Companies are reporting third quarter earnings, but even in the news everything healthcare related is being eclipsed by the ObamaCare debacle. Not only was this piece of legislature at least partially responsible for the US government shutdown, but sources involved in the roll-out report that final testing was not done in an effort to launch the system on October 1, 2013. President Obama boasted of an Amazon type experience while on www.Healthcare.gov. Something tells me that Jeff Bezos would disagree, at least given the website's current limitations.In other healthcare related news...For the second time this year, Novartis raised its forecast while its competitor Roche maintained its forecast. Novartis is seeing a benefit in that Ranbaxy Laboratories is unable to sell a copy of Diovan - a high blood pressure medicine - as regulators are currently attempting to gain a better understanding quality control procedures at the Indian company. According to the FDA, Johnson and Johnson(JNJ) and Medivir AB's (MVIRB) experimental treatment for Hepatitis C is considered safe but perhaps not as effective as existing treatments offered by Merck or Vertex Pharmaceuticals. JAMA Neurology reports that in a study conducted on a group of adults with the average age of 76, fragmented sleep is associated with Alzheimers disease given the increased buildup of beta-amyloid plaques.Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd is planning to lay off 5,000 employees in an effort to cut $2 billion in costs by 2017.