A Good Cream Can Help You Say Goodbye To Father Time

Your appearance does not have to show your chronological age. Noone has found the proverbial fountain of youth just yet and you can't turn back the age clock. Many people find the effects of aging quite disconcerting. This is why so many people fight tooth and nail to stay young looking for as long as possible. It's okay if you're not happy with the lines that have started appearing on your face. There are a few things you can do about them. Start now, using a good wrinkle cream.Smoother lines and wrinkles are a benefit of these creams although they can dry your skin. A great moisturizer after your wrinkle cream will help you prevent this drying. The moisturizer will help replenish the skin and keep more wrinkles from wiggling their way into your face. It will help you fix some of the damage caused by the exfoliants in your wrinkle cream. A moizturizer with built in sunscreen will keep you from using too many different products on you face. There are wrinkle creams with built in moisturizers too. If you re earnest about annihilating the wrinkles that have set in on your face and other signs of your age, search for merchandise that has the ingredient, hydroxy acids. Hydroxy acids are unnatural versions of the natural acids that can be found in fruits that have sugar (which is just about every fruit). These ingredients act as exfoliants to remove dead skin. Besides ridding you of old, dead and dry skin they additionally stimulate the dermis, which allows you to create new skin. Unluckily, these types of ingredients also cause the skin to be more susceptible to sun damage, so be sure to wear wrinkle preventer and sunscreen at the same time (or choose a skin cream that has it in).When you are shopping for a new wrinkle cream don't forget to look at the ingredients lists. There are some components that are constantly working at giving your skin a young and healthy appearance. One enzyme that you should be sure to locate is Coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10 is a vitamin. It helps to manage the energy level in your skin. It is especially useful in decreasing the wrinkles that are around your eyes. If you have been trying to get rid of crow's feet, you need to look for an eye cream that has this enzyme. It has also been proven to protect against sun damage, so it might be a good idea to wear your anti wrinkle eye cream during the day. Your options are limitless for fighting the signs of aging. Your first line of defense is to use a good wrinkle cream. Wrinkle creams are not always going to be the same. there are some that have better benefits than others. Do your research before you drop alot of cash. Leading a healthy lifestyle is only one of the things you can do outside of creams to stay youthful looking longer.

Private Healthcare UK provides

Private Healthcare UK provides the most comprehensive listings of private medical / health insurance companies and private medical insurance products available in the UK, to enable you to compare medical insurance products. We provide a one page profile of each company, which includes links to one page profiles of the products offered in the UK. More than 100 products are covered in our listings.

The major UK companies providing private medical / health insurance in the UK are listed belown to help you compare medical insurance products. Click on a company name to view further details about the company.

If you're looking for a quote for private medical insurance, go to our Get A Quote page.

In addition to this company list, we also provide details of UK health insurance brokers.

mesothelioma symptoms - knowledge

Mesothelioma is a unique disease in that symptoms do not usually manifest themselves until anywhere from 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. For patients and doctors, this is the most frustrating aspect of the disease. The latency period of mesothelioma is lengthy, making the disease difficult to diagnose until its later stages when symptoms finally begin to appear and treatment options are limited.

Recognizing Symptoms

Just like any other disease, the symptoms of mesothelioma vary from case to case and with the severity of the illness. The type of mesothelioma - whether pleural, peritoneal, or pericardial - also determines what the symptoms might be. Often times, the general overall health of the individual, as well as his/her age, may also play a role in how the patient is affected by the disease and which symptoms are most bothersome.

One of the most difficult problems with diagnosing mesothelioma and connecting the symptoms with the disease is the fact that so many of the symptoms can easily be mistaken for other more common (and less serious) chest or respiratory diseases like flu, pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, and others.

A doctor well versed in mesothelioma treatment will take time to investigate a patient's history and hopefully connect past exposure to asbestos with the symptoms. Patients can aslo assist their doctor if they were knowingly exposed. Anyone that was ever exposed to asbestos, even if it was decades ago, should inform their doctor of the exposure. That information will not only aid the doctor in diagnosis but will also help eliminate the need for many costly and uncomfortable tests that may be ordered while attempting to arrrive at a conclusive determination.

Tests are being developed that will help diagnose mesothelioma at an earlier stage, even before the most common symptoms appear. It is hoped that these tests will aid in treating the disease before it reaches its most advanced stages.

The Symptoms

As was stated previously, symptoms of mesothelioma can vary, but the most common general symptoms are:

* Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

* Coughing

* Pain in chest or abdomen

* Fluid in the chest, lungs, or abdomen

* Weight loss

* Loss of appetite

* Inability to sleep

* Husky voice

* Difficulty swallowing

It is the first two symptoms that generally bring a patient to the doctor's office. Both difficulty breathing and persistent coughing are caused by the lung's inability to expand properly due to tumors in the pleural region. The growing tumors cause the pleura, pericardium, or peritoneum to expand, thus allow fluid to enter. That generally causes pain - acute to severe - in the affected regions, such as the chest or abdomen. Breathing difficulties also make it hard to sleep and often result in loss of appetite and, eventually, weight loss.

Health insurance & Private Health Insurance

At Bupa we understand the health needs of each are different and we would like to introduce you to Bupa. As its name suggests, is the coverage that suits you, for you. You can choose between three basic options for health insurance, according to your needs and budget. From there you can customize your coverage as you want from a wide range of coverage options, including travel, dental and optical coverage and complementary therapies.

Reform Of Health Insurance For The Unemployed

End government subsidies for COBRA recipients has led many people to seek alternative options for health insurance, even before their COBRA benefits are exhausted. If you're one of those people, do not expect health care reform will bail you out.

Health reform has little to do with COBRA, the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act that allows displaced workers to purchase health insurance previously provided by the employer.

In fact, some components of the early adoption of the reform project may initially increase your premium, according to Mark A. Cesarano, a management consultant for the Savitz Organization (www.savitz.com). The main elements of reform, including preventive care, without fee, cover adult children up to age 26 and the automatic acceptance of coverage for children with medical conditions cause health plans to take on more expenses. Along the way, however, these initiatives cost.

"At this point, the loss of the subsidy is what's wrong," said Cesarano. The grant, which came into force in March 2009 as part of the economic recovery plan, provided a safety net of 15 months to people who have lost their jobs, which means the beneficiaries pay only 35% of the premium while the government took the rest. Loss of earnings June 1, so now people who have been dismissed or who have already exhausted their allowance of 15 months, compared with premiums rising, a heavy 102% for the rest of their 18-month COBRA .

This eight tips on how to keep health costs down, while you are away from work.

Here are eight tips to keep health care costs down when you are unemployed.

Contact an insurance broker who knows, advocacy and health education / research group, or the Office of Insurance Commissioner in your state. These experts can direct you to solutions that fit your economic and health situation and inform you about the specific laws of your state.

Do not let your coverage lapse

Paying high premiums until you reach an alternative if you can, experts suggest. Coverage lapsed for more than 63 days could make it difficult to obtain health insurance in the future, especially if you or a family member is in poor health.

Converting an individual

Attempts to convert the group plan to an individual policy, but is ready to experience a higher copays and deductibles and lower limits to claim, experts warn.

Unlike group plans, individual plans deny coverage for health, until the reform law develops in 2014. But do not automatically assume that you are excluded, said Carrie McClean, head of customer service at ehealthinsurance.com. You can discover your situation falls into a "gray area" because you have passed the state over time.

Search for Gap, or short-term plan of Medicine

This coverage is the compensation plan, said Holly Health, the dean of the Public Health Act (www. peopleshealthinsurance.com), Clearwater, Florida insurance agency, and only provides coverage for anywhere from 30 days a year. In the short term plans have copays, deductibles to offer low and require only a little 'of six numbers of the questionnaire for eligibility.

It is a good option for people who are close to finding a job, said Cesarano, and ideal for out-of-work boomers who are not yet eligible for Medicare, but it is near, Heath said.

If you're young ... At the same time Mom and Dad

If you are under 26 without insurance, getting up your parents'. You need not be a full-time student or be employed by the reform of the perk.

Coverage is not effective until September 23 so that insurers are not required to provide extensive coverage of the new plan year, usually January 1. Carriers can initiate this before, Cesarano said.

HIPPA laws Plans

Kull, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Kull), allows people to exhaust their COBRA eligibility for the purchase of certain policies, regardless of health, provided it does not have gaps in coverage of 63 days.

The guarantee plan HIPPA question, but it is "extremely expensive, as much as 2.5 times at the group level," said Heath.

People with poor health are eligible for high-risk pools, mandated July 1 of the Reform Act. According to Erin Moaratty, head of external communications of the Foundation of the patient's advocate, there are still wrinkles in these basins requires reconciliation, especially in states that did not have similar plans before the law reform . But there is a potential problem: The new law requires a period of six months waiting for someone in poor health.

Health Insurance Options For Unemployed

Say what you will about the policy on health care reform, but the new legislation will undoubtedly increase the quality of life for the unemployed and the unemployed. In the midst of the Great Recession is a lot of people: some 15 million Americans. "This is exactly the type of people helped by this bill," said Linda Blumberg, a health policy expert at the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan economic reservoir and social thinking in Washington, DC Newsweek Nancy Cook Blumberg recently talked about the specifics of the bill and what it means for business owners unemployed, the self-employed and small. Excerpt:

As The Daily Beast on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.

Nancy Cook is a writer for Newsweek and Newsweek.com staff, covering business and economics. In 2010, she and a team of two editors won the New York Press Club Award for the best Internet business information for its seven-month multimedia project called "Help Wanted: How America works now", to discuss the future of job, career and labor market since the country emerged from recession.

Cook wrote about how the money allocated to a single stimulus luxury shopping area excited by record Wall Street bonuses for the accounts of the rank and file whose careers have been interrupted by the failure of Lehman Brothers. He also reported on economic and political policy for the blog Newsweek.com 's National Affairs, focuses on the intersection of Washington and Wall Street.

Before coming to Newsweek, he worked as a producer of the 2008 presidential election campaign, National Public Radio and on-air reporters WRNI, Rhode Island NPR affiliate. There, its activity and signaling function lackluster urban areas in the school system and a federal lawsuit against the child welfare agency took him two regional Associated Press awards. He graduated from Carleton College and Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where he now teaches as associate professor.

Compare Health Insurance Quotes

Individual Health Insurance

Get free individual health insurance quotes in all 50 states. Make a more informed decision after utilizing the online resources provided. Determine which type of individual health insurance plan is right for you, then compare quotes and coverages. HealthInsuranceSort.com allows you to conveniently purchase a health plan online, but remember, you are never under any obligation.

Your healthcare needs and preferences will dictate the type of plan that is best for you and your family. There are a variety of health coverage types from which to choose, including PPO, HMO, Health Savings Accounts, and Indemnity plans. Researching the various types of coverage is a critical step before buying a policy to ensure you are getting what you need.

Selecting individual health insurance is an important decision, but is doesn't necessarily have to be difficult. HealthInsuranceSort.com can help make the process quicker and easier by providing the information you need to choose a plan, and quote comparisons allowing you to find the best rates.

Are you currently covered? Get health insurance quote comparisons from multiple carriers to see if you can get the same, or better coverage for less money. You could save hundreds a year by shopping around, and it only takes a few minutes.

health insurance companies

Directory of Health Insurance Companies

Does it sound like a dream to have a one-stop shop for health insurance companies and insurance agents? Not anymore. MedHealthInsurance has worked hard to gather this information so you don't have to.

The carriers featured on this website are not affiliated with this site and do not necessarily endorse or sponsor these pages. The content on this site is provided for informational purposes only. Please contact the carrier directly if you have any specific plan inquiries.

Featured Health Insurance Providers

To learn more about specific health insurance carriers, choose a company from the list below. You'll learn about special programs and accolades unique to each.

Aetna

Affinity Health Plan

AFLAC

ALTA Health and Life Insurance

Altius Health Plan

Altius One Health Insurance

Alliance Health

American Medical Security

AmeriHealth HMO

Ameritas

Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield

Arnett Health Plans

Assurant Health (formerly Fortis)

Asuris Health

Atlantis Health

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Member Companies (not all Plans featured)

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont

Blue Cross of California

Blue Cross of Idaho

Blue Shield of California

BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois

BlueCross BlueShield of Kansas City

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee

BlueCross BlueShield of Texas

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

Celtic

Cigna

Clear Choice Health Insurance

Cobalt Corporation

Companion Life Insurance Co.

ConnectiCare Health Plans

Coventry Health Care

Cox Healthcare

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield

Fairmont Specialty Group

First Choice Healthcare

FiServ

Golden Rule

Great-West Healthcare

Group Health Cooperative

Group Health Incorporated (GHI)

HealthAmerica

Health Net

Health Net of Arizona

Health Net of California

Health Net of Oregon

HealthPartners

Health Plan Adminstrators, Inc. (HPA)

Health Plan of Nevada

HealthSpring

HIP Health Plan of New York

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey

IHC Health Plans

Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente - Mid-Atlantic States

KPS Health Plans

LifeWise Health Plan of Arizona

LifeWise Health Plan of Oregon

LifeWise Health Plan of Washington

Medica

Medical Mutual of Ohio

MEGA Health & Life

Mercy Health Plans of MO

Midwest Security

MVP Healthcare

Neighborhood Health Plan

ODS Health Plans

OmniCare

Oxford Health Plans

PacifiCare

PacificSource

Premera Blue Cross

Providence Health Plans

Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon

Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah

Regence BlueShield of Washington

Rocky Mountain Health Plan

Security Life

SelectHealth

Sierra Health and Life

Significa

Standard Security

SummaCare

Time Insurance Company

TUFTS Health Plan

UNICARE

UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthOne

United Wisconsin

Unity Healthcare

Unity Health Insurance of WI

Univera

VISTA Healthplan

Wellpath Select Health Insurance

WPS Health Insurance of Wisconsin

If you are an insurance company or agent who would like your business listed in our directory, please contact us, and one of our representatives will send you an information packet. We're proud to work with local and global companies to help consumers obtain the health insurance plans that meet their needs.

As an informational resource, we provide content about insurance companies, products and services; we make no representation, express or implied, of any sponsorship by or any other relationship with any company on this site. Quotes are provided through insurance brokers, agents, or other representatives who may or may not be able to obtain quotes from any particular company. We make no representation, express or implied, that a user will be able to obtain an insurance quote from any particular insurance company.

individual health insurance

All Aboard Benefits Has the Insurance Plan You Need

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Health Information System (SIS)

Health Information System (SIS)

In today's model of care delivery that is running an unprecedented development, is driven by industry-wide initiatives to improve patient safety, quality and efficiency of care delivery. At the center of this growth in Healthcare Information Technology sector.

Dell Healthcare Consulting Services organization aims to help health care providers through transformation to these changes in care delivery, most of which are enabled by IT. We have extended, hands on experience with all major suppliers, clinical, financial and administrative system Healthcare Information (HIS) applications such as Cerner, Epic, McKesson and MEDITECH. Our full range of consulting services covers all operational and clinical areas, including IT strategy and management for the implementation of systems, optimization, adoption and support. In fact, we recently ranked No. 1 IT services provider in the global health by Gartner.

Dell Services team of consultants "includes a specialized group of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other medical and business professionals and specialized technology in clinical and CPOE implementations and change management technology solutions for health. We are here to provide specific advice and comprehensive care from beginning to end solutions to support its strategic clinical, operational and financial.

health care careers information

You can investigate heathcare careers at our site in several different ways. You can focus on a specific career using our Alphabetical Career Listing, answer a few questions in our Interactive Career Finder to generate a list of career links, or browse through our Medical Career Clusters.

If you are interested in joining a discussion about medical careers, we try to keep a topic area open on a Yahoo! message board to get as much visibility as possible. Normally we use the Medicine category, but occassionally you'll find it under Employment. Both of these areas are worth your review. If our topic area doesn't interest you, you might find another that does. Better yet, if you have a question, start your own; it's easy to do. Just follow the instructions in the help file.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science runs an ongoing series of science career discussion forums that frequently medically related.

Also, after you finish exploring our site, you might want to visit some of the health career links and bioscience career links maintained by the University of California at Berkeley.

High mobile use can cause brain cancer: WHO

NEW DELHI: Talking on the cellphone may possibly lead to a malignant form of brain cancer, the World Health Organization has said. A study done by an arm of the world body has classified radiation coming out of cellphones alongside gasoline engine exhaust, lead and DDT as "possibly carcinogenic to humans".

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is under WHO, however, said there wasn't enough evidence yet to conclusively link mobile phone use with cancer.

"The WHO/IARC has classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans (group 2B), based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with wireless phone use," it said.

"This does not mean the link has been firmly established," said IARC's chief of the monograph programme, Dr Kurt Straif, speaking to TOI from Lyon, France. "But there is reason for concern."

The group, consisting of 31 scientists from 14 countries, examined "hundreds of epidemiological studies" on cellphone use to see what the long-term health effects might be after exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer's monograph programme, which consists of 31 scientists, said that they reviewed the data from hundreds of studies on effects of cellphone radiation, and believe mobile phone usage is limited to a risk of glioma and acoustis neuroma (a benign but life-threatening tumor).

They did not have enough data to conclude that it could cause any other forms of cancer.

"After going through hundreds of studies, we concluded that there is just a possibility of a link between high cellphone use and brain cancer, not a certainty. We also don't know how much radiation exposure can be termed harmful," Straif said. One of the studies the researchers looked at said that those who had spent 1,600 hours of active call time over 10 years — around 30 minutes a day — could be at highest risk.

"But, what was considered a long talk time a few years back is considered low usage now. So there is no clear picture," he added. According to Dr Straif, it is now left to governments and organizations like WHO to come out with recommendations based on evidence provided by IARC.

andy whitfield cancer

Andy Whitfield, who plays the head of the Starz drama "Spartacus: Blood and Sand", was diagnosed with a treatable form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In a statement released to EW.com, Whitfield said, "I receive excellent care, and I feel strong, positive and determined with an army of support behind me."

Meanwhile, Starz said it suspended production on season two, titled "Spartacus: Vengeance", while Whitfield, 35, receives treatment for this condition.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Andy," said President Chris Albrecht Starz, according to the Ausiello Files. "His state of health, of course, is our primary concern. He has all our support at this difficult time."

Bloody drama - which was renewed a second season, the first of the series next January - was a constant break-even mark the network, where the most recent episodes, on average, about one million viewers. It 'also presented the Welsh actor, born on the traditional model of the American public. Previously, he played an Australian TV series such as "open" and "McLeod's daughters."

non hodgkin lymphoma

Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

The information in this section about non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) can help you talk with members of your healthcare team and take an active role in your treatment. Knowing what to expect and being able to make informed decisions about your cancer treatment are important aspects of coping with your disease. You can skim sections to find what you want to read now - and continue reading whenever you're ready for more information.

What You Should Know

• NHL is a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system.
• NHL has many different subtypes.
• NHL subtypes are either indolent (slow growing) or aggressive (fast growing).
• Hematologists and oncologists are specialists who treat people who have NHL or other types of blood cancer.
• Treatment for people who have NHL may include drug therapy and radiation therapy.

What You Need to Do

• Seek treatment in a cancer center where doctors are experienced treating patients with lymphoma.
• Talk with your doctor about your diagnostic tests and what the results mean.
• Be sure you know your NHL subtype - different subtypes have different treatments.

What Is NHL?

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) isn't just one disease. It's actually a diverse group of blood cancers that share a single characteristic in how they develop. NHL generally develops in the lymph nodes and lymphatic tissues. In some cases, NHL involves bone marrow and blood.

brain cancer information

What is Brain Cancer?

The brain is a soft, spongy mass of tissue. It is protected by the bones of the skull and three thin membranes called meninges. Watery fluid called cerebrospinal fluid cushions the brain. This fluid flows through spaces between the meninges and through spaces within the brain called ventricles.

A network of nerves carries messages back and forth between the brain and the rest of the body. Some nerves go directly from the brain to the eyes, ears, and other parts of the head. Other nerves run through the spinal cord to connect the brain with the other parts of the body. Within the brain and spinal cord, glial cells surround nerve cells and hold them in place.

The brain directs the things we choose to do (like walking and talking) and the things our body does without thinking (like breathing). The brain is also in charge of our senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell), memory, emotions, and personality.

The three major parts of the brain control different activities:

*

Cerebrum—The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. It is at the top of the brain. It uses information from our senses to tell us what is going on around us and tells our body how to respond. It controls reading, thinking, learning, speech, and emotions.

The cerebrum is divided into the left and right cerebral hemispheres, which control separate activities. The right hemisphere controls the muscles on the left side of the body. The left hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side of the body.

*

Cerebellum—The cerebellum is under the cerebrum at the back of the brain. The cerebellum controls balance and complex actions like walking and talking.

*

Brain Stem—The brain stem connects the brain with the spinal cord. It controls hunger and thirst. It also controls breathing, body temperature, blood pressure, and other basic body functions.

Understanding Cancer

Cancer begins in cells, the building blocks that make up tissues. Tissues make up the organs of the body.

Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place. Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor.

Benign and Malignant Brain Tumors

Brain tumors can be benign or malignant:

*

Benign brain tumors do not contain cancer cells:

o

Usually, benign tumors can be removed, and they seldom grow back.

o

The border or edge of a benign brain tumor can be clearly seen. Cells from benign tumors do not invade tissues around them or spread to other parts of the body. However, benign tumors can press on sensitive areas of the brain and cause serious health problems.

o

Unlike benign tumors in most other parts of the body, benign brain tumors are sometimes life threatening.

o

Very rarely, a benign brain tumor may become malignant.

*

Malignant brain tumors contain cancer cells:

o

Malignant brain tumors are generally more serious and often are life threatening.

o

They are likely to grow rapidly and crowd or invade the surrounding healthy brain tissue.

o

Very rarely, cancer cells may break away from a malignant brain tumor and spread to other parts of the brain, to the spinal cord, or even to other parts of the body. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.

o

Sometimes, a malignant tumor does not extend into healthy tissue. The tumor may be contained within a layer of tissue. Or the bones of the skull or another structure in the head may confine it. This kind of tumor is called encapsulated.

Tumor Grade

Doctors sometimes group brain tumors by grade—from low grade (grade I) to high grade (grade IV). The grade of a tumor refers to the way the cells look under a microscope. Cells from high-grade tumors look more abnormal and generally grow faster than cells from low-grade tumors.

Primary Brain Tumors

Tumors that begin in brain tissue are known as primary tumors of the brain. (Information about secondary brain tumors appears in the following section.) Primary brain tumors are named according to the type of cells or the part of the brain in which they begin.

The most common primary brain tumors are gliomas. They begin in glial cells. There are many types of gliomas:

*

Astrocytoma—The tumor arises from star-shaped glial cells called astrocytes. In adults, astrocytomas most often arise in the cerebrum. In children, they occur in the brain stem, the cerebrum, and the cerebellum. A grade III astrocytoma is sometimes called an anaplastic astrocytoma. A grade IV astrocytoma is usually called a glioblastoma multiforme.

*

Brain stem glioma—The tumor occurs in the lowest part of the brain. Brain stem gliomas most often are diagnosed in young children and middle-aged adults.

*

Ependymoma—The tumor arises from cells that line the ventricles or the central canal of the spinal cord. They are most commonly found in children and young adults.

*

Oligodendroglioma—This rare tumor arises from cells that make the fatty substance that covers and protects nerves. These tumors usually occur in the cerebrum. They grow slowly and usually do not spread into surrounding brain tissue. They are most common in middle-aged adults.

Some types of brain tumors do not begin in glial cells. The most common of these are:

*

Medulloblastoma—This tumor usually arises in the cerebellum. It is the most common brain tumor in children. It is sometimes called a primitive neuroectodermal tumor.

*

Meningioma—This tumor arises in the meninges. It usually grows slowly.

*

Schwannoma—A tumor that arises from a Schwann cell. These cells line the nerve that controls balance and hearing. This nerve is in the inner ear. The tumor is also called an acoustic neuroma. It occurs most often in adults.

*

Craniopharyngioma—The tumor grows at the base of the brain, near the pituitary gland. This type of tumor most often occurs in children.

*

Germ cell tumor of the brain—The tumor arises from a germ cell. Most germ cell tumors that arise in the brain occur in people younger than 30. The most common type of germ cell tumor of the brain is a germinoma.

*

Pineal region tumor—This rare brain tumor arises in or near the pineal gland. The pineal gland is located between the cerebrum and the cerebellum.

Secondary Brain Tumors

When cancer spreads from its original place to another part of the body, the new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the primary tumor. Cancer that spreads to the brain from another part of the body is different from a primary brain tumor. When cancer cells spread to the brain from another organ (such as the lung or breast), doctors may call the tumor in the brain a secondary tumor or metastatic tumor. Secondary tumors in the brain are far more common than primary brain tumors.

lung cancer information

What is lung cancer?

Lung cancer is cancer that usually starts in the lining of the bronchi (the main airways of the lungs), but can also begin in other areas of the respiratory system, including the trachea, bronchioles, or alveoli. It is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. In 2003, 171,900 new cases of lung cancer are expected, according to the American Cancer Society.

Lung cancers are believed to develop over a period of many years.

Nearly all lung cancers are carcinomas, cancers that begin in the lining or covering tissues of an organ. The tumor cells of each type of lung cancer grow and spread differently, and each type requires different treatment. More than 95 percent of lung cancers belong to the group called bronchogenic carcinoma.

Lung cancers are generally divided into two types:

* Non-small cell lung cancer is more common than small cell lung cancer. There are several types of non-small cell lung cancer, named for the type of cells found in the tumor:

o Squamous cell carcinoma, also called epidermoid carcinoma, is the most common type of lung cancer in men. It often begins in the bronchi and usually does not spread as quickly as other types of lung cancer.

o Adenocarcinoma usually begins along the outer edges of the lungs and under the lining of the bronchi. This type of non-small cell lung cancer begins in cells that have secretory (glandular) characteristics. It is the most common type of lung cancer in women and in people who have never smoked.

o Large cell carcinomas are a group of cancers with large, abnormal-looking cells. These tumors usually begin along the outer edges of the lungs.

o Adenosquamous carcinoma begins in flattened cells when viewed under a microscope. These cells also have secretory characteristics.

o Undifferentiated carcinoma involves abnormal-looking cancer cells that tend to multiply quickly.

* Small cell lung cancer, sometimes called oat cell cancer because the cancer cells may look like oats when viewed under a microscope, grows rapidly and quickly spreads to other organs.

It is important to find out what kind of lung cancer a person has. The different types of carcinomas, involving different regions of the lung, may cause different symptoms and are treated differently.

What are the symptoms of lung cancer?

The following are the most common symptoms for lung cancer. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently.

Lung cancer usually does not cause symptoms when it first develops, but they often become present after the tumor begins growing. A cough is the most common symptom of lung cancer. Other symptoms include:

* constant chest pain

* shortness of breath

* wheezing

* recurring lung infections, such as pneumonia or bronchitis

* bloody or rust colored sputum

* hoarseness

* swelling of the neck and face caused by a tumor that presses on large blood vessels near the lung

* pain and weakness in the shoulder, arm, or hand caused by a tumor that presses on certain nerves near the lung

* fever for unknown reason

Like other cancers, lung cancer can cause:

* fatigue

* loss of appetite

* loss of weight

* headache

* pain in other parts of the body not affected by the cancer

* bone fractures

Other symptoms can be caused by substances made by lung cancer cells - referred to as a paraneoplastic syndrome. Certain lung cancer cells produce a substance that causes a sharp drop in the level of sodium in the blood, which can cause many symptoms, including confusion and sometimes even coma.

None of these symptoms is a sure sign of lung cancer. The symptoms of lung cancer may resemble another medical condition or problem. Always consult your physician for a diagnosis.

What are the risk factors for lung cancer?

A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of developing a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Several risk factors make a person more likely to develop lung cancer:

* Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, with more than 90 percent of lung cancers thought to be a result of smoking.

Additional risk factors include:

* secondhand smoke - breathing in the smoke of others

What is a risk factor?

A risk factor is anything that may increase a person's chance of developing a disease. It may be an activity, such as smoking, diet, family history, or many other things. Different diseases, including cancers, have different risk factors.

Although these factors can increase a person's risk, they do not necessarily cause the disease. Some people with one or more risk factors never develop the disease, while others develop disease and have no known risk factors.

But, knowing your risk factors to any disease can help to guide you into the appropriate actions, including changing behaviors and being clinically monitored for the disease.

* smoking marijuana cigarettes, which:

o contain more tar than tobacco cigarettes.

o are inhaled very deeply.

o are smoked all the way to the end where tar content is the highest.

Because marijuana is an illegal substance, it is not possible to control whether it contains fungi, pesticides, and other additives.

* recurring inflammation, such as from tuberculosis and some types of pneumonia

* asbestos exposure

* talcum powder

While no increased risk of lung cancer has been found from the use of cosmetic talcum powder, some studies of talc miners and millers suggest a higher risk of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases from their exposure to industrial grade talc. Talcum powder is made from talc, a mineral that, in its natural form, may contain asbestos. Although, by law, all home-use talcum products (baby, body, and facial powders) have been asbestos-free.

* cancer-causing agents in the workplace, including:

o radioactive ores such as uranium

o arsenic

o vinyl chloride

o nickel chromates

o coal products

o mustard gas

o chloromethyl ethers

o fuels such as gasoline

o diesel exhaust

* radon - a radioactive gas that cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled. It is produced by the natural breakdown of uranium.

* personal history of lung cancer

* air pollution

In some cities, air pollution may slightly increase the risk of lung cancer.

How is lung cancer diagnosed?

In addition to a complete medical history (to check for risk factors and symptoms) and physical examination (to provide other information about signs of lung cancer and other health problems), procedures used to diagnose lung cancer may include:

* chest x-ray - to look for any mass or spot on the lungs.

* computed tomography scan (Also called a CT or CAT scan.) - a diagnostic imaging procedure that uses a combination of x-rays and computer technology to produce cross-sectional images (often called slices), both horizontally and vertically, of the body. A CT scan shows detailed images of any part of the body, including the bones, muscles, fat, and organs. CT scans are more detailed than general x-rays.

* sputum cytology - a study of phlegm (spit) to look for cancer cells under a microscope.

* needle biopsy - a needle is guided into the mass while the lungs are being viewed on a CT scan and a sample of the tissue is removed and evaluated in the pathology laboratory under a microscope. A lymph node biopsy may also be performed. Lymph nodes, located through out the body, serve as filters and also help to fight infection.

* bronchoscopy - the examination of the bronchi (the main airways of the lungs) using a flexible tube (bronchoscope). Bronchoscopy helps to evaluate and diagnose lung problems, assess blockages, obtain samples of tissue and/or fluid, and/or to help remove a foreign body.

* mediastinoscopy - a process in which a small cut is made in the neck so that a tissue sample can be taken from the lymph nodes (mediastinal nodes) along the windpipe and the major bronchial tube areas to evaluate under a microscope.

* positron emission tomography (PET) scan - radioactive-tagged glucose (sugar) is injected into the bloodstream. Tissues that use the glucose more than normal tissues (such as tumors) can be detected by a scanning machine. PET scans can be used to find small tumors or to check if treatment for a known tumor is working.

* x-rays and scans of the brain, liver, bone, and adrenal glands - to determine if the cancer has spread from where it started into other areas of the body.

Other tests and procedures may be used as well.

Treatment for lung cancer:

Specific treatment for lung cancer will be determined by your physician based on:

* your age, overall health, and medical history

* extent of the disease

* your tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies

* expectations for the course of the disease

* your opinion or preference

Lung cancer may be treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, laser therapy, or a combination of treatments:

* surgery

Three main types of surgery are most often used in lung cancer treatment. The choice depends on the size and location of the tumor in the lung, the extent of the cancer, the general health of the patient, and other factors.

o segmental or wedge resection - removal of only a small part of the lung.

o lobectomy - removal of an entire lobe of the lung.

o pneumonectomy - removal of an entire lung.

* radiation therapy

Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells and to shrink tumors. Radiation may also be used with chemotherapy to treat lung cancer. There are two ways to deliver radiation therapy, including the following:

o external radiation (external beam therapy) - a treatment that precisely sends high levels of radiation directly to the cancer cells. The machine is controlled by the radiation therapist. Since radiation is used to kill cancer cells and to shrink tumors, special shields may be used to protect the tissue surrounding the treatment area. Radiation treatments are painless and usually last a few minutes.

o internal radiation (brachytherapy, implant radiation) - radiation is given inside the body as close to the cancer as possible. Substances that produce radiation, called radioisotopes, may be swallowed, injected, or implanted directly into the tumor. Some of the radioactive implants are called “seeds” or “capsules”. Internal radiation involves giving a higher dose of radiation in a shorter time span than with external radiation. Some internal radiation treatments stay in the body temporarily. Other internal treatments stay in the body permanently, through the radioactive substance looses its radiation within a short period of time. In some cases, both internal and external radiation therapies are used.

* chemotherapy - the use of anticancer drugs to treat cancerous cells. In most cases, chemotherapy works by interfering with the cancer cell’s ability to grow or reproduce. Different groups of drugs work in different ways to fight cancer cells. The oncologist will recommend a treatment plan for each individual. Chemotherapy may be given before other treatments, after other treatments, or alone for lung cancer.

* photodynamic therapy (PDT) - a type of laser treatment that involves injecting photosensitizing chemicals into the bloodstream. Cells throughout the body absorb the chemicals. The chemicals collect and stay longer in the cancer cells, than in the healthy cells. At the right time, when the healthy cells surrounding the tumor may already be relatively free of the chemical, the light of a laser can be focused directly on the tumor. As the cells absorb the light, a chemical reaction destroys the cancer cells. For lung cancer, the light is delivered through a bronchoscope (a small, flexible tube with a light on the end) that is inserted through the mouth or nose.

Cancer Information For Health Care

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in females in Australia1. In 2010, about 14,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer2, equating to approximately 38 women being diagnosed each day3.

How does BCNA work with Health care professionals?

As a consumer organisation, BCNA works with Health professionals to educate and inform them about the needs of women with breast cancer, not just in relation to medical and treatment concerns, but the wider range of emotional, interpersonal, social and practical issues that they and their families face.

In our advocacy work we collaborate with Health professionals to ensure women have access to the most effective treatments and support available.

BCNA can also help by identifying and supplying representative to contribute to committees ensuring the needs of consumers with breast cancers are effectively addressed.

The information resources BCNA produce can help health professionals in their work with women by assisting to explain diagnosis, treatment and the on-going support and resources available. Research shows that well informed patients are less anxious and therefore better able to manage their own health. BCNA's key resources (outlined below) have been endorsed by relevant colleges and societies include the Medical Oncology Group of Australia and Cancer Nurses Society of Australia, providing assurance that the information is accurate and correct.

BCNA resources

Through two free key resources: My Journey Kit and Hope & Hurdles pack, women are provided with information in a form that is both accessible and user-friendly.

These resources are also provided free of charge to health professionals to assist with explaining diagnosis, treatment and on-going support.

Other resources

The Cancer Learning website, developed by Cancer Australia, is an online professional development website designed specifically for health care professionals working in cancer care.

References

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare & National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre 2009. Breast cancer in Australia: an overview, 2009. Cancer series no. 50. Cat. No. CAN 46. Canberra: AIHW

2 & 3. Projected data based on current trends in breast cancer incidence.

united health care information

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Receive a free health insurance quote from a United HealthCare Agent.  You will also receive quotes from up to two other top-rated health insurance carriers, allowing you to compare prices as well as benefits.

United HealthCare is a large health insurance company which traditionally focused on group health insurance.  They have now merged with Golden Rule Insurance Company to underwrite individuals and families.

Golden Rule is rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best, and "A+" (Strong) by Standard & Poor's. These world-wide independent organizations examine insurance companies and other businesses, and publish their opinions about them. These ratings are an indication of financial strength and stability.  

united health care information is a site which offers information about United HealthCare and an overview of the type of health insurance in which they provide to a consumer.  Feel free to browse through our articles section where you will find valuable health insurance related information.

We are not a health insurance provider and do not sell United HealthCare health plans.  You may use our quote section to receive a quote from a united health care information authorized agent, you may also receive up to two other comparison quotations from other top-rated carriers.  Please keep in mind, united health care information is not affiliated with United HealthCare in any way.

Online Health care Information

Here you can learn about the symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment of a disease in width. See here for complete information about common diseases and conditions, and resources for health care for yourself or someone you care about. Learning to manage their own health and body.

How the Body Works

Every soul, which is the physical body must have a basic understanding of the activities of the body. "Why eat, and what happens to the food we eat?" is a question to ask. When we realized the answer, we begin to appreciate the nature of health and disease.

Food consumption are vital forms of life on this planet needs to consume some type of "food" to exist and maintain the expression, and most people will die if they stop eating, even if there are some exceptions to this rule. Some individuals have used the air only, which is composed of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen (these are the sugars, fats and proteins to higher frequencies). This scenario, however, is extremely rare and should be very spiritually connected to this objective.

We eat and the extra energy. We know that cells are conscious of the cities and communities, each cell knows its specific tasks. We know that the spirit, life force, consciousness, or whatever you want to call it, is an inner force that keeps the molds and forms of life, and give to consciousness. However, the cells require an external power source to continue operations.

Most of the people to chew and swallow food, no idea how or why it is used in the body. We assume that if it is edible, is used by the body. This simply is not so.

Eat, digest, absorb, use and disposal processes are continuous and consistent. When one or more of these processes is altered, the body as a whole starts to suffer. It may take many years for the main symptom to appear, but appear. Whenever there are signs on the road, however, including fatigue, obesity, thinness, bags under the eyes, skin rashes, constipation and / or diarrhea, to name a few, everyone.

Health Care Reform Information

After decades of failed attempts by a string of Democratic presidents and a year of bitter partisan combat, President Obama signed legislation on March 23, 2010, to overhaul the nation's health care system and guarantee access to medical insurance for tens of millions of Americans.

The health care law seeks to extend insurance to more than 30 million people, primarily by expanding Medicaid and providing federal subsidies to help lower- and middle-income Americans buy private coverage. It will create insurance exchanges for those buying individual policies and prohibit insurers from denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions. To reduce the soaring cost of Medicare, it creates a panel of experts to limit government reimbursement to only those treatments shown to be effective, and creates incentives for providers "bundle'' services rather than charge by individual procedure.

It was the largest single legislative achievement of Mr. Obama's first two years in office, and the most controversial. Not a single Republican voted for the final version, and Republicans across the country campaigned on a promise to repeal the bill.

In January 2011, shortly after they took control of the House, Republicans voted 245 to 189 in favor of repeal, in what both sides agreed was largely a symbolic act, given Democratic control of the Senate and White House.

Beset by Challenges

On a separate track, more than 20 challenges to some aspect of the sprawling act have been filed around the country, many put in motion by Republican governors and attorneys general. Most focused on the so-called individual mandate, a requirement that all Americans buy health coverage or pay a fine (or tax, depending on who is describing it). The insurance mandate is central to the law’s mission of expanding coverage, because insurers argue that only by requiring healthy people to have policies can they afford to treat those with expensive chronic conditions.

By February 2011, three judges upheld the mandate and two found it unconstitutional. All those in favor had been appointed by Democrats, while those against had been chosen by Republicans.

In June 2011, the first of three appeals courts who are to rule on the subject handed down its opinion, as a three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit concluded that the mandate was constitutional. The two judges in the majority — one Republican and one Democratic appointee — found that a decision to forgo insurance and pay out of pocket was as much an activity as buying coverage.

In August 2011, the mandate requiring Americans to buy health insurance or face tax penalties was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court of appeals in Atlanta. It was the first appellate review to find the provision unconstitutional — a previous federal appeals court upheld the law — and some lawyers said that the decision made it more likely that the fate of the health care law would ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.

In the meantime, federal and state regulators have already moved into high gear, rolling out early provisions and laying the groundwork for the broader changes to come in 2014. In September 2010, a number of important provisions took effect. Insurers were banned from dropping sick and costly customers after discovering technical mistakes on applications and required to offer coverage to children under 26 on their parents’ policies. In August 2011, the administration issued new standards that require health insurance plans to cover all government-approved contraceptives for women, among other forms of preventive care for women, without co-payments or other charges.

If the law is sustained in the courts, its passage assures Mr. Obama a place in history as the American president who succeeded at revamping the nation's health care system where others, notably Harry Truman and Bill Clinton, tried mightily and failed.
The measure will require most Americans to have health insurance coverage; would add 16 million people to the Medicaid rolls; and would subsidize private coverage for low- and middle-income people. It will regulate private insurers more closely, banning practices such as denial of care for pre-existing conditions. The law will cost the government about $938 billion over 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which has also estimated that it will reduce the federal deficit by $138 billion over a decade.
The victory for Mr. Obama and the Democratic leaders of Congress came after a roller-coaster year of negotiations, political combat, hearings delving into the minutiae of health care and a near-death political experience after they appeared to have reached the brink of success. On Nov. 7, 2009, the House had approved its bill by a vote of 220 to 215, while the Senate passed an $871 billion bill on Dec. 24.
But even as the House and Senate worked to merge their bills, their fate was put in jeopardy on Jan. 19, 2010, by an upset Republican victory in a special election to fill the Senate seat in Massachusetts held for decades by the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, depriving the Democrats of the 60th vote needed to block a Republican filibuster of a final bill. After weeks of uncertainty, Mr. Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress settled on a strategy in which the compromises needed to align the two versions were stripped down to only those measures that fit within a budget reconciliation bill, which under Senate rules could not be filibustered, a move that paved the way for passage.
The pivotal moment in the long legislative battle came in a dramatic Sunday evening vote, when the House on March 21 approved, 219 to 212, the health care bill that the Senate had passed in December. Later that week, the House and Senate completed passage of a set of fixes to the bills, compromises worked out as part of the complicated legislative maneuvering that allowed Democrats to achieve their long-sought goal despite having lost their filibuster-proof 60-vote "supermajority'' in the Senate in January.
Background
The Democrats' desire for universal access to health insurance runs deep. President Franklin D. Roosevelt hoped to include some kind of national health insurance program in Social Security in 1935. President Harry S. Truman proposed a national health care program with an insurance fund into which everyone would pay. Since then, every Democratic president and several Republican presidents have wanted to provide affordable coverage to more Americans.
President Bill Clinton offered the most ambitious proposal and suffered the most spectacular failure. Working for 10 months behind closed doors, Clinton aides wrote a 240,000-word bill. Scores of lobbyists picked it apart. Congressional Democrats took potshots at it. And Republicans used the specter of government-run health care to help them take control of Congress in the midterm elections of 1994.
One of the most significant differences between 1993-94 and 2009-10 is that employers and business groups, alarmed at the soaring cost of health care, took a seat at the negotiating table. Insurance companies, which helped defeat the Clinton plan, began 2009 by saying they accept the need for change and want a seat at the table. As the bills developed, however, they became strong opponents of some Democratic proposals, especially one to create a government-run insurance plan as an alternative to their offerings.
In his budget for 2010, Mr. Obama gave an indication of the scope of his ambitions on health care reform when he asked Congress to set aside more than $600 billion as a down payment on efforts to remake the health care system over the next 10 years. But after sending Congress his budget plan, Mr. Obama's White House, displaying a surprisingly light touch, encouraged Democrats in Congress to make the hard decisions.
By the end of March 2009, the chairmen of five Congressional committees had reached a consensus on the main ingredients of legislation, and insurance industry representatives had made some major concessions. The chairmen, all Democrats, agreed that everyone must carry insurance and that employers should be required to help pay for it. They also agreed that the government should offer a public health insurance plan as an alternative to private insurance.
Separate Democratic Bills

Democrats worked on three separate paths to develop legislation in the summer of 2009. On June 14, House Democratic leaders introduced their bill, which in addition to a public plan included efforts to slow the pace of Medicare spending, a tax on high-income people and penalties for businesses that do not insure their workers. After a revolt by a conservative group of "Blue Dog'' Democrats that led to more exemptions for businesses, the plan was adopted by three committees without Republican support.
In the Senate, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee worked on a bill with a public insurance plan, while the Senate Finance Committee, led by Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, worked on a bill that sought to avoid one, which Mr. Baucus thought was necessary to gain bipartisan support.
On July 15, the Senate health committee passed its bill on a party-line vote of 13 to 10, with all Republicans opposing the package. Both Republicans and Democrats acknowledged that the health committee bill was just part of what would eventually be a single Senate measure.
The Battle for Public Opinion
During the Congressional recess in August 2009, the White House appeared to lose control of the public debate over health care reform to a wave of conservative protests.
Democratic Party officials acknowledged that the growing intensity of the opposition to the president's health care plans — plans likened on talk radio to something out of Hitler's Germany, lampooned by protesters at Congressional town-hall-style meetings and vilified in television commercials — had caught them off guard.
On Sept. 9, Mr. Obama confronted a critical Congress and a skeptical nation, decrying the "scare tactics" of his opponents and presenting his most forceful case yet for a sweeping health care overhaul that has eluded Washington for generations.
When Mr. Obama said it was not true that the Democrats were proposing to provide health coverage to illegal immigrants, Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina yelled back, "You lie!" Mr. Wilson apologized but his outburst led to a six-day national debate on civility and decorum, and the House formally rebuked him on Sept. 15.
The president's speech appeared to restore momentum to the reform effort, at least for the moment, according to polls that followed.
The Baucus Bill
When Mr. Baucus introduced his long-awaited plan in the fall of 2009, the bill closely resembled what Mr. Obama said he wanted, except that it did not include a new government insurance plan to compete with private insurers.
Unlike the other bills, the Baucus plan would impose a new excise tax on insurance companies that sell high-end policies. The bill would not require employers to offer coverage. But employers with more than 50 workers would have to reimburse the government for some or all of the cost of subsidies provided to employees who buy insurance on their own.
The bill got a significant boost when the Congressional Budget Office announced that despite its price tag, it would reduce the federal deficit by slowing the rate of health-care spending.
On Oct. 13, 2009, the committee voted to approve the legislation. The vote was 14 to 9, with all Republicans opposed except for Senator Olympia J.  Snowe of Maine. Two weeks later, Ms. Snowe's support was lost, when Mr. Reid, the majority leader, announced he would include a public option in the legislation he took to the Senate floor.
The House Bill Passes
Before Speaker Pelosi put the House bill to a vote, she had to broker a series of compromises that ultimately brought along just enough support from conservative Democrats to win passage. The biggest changes concerned the public option plan, which would have to negotiate rates just as private insurers do, rather than offering a rate set slightly above what Medicare pays; the plan would also confront strict controls on abortion. After heavy lobbying by Catholic bishops, the measure was amended to tighten restrictions on abortion coverage in subsidized plans bought through the insurance exchanges, to insure that no federal money was used to pay for an abortion. Both changes angered Ms. Pelosi's base of liberal Democrats, but they chose to support the bill nonetheless.
Democrats said the House measure — paid for through new fees and taxes, along with cuts in Medicare — would extend coverage to 36 million people now without insurance while creating a government health insurance program. It would end insurance company practices like not covering pre-existing conditions or dropping people when they become ill. And despite its price tag, they pointed to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office that said it would reduce the deficit over the next 10 years.
In a sign of potential difficulties ahead, some centrist Democrats said they voted for the legislation so they could seek improvements in it in a conference with the Senate.
The Senate's Merged Bill
By early November 2009, the broad outlines of the bill Senator Reid would introduce on the Senate floor were clear — it would include the public option that was part of the health committee's bill, but with an "opt out'' provision for states, and many of the taxes and fees written in to the Finance Committee's version.
Though broadly similar to the House bill, Mr. Reid's proposal differed in important ways. It would, for example, increase the Medicare payroll tax on high-income people and impose a new excise tax on high-cost "Cadillac health plans" offered by employers to their employees. Mr. Reid's bill would not go as far as the House bill in limiting access to abortion. And while he would require most Americans to obtain health insurance, he would impose less stringent penalties on people who did not comply.
The official cost analysis released by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office showed that Mr. Reid's bill came in under the $900 billion goal suggested by Mr. Obama. But 24 million people would still be uninsured in 2019, the budget office said. About one-third of them would be illegal immigrants.
The Congressional Budget Office  said the House bill would reduce deficits by $109 billion over 10 years and cover 36 million people, but still leave 18 million uninsured in 2019.
Passage in the Senate
As debate began, Mr. Reid began searching for changes that could pull together the 60 votes that would be needed to avoid a Republican filibuster. The Democratic caucus contains 60 members, including two independents, but one of those independents, Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, said he would block a vote on any bill containing a public option. To win his vote, it was dropped, as was a compromise proposal to expand Medicare to allow people aged 55 to 64 to buy in to the plan — both moves that angered the Senate's liberals, who pointed out that Mr. Lieberman had spoken in favor of the Medicare expansion three months before.
The last  Democrat to come on board was Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who won a series of changes: a provision to strip the insurance industry of its anti-trust exemption was dropped; language was added to allow states to decide to block plans covering abortion from their insurance exchanges; and the bill now provides Nebraska with additional Medicaid funds.
Republicans vowed to use every parliamentary device at their disposal to slow the measure, which they said was being rammed through the Senate in an unseemly rush. But with Mr. Nelson on board, Mr. Reid's bill survived the first serious procedural hurdle by reaching the 60 vote mark needed to fend off a filibuster.
When the roll for the final vote was called at 7:05 a.m. on Dec. 24, 2009, it was a solemn moment. Senators called out "aye" or "no." Senator Robert C. Byrd, the 92-year-old Democrat from West Virginia, deviated slightly from the protocol. "This is for my friend Ted Kennedy," Mr. Byrd said. "Aye!"
The 60-to-39 party-line vote came on the 25th straight day of debate on the legislation.
An Upset and a Scramble
But less than a month later, the victory of Scott Brown, a previously little known Republican state senator, in the Massachusetts special election to fill Mr. Kennedy's seat, upset all calculations and left Democrats scrambling for approaches that might allow them to pass some version of the bill.
The most widely discussed approach called for the House to approve the Senate bill — thereby avoiding a filibuster if the Senate needed to vote on a compromise bill. That vote would be preceded by the passing of a separate bill containing the changes both houses could agree to. Democratic leaders believed that most of those could be put into a so-called budget reconciliation bill, which under Senate rules cannot be filibustered. But House Democrats were reluctant to move until the Senate moved first, and several conservative Democrats said they opposed using reconciliation. In mid-January 2010, Mr. Reid and Ms. Pelosi signalled that they did not expect quick action.
In his State of the Union address to Congress, delivered on Jan. 27, 2010, Mr. Obama called on Congress to finish the job. He appealed once more for Republicans to put forward ideas that could lead to a bipartisan approach. He added, "Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let's find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people."
But he did not lay out his preferences for the bill's final form or lay out a means of passage. Almost two weeks later, in an interview during the Super Bowl's pre-game show, Mr. Obama announced a bipartisan, half-day summit at the White House, a high-profile gambit that would allow Americans to watch as Democrats and Republicans tried to break their political impasse. The plan would put Republicans on the spot to offer their own ideas on health care and show whether both sides were willing to work together.
Republican Health Ideas
Republicans never offered a unified health care bill, but the party's Congressional leaders sketched out a fairly well-developed set of ideas intended to make health insurance more widely available and affordable, by emphasizing tax incentives and state innovations, with no new federal mandates and only a modest expansion of the federal safety net.
The Republicans rely more on the market and less on government. They would not require employers to provide insurance. They oppose the Democrats' call for a big expansion of Medicaid, which Republicans say would burden states with huge long-term liabilities.
While the Congressional Budget Office has not analyzed all the Republican proposals, it is clear that they would not provide coverage to anything like the number of people — more than 30 million — who would gain insurance under the Democrats' proposals.
But Republicans say they can make incremental progress without the economic costs they contend the Democratic plans pose to the nation. As one way to encourage competition and drive down costs, Republican members of Congress want to make it easier for insurance companies to sell their policies across state lines, an idea included in a limited form in the Democratic bills.
President Obama's Plan
On Feb. 22, 2010, days before his health "summit'' meeting with Republicans, Mr. Obama released a detailed set of proposals. The bill was intended to achieve Mr. Obama's broad goals of expanding coverage to the uninsured while driving down health premiums and imposing what the White House called "common sense rules of the road" for insurers, including ending the unpopular practice of discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions. It would offer more money to help cash-strapped states pay for Medicaid over a four-year period, and, in a nod to concerns among the elderly, end the unpopular "donut hole" in the Medicare prescription drug program.
In many respects, Mr. Obama's measure looked much like the version the Senate passed on Christmas Eve 2009. But there are several critical differences that appear designed to appeal to House Democrats, who have voiced deep concerns about the Senate measure and its effects on the middle class.
To begin with, Mr. Obama would eliminate a controversial special deal for Nebraska — widely derided by Republicans as the "cornhusker kickback" — that called for the federal government to pay the full cost of a Medicaid expansion for that state. Instead, the White House would help all states absorb the cost of the Medicaid expansion from 2014, when it begins, until 2017.
And while the president adopted the Senate's proposed excise tax on high-cost, employer sponsored insurance plans, Mr. Obama made some crucial adjustments based on an agreement reached in January 2010 with organized labor leaders, while also trying to avoid the appearance of special treatment for unions. Most crucially, the president would delay imposing the tax until 2018 for all policies, not just for health benefits provided through collectively-bargained union contracts.
The Health Care Summit
On Feb. 25, Congressional Democrats and Republicans joined Mr. Obama at Blair House, across the street from the White House, for an extraordinary seven-hour televised debate on the intricacies of heath care reform.
Mr. Obama and his fellow Democrats tried to make the case that the two parties were closer than they thought, with the implication that their bill was centrist and would be acceptable to mainstream voters. Republicans countered that the gap was vast, that the bill was out of touch with what the country wanted and that Mr. Obama should throw it out and start over.
Republicans said there was no way they would vote for Mr. Obama's bill, and Democrats were talking openly about pushing it through Congress on a simple majority vote using the controversial parliamentary maneuver known as reconciliation.
Beyond the question of government intervention in the private insurance market, their most profound disagreement was over expanding coverage to the uninsured. The Democrats wanted to cover more than 30 million people over 10 years; Republicans said the nation could not even afford the entitlement programs, like Medicare, that already exist, much less start new ones.
Final Passage
For most of 2009, the focus had been on the Senate, where the need for 60 votes to defeat a certain Republican filibuster had appeared to put the push for health care reform in greatest peril. But the two-track plan adopted by Democratic leaders -- having the House pass the Senate plan with an agreed upon "sidecar'' of fixes -- meant that the only new vote the Democrats would have to win would be on a set of fixes that would fall under budget reconciliation rules, making the issue immune to filibuster.
Republicans railed against the tactic, saying Democrats were using a procedural gimmick to "jam'' the legislation through; Democrats replied by listing all the major bills the Republicans had passed via reconciliation when they were in the majority, including the Medicare drug plan and both Bush tax cuts.
Mr. Obama, who had long avoided setting out a definitive set of his preferences, moved to the forefront after laying out an 11-page plan for changes to the Senate bill. The focus swung to Democrats in the House. Some conservative Democrats were unhappy with the bill's cost, others with the weaker abortion provisions in the Senate bill. A number of liberals were angry over the loss of the public option.
A week after the health care summit, Mr. Obama bluntly challenged wavering Democrats to step up and support the bill, saying its failure would pose a greater political threat than passage. As he traveled to the districts of crucial representatives, Ms. Pelosi and her aides met almost nonstop with members of her caucus.  Three days before the vote the tide seemed to swing her way, as the Congressional Budget Office declared the bill would reduce the deficit by $138 billion over its first 10 years, and a number of anti-abortion Democrats decided that the language in the Senate bill would protect against the use of federal funds to  pay for abortion. But it was not until the morning of the vote, when Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan, who had become a leader of anti-abortion Democrats on the issue, said that Mr. Obama's promised executive order would settle the issue for him, that it became clear that the bill would in fact pass.
After the House passed the Senate's bill, it passed and sent to the Senate the so-called "sidecar'' of fixes, which removed some provisions that had drawn criticism, such as a special deal on Medicaid for Nebraska, and adjusted other provisions that were unpopular with House Democrats, like the excise tax the Senate had imposed on high-cost insurance plans. In the Senate, Republicans succeeded in forcing Democrats to make minor changes in the language of the reconciliation bill, which also included an overhaul of the federal student loan program, meaning it needed to go back to the House for final passage, which it gave in a brisk session on the evening of March 25th.
The final House vote was 220 to 207, and the Senate vote was 56 to 43, with the Republicans unanimously opposed in both chambers.
Court Challenges
Immediately after Mr. Obama signed the bill, states began filing challenges to it in federal court. Twenty states, led by Attorney General Bill McCollum of Florida, a Republican who is running for governor, banded together to file suit in federal district court in Pensacola, Fla. The first challenge to make it to a hearing was the one filed by the attorney general of Virginia.
In October, a federal judge in Detroit became the first to rule on the lawsuits, upholding the government's position. The next month, a federal judge in Lynchburg, Va., did the same.
Then in December, a federal judge in Richmond issued the first ruling against the law, calling the individual mandate unconstitutional. The judge, Henry E. Hudson, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, wrote that his survey of case law “yielded no reported decisions from any federal appellate courts extending the Commerce Clause or General Welfare Clause to encompass regulation of a person’s decision not to purchase a product, not withstanding its effect on interstate commerce or role in a global regulatory scheme.”
The case centers on whether Congress has authority under the Commerce Clause to compel citizens to buy a commercial product — namely health insurance — in the name of regulating an interstate economic market. Plaintiffs in the lawsuits argue there effectively would be no limits on federal power, and that the government could force people to buy American cars or, as Judge Hudson remarked at one hearing, “to eat asparagus.”
The Supreme Court’s position on the Commerce Clause has evolved through four signature cases over the last 68 years, with three decided since 1995. Two of the opinions established broad powers to regulate even personal commercial decisions that may influence a broader economic scheme. But other cases have limited regulation to “activities that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce.”
A major question, therefore, has been whether the income tax penalties levied against those who do not obtain health insurance are designed to regulate “activity” or, as Virginia’s solicitor general, E. Duncan Getchell Jr., has argued, “inactivity” that is beyond Congress’ reach.
Justice Department lawyers have responded that individuals cannot opt out of the medical market, and that the act of not obtaining insurance is an active decision to pay for health care out of pocket. They say that such decisions, taken in the aggregate, shift billions of dollars in uncompensated care costs to governments, hospitals and the privately insured.
In January 2011, Judge Roger Vinson of Federal District Court in Pensalcola, Fla., became the second to rule against the health care law. His ruling came in the most prominent of the more than 20 legal challenges mounted against some aspect of the sweeping health law.
Only Judge Vinson has declared the entire act void, including provisions that have already taken effect, like requirements that insurers cover children regardless of pre-existing conditions. Three other federal judges, meanwhile, have upheld the law.
In June 2011, a two-judge panel of the appeals court for the Sixth Circuit upheld the law, in what will be the first of three appellate decisions.
As they look ahead to the Supreme Court, the law’s defenders can take encouragement from the concurring opinion written by Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton, an appointee of President George W. Bush, a Republican. Judge Sutton is typically considered conservative on questions of constitutional reach.
After acknowledging the difficulty of pinpointing the limits on Congress’s power to regulate interstate commerce, Judge Sutton wrote, “In my opinion, the government has the better of the arguments.” He added, “Not every intrusive law is an unconstitutionally intrusive law.”
Concerning the mandate, Judge Sutton added, “Inaction is action, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, when it comes to financial risk.” Whether an individual buys an insurance policy or not, the judge wrote, “each requires affirmative choices; one is no less active than the other; and both affect commerce.”
In August 2011, a divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the so-called individual mandate, which is considered the centerpiece of the law, ruling that Congress exceeded its powers to regulate commerce when it decided to require people to buy health insurance. But the court held that while that provision was unconstitutional, the rest of the wide-ranging law could stand.
Regulatory Steps
Meanwhile, the administration issued a blizzard of regulations, including a patient's bill of rights, and has persuaded insurance companies to make some changes sooner than required by the law. It also assembled a team of insurance experts to help carry out the law, under close supervision from the White House. At the start of July, the administration unveiled a Web site, HealthCare.gov, where consumers can obtain information about public and private health insurance options in their states. The administration and many states are also setting up high-risk insurance pools for people who have been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
Administration officials have issued rules allowing young adults to stay on their parents' policies and forbidding insurers to deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions. They have notified nearly four million small businesses of a new tax credit to help defray the cost of insurance. They began accepting applications for a separate program that will reimburse employers for some of the cost of providing health benefits to early retirees. And the government has begun sending $250 checks to Medicare beneficiaries with high drug costs. Those provisions took effect on Sept. 23, along with rules establishing a menu of preventive procedures, like colonoscopies, mammograms and immunizations, that must be covered without co-payments and allowing consumers who join a new plan to keep their own doctors and to appeal insurance company reimbursement decisions to a third party.
By early October, the administration had given about 30 insurers, employers and union plans, responsible for covering about one million people, one-year waivers on the new rules that phase out annual limits on coverage for limited-benefit plans, also known as “mini-meds.” Applicants said their premiums would increase significantly, in some cases doubling or more.
These early exemptions offer the first signs of how the administration may tackle an even more difficult hurdle: the resistance from insurers and others against proposed regulations that will determine how much insurers spend on consumers’ health care versus administrative overhead, a major cornerstone of the law.
Republican Attempts to Repeal

In the November 2010 elections, Republicans took back control of the House and cut the Democratic majority in the Senate. After a delay caused by the shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., the House voted on January 19, 2011 to repeal the health care overhaul, marking what the new Republican majority in the chamber hailed as the fulfillment of a campaign promise and the start of an all-out effort to dismantle President Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement.
The House vote was the first stage of a Republican plan to use the party’s momentum coming out of the midterm elections to keep the White House on the defensive, and will be followed by a push to scale back federal spending. In response, the administration struck a more aggressive posture than it had during the campaign to sell the health care law to the public. With many House Democrats from swing districts having lost their seats in November, the remaining Democrats held overwhelmingly together in opposition to the repeal.
Knowing that a full-scale repeal would be blocked by the Senate and Mr. Obama, Republicans say they will try to withhold money that federal officials need to administer and enforce the law.
Republicans also intend to go after specific provisions, including requirements that many employers to offer insurance to employees or pay a tax penalty and that most Americans obtain health insurance.  Alternatively, Republicans say, they will try to prevent aggressive enforcement of the requirements by limiting money available to the Internal Revenue Service, which would collect the tax penalties.
The repeal effort is part of a multipronged systematic strategy that House Republican leaders say will include trying to cut off money for the law, summoning Obama administration officials to testify at investigative hearings and encouraging state officials to attack the law in court as unconstitutional. For House Republicans, a repeal vote would also be an important, if largely symbolic, opening salvo against the president, his party and his policy agenda.
Republicans denounced the law as an intrusion by the government that would prompt employers to eliminate jobs, create an unsustainable entitlement program, saddle states and the federal government with unmanageable costs, and interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. Republicans also said the law would exacerbate the steep rise in the cost of medical services.
For their part, the Obama administration and Democrats, who largely lost the health care message war in the raucous legislative process, see the renewed debate as a chance to show that the law will be a boon to millions of Americans and hope to turn “Obamacare” from a pejorative into a tag for one of the president’s proudest achievements. Democrats argue that repeal would increase the number of uninsured; put insurers back in control of health insurance, allowing them to increase premiums at will; and lead to explosive growth in the federal budget deficit.
Republicans said their package would probably include proposals to allow sales of health insurance across state lines; to help small businesses band together and buy insurance; to limit damages in medical malpractice suits; and to promote the use of health savings accounts, in combination with high-deductible insurance policies.
Republicans also want to help states expand insurance pools for people with serious illnesses. The new law includes such pools, as an interim step until broader insurance coverage provisions take effect in 2014, but enrollment has fallen short of expectations. They have also proposed allowing people to buy insurance across state lines and to join together in “association health plans,” sponsored by trade and professional groups.
But state insurance officials have resisted such proposals, on the ground that they would weaken state authority to regulate insurance and to enforce consumer protections — a concern shared by Congressional Democrats.
Mr. Obama has responded to criticism by saying he would be willing to amend portions of the law. On Feb. 28, 2011, he endorsed bipartisan legislation that would allow states to opt out earlier from a range of requirements, including the mandate, if they could demonstrate that other methods would allow them to cover as many people, with insurance that is as comprehensive and affordable, as provided by the new law. The changes must also not increase the federal deficit.
If states can meet those standards, they can ask to circumvent minimum benefit levels, structural requirements for insurance exchanges and the mandates that most individuals obtain coverage and that employers provide it. Washington would then help finance a state’s individualized health care system with federal money that would otherwise be spent there on insurance subsidies and tax credits.
Prospects for the proposal appear dim. Congress would have to approve the change through legislation, and House Republican leaders said that they were committed to repealing the law, not amending it. Even if the change were approved, it could be difficult for states to meet the federal requirements for the waivers.