The November election ensured that the most ambitious health care reform since the creation of Medicare in 1965 will take full effect come January 2014. California, like other states, is gearing up to ensure that affordable insurance is available when the individual mandate kicks in next January, requiring Americans to maintain health insurance coverage so they don't pass their costs to others. We already are far ahead of most states in setting up a marketplace – an "exchange" called "Covered California" – where people will be able to buy health insurance if their employer doesn't provide coverage.
