The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. January 2, 2014 Millions Receive Coverage as Obamacare Plans Take Effect --------------------------------------------------------- Millions of Americans have begun receiving health insurance after the coverage provided by President Obama's signature healthcare law went into effect on Wednesday. The first day of Obamacare's insurance plans coincided with the expansion of Medicaid coverage under the law to about half the states. In addition to the plans going live, provisions have also taken effect that ban insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions or limiting reimbursements for essential treatment. In an opinion piece, the filmmaker and single-payer advocate Michael Moore writes that Obamacare is both "awful" for strengthening the insurance industry and a "godsend" for helping low-income Americans obtain life-saving insurance. Moore says: "Let’s not take a victory lap yet, but build on what there is, to get what we deserve: universal quality health care." .