New changes in health overhaul taking effect today

Amid continued public confusion over what's in it, some provisions of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul take effect today, including an end to lifetime caps on medical costs.

The overhaul allows parents to keep their adult children on their health plans until age 26. And insurers can no longer deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. Also, some preventive care will no longer require copayments.

Consumers whose insurance plan year begins Jan. 1 will have to wait until then for these changes.

Meanwhile, a new Associated Press poll finds more than a third of the people who were surveyed think incorrectly that it contains panels of bureaucrats to make decisions about people's care.

Two-thirds think congressional budget analysts said it would increase the government's debt. In fact, the analysts say the opposite.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)