US health law rolls out but legal skirmishes continue

The Affordable Care Act went into effect Wednesday 1 January as legal skirmishes challenging provisions of the law continued to work their way through the courts.

In the latest judicial action, US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor temporarily halted the enforcement of a provision of the law that requires insurers to provide contraceptive services at no additional cost to patients.

Similar injunctions have been issued in other cases by lower courts, but this was the first action involving the Supreme Court, which will likely be called on to ultimately …