It's been three years since the Affordable Care Act (also known as the ACA or simply Obamacare) was signed into law, but according to a recent study, most Americans still don't understand it: 48 percent of people in the United States are unsure if their state has chosen to expand Medicaid, nearly half believe that Obamacare will allow illegal immigrants to buy insurance, and two-thirds…

Obamacare was signed into law on the 23rd of March, 2010. Since that time, the bill has survived filibuster threats, congressional debate, and challenges in the Supreme Court. Three years later, Republican legislators are still trying to kill Obamacare.

The most recent attacks on Obama's Affordable Care Act have come during U.S. budget negotiations. At the moment, the…

A broken arm or a broken heart - which is worse? Probably the arm, but, what about a broken limb versus severe, chronic depression? That question is a little tougher: both ailments may require a hospital stay, prescription drugs, and follow up visits to a physician. It's hard to compare mental and physical health, which may explain the push in recent years to give mental health care the…

If you have lung cancer from smoking, that's your fault; not the result of a childhood surrounded by tobacco advertising and nicotine-dependent adults. If you're obese, that's because you don't eat well; not because you live in a city where car dependence is a must. If you have a chronic illness, it must be the result of family genetics or poor lifestyle.

For most people, these…

Nothing demonstrates the politicization of health care reform quite like a strongly worded letter. One letter of particular interest this week was sent from Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. What was so important that Governor McDonnell couldn't just pick up the phone and have a private conversation? Governor McDonnell wanted to…

In 2012, the United States experienced eight outbreaks of the food borne illness salmonella. If that doesn't sound like a lot, well, it is. With eight outbreaks, 2012 had more instances of salmonella than any other year in recorded history; thanks to cantaloupes, peanut butter and yellowfin tuna, more than 400 people fell ill after consuming food infected with salmonella.

With…

There are many reasons why you might pay higher insurance premiums than your next door neighbor. If you're a smoker and your neighbor is not, you probably pay 14 percent more for health insurance. If you work in an injury-prone profession such as mining, and your neighbor is a schoolteacher, your yearly premium will certainly be higher than his. But here's the most common reason you might…

We talk about a fiscal cliff, but the United States' financial problems are really more like a picture by M.C. Escher - the government keeps going round and round, and for every fiscal cliff avoided, there's another one just around the corner. Although the federal government avoided billions of dollars in cuts just last month, the next cliff is coming - at the end of the week, to be precise.

On…

Starting at age 21, you need a Pap exam every year. Chronic hives and itching? Better get an allergy test. Chest pain might mean heart disease, so take an imaging stress test to be on the safe side. If you're familiar with these guidelines, congratulations! You've been keeping up with the norms of the health care industry. Unfortunately, you now have to forget everything you think you know about…

When National Public Radio aired a program last year about violence and safety in Cairo, the broadcasters began with a story about a gym. This women's fitness center, opened by Sally Salema in 2008, was immediately popular with Cairo women looking for a place to work out and keep healthy - women could come to the gym, stay fit, and not worry about being seen by men while not wearing a…