By Patrick Howley

Obamacare consultant Jonathan Gruber (R) listens to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner during testimony before a U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on "Examining Obama Transparency Failures" in Washington December 9, 2014. Gruber apologized on Tuesday for his recent remarks about "the stupidity of the American voter," telling a congressional committee he did not think President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law was passed in a deceptive manner. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH) - RTR4HBJA

President Obamas health care adviser Jonathan Gruber admitted that the Affordable Care Act might not be affordable while he was writing the bill with the White House.

As Gruber continues to withhold documents while he awaits a call-back for more testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in the new year, more information is coming to light detailing what went into the writing of the health-care law. (RELATED: Daily Caller Publishes First Video Of Gruber Calling The American People Stupid).

Gruber said that ObamaCare had no cost controls in it and might not be affordable in an October 2009 policy brief, presented here exclusively by TheDC. At the time, Gruber had already personally counseled Obama in the Oval Office and served on Obamas presidential transition team. Obama, meanwhile, told the American people that their premiums would go down dramatically.

The problem is it starts to go hand in hand with the mandate; youcant mandate insurance thats not affordable. This is going tobe a major issue, Gruber admitted in an October 2, 2009 lecture, the transcript of which made up the policy brief.

So whats different this time? Why are we closer than weve everbeen before? Because there are no cost controls in these proposals.Because this bills about coverage. Which is good! Why should wehold 48 million uninsured people hostage to the fact that we dontyet know how to control costs in a politically acceptable way?Lets get the people covered and then lets do cost control.

Gruber also said that the only way to control costs is to effectively deny treatment.

The real substance of cost control is all about a single thing: tellingpatients they cant have something they want.Its about telling patients, That surgery doesnt do any good,so if you want it you have to pay the full cost.

Theres no reason the American health care system cant be, Youcan have whatever you want, you just have to pay for it. Thatswhat we do in other walks of life. We dont say everyone has tohave a large screen TV. If you want a large screen TV, you have topay for it. Basically the notion would be to move to a level whereeveryone has a solid basic insurance level of coverage. Above thatpeople pay on their own, without tax-subsidized dollars, to buy ahigher level of coverage.

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'NO COST CONTROLS' Gruber admits ObamaCare might not be affordable

UFX Daily Forex Currency Trading News 29-December-2014
We begin with the US Stock Market U.S. indices traded higher on Friday after gains in the Utilities, Health Care and Telecommunications sectors led to higher shares. The NASDAQ rose by...

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UFX Daily Forex Currency Trading News 29-December-2014 - Video

Health Worker Carries Ebola to Scotland
Scottish authorities said Monday, a health care worker returning home to Scotland from Sierra Leone has been diagnosed with Ebola virus and is being isolated and treated. This marks the first...

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Health Worker Carries Ebola to Scotland - Video

Tree Tech Microinjection Step by Step
The Tree Tech Micro-injection System sets a new standard for economical and environmentally safe tree health care. Traditional methods of applying chemicals and pesticides are becoming less...

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British Patient Being Treated for Ebola
Scottish authorities say a health care worker who has just returned from Sierra Leone has been diagnosed with Ebola and is being treated in a Glasgow hospital. The Scottish government says...

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British Patient Being Treated for Ebola - Video

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Horizon nj health nj family care It would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with them - or liability for a lawsuit may fall on your responsibility unnecessarily. horizon nj health nj family care What are the results after is that they have hundreds of insurance sales leads they can not close cover. horizon nj health nj family care

Horizon nj health nj family care You will not have to face increased pressure from vendors, and you can quickly go to the site of another company to compare information. horizon nj health nj family care One is reliability, because the connection is intended to be a safety net to the holder of the bond (called the beneficiary).

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Overthe past few yearsthe valuationofthehealth-care sector has risen toslightly exceedour fair value estimates in aggregate. However, we still seeseveral stocks that offer attractive valuations across the different industries.In the table below, we highlight a few of our top picks. However,we believe the current environment for health care lends itself to a stock-pickers' market rather than a focus on industries.

In the pharmaceutical and device industries, companies are acquiring and merging to create scale and focus in key strategic areas, in addition to deploying their previously trapped overseas cash, asis the case with the pending acquisition of Covidien by Medtronic . This deal also showcase the desire to reduce the tax rate of the acquiring firms. However, recent changes in U.S. tax policy will likely slow the torrid pace of M&A seen over the past two years, as the new policy will limit the benefits of reducing the tax rate for U.S. firms merging with an international company. The updated policy likely was the main driver of the collapsed merger between AbbVie and Shire PLC . Further, the new environment makes it much less likely that Pfizer will return to bid for AstraZeneca following the failed attempt earlier in the year. However, the white knight acquisition of Allergan by Actavis to fend off Valeant looks likely to complete and showcases the importance of scale and cost-cuttingbetween two major health-care companies.

Turning toinnovation in health care, the focus ofdrug companies is shifting toward specialty-care areas, whichshould increase drug-development productivity. The pipelines of the major biotech and pharmaceutical companies are focused on smaller patient populations in areas such as immunology, virology, and oncology. We believe these areas offer unmet medical need, which should lead to better approval odds and stronger pricing power. Further, despite treating smaller patient populations, these indications can turn into major blockbusters. Merck's recent approval of Keytruda in melanoma is a good example of a small patient population, but an annualprice of about $150,000 should turn the drug into a major commercial success.

Although the economic downturn passed several years ago, health-care utilization remains tepid, but recent signs are pointing to a pickup of the market. Historically, a lag of a couple of years tends to follow a recession before health-care spending returns. However, the magnitude of the recession and increasing cost-sharing with patients has delayed a sharp rebound in health-care use. The increase in U.S. hospital admissions starting in the second quarter suggests a turning point in health-care usage; U.S. health-care reform is likely driving part of the uptick. With the mandated health-care insurance and expanded government insurance in the U.S., more people are seeking out treatment. We expect a continual, gradual increase in demand for health care, but probably not a return to 2007 levels anytime soon.

Baxter Although competition is increasingfor Advate, Baxter's highly profitable hemophilia A product, we think this diversified firm's competitive advantages remain strong and the stock looks undervalued. We think this diversified health-care firm has earned a wide economic moat, stemming from economies of scale in plasma processing, injectable therapies, and dialysis products. Intangible assets--like Baxter's strong brands, patent protection, and pipeline productivity--also allow the firm to remain remarkably profitable in tough industries. More than 70% of Baxter's sales come from products with market-leading positions, and the safety and quality of its biologic therapies allow it to charge a price premium over competitors.

Elekta (EKTA) (Sweden) We believe Elekta is well-positioned in the radiotherapy market, which has tremendous growth potential as improvements in technology, increasing awareness of the clinical benefits, and a favorable cost/benefit proposition should dramatically increase global adoption over the next decade. Further, we feel that Elekta carries a wide moat based on a solid position in a market that is characterized by high barriers to entry, high switching costs, and strong intellectual property. This field has evolved into a duopoly over the past decade with virtually no new entrants, and the main two players (Elekta and Varian ) have built durable franchises and are well-positioned for growth.

Sanofi Despite some weakness in pricing for insulin drugs, we expect Sanofi's key narrow- and wide-moat divisions (emerging markets, diabetes, vaccines, consumer products, rare-disease drugs, and animal health treatments) to continue to post steady gains. Further, based on our view that the investment community underappreciates Sanofi's strong competitive advantages and improving growth profile, we believeSanofitrades significantly below our fair value estimate. The companys strengths in patents, but also from branding, cost advantages, and efficient scale areas give it a wide moat that is supported by the majority of Morningstar's moat sources.

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Health Care: A Strong Run, but Some Stocks Still Look Undervalued

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) consists of 54 companies including four components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This exchange-traded fund has a year-to-date gain of 25% despite peaking with an all-time intraday high at $71.42 on Dec.8. The health care sector has thus outperformed the Dow 30 and S&P 500 and their gains of 8.9% and 13%, respectively.

The Dow 30 and S&P 500 set all-time intraday highs on Friday at 18103 and 2092.7, respectively. Before showing the daily and weekly charts for the health care ETF here's a brief look at four Dow components in this exchange-traded fund.

Must Read: Jim Cramers 4 Best Stock Picks for the Health Care Sector

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) ($105.33) set its all-time intraday high at $109.49 on Nov. 13, then held its 200-day simple moving average at $102.90 on Dec. 16. The stock has a year-to-date gain of 15% so it still outperformed both the Dow 30 and S&P 500. J&J had a strong momentum run-up of 15% from a low of $95.10 on Oct. 15 to the all-time high set on Nov. 13. The weekly chart is negative with its key weekly moving average at $105.97.

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Health Care SPDR Consolidating Gains as J&J, Merck Show Negative Trends

A patient who tested negative for the Ebola virus this week in Kelowna is only one of more than a dozen B.C. health-care workers who have been or currently are in West Africa to fight a deadly outbreak of the disease, provincial health officials say.

And the monitoring and testing regime for that patient is likely to be used more widely in weeks and months to come as more health-care workers return from regions where the virus has killed thousands of people since an outbreak began earlier this year.

I think it is important to note that there are a number of health-care workers who have returned from working with Ebola treatment centres in West Africa, and they have been monitored safely in the community, and there are a number of them being monitored at this time, deputy provincial health officer Bonnie Henry said on Tuesday in a conference call.

So it is likely we may have something like this arise again, with another health-care worker, but at this point, we are confident this person is being managed safely and carefully.

Seven B.C. health-care workers including the one in hospital in Kelowna are being monitored after returning from West Africa, while another nine have completed the monitoring period and been cleared, Dr. Henry said.

The health-care worker who was tested this week had been at an Ebola care centre in Sierra Leone and was being monitored according to provincial protocols, which require a 21-day self-monitoring period and remaining within two hours of a hospital equipped for Ebola testing.

The worker, who returned to Canada on Christmas Day, felt mild flu-like symptoms on Sunday evening and reported to Kelowna General Hospital on Monday, where tests were conducted and the patient is in isolation. Preliminary results have been negative for Ebola, and additional tests are expected to confirm those results.

Provincial health officials, citing privacy regulations, would not give details about the workers identity.

But the Canadian Red Cross, saying it had the patients consent, identified her as Patrice Gordon, one of 24 Canadian aid workers who travelled with the Red Cross to Ebola-affected countries.

Mike Ertel, chief of staff at Kelowna General Hospital, read a statement from Ms. Gordon on the conference call, although he did not identify her at that time.

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B.C. health-care workers returning from West Africa monitored for Ebola

The first 50-state report on the latest sign-up season under President Barack Obama's health care law shows that more than 4 million people selected plans for the first time or re-enrolled.

The administration called it "an encouraging start."

More than 3.4 million people enrolled using HealthCare.gov as of Dec. 15, and more than 600,000 people selected plans in the state-run marketplaces, according to a Health and Human Services Department report released Tuesday. The figures are generally up to date through Dec. 13.

About half of those enrolling are first-timers and half are returning customers, suggesting there are about 2 million Americans new to the program.

The figures look good for the administration meeting its goal of 9.1 million customers signed up and paying premiums in 2015, independent experts said. But they predicted the program won't meet another target: the 13 million enrollments in 2015 forecast by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

"It would take a massive surge in enrollment over the next six weeks" to reach 13 million, said Larry Levitt of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

Other experts believe that for the program to be sustainable it would have to exceed the goal set by the administration.

"I really think they need to get to 13 million this year to have a sustainable program, not this low-ball estimate that nobody takes seriously," said Washington-based health care consultant Robert Laszewski. "We don't know how many of these people are going to pay. And we don't know how many of the existing people are going to re-enroll."

Young adults still aren't flocking to the program, which could increase costs down the road. About 24 percent of the enrollees are 18 to 34 years old, an age group needed to offset the costs of older, sicker enrollees and keep premiums from rising. That's about the same proportion of young people signing up in the first three months of last enrollment season. Laszewski and other independent experts say that should be closer to 40 percent to help keep premiums down.

The report includes figures for 14 state marketplaces including Washington, D.C., and the 37 states using HealthCare.gov. It doesn't include people who are being automatically re-enrolled in health plans because that re-enrollment process happened on the federal marketplace Dec. 16-18.

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Report Prompts Mixed View of Health Care Sign-Ups

WASHINGTON At least 7.1 million people so far have enrolled in 2015 health plans through the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces, according to a pair of federal reports issued Tuesday.

As of Dec. 26, 6.5 million people signed up for coverage in federally run exchanges that includes new enrollments, people actively re-enrolling and existing customers who allowed their coverage to automatically renew, according to the Department of Health and Human Services' weekly enrollment update.

A second HHS report, which provides the most comprehensive look at the new enrollment period, found that 633,000 people selected coverage in the 14 states running their own health insurance marketplaces as of Dec. 15. That's in addition to those who signed up through the federal exchanges, for a total of roughly 7.1 million.

However, HHS said most states haven't reported complete information about the number of re-enrollments, meaning the actual enrollment count is likely higher.

About 3.4 million people had actively selected an exchange plan in the 37 states relying on the HealthCare.gov enrollment platform as of Dec. 15, the federal deadline to sign up for coverage starting Jan. 1. About 87 percent of those people qualified for premium subsidies, and about 52 percent were purchasing coverage through the federal-run marketplaces for the first time this year. The remaining 48 percent were returning customers who either selected a new plan or actively re-enrolled in existing coverage.

Just 106,000 people had selected exchange health plans in the first month of enrollment last year, when severe technology flaws threatened the launch of the law's coverage expansion. This current enrollment period has run much more smoothly, though some customers are experiencing problems on a smaller scale.

Of the 3.4 million people selecting health plans through the federal enrollment website, 24 percent were between 18 and 34 years old, while 30 percent were between 55 and 64 years old. The young adult enrollment rate was up just slightly from 23 percent compared to the first three months of last year's enrollment season, the HHS said.

Of the 37 states using the HealthCare.gov enrollment platform, Mississippi had the highest percentage of new customers (58 percent) choosing 2015 health plans, while Alaska, Maine and North Dakota shared the lowest (39 percent). About 673,000 people have already signed up for 2015 coverage in Florida, the most of any state.

The administration seems likely to hit its own goal of enrolling 9.1 million people in 2015. That's significantly lower than the 13 million originally projected by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The enrollment period is scheduled to end Feb. 15, just a few weeks before the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on a lawsuit challenging the legality of subsidies provided through the federal-run exchanges. If the Supreme Court accepts ACA opponents' argument that the law only authorizes subsidies in states that set up their own exchanges, that would invalidate financial assistance to millions of enrollees in states relying on HealthCare.gov.

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Health care enrollment for 2015 plans tops 7 million

A health care worker from the Bong County Ebola Treatment Unit places a suspected Ebola patient inside a makeshift ambulance in village in Bong County, Liberia. The process is slow and tedious because the ambulance can only hold one patient at a time and has to travel hours to the nearest Ebola treatment unit.

Adam Desiderio/ABC News

An ambulance team from the Bong County Ebola Treatment Unit removes personal protective gear after transporting suspected Ebola patients from their village into the ambulance. The protective equipment is stored in trash bags and burned.

Adam Desiderio/ABC News

Cephus, 18, sits and waits for an ambulance team to take him to the Bong County Ebola Treatment Unit. He has already walked for two hours and it will be another four before he reaches the unit.

Adam Desiderio/ABC News

Cephus, 18, inside a makeshift ambulance en route to the Bong County Ebola Treatment Unit. The four-hour drive through rocky terrain is the closest treatment unit in the area.

Adam Desiderio/ABC News

The gated entrance to the Bong County Ebola Treatment Unit, the only one of its kind within a four-hour radius. It sits at the top of a hill above an old leper colony and is run by the International Medical Corps with the help of USAID.

Adam Desiderio/ABC News

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Photos: Documenting the Horrific Battle Against Ebola

Top Health-care stocks:

JNJ: -0.02%

PFE: flat

ABT: flat

MRK: flat

AMGN: flat

Health-care shares were generally unchanged in pre-market trading Wednesday.

Redhill Biopharma's ( RDHL ) American depositary shares rose in Wednesday's pre-market session after the Israeli biopharmaceutical company said the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has validated its marketing-authorization application for Bekinda, an extended-release, once-daily oral pill formulation of the antiemetic drug ondansetron to prevent chemotherapy and radiotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Shares were up 17% at $12.55 recently in the pre-market session Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $6.89 and $21.

Sucampo Pharmaceuticals ( SCMP ) said Health Canada has accepted the company's New Drug Submission for AMITIZA 24 mcg capsules for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation in adults and opioid induced constipation in adults with chronic non-cancer pain. Shares were up 2.4% at $14.22 during Wednesday's pre-market trading session. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $5.80 and $14.38.

Meanwhile Mylan ( MYL ), a pharmaceutical company, said its subsidiary in India has been selected by the South African National Department of Health as one of the suppliers of antiretroviral medications used to treat HIV/AIDS. The company was selected for a tender period beginning April 1, 2015 and lasting through March 31, 2018. Shares were unchanged during Wednesday's pre-market trading session. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $41.97 and $59.60.

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Health Care Sector Update for 12/31/2014: RDHL, SCMP, MYL

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Health Care Ad ft. Hi-Fi Muzik - Video

Morning Rounds: Medical stories to watch in 2015
CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook and CBS News medical contributor Dr. Holly Phillips weigh in on the medical matters to watch out for in 2015, including the continued response.

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Morning Rounds: Medical stories to watch in 2015 - Video

America: What Went Wrong? Finance, Wall Street, Taxes, Health Care, Pensions (2013)
Donald L. Barlett (born July 17, 1936) is an American investigative journalist and author who often collaborates with James B. Steele. According to The Washington Journalism Review (Magazine)...

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America: What Went Wrong? Finance, Wall Street, Taxes, Health Care, Pensions (2013) - Video

NEED OF LONG TERM HEALTH CARE LIFE INSURANCE 2

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NEED OF LONG TERM HEALTH CARE LIFE INSURANCE 2 - Video

Discover how Advocate Health Care improves patient care with 40% savings
Gary Horn (Vice President of Technical Services) at Advocate Health Care explains how they improve patient care with 40% savings.

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Discover how Advocate Health Care improves patient care with 40% savings - Video

A health care worker who returned to the U.K. from West Africa is being treated for Ebola in Glasgow, Scotland, after testing positive for the virus.

NPR's Michaeleen Doucleff tells our Newscast unit this is the first Ebola case diagnosed in the U.K. Doucleff reports:

"The patient started to feel sick Monday morning, immediately went to the hospital and was isolated. The patient will be transferred to a high-level treatment unit in London as soon as possible. Meanwhile health officials are tracking down all people who may have come into contact with the patient."

The patient, who had worked in an Ebola clinic in Sierra Leone, arrived in Glasgow late Sunday via London's Heathrow airport and Casablanca, Morocco. Health officials say the risk to others is low as Ebola isn't contagious until a person shows symptoms. And in this case, the disease was caught early.

The World Health Organization, in its latest numbers on the disease, says more than 20,000 people have been diagnosed with Ebola; 7,842 have died.

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British Health Care Worker Tests Positive For Ebola

Companies Search for More Effective Ways to Manage Health Care Costs

Change is in the air, as companies face continued health care insurance cost increases, uncertainty about some provisions of health care reform and an economy that is slow to recover, according to results of the 2014 Towers Watson/National Business Group on Health (NBGH) Employer survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care.

To find more effective ways to manage health care cost increases, most survey respondents are recalibrating their health care benefit strategy.

Click through the slideshow to learn the some of the strategies and tactics leading companies are implementing.

Only 4% of respondents do NOT plan to change their company's healthcare strategy for 2015 and beyond.

Meanwhile, a full three-quarters of respondents already have or are in the process of developing a new strategy.

Leading the list of focus areas, as it did last year, is building a supportive workforce culture, which includes the physical environment, leadership support and education, and information to support more informed health care decisions.

A close second focus area is developing and expanding healthy lifestyle programs and activities; more than twice as many employers as last year are doing so.

Twenty-nine percent of respondent companies say they are adopting or expanding the use of financial incentives to encourage health acitvities, use of higher-quality providers and other behavior changes.

Finally, about one in three employers (up significantly from one in five last year) are making changes to avoid the upcoming excise tax in 2018.

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How Employers Effectively Manage Health Care Cost and Quality [SLIDESHOW]