As a journalist and a health advocate, I have a professional interest in health care reform. But as the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act this week, I had a personal interest as well. Last fall, after three decades as a salaried employee with health benefits, I became a self-employed consultant with none. And [...]

Medicaid provides benefits to more than 60 million Americans, including millions of children, who might not otherwise be able to afford medical care. This sizable government program has been sheltered from large federal cuts but is now vulnerable because of the ongoing talks in Washington to close the budget gap and avoid the fiscal cliff. [...]

Costly safety upgrades, nitpicky government inspection and resulting fines are often blamed as being bad for business. But a new study shows that when government job-safety inspectors make a surprise visit, they actually enable companies to save money—and jobs—for years to come. Occupational safety has improved immensely over the decades, but in industries with traditionally [...]

A medical emergency helicopter can swoop down to pick up a trauma victim and often deliver him or her to a hospital much faster than a road-bound ambulance can. So it might seem obvious that these speedy aircraft, dispatched from major medical centers with top-of-the-line personnel and equipment, are more likely to save a life [...]

Health care reform became law, and within four years, 98 percent of the population was covered by insurance. Only 0.2 percent of all children remained uncovered. Racial and ethnic disparities in coverage largely disappeared. Public support for reform hovered at 65 percent, and there was no movement to repeal the law. Is this the future [...]

The U.S. Constitution does not support a provision of the landmark health care law passed this year that would require most people to get health insurance, according to a Monday ruling by a federal judge in Virginia. Lack of health insurance leads to 44,789 excess deaths in the U.S. each year, a 2009 study estimated. [...]

Like most businesses, health and life insurance companies are out to make a buck, and one way they augment their income is by investing in other industries. But a new study has found that $1.88 billion from this industry is backing the top five publicly traded fast food chains. Excessive consumption of this sort of [...]