JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — One of the first prongs of President Barack Obama's health care law has been in effect now for a year, and the result in Missouri is that about 500 additional people with chronic health problems now have insurance.

It is, by most accounts, an underwhelming result. Missouri's experience is pretty typical of the national norm, which is causing even some supporters of the federal health care law to question how it is being implemented.

One of the less-publicized provisions of the 2010 law required a Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan in each state. Backed by $5 billion of federal subsidies, the health plans are intended to provide insurance at lower prices than typically available to people with health problems who have been uninsured for at least six months.

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