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(Continued from page 17)
• But with pensions for nongovernment workers on a path toward extinction, federal employees get little sympathy from some experts.
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AP-GfK poll: Another worry about Obama's health law; many insured say coverage is eroding
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Just when the government's insurance website is starting to run more smoothly, an Associated Press-GfK poll finds a potentially bigger problem for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
• Americans who already have coverage and aren't looking for any more government help are blaming the law for their rising premiums and deductibles.
• Those are the 85 percent of Americans that the White House says don't have to be worried about the president's historic push to expand coverage for the uninsured. Overall 3 in 4 say the rollout of coverage for the uninsured has gone poorly as health care remains a politically charged issue going into next year's midterm congressional elections.
• In the survey, nearly half of those with job-based or other private coverage say their policies will be changing next year -- mostly for the worse. Nearly 4 in 5 (77 percent) blame the changes on the Affordable Care Act, even though the trend toward leaner coverage predates the law's passage.
• Sixty-nine percent say their premiums will be going up, while 59 percent say annual deductibles or copayments are increasing.
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Bachelet scores big win for Chile presidency, but faces challenges to fulfill major reform
• SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Michelle Bachelet's landslide presidential victory was the biggest in eight decades, yet turnout was the lowest since Chile's return to democracy, suggesting she'll lack a clear mandate to push for radical change when she begins her second turn in the office next year.
• Bachelet, a moderate socialist, ended her 2006-10 presidency with 84 percent approval ratings despite failing to achieve any major changes. This time, Chilean leftists vow to hold her to her promises, which include a $15 billion spending program to overhaul education, improve health care and reduce the vast gap between rich and poor.
• "The social and political conditions are here and at last the moment has arrived," (Continued on page 19)
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