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With the elections less than one week away, ads making claims about the health law are flooding the airwaves. Many Democrats, concerned that voters view the measure in a negative light, continue to not mention health reform. Republicans, predicted to take control of the House and increase their ranks in the Senate, continue to criticize the law as too large, too expensive and intrusive into Americans' lives. But President Barack Obama and some Democrats are promoting the law's immediate consumer benefits and say it will improve the quality of health care for all Americans.

If certain steps are taken, the next round of reform could make health insurance portable, affordable and fair.

Some Democrats are talking about health care in their elections in a new way: send us to Washington to fix parts of the health care bill that you don't like. Meanwhile, oral arguments in a Virginia court case challenging the law's requirement that individuals purchase health care insurance are proceeding in court.

The Department of Health and Human Services has granted approximately 30 waivers to employers, insurers and unions that will allow them to offer limited benefit, or "mini-med," health insurance plans.

It will take years to make the law's most important changes. But by the time they are in place, if all goes well, most Americans truly will be better off. The early stages are encouraging.

As the November elections near, more Democrats appear to be campaigning on the health care law, touting a package of consumer protections that went into effect for plan years starting after Sept. 23.