buyers can access the listings online by state, city and price range, then submit offers through a participating realty agent.

In California, for example, Fannie had 2,136 properties listed, many below $200,000. Current listings range from a $139,000, two-bedroom single-family house in Big Bear City to a $700,000 three-bedroom home in South San Francisco. In Washington state, Fannie had nearly 1,900 listings. Shoppers in Virginia had 742 houses to choose from. Freddie also has active listings in every state through HomeSteps, ranging from a three-bedroom single-family home in Key Largo, Fla., for $485,000 to a $99,900 condo in Silver Spring, Md.

Both companies offer mortgage deals on some, but not all, properties. Freddie's financing includes features such as 5 percent down payments, no required appraisals, and no mortgage insurance. Freddie also provides up to $500 toward new purchasers' home warranty policies.

Fannie's financing deals start at 5 percent down with no mortgage insurance or appraisal costs. HomePath listings that need some fix-up may also be eligible for "renovation mortgages," where the loan amount includes funds for the purchase itself plus the estimated money needed for improvements.

Here's the deal on "first look" exclusions of investors from bidding. On all homes listed on or after Dec. 17 (Freddie) and Jan. 2 (Fannie), owner-occupant buyers will get a shot at viewing houses and submitting bids with no competition from investors for 20 days after listing. Currently the exclusion is for the first 15 days.

If Fannie or Freddie receives acceptable offers from owner-occupant bidders, they will sign contracts to sell without seeing any competing bids from investors. Chris Bowden, Freddie Mac's senior vice president for HomeSteps, said the extra time for exclusive bidding could be "especially important for buyers in markets where home inventories are shrinking."

So if you or someone you know is thinking of a home purchase, check out HomeSteps and HomePath listings online. If you qualify and keep your eye on the clock, you just may get a chance to buy a new home with mortgage terms you can afford — without worrying about fat-cat investors muscling in and outbidding you with cash.

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Worker abuse by diplomats a problem, advocates say

NEW YORK — The arrest of an Indian consular official in New York accused of forcing her maid to toil for little pay has highlighted a problem advocates say is all too common — workers for foreign governments who bring along the baggage of human trafficking to the U.S.

Anti-trafficking lawyer Dana Sussman says the claims of abuse are made against international workers of all levels. She is representing the housekeeper.

The most recent case has caused tension between the U.S. and India. The country's deputy consul general in New York was arrested on charges accusing her of lying on a visa form by stating she paid her housekeeper $4,500 a month, but actually paid her less than $3 per hour.

She has denied the charges.

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