Special Coverage: Health and Wellness

From the blogs

Palin Suggests Reforming Canada's Universal Health Care System: 'Let The Private Sector Take Over'

by Igor Volsky, Think Progress

Words of wisdom for neighbors.

Japan Fines 'Fat' People, Companies Must Measure Waist Lines of Employees

by Tara Lohan, AlterNet

And 'fat' here is most definitely a relative term.

What Does it Mean to Take Sarah Palin and the Tea-Bagger Set "Seriously"?

by Joshua Holland, AlterNet

I know we're supposed to, but ...

Gun Lobby's Absurd New Claim: Healthcare Reform Will Take Away Your Guns

by , Think Progress

Gun Owners of America is sending action alerts warning that the Senate health care bill could "jeopardize their ability to obtain a firearms license."

Is Taxing Plastic Surgery Sexist?

by Jill Filipovic, Feministe

Part of the funding for the Senate's health care bill will come from a 5 percent tax on cosmetic surgery, on procedures overwhelmingly obtained by women.

Senate Votes to Move Forward on Health-Care Bill: McCain Accuses Reid of Criminal Scheme

by Adele Stan, AlterNet

In debate leading to vote, McCain compared Reid to Madoff, Hatch invoked socialism, and Lincoln promised trouble ahead

Video: Progressive Change Campaign Committee Robocalls For the Public Option

by AlterNet Staff, AlterNet

Anticipating GOP push-back on the Senate health-care bill's public option, PCCC marshals a show of support

Americans Want a Health Surtax on Wealthy

by Daniela Perdomo, AlterNet

An AP poll indicates majority support for a health surtax on the rich that's even stronger than the one in the House bill.

The Uninsured Are Twice as Likely to Die in the ER From a Traumatic Injury Than the Insured

by mcjoan, Daily Kos

Bottom line, being uninsured is potentially deadly.

Why There Are More Than 1 Million Hungry Kids in the U.S.

by Sarah Newman, Takepart

Those shouldering the burden of this economic crisis are barely surviving.

What Nidal Hasan, Timothy McVeigh, and the Beltway Sniper Have in Common: All Were Scarred by Pointless U.S. Wars

Nora Eisenberg, AlterNet. November 25, 2009.
Some of the most notorious massacres of the past 15 years have been committed by veterans whose brains have been severely damaged from trauma or exposure to toxic chemicals.

47,000 Women Could Die As a Result of the New Mammogram Guidelines

George Lakoff, AlterNet. November 25, 2009.
Cost-benefit analysis can kill. Scaling back on mammograms, as a government task force suggested, could result in 47,000 unnecessary deaths.

Is the House's Health Bill Really Worse than Nothing?

Joshua Holland, AlterNet. November 24, 2009.
Some progressive opponents of the health care bill say it's so bad, we may as well drop it. That analysis ignores the millions of Americans who stand to get coverage.

What Denying Unauthorized Immigrants Health Insurance Will Cost You

AlterNet. November 23, 2009.
Call it a "nativist tax."

Just When You Thought It Was Safe: 3 Potential Obstacles to Health-Care Reform

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet. November 23, 2009.
Harry Reid may have gotten the Senate to move his health-care bill forward, but a handful of conservative Democrats could still keep the bill from getting a final vote.

When Sex Hurts, and No One Can Tell You Why: The Mysterious Condition Called Vulvodynia

Carey Purcell, AlterNet. November 22, 2009.
Imagine a choice between no intercourse or sex with unbearable pain. Then imagine that no doctor knows how to fix it. That's the world occupied by women with vulvodynia.

The War on Soy: Why the 'Miracle Food' May Be a Health Risk and Environmental Nightmare

Tara Lohan, AlterNet. November 21, 2009.
Vegetarians aren't the only ones who should be concerned; there's soy in just about everything you eat these days -- including hamburgers, mac 'n cheese and salad dressing.

Pharmaceutical Giant Paid $500,000 to Psychiatrist Who Used Chicago's Poor as Guinea Pigs

Christina Jewett and Sam Roe, ProPublica. November 20, 2009.
Dr. Michael Reinstein reaped a cool half million off his patients' misery.

8 Steps Obama Could Take to Save Food

Robyn O'Brien, AlterNet. November 19, 2009.
No longer are our families guaranteed a healthy livelihood, not in the face of the current rates of cancer, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimers and allergies. We need a new food system.

Is Obama's Latest Agriculture Nominee a Textbook Pesticide-Pusher?

Kate Sheppard, Mother Jones. November 19, 2009.
Obama recently tapped as chief agricultural negotiator for the office of the US Trade Representative a senior executive from one of the pesticide industry's main trade groups.

Do Yearly Mammograms Save Women's Lives?

Naomi Freundlich, Health Beat. November 19, 2009.
Controversial new recommendations on breast cancer prevention have caused a stir in the women's health community. But do yearly mammograms really change death rates?

Is House Health Care Bill a Threat to Our Constitution?

Barry W. Lynn, Americans United for Separation of Church and State. November 18, 2009.
The House health-care bill isn't just a threat to women's rights; with the Stupak amendment, it's a breach of the Constitution.

Mystery of World's Worst Mass Arsenic Poisoning Finally Solved

AFP. November 18, 2009.
The culprit are tens of thousands of man-made ponds excavated to provide soil for flood protection.

An Open Letter to Harry Reid: Here's How to Cut Health Care Costs

Robert B. Reich, Robert Reich's Blog. November 17, 2009.
Nobody said this would be easy. But passing the health reform that America deserves involves a little political muscle.

For 12-Year-Old Without an Arm, Insurance Has Run Out

Danielle Ivory, The Huffington Post Investigative Fund. November 17, 2009.
12 year old Benjamin French lives in one of 33 states where insurance companies are allowed to set annual and lifetime caps on prosthetic coverage.

Why I Drink Raw Milk (That's Sold Illegally)

Joel Salatin, Chelsea Green Publishing. November 16, 2009.
The local heritage food movement -- the raw milk movement -- is all about respecting and honoring indigenous wisdom.

Rebellious Teens Should Have Rebellious Diets

Sarah Newman, Takepart. November 16, 2009.
Kids are obsessed with self-expression. So why are their food choices so monotonous?

Catholic Bishops Put Sex Obsession Ahead of Mission to the Sick and the Poor

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet. November 16, 2009.
First they threatened to take down health-care reform over abortion coverage. Now they're threatening services to the sick and poor of Washington, D.C., over same-sex marriage.

The Democratic Party: Whose Team Is It, Anyway?

Katha Pollitt, The Nation. November 14, 2009.
In the wake of the passage by Democrats of a radical anti-abortion measure, Democratic women are asking, "Whose party is this?"

Memo to the Tea-Baggers: God and Country Aren't with You

Glynn Wilson, Locust Forks News-Journal. November 14, 2009.
You don't appear to know what "freedom" means.

Lab-Grown Meat: The Answer to Animal Cruelty and Environmental Ruin From Feedlots?

Ari LeVaux, AlterNet. November 13, 2009.
If and when lab-grown meat begins filling the processed-food troughs of the masses, will the Oscar Mayer wiener-eaters of the world even notice?

Why the Catholic Bishops Who Pushed Through the Stupak Amendment Are Hypocrites

Jon O'Brien and Nancy Keenan, AlterNet. November 13, 2009.
The same language the bishops thought too weak to truly ban public funding for abortion maintains their charities' own access to public money.

How Catholic Bishops Threw the Health Care Debate into Turmoil with Anti-Abortion Maneuver

Adele M. Stan, AlterNet. November 12, 2009.
It took a virulently anti-choice measure to pass the House's health care reform legislation. Progressives are strategizing how to keep it from the final bill.

Immigrants and Health-Care: What Part of LEGAL Doesn't Washington Understand?

Marielena Hincapié, New America Media. November 11, 2009.
Congress inexplicably restricts low-income legal immigrants from the federal Medicaid and Medicare programs, which provide a modicum of security for the most vulnerable.

Does the House Bill's Public Option Kill Off the Senate's?

Booman, Booman Tribune. November 10, 2009.
Why the health care reform act has a very long and very difficult road ahead.

Soda Helps Make Americans Unhealthy and Fat -- Will Soda Tax Prevail Despite Pushback by Beverage Industry?

Christine Spolar, Joseph Eaton, The Huffington Post Investigative Fund. November 10, 2009.
Soft drink makers, supermarket companies, agriculture and the fast-food business have poured millions into campaigning against taxes on sweetened beverages.

10 Suicides This Year at Ft. Hood -- War Stress Is Taking Soldiers to the Brink

Dahr Jamail, Asia Times. November 10, 2009.
The shooting tragedy at Fort Hood on Friday points to a much larger problem of combat stress and overdeployment in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Do We Really Want to Enshrine Insurance Monopoly into Law? This and 5 Other Complaints About the Health Bill

John Nichols, The Nation. November 9, 2009.
Informed and engaged progressives aren't entirely enthusiastic about the measure. Here are some of the most serious complaints.

4 Ways the Stupak Amendment Deprives Women of Access to Abortion

Jessica Arons, The Wonk Room. November 9, 2009.
The health-care bill passed by the House will expand access to health care. But millions of women are about to lose coverage they currently have and need.

Despite Censorship By Beef Magnate, Michael Pollan Spreads Message About the Real Price of Cheap Food

AlterNet. November 9, 2009.
Pollan took on Big Ag and cheap food in a panel discussion, after the protests of a meat industry chairman led to his speech at a University being canceled.

Sign up

About

Coverage concerning personal health and fitness, health care legislation, Big Pharma, medical developments and more.

RSS Feed

Check out Health and Wellness' RSS feed!

What To Eat

Marion Nestle is arguably one of the foremost experts in public health nutrition. If you have questions about food policy, prices or any other aspect of healthy eating, chances are her blog has answers. Check it out!

SafeCosmetics.org

Personal care products like shampoo, deodorant and makeup often contain cocktails of toxic chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects. Learn what's lurking in your cosmetics and find out what you can do about it by visiting safecosmetics.org.

Breast Cancer Fund

Only 10 percent of breast cancers are genetic. That means the disease is largely preventable. Learn about the risk factors in your life and find out how you can take action by visiting breastcancerfund.org.

Families USA

High-quality, affordable health care should be a right for all Americans. For 25 years, Families USA has been fighting to make this a reality. Visit their Web site to learn more and to take action on a variety of consumer health care issues from private insurance to prescription drugs.

Health Policy Watch

To follow the debate on health care policy and get in-depth ideas on achieving universal coverage, visit healthpolicywatch.org.

Value [the] Meal

The fast food industry is exacerbating a public health crisis. Join Corporate Accountability International's new campaign challenging the corporate abuse of food.