Saturday, June 30, 2012

Miss. could be only state without clinic for abortions - Hattiesburg American

JACKSON â€" Mississippi could soon become the only state without an abortion clinic because of a new law taking effect this weekend. Critics say the law would force women to drive hours across the state line to obtain a constitutionally protected procedure, or could even force some to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.

Top officials, including the governor, say limiting the number of abortions is exactly what they have in mind.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant frequently says he wants Mississippi to be "abortion-free."

"If it closes that clinic, then so be it," Bryant said as in April as he signed the law, which takes effect today.

Abortion rights supporters have sued, asking a judge to temporarily block the law from taking effect. So far, that hasn't happened.

The law requires anyone performing abortions at the state's only clinic to be an OB-GYN with privileges to admit patients to a local hospital. Such privileges can be difficult to obtain, and the clinic contends the mandate is designed to put it out of business. A clinic spokeswoman, Betty Thompson, has said the two physicians who do abortions there are OB-GYNs who travel from other states.

Michelle Movahed of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights is one of the attorneys representing the Mississippi clinic in its federal lawsuit. She said that several states - including Mississippi, Kansas and Oklahoma - have tried in the past two or three years to chip away at access to abortion.

"One of the things that has really been surprising about Mississippi is how open the legislators and elected officials have been about their intentions," Movahed said. "They're not even pretending it's about public safety. They're openly saying they're using this law to try to shut down the last abortion provider in the state."

The lawsuit by the clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, notes that Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves says on his website that the new abortion law "not only protects the health of the mother but should close the only abortion clinic in Mississippi."

(Page 2 of 3)

Religious-affiliated hospitals might not grant admitting privileges to those who perform elective abortions, while other hospitals might not grant them to out-of-state physicians who travel to Jackson to work at the clinic. As of Friday, the final business day before the new law kicks in today, physicians working at the clinic had applied for the admitting privileges but hadn't received them.

The clinic says in the lawsuit that the admitting privileges are not medically necessary. It says complications from abortion are rare, and it notes that under previous state law, it already had an agreement with a Jackson physician who didn't do abortions but has admitting privileges and would help any clinic patient, if needed. Bryant and legislators who pushed the new law said they believe it will be safer for a woman who develops complications if the same doctor who does an abortion at a clinic can accompany her to a hospital rather than handing her case over to another physician.

State attorneys defending the law said in court documents that "the immediate concern that the clinic may be closed on July 1 is ill-founded." They cited administrative procedures the state Health Department uses in activating new laws.

Health Department inspectors intend to examine the clinic Monday to see if it is complying with the new law, a department spokeswoman said. If the clinic is not in compliance - which the clinic itself acknowledges will likely be the case - it would have 10 days to file a plan to correct its shortcomings. Then, an administrative hearing would be held at least 30 days later, and there could be an unspecified time allowed for an appeal.

The Jackson clinic sits a few miles north of the state Capitol, in a trendy neighborhood with upscale restaurants and vintage clothing stores. The nondescript building, with fading mauve paint, sits on a small hill on one of Jackson's busiest streets. A black vinyl tarp is attached to the fence leading from a parking lot to the patients' entrance, blocking most of the view from a public sidewalk.

(Page 3 of 3)

Outside the clinic one day last week, at least a dozen people from a local Nazarene church sang hymns, read from the Bible and prayed. Among them was 51-year-old Patricia Frazier, who lives in the Jackson suburb of Clinton. Looking through an opening in the tarp, Frazier spoke to a man standing by the clinic entrance. He had brought a woman to there for the counseling that state law requires at least 24 hours before an abortion can be done.

"You need me to help you with your friend?" Frazier asked over the fence.

The man, 30-year-old Girard Shirley of Jackson, smiled and slowly shook his head. "Nah," he said. "To be honest with you, I don't even know if the baby's mine, anyway."

Frazier showed Shirley a brown rubber model of a fetus at about 12 weeks' development - about the length of a grown woman's index finger. Shirley said he'd never given much thought to how that might look.

"Let her know we're here to help her - her and her baby," Frazier said.

Shirley listened and said, "Yeah, I'll talk to her."

"This is all about money. They want your money," Frazier said, nodding toward the clinic. "This help is free."

In an interview moments later, away from the people who were praying, Shirley said he had driven his friend to the clinic because she needed help and he needed gasoline money. Would he be willing to drive her out of state for an abortion if there were no clinic in Mississippi?

"I probably would take her," he said. He paused, then added: "No, I wouldn't. I got bad tires and stuff."

Two days later, Shirley said the woman he had driven to the clinic had stuck with her decision to have an abortion.

The state Health Department website shows 2,297 abortions, listed as "induced terminations," were performed in Mississippi in 2010, the most recent year for which statistics were available. The vast majority of those - 2,251 - were performed on Mississippi residents. The site does not specify how many were done at the clinic and how many in other offices or hospitals.

Mississippi physicians who perform fewer than 10 abortions a month can avoid having their offices regulated as an abortion clinic, and thus avoid restrictions in the new law. The Health Department said it doesn't have a record of how many physicians perform fewer than 10 abortions a month.

Mississippi may be only state without abortion clinic - Daily Camera

JACKSON, Miss. -- Mississippi could soon become the only state without an abortion clinic because of a new law taking effect this weekend. Critics say the law would force women to drive hours across the state line to obtain a constitutionally protected procedure, or could even force some to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.

Top officials, including the governor, say limiting the number of abortions is exactly what they have in mind.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant frequently says he wants Mississippi to be "abortion-free."

"If it closes that clinic, then so be it," Bryant said as in April as he signed the law, which takes effect today.

Abortion rights supporters have sued, asking a judge to temporarily block the law from taking effect. So far, that hasn't happened.

The law requires anyone performing abortions at the state's only clinic to be an OB-GYN with privileges to admit patients to a local hospital. Such privileges can be difficult to obtain, and the clinic contends the mandate is designed to put it out of business. A clinic spokeswoman, Betty Thompson, has said the two physicians who do abortions there are OB-GYNs who travel from other states.

Michelle Movahed of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights is one of the attorneys representing the Mississippi clinic in its federal lawsuit. She said in an interview Friday that several states -- including Mississippi, Kansas and Oklahoma -- have tried in the past two or three years to chip away at access to abortion.

"One of the things that has really been surprising about Mississippi is how open the legislators and elected officials have been about their intentions," Movahed said. "They're not even pretending it's about public safety. They're openly saying they're using this law to try to shut down the last abortion provider in the state."

The lawsuit by the clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, notes that Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves says on his website that the new abortion law "not only protects the health of the mother but should close the only abortion clinic in Mississippi."

Religious-affiliated hospitals might not grant admitting privileges to those who perform elective abortions, while other hospitals might not grant them to out-of-state physicians who travel to Jackson to work at the clinic. As of Friday, the final business day before the new law kicks in today, physicians working at the clinic had applied for the admitting privileges but hadn't received them.

Drug stores to offer free AIDS tests - Boston Globe

ATLANTA â€" Getting an AIDS test at the drug store could become as common as a flu shot or blood pressure check, if a new pilot program takes off.

The $1.2 million program will offer the free rapid HIV tests at pharmacies and in-store clinics in 24 cities and rural communities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disclosed Tuesday.

‘‘We believe we can reach more people by making testing more accessible and reduce the stigma associated with HIV,’’ Dr. Kevin Fenton, who oversees the agency’s HIV prevention programs, said in a statement.

The tests are already available at seven places, including Washington, D.C., Oakland, Calif., and an Indian health service clinic in Montana. The CDC will soon pick 17 more locations.

The HIV test is a swab inside the mouth; it takes about 20 minutes for a preliminary result. The test maker says it’s correct 99 percent of the time. If the test is positive, pharmacy employees will refer customers to a local health department or other health care providers for a lab blood test to confirm the results, counseling, and treatment. The workers are expected to deliver the news face-to-face and give customers privacy, the CDC said.

Try BostonGlobe.com today and get two weeks FREE.

Infected Mosquitoes on the Rise in Connecticut - Patch.com

A combination of wet weather and warm temperatures throughout the country means that mosquitoes with the West Nile virus will likely be on the rise this summer, warns state officials.

According to the Associated Press, Connecticut officials say there has been double the mosquito species that carries the virus this year due to the weather compared to last year.

The West Nile virus spreads when a mosquito bites a person.

The Connecticut Mosquito Management Program says most infected people never display any symptoms or simply suffer a fever or headache.

Especially for people 50 years or old, the disease can be much more serious. Inflammation of the brain or meningitis is possible, and there’s a chance of death in 3-15 percent of the people infected with the most severe form of West Nile virus.

The Mosquito Management Program offers these tips on their website:

  • Minimize time spent outdoors around dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
  • Be sure door and window screens are tight fitting and in good repair.
  • Wear shoes, socks, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt when outdoors for long periods of time, or when mosquitoes are most active. Clothing should be light colored and made of tightly woven materials that keep mosquitoes away from the skin.
  • Use mosquito netting when sleeping outdoors or in an unscreened structure and to protect small babies when outdoors.
  • Consider the use of mosquito repellent, according to label instructions, when it is necessary to be outdoors.

Miss. May Be Only State Without Abortion... - ABC News

Mississippi could soon become the only state without an abortion clinic because of a new law taking effect this weekend. Critics say the law would force women to drive hours across the state line to obtain a constitutionally protected procedure, or could even force some to carry unwanted pregnancies to term.

Top officials, including the governor, say limiting the number of abortions is exactly what they have in mind.

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant frequently says he wants Mississippi to be "abortion-free."

"If it closes that clinic, then so be it," Bryant said as in April as he signed the law, which takes effect Sunday.

Abortion rights supporters have sued, asking a judge to temporarily block the law from taking effect. So far, that hasn't happened.

The law requires anyone performing abortions at the state's only clinic to be an OB-GYN with privileges to admit patients to a local hospital. Such privileges can be difficult to obtain, and the clinic contends the mandate is designed to put it out of business. A clinic spokeswoman, Betty Thompson, has said the two physicians who do abortions there are OB-GYNs who travel from other states.

Michelle Movahed of the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights is one of the attorneys representing the Mississippi clinic in its federal lawsuit. She said in an interview Friday that several states â€" including Mississippi, Kansas and Oklahoma â€" have tried in the past two or three years to chip away at access to abortion.

"One of the things that has really been surprising about Mississippi is how open the legislators and elected officials have been about their intentions," Movahed said. "They're not even pretending it's about public safety. They're openly saying they're using this law to try to shut down the last abortion provider in the state."

The lawsuit by the clinic, Jackson Women's Health Organization, notes that Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves says on his website that the new abortion law "not only protects the health of the mother but should close the only abortion clinic in Mississippi."

Religious-affiliated hospitals might not grant admitting privileges to those who perform elective abortions, while other hospitals might not grant them to out-of-state physicians who travel to Jackson to work at the clinic. As of Friday, the final business day before the new law kicks in Sunday, physicians working at the clinic had applied for the admitting privileges but hadn't received them.

The clinic says in the lawsuit that the admitting privileges are not medically necessary. It says complications from abortion are rare, and it notes that under previous state law, it already had an agreement with a Jackson physician who didn't do abortions but has admitting privileges and would help any clinic patient, if needed. Bryant and legislators who pushed the new law said they believe it will be safer for a woman who develops complications if the same doctor who does an abortion at a clinic can accompany her to a hospital rather than handing her case over to another physician.

State attorneys defending the law said in court documents that "the immediate concern that the clinic may be closed on July 1 is ill-founded." They cited administrative procedures the state Health Department uses in activating new laws.

Doctors Stumped: Indian Man Gets Headaches Whenever He Watches Porn - Cinema Blend

published: 2012-06-30 18:15:34

Two years ago, a twenty-two-year-old Indian man got a splitting headache when he tried to watch pornography. The next time he made an attempt, the same splitting pain came back. Recently, he went to see his doctor about the problem, and now, he’s at the center of a medical mystery as specialists try to figure why the hell the poor guy can’t watch his porn in peace.

According to The New York Daily News, doctors have found no abnormalities in his brain, and they’re currently stumped as to what could be causing the headaches. When the man masturbates without pictures in front of him, he experiences no pain. When he has sex with a woman, he has no ill-effects, but after exposure to a little bit of porn, his pain gets worse and worse until it’s unbearable after about ten minutes.

Not wanting to be shut off from the world of porn, the man reportedly asked his doctors if anything could be done, and they told him to take the equivalent of thirty painkillers prior to viewing the content. For his sake, he’s going to need to stop watching regularly. I’m not sure anyone’s body could handle thirty painkillers a day over a long period of time.

Pop Blend’s thoughts go out to this horny random dude who only wants to see the occasional naked woman without feeling as if he’s near death. No one deserves that torture.


discussion

Law could force Mississippi's only abortion clinic to close - CNN International

  • State law that goes into effect Sunday could close Mississippi's only abortion clinic
  • Law requires those who perform abortions to have privileges at a local hospital
  • Owner of state's sole abortion clinic says law is meant to ban abortion
  • Sponsor of bill says purpose is to protect women's health

(CNN) -- They are here practically every day.

Anti-abortion protesters set up their signs outside the Jackson Women's Health Organization and regularly preach their beliefs to anyone who will listen. They pray the clinic will close. Their prayers may soon be answered.

Clinic owners are in a fight to save the only abortion clinic operating in the state of Mississippi. New state requirements may close their doors forever, making Mississippi the first abortion-free state.

"I want to say over my dead body, but I'm afraid," said clinic owner and president Diane Derzis.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to keep servicing the women of Mississippi," she said.

A state law that takes effect Sunday requires all of a clinic's abortion providers to be certified OB/GYN's, and all of them must have privileges at a local hospital.

July 1 brings new, sometimes quirky laws

"I think the intent is to make sure that women who are receiving these abortions are receiving abortions by a professional physician who is certified," said state Rep. Sam Mims, who sponsored the legislation.

"If something goes wrong, which it might -- we hope it doesn't, but it could -- that physician could follow the patient to a local hospital. That's the intent. And what happens afterwards, we'll have to see what happens," he told CNN.

State Rep. Sam Mims says his goal is to protect women, but if the law means fewer abortions,
State Rep. Sam Mims says his goal is to protect women, but if the law means fewer abortions, "then that's a good thing."

Mississippi has been one of the toughest states on the abortion rights movement. The state already has laws requiring a 24-hour waiting period, as well as parental consent if the patient seeking an abortion is a minor.

"All of that is wrapped in that cloak of conservative religion," said W. Martin Wiseman, director of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University.

"You'll find very few legislators, regardless of whether they are white, black, Democrat or Republican who will say, 'I'm pro-abortion,'" Wiseman said.

Gov. Phil Bryant signed the bill with the new requirements into law in April after the Republican-dominated legislature overwhelmingly passed it.

"It's historic. Today you see the first step in a movement, I believe, to do what we campaigned on -- to say that we're going to try to end abortion in Mississippi," Bryant said at the bill-signing event.

Bryant signs bill tightening restrictions on abortion providers

The clinic says it is trying to comply. All of its doctors are OB/GYNs who travel in from other states. But only one can practice at a local hospital. The new law states that all doctors in a clinic must have hospital privileges.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to keep servicing the women of Mississippi," said clinic president Diane Derzis .

Officials at the Jackson clinic say they're trying to gain privileges at Jackson-area hospitals but that the cumbersome process and red tape has forced them to file suit. They've gone to federal court to try to get an injunction that would allow them to stay open while they fight the new law. The court has not yet ruled on their motion.

The Mississippi Department of Health says it will inspect the clinic on Monday for compliance. If the clinic cannot meet the new state law requirements, then it will have the right to appeal and begin an administrative process that could take several months. But, Derzis says, employees would be subject to arrest and fines of up to $2,000 a day if the clinic stays open. So, it would essentially be forced to close.

"It's an absolute tragedy," Derzis said.

"No one wants to talk about abortion. No one wants to think about abortion until they're there," she said.

"There are three reasons you have an abortion: Rape, incest and 'mine.' I hear that all the time: 'You know, I don't believe in abortion, but, now it's my kid,'" she told CNN's George Howell.

Mississippi voters reject anti-abortion initiative

But the law's sponsor says the law is about having the proper license to operate, and if that law closes the only abortion clinic in the state, then so be it.

"I'm very pro-life, Mims said. "I believe life begins at conception. And I think a lot of Mississippians do, as well. If this legislation causes less abortions, then that's a good thing."

Derzis believes that this was the real intent of the newly elected Republican majority -- to end abortion in the state, not to improve women's health care.

"I love that it's white, old men, making those statements," she said. "We've been able to be with women at a time in their lives where they are in crisis, when they need to have something done and need that support. That's why it has to be available. It has to be," she said.

"This is not about safety. This is about politics. Politics do not need to be in our uterus."

Law could force Mississippi's only abortion clinic to close - CNN

  • State law that goes into effect Sunday could close Mississippi's only abortion clinic
  • Law requires those who perform abortions to have privileges at a local hospital
  • Owner of state's sole abortion clinic says law is meant to ban abortion
  • Sponsor of bill says purpose is to protect women's health

(CNN) -- They are here practically every day.

Anti-abortion protesters set up their signs outside the Jackson Women's Health Organization and regularly preach their beliefs to anyone who will listen. They pray the clinic will close. Their prayers may soon be answered.

Clinic owners are in a fight to save the only abortion clinic operating in the state of Mississippi. New state requirements may close their doors forever, making Mississippi the first abortion-free state.

"I want to say over my dead body, but I'm afraid," said clinic owner and president Diane Derzis.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to keep servicing the women of Mississippi," she said.

A state law that takes effect Sunday requires all of a clinic's abortion providers to be certified OB/GYN's, and all of them must have privileges at a local hospital.

July 1 brings new, sometimes quirky laws

"I think the intent is to make sure that women who are receiving these abortions are receiving abortions by a professional physician who is certified," said state Rep. Sam Mims, who sponsored the legislation.

"If something goes wrong, which it might -- we hope it doesn't, but it could -- that physician could follow the patient to a local hospital. That's the intent. And what happens afterwards, we'll have to see what happens," he told CNN.

State Rep. Sam Mims says his goal is to protect women, but if the law means fewer abortions,
State Rep. Sam Mims says his goal is to protect women, but if the law means fewer abortions, "then that's a good thing."

Mississippi has been one of the toughest states on the abortion rights movement. The state already has laws requiring a 24-hour waiting period, as well as parental consent if the patient seeking an abortion is a minor.

"All of that is wrapped in that cloak of conservative religion," said W. Martin Wiseman, director of the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University.

"You'll find very few legislators, regardless of whether they are white, black, Democrat or Republican who will say, 'I'm pro-abortion,'" Wiseman said.

Gov. Phil Bryant signed the bill with the new requirements into law in April after the Republican-dominated legislature overwhelmingly passed it.

"It's historic. Today you see the first step in a movement, I believe, to do what we campaigned on -- to say that we're going to try to end abortion in Mississippi," Bryant said at the bill-signing event.

Bryant signs bill tightening restrictions on abortion providers

The clinic says it is trying to comply. All of its doctors are OB/GYNs who travel in from other states. But only one can practice at a local hospital. The new law states that all doctors in a clinic must have hospital privileges.

"We're going to do whatever it takes to keep servicing the women of Mississippi," said clinic president Diane Derzis .

Officials at the Jackson clinic say they're trying to gain privileges at Jackson-area hospitals but that the cumbersome process and red tape has forced them to file suit. They've gone to federal court to try to get an injunction that would allow them to stay open while they fight the new law. The court has not yet ruled on their motion.

The Mississippi Department of Health says it will inspect the clinic on Monday for compliance. If the clinic cannot meet the new state law requirements, then it will have the right to appeal and begin an administrative process that could take several months. But, Derzis says, employees would be subject to arrest and fines of up to $2,000 a day if the clinic stays open. So, it would essentially be forced to close.

"It's an absolute tragedy," Derzis said.

"No one wants to talk about abortion. No one wants to think about abortion until they're there," she said.

"There are three reasons you have an abortion: Rape, incest and 'mine.' I hear that all the time: 'You know, I don't believe in abortion, but, now it's my kid,'" she told CNN's George Howell.

Mississippi voters reject anti-abortion initiative

But the law's sponsor says the law is about having the proper license to operate, and if that law closes the only abortion clinic in the state, then so be it.

"I'm very pro-life, Mims said. "I believe life begins at conception. And I think a lot of Mississippians do, as well. If this legislation causes less abortions, then that's a good thing."

Derzis believes that this was the real intent of the newly elected Republican majority -- to end abortion in the state, not to improve women's health care.

"I love that it's white, old men, making those statements," she said. "We've been able to be with women at a time in their lives where they are in crisis, when they need to have something done and need that support. That's why it has to be available. It has to be," she said.

"This is not about safety. This is about politics. Politics do not need to be in our uterus."

Health care issue that propelled Brown to Senate renewed as he seeks reelection - Boston Globe

The specter of a Democratic Congress passing President Obama’s health care overhaul helped propel Republican Scott Brown to the US Senate in January 2010.

He pledged to be the decisive 41st GOP vote to block the president’s signature domestic legislative proposal, and Republicans and independents came to his aid with donations and votes.

While Democrat Martha Coakley conceded to botching her own campaign, a Suffolk University poll shortly after the special election showed that 24 percent of those who supported Brown voted for him out of opposition to the health care law.

In the end, though, Democrats maneuvered around the GOP’s blockade. The bill became law despite Brown’s vote against it.

Two years later, Brown is running for reelection, and the question is whether the continued health care debate will help or hurt his candidacy this time around.

The Supreme Court upheld the law’s constitutionality last week, stifling conservative complaints that the Affordable Care Act was illegal. Now the debate will be on the measure’s details, pitting its cost against its benefits.

Brown was quick to respond with this line of attack: “The federal health care law may be constitutional, but it is wrong for jobs and the economy,” he said in a statement.

The senator argues that the Massachusetts health care overhaul was superior to the federal one, and the state will only suffer as the Obama plan is fully implemented.

To underscore his point, Brown issued a second statement and video news release on Thursday, and wrote an op-ed column in Friday’s Globe.

His reelection challenger, Democrat Elizabeth Warren, lauded the court’s ruling.

“By upholding this legislation, the Supreme Court has ensured that every American can get access to high quality, affordable health care and fair treatment from insurance companies,” she said in her own statement.

Warren pleaded not to “refight the battles of two years ago.” But the polarization between her and Brown’s views of the law is sure to be a topic of discussion in their campaign.

Knowing Brown is part of a Republican group that wants to repeal the law, Warren must now ask if Democrats will rally to her cause this time around like the GOP did for the senator in 2010.

Patrick ‘is good people’

The “bromance” between Obama and Governor Deval Patrick was codified last week, when the president described his fellow Chicagoan and African-American as his “brother.”

Speaking at a fund-raiser in Weston, Obama added: “I don’t mean that in the vernacular.”

As the audience laughed, the president explained, “I mean somebody who â€" when I think about people who I admire, I care about, who I just think is good people, and who articulates a vision of what this country should be as well as anybody in this country â€" it’s your governor, Deval Patrick.”

Obama went on to say: “I love the guy.”

Obama’s calorie spree

The president’s wife, Michelle Obama, has made physical fitness her pet cause as first lady, championing her “Let’s Move” program, planting a vegetable garden on the White House grounds, and writing a book about it.

That activism sets observers atwitter whenever she and her husband eat in public, either cheering or condemning their food choices.

During a stop in New Hampshire before his visit to Boston last week, the president paid a surprise call on the UNH Dairy Bar. It’s famed for ice cream made from milk provided by cows at the state university.

Obama indulged with a hot fudge sundae for himself and a banana split for White House press secretary Jay Carney.

A day later, during a stop at Atlanta’s famed Varsity diner, the president was back at it. He ordered five chili dogs, four regular hot dogs, and a cheeseburger for a group that included Carney and senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.

One woman at UNH expressed concern to the president, asking how he kept his trim waistline even while eating such high-calorie food.

According to the pool reporter traveling with him, the president replied that he indulges only on occasion.

A White House aide told the Globe that Carney has another tactic: He ate just half of his banana split.

Try BostonGlobe.com today and get two weeks FREE.Glen Johnson is lead blogger for Political Intelligence, available online at www.boston.com/politics. He can be reached at johnson@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globeglen.

Summer's first mosquitoes infected with West Nile Virus found in Boston - Boston.com

Boston health officials reported Thursday afternoon that for the first time this summer, a sampling of mosquitoes has tested positive for West Nile Virus. The mosquitoes were found in Roslindale. No human cases of the virus have been detected so far this year.

â€Å"It’s again the time of year when it’s not surprising to find mosquitoes infected with West Nile Virus in Boston,” said Dr. Anita Barry, director the Infectious Disease Bureau at the Boston Public Health Commission. â€Å"The recent combination of hot weather and rain may have contributed to West Nile appearing slightly earlier this year than in some previous years, and people should take some simple precautions to avoid mosquito bites.”

Recommended precautions include using insect repellant when outside, especially from dusk to dawn when mosquites are more likely to be biting, and wearing long pants and long sleeves. Check window and door screens are in good repair, and to keep mosquitoes from breeding, empty standing water in such things as empty flower pots, kiddie pools, and garbage cans.

The virus is spread to humans by bites from infected mosquitoes but the commission said in a release that the virus poses very low risk to people. Still, the city has begun putting larvicide in catch basins to reduce the number of mosquitoes.

For more information on the virus, call the Boston Public Health Commission at 617-534-5611 or visit www.bphc.org.

Gideon Gil can be reached at ggil@globe.com.

Giving Health Care a Chance to Evolve - New York Times

INTRADE, an online betting site with an excellent record for predicting events, pegged the odds of the Supreme Court overturning President Obama’s health care overhaul law at almost 80 percent.

When the court affirmed the law’s constitutionality on Thursday, many forecasters were astonished. The ruling came by the slimmest of margins and was defended, in places, by deeply flawed economic reasoning. But it has paved the way for an orderly rehabilitation of America’s gravely dysfunctional health care system.

It was a complicated case, in part because the reform legislation itself was seriously flawed. The law’s drafters could have proposed a simpler and more efficient system â€" something more like the single-payer systems that have been adopted by most industrial countries.

But that would have meant abandoning the nation’s current system of employer-provided health plans. That these plans are a catastrophically bad model for providing health care was beside the point. Forcing voters to abandon a status quo that most of them say they like would have doomed more ambitious proposals from the outset.

The important point is that because health reform had to be built atop the current system, each feature of the legislation upheld by the court was an essential precondition for that system’s improvement.

Nearly every economic analysis of the health care industry rests on the observation that individually purchased private insurance is not a viable business model for providing medical services. Such insurance is broadly affordable only if most policy holders are healthy most of the time.

The fundamental problem is that insurers can often identify specific people â€" like those with serious pre-existing conditions â€" who are likely to need expensive care. Any company that issued policies to such people at affordable rates would be driven into bankruptcy, its most profitable customers lured away by competitors offering lower rates made possible by selling only to healthy people.

Economists call this the adverse-selection problem. Because of it, unregulated private markets for individual insurance cannot accommodate the least healthy â€" those who most desperately need health insurance.

Many countries solve this problem by having the government provide health insurance for all. In some, like Britain, the government employs the care providers. Others, like France, reimburse private practitioners â€" as does the Medicare program for older Americans.

The United States probably would have adopted one of those models had it not been for historical accidents that led to widespread adoption of employer-provided plans in the 1940s. To control costs of World War II mobilization, regulators capped growth of private-sector wages, making it hard for employers to hire desperately needed workers.

But because many fringe benefits weren’t capped, employers spied a loophole: they could offer additional benefits, like health insurance. Its cost was deductible as a business expense, and in 1943 the Internal Revenue Service ruled that its value was not taxable as employee income. By 1953, employer health plans covered 63 percent of workers, versus only 9 percent in 1940.

Eligibility for favorable tax treatment hinged on the plans being available to all employees, a feature that mitigated a serious defect. Although hiring workers with pre-existing conditions meant paying higher premiums, tight labor markets made many employers willing to bear that cost, because insurance was an effective recruiting tool.

Employer plans are thus a significant improvement over individual private insurance, but they are still deeply flawed. If you lose your job, you can lose your coverage. This problem has been cast into sharp relief by the persistent high unemployment in the wake of the financial crisis. In no other industrial country do we see communities organizing bake sales to help defray the cost of an uninsured neighbor’s cancer treatments.

The decline in the number of workers covered by employer plans began long before the recent crisis. According to census data, 65 percent of workers had employer-backed plans in 2000, but only 55 percent were covered by 2010. This decline has been driven in part by rapid increases in health care costs.

Economists agree that no matter how those costs are apportioned on paper, any money spent on employer-sponsored plans ultimately comes at the expense of wages. Real wages have risen little in recent decades, and the prospect that they will keep stagnating portends further erosions in coverage. So even if we ignore the inherent failings of the employer model, it simply won’t be able to deliver broad health coverage.

Modeled after proposals advanced by the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute and other conservative research organizations in the 1990s, the main provisions of the president’s health care law were intended to eliminate the most salient problems associated with the current system.

One provision establishes insurance exchanges, where participating companies must offer coverage to all customers, irrespective of pre-existing conditions. Another imposes a financial penalty on those who fail to obtain coverage â€" the individual mandate. And a third prescribes subsidies to make insurance more affordable for low-income families. (The Massachusetts plan engineered by Mitt Romney as governor in 2006 took an almost identical approach.)

WITHOUT each of its three main provisions, the law won’t work. The individual mandate, of course, is the most debated. Critics denounce it as a violation of our liberty. Paradoxically, the slim majority on the court that affirmed the mandate’s constitutionality seemed to embrace that view, likening the mandate to requiring citizens to eat broccoli for their own good. The court defended the constitutionality of the mandate by calling it a tax rather than a penalty.

But that interpretation will strike many economists as a misreading of the mandate’s purpose. It isn’t that people should buy health insurance because it would be good for them. Rather, failure to do so would cause significant harm to others. Society will always step in to provide care â€" though in much more costly and often delayed and ineffective forms â€" to the uninsured who fall ill. To claim the right not to buy health insurance is thus to assert a right to impose enormous costs on others. Many legal scholars insist that the Constitution guarantees no such right.

No one can be sure how the law will play out. But its critics would be unwise to assume that it would have been easy to draft superior legislation had the law been overturned. Any new attempt would have taken the employer-based system as a starting point.

What’s important now is how the health care sector will evolve under the new framework. And here, there are grounds for optimism. While the effects of the court’s Medicaid restrictions aren’t entirely clear, the law will certainly extend coverage to tens of millions who now lack it. In addition, new insurance exchanges will provide a broader array of care options. Increased competition tends to hold costs in check, even while enhancing service quality, and there’s no reason to expect the situation in health care to be different.

Many scholars have argued that private, nonprofit institutions like the Mayo Clinic are the most effective model of providing care, and not only because they can better coordinate across many specialties. They are also less likely than traditional fee-for-service practices to prescribe unnecessary tests and procedures. Given those advantages, such institutions, or ones that mimic them, might have spread even without health care reform. After all, employers have an interest in providing cost-effective care for their workers.

But no matter which model proves most effective, it is likely to spread faster in the competitive environment established by the insurance exchanges.

The new law will hardly be the final word on these issues. Though it takes tentative first steps on cost control, government budgets will be decimated unless we do much more to reduce inflation in medical services. And in Medicare, many tough decisions remain to be made about end-of-life interventions, and whether Medicare should become an optional form of coverage for those who aren’t elderly.

The point worth celebrating is that last week’s ruling will at last enable our distinctly dysfunctional health care system to evolve into something better.

Robert H. Frank is an economics professor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.

Vitamin D lack linked to weight gain - UPI.com

PORTLAND, Ore., June 26 (UPI) -- Older U.S. women with insufficient levels of vitamin D gained more weight than those with sufficient levels of the "sunshine" vitamin, researchers say.

Study author Dr. Erin LeBlanc, an endocrinologist at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., said the study involved more than 4,600 women age 65 over nearly five years.

The study, published in the Journal of Women's Health, found those with insufficient levels of vitamin D in their blood gained about 2 pounds more than those with adequate levels of the vitamin.

"This is one of the first studies to show that women with low levels of vitamin D gain more weight, and although it was only 2 pounds, over time that can add up," LeBlanc said in a statement. "Nearly 80 percent of women in our study had insufficient levels of vitamin D. A primary source of this important vitamin is sunlight, and as modern societies move indoors, continuous vitamin D insufficiency may be contributing to chronic weight gain."

Seventy-eight percent of the women had less than 30 nanograms per millimeter of vitamin D in their blood -- the level defined as sufficient by The Endocrine Society panel of experts who set clinical guidelines on vitamin D deficiency.

In the group of 571 women who gained weight, those with insufficient vitamin D levels gained more -- 18.5 pounds over five years -- than women who had sufficient vitamin D," LeBlanc said. "The latter group gained 16.4 pounds over the same period."

Shining a light on sunscreen guidelines - Los Angeles Times

It's a conundrum. You want to have fun in the sun, but you don't want skin cancer or â€" heaven forbid! â€" wrinkles. Maybe you think you have it made in the shade with sunscreen. But while most sun and skin experts would advise you to slather the stuff on like crazy, many also would warn you not to rely on it too, too much.

In May, the Environmental Working Group, or EWG, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., concerned with health and the environment, released its annual Sunscreen Safety Guide. It comes down in favor of using sunscreens, but it also raises concerns, which, in turn have raised some controversy.

"It's frustrating," says Dr. Darrell Rigel, a professor of dermatology at New York University, who believes the EWG may weigh environmental concerns too heavily in its work. "People don't wear sunscreen because it's environmentally friendly. They wear it to protect themselves from cancer. ... The danger is that people will be confused and not use any."

A look at some of the EWG claims may shed a little light.

EWG claim: "There's no consensus that sunscreens prevent skin cancer."

The EWG says regular sunscreen use has been shown to reduce risk for squamous cell cancer (treatable; comprises 16% of skin cancers) but not necessarily for basal cell cancer (treatable; 80%) or melanoma (potentially deadly; 4%). Also, while new federal rules slated to take effect in December allow sunscreen makers to claim that their products lower the risk of skin cancer, they will not allow makers to claim their products do so alone â€" that is, without other protective measures.

"The data are conflicting," says Dr. Sumaira Aasi, associate professor and director of dermatologic surgery at Stanford University. But, she contends, definitive proof that sunscreens prevent skin cancer would require one group of people to use sunscreen â€" regularly, properly â€" and another group not to use any, with the two groups spending the same amount of time exposed to the same amount of UV radiation over their lives. In other words, impossible to come by.

Still, Aasi is satisfied that evidence shows a correlation, at least, between sunscreen use and reduced cancer risk. "Sunscreens are a part of the story. They're not everything, but a part."

EWG claim: "There's some evidence that sunscreens might increase the risk of the deadliest form of skin cancer for some people."

The deadliest form of skin cancer is melanoma, and the EWG cites studies showing an increased risk of it among sunscreen users. They offer three possible explanations for this surprising result: (1) Sunscreen users stay out in the sun longer and end up exposed to more UV radiation than non-users. "I think this is because when using sunscreen, people change their behaviors and feel much more invincible," says David Andrews, a senior scientist at EWG. (2) Some sunscreen chemicals break down in sunlight and release free radicals, which are unstable molecules thought to be involved in the development of cancer. (Antioxidants are supposed to be good for us because they can neutralize free radicals.) (3) Protection against UVA rays may be what counts with melanoma, and historically many sunscreens have offered little or no protection against UVA rays.

The EWG also notes that some studies have shown decreased risk of melanoma among sunscreen users, including a 2011 Australian study that, after 10 years, found half as many new melanomas among daily sunscreen users as among those who used it at their own discretion.

Many dermatologists seem more convinced by the 2011 Australian study than the EWG does, and they consider studies showing an increased risk of melanoma among sunscreen users to be misleading. Aasi agrees with Andrews: "Sunscreen users get a false sense of security."

EWG claim: "There are dozens of high-SPF products but no proof they're better."

TheU.S. Food and Drug Administrationhas called SPF values higher than 50 "misleading to the consumer," the EWG reports, and has seen no evidence that users get any added benefit as the values keep going up. The EWG also cites fears that the higher the SPF, the more tempted users will be to stay too long in the sun.

Aasi agrees that a cap on SPF ratings would be helpful for consumers. In fact, she sees no greatly added benefit for SPF values of more than 30. "It's better to reapply every couple of hours," she says.

EWG claim: Pick your sunscreen: nanomaterials or potential hormone disrupters.

The EWG picks nanomaterials.

There are two main types of sunscreens: physical (mineral or inorganic) and chemical (organic). Physical screens (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) work by deflecting UV rays, while chemical screens work by absorbing them (instead of your skin doing so). The trouble with physical screens, as Aasi says, is mostly that "people don't like the look." Sunscreen makers have solved that problem by using micronized versions of the minerals â€" "Very few are really nanoparticles," Rigel says â€" and the EWG says there's no evidence that the minerals, even in miniature form, can penetrate the skin and do any damage. Among chemical sunscreens, the group recommends using those that contain 3% avobenzone (for UVA protection) and avoiding "the notorious hormone disrupter oxybenzone."

Dermatologists are not generally convinced that oxybenzone deserves that bad rap. Evidence of its disruptive nature has only come with lab animals. "And in order to achieve the levels used in the animals, you'd have to apply sunscreen to your whole body for 100 years," says Dr. Henry Lim, chairman of the department of dermatology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and spokesman for the American Academy of Dermatology.

.

EWG recommendation: Use sunscreens, "just not as your first line of defense against the sun."

"Findings really argue that sunscreen usage is only part of a balanced sun protection that includes covering up and seeking shade," EWG senior scientist Andrews says.

That's something all the experts seem to agree on.

health@latimes.com

Whoa! Child birth like you've NEVER seen it - HLNtv.com

By Jonathan Anker

updated 7:22 AM EDT, Fri June 29, 2012

Until we figure out how to strap a helmet cam on a fetus, this will be the best view any of us will ever have of what it's like inside a mom-to-be's body during child birth.

Aside, clearly, from our own paddle down the ol' birth canal.

The so-called "cinematic" MRI video (below) provides a side view of a 24-year-old woman's womb during the last 25 seconds of her contractions. She was positioned on the open MRI during the final stages of her labor to record the wild, X-ray view of her baby being born. You can clearly make out its head, brain and body as well as the mother/very good sport's spine.

Doctors shut off the machine (and camera) right as the baby begins to emerge so that the loud noise of the MRI didn't damage its fragile ears.

The birth happened in 2010 at Berlin's Charité University Hospital, but researchers only released it this month in conjunction with their work's publication in a medical journal.

Which means somewhere out there, a 2-year-old now gets to see him/herself star in the coolest birth video ever recorded by man, machine or giddy dad. That, or the child is just horrified.

Groundbreaking as this video is, cinematic MRI was also once used to capture the, uh,... very beginning of the baby-making process. So the technology has now completed a sort-of 'Circle of Life' of its own.

Local businesses unsure of impact of recently upheld Affordable Care Act - Wisconsin Rapids Tribune

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Many schools, camps do not allow sunscreen - Alexandria Town Talk

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Need a long Saturday? Tonight, timekeepers add a second to clock - Los Angeles Times

The planet's timekeepers are adding an extra second to the clock at midnight universal time Saturday night. And if you blink, you just might miss it.

The so-called leap second is needed to synchronize the world's official atomic clocks, said John Lowe, who heads the time and frequency services group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The reason? Earth is spinning just a bit slowly. The time it takes Earth to rotate on its axis -- which is the definition of a day -- is now about two milliseconds longer than it was 100 years ago, said Geoff Chester, spokesman at the U.S. Naval Observatory, in an interview with the Associated Press. Over the course of a year, that adds up to nearly three-quarters of a second.

A second might not seem like much, Lowe said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "But if you allow that accumulation to go on, it starts to become apparent." The seconds would stack up and "sunrise" would eventually take place at sunset. And "spring" would arrive in the dead of winter, Lowe said.

"Soon you'd have an obvious problem," he said.

It's up to the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service to coordinate such leap seconds, and such coordination typically takes place in either June or December. Hence, this weekend's skip: Universal time will be 11:59:59 and then the rarely seen 11:59:60 before the clocks strike midnight.

When we asked Lowe what he planned to do with his extra second, he chuckled in a way that made it clear that A) he's heard that joke 1,000 times and B) it wasn't funny the first 999 times.

"I am going to observe it by making sure that all our broadcast services take effect," he said.

How about you? What will you do with your extra second?

ALSO:

Pity for flight attendants? One lashes out at NYC passengers

Geoge Zimmerman must wait: Bail hearing ends without decision

TSA fires 8 federal air marshals for drinking on job; 6 others suspended

Join Rene Lynch on Google+ or Twitter. Email: rene.lynch@latimes.com

New pill for losing weight approved - The Tennessean

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Wait for it: Earth adds leap second Saturday night - Chattanooga Times Free Press

International timekeepers are adding a second to the clock at midnight universal time Saturday, June 30. A combination of factors, including Earth slowing down a bit from the tidal pull of the moon, and an atomic clock that's a hair too fast, means that periodically timekeepers have to synchronize the official atomic clocks.
International timekeepers are adding a second to the clock at midnight universal time Saturday, June 30. A combination of factors, including Earth slowing down a bit from the tidal pull of the moon, and an atomic clock that's a hair too fast, means that periodically timekeepers have to synchronize the official atomic clocks.
Photo by Associated Press /Chattanooga Times Free Press.

By SETH BORENSTEIN

AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON â€" Tonight will stretch longer by a second. A leap second.

International timekeepers are adding a second to the clock at midnight universal time Saturday, June 30, going into July 1. That’s 8 p.m. EDT Saturday. Universal time will be 11:59:59 and then the unusual reading of 11:59:60 before it hits midnight.

A combination of factors, including Earth slowing down a bit from the tidal pull of the moon, and an atomic clock that’s a hair too fast, means that periodically timekeepers have to synchronize the official atomic clocks, said Daniel Gambis, head of the Earth Orientation Service in Paris that coordinates leap seconds.

The time it takes the Earth to rotate on its axis â€" the definition of a day â€" is now about two milliseconds longer than it was 100 years ago, said Geoff Chester, spokesman at the U.S. Naval Observatory, keeper of the official U.S. atomic clocks. That’s each day, so it adds up to nearly three-quarters of a second a year.

Timekeepers add that leap second every now and then to keep the sun at its highest at noon, at least during standard time. This is the first leap second since January 2009 and the 25th overall. Gambis said the next one probably won’t be needed until 2015 or 2016.

There should be no noticeable affect or inconvenience on computers or any other technology that requires precise timekeeping because they adjust for these leap seconds, Gambis said Friday.

Earlier this year, official timekeepers from across the world discussed whether to eliminate the practice of adding leap seconds. They decided they needed more time to think about the issue and will next debate the issue in 2015.

So for now, Chester said, “you get an extra second, don’t waste it.”

â€"â€"â€"

Online:

Earth Orientation Center in Paris: http://bit.ly/LVB70Q

U.S. Naval Observatory: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/leapsec.html

â€"â€"â€"

Seth Borenstein can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears

Doctors urged to screen for obesity - Appleton Post Crescent

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AMA Statement on Supreme Court Affordable Care Act Ruling - Daily Disruption

By Lori Morgan | @DailyDisrupt

The American Medical Association has long supported health insurance coverage for all, and they believe that this decisionPDF FIle means millions of Americans can look forward to the coverage they need to get healthy and stay healthy.

Jeremy A. Lazarus, MD â€" President, American Medical Association statement:

“The AMA remains committed to working on behalf of America’s physicians and patients to ensure the law continues to be implemented in ways that support and incentivize better health outcomes and improve the nation’s health care system.

“This decision protects important improvements, such as ending coverage denials due to pre-existing conditions and lifetime caps on insurance, and allowing the 2.5 million young adults up to age 26 who gained coverage under the law to stay on their parents’ health insurance policies. The expanded health care coverage upheld by the Supreme Court will allow patients to see their doctors earlier rather than waiting for treatment until they are sicker and care is more expensive. The decision upholds funding for important research on the effectiveness of drugs and treatments and protects expanded coverage for prevention and wellness care, which has already benefited about 54 million Americans. 

“The health reform law upheld by the Supreme Court simplifies administrative burdens, including streamlining insurance claims, so physicians and their staff can spend more time with patients and less time on paperwork. It protects those in the Medicare ‘donut hole,’ including the 5.1 million Medicare patients who saved significantly on prescription drugs in 2010 and 2011. These important changes have been made while maintaining our American system with both private and public insurers.”

Source: AMA

West Nile Virus Confirmed in Skokie - Patch.com

From the community ~

The Skokie Health Department works diligently each summer to monitor mosquito activity in the Village in order to lower the risk of West Nile Virus (WNV) infections.

This week one mosquito pools has tested positive for WNV (RAMP-test) in Skokie.  There have been no human WNV cases reported in Skokie for 2012, but this may change over the next few weeks and the Skokie Health Department urges residents to take precautions to prevent mosquito bites.

Measures you can take to reduce your risk of being bitten include: staying indoors at dawn, dusk or early evening; wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants whenever you are outdoors; spraying clothes with repellants and wearing protective clothing if spending time in a heavily wooded area; and, applying insect repellents containing DEET very sparingly on exposed skin.

Property owners can eliminate mosquito breeding areas in the following manner:

  • Remove standing water where mosquitoes can breed.
  • Clean and maintain any catch basins that may be on the property.  The North shore Mosquito Abatement District will treat your catch basin for mosquito larvae.  For more information, please call them directly at 847/446-9434.
  • Change the water in birdbaths and plant pots at least once a week.
  • Empty plastic pools at the end of each day and store indoors.
  • Keep grass and shrubbery cut short.  Adult mosquitoes accumulate in cool, shady areas.
  • Keep gutters clean and free-flowing.  Eliminate dips and low areas that collect water.
  • Don’t let water stand on flat roofs.

Most people infected with the virus will have few or mild symptoms including fever, headache, body aches, skin rash and swollen lymph nodes.  Severe infections can include headache, high fever, stiff neck, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, paralysis and rarely death.  Symptoms generally occur three to 14 days following the bite of an infected mosquito. 

Anyone can get WNV, however, people over 50 years old or individuals with a weakened immune system have the highest risk of developing severe illness.  If you experience any of these symptoms you should contact your personal physician.

If you find a dead bird it is important to contact the Skokie Health Department to collect the bird for testing.  Historically, some birds have tested positive for WNV, and results from testing help to determine the extent of WNV activity.  To report a dead bird, please call 847/933-8484.

For more information on WNV or to report potential mosquito breeding sites, please contact the Skokie Health Department at 847/933-8484 or the North Shore Mosquito Abatement District at 847/446-9434.

Food porn is making you fat - io9

Food porn is making you fatOne of the great pleasures of the internet â€" and quite possibly the entire reason for Pinterest's existence â€" is to look at gloriously shot pictures of decadent foodstuffs. After all, just looking won't make you fat, right? Unfortunately, it seems as though simply by looking at those amazing food pictures, you're setting yourself up for a fall.

At the Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston, Dr. Kathleen Page is presenting research into the way the brain's reward systems interacts with sugar intake, and images of food. Her research hooked 13 obese, Hispanic women from the ages of 15-25 up to an fMRI, and took brain readings, while showing them pictures. These images were of high-calorie foods, low-calorie foods, and non-food objects.

And whenever people looked at the food, the areas of the brain that are thought to be related to reward and appetite lit up â€" and this was truer with the high-calorie images than the low-calorie ones. The subjects were also given 50 grams of fructose or glucose, which also boosted their hunger and desire for savory foods (fructose more than glucose).

Image by Luiz Eduardo on Flickr

In other words, looking at pictures of food and ingesting sugar both make you hungry, and Page believes the widespread addition of sugar to food could be the cause of a lot of problems, saying, "these findings suggest that added sweeteners could be one of the main contributors to the obesity epidemic."

Health or wealth? It's your choice - MarketWatch

BOSTON (MarketWatch) â€" The Supreme Court decision to uphold most of the Affordable Care Act probably shouldn’t change the answer to a major financial question: Which would be worse, losing your income or losing health-care coverage?

It’s a tough question, because income is obviously more important on a day-to-day basis, but the lack of medical care takes precedence in the event of a critical illness.

The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday mandates health coverage for all Americans in 2014 â€" and requires taxpayers to pony up for care or face fines for a lack of coverage. But there’s a long road ahead until then, and it’s too early to assume that the health-care provisions will take effect as written. Read more: Supreme Court upholds health-care overhaul.

Meanwhile, Americans face a high unemployment rate, real concern about the loss of income and problems that could be caused if their health insurance lapses.

Financial advisers say that everyone should evaluate the health care vs. income question and consider how it plays out in their lives, then decide whether they are adequately protected.

“One of the most common things we hear is ‘I cannot consider retirement before age 65 because of health insurance [Medicare],’” said Dan Dorval of Dorval & Chorne Financial Advisors in Otsego, Minn.

“Many people have always had coverage through their employer and cannot envision a time when they might have to pay for coverage on their own,” Dorval noted. “They have been conditioned to assume their only option is to transition directly from employer-provided coverage into government-provided coverage in the form of Medicare. When we explain to them that they can purchase coverage on their own, they look at us like we are speaking a foreign language. “

No easy fix

One reason for that is because health-care coverage is not cheap.

While the new law will make health coverage available to all, it won’t necessarily make it dramatically less expensive. Insurers will now have to make coverage available to people with pre-existing conditions who might not have qualified in the past; in being forced to issue those kinds of policies, expect insurers to raise costs across the board. The insurance exchanges coming in 2014 will help, but the only way there will be bargain-priced health insurance is if it comes stripped down, with significant limits and endless disclosures so that consumers are aware of the inadequacies they could face.

Further, the Supreme Court ruling kind of gave consumers a price point for making a decision, where they can decide if they are better off paying the fine that comes from being uninsured or paying health-care premiums. Read more: On health care, it's the costs, stupid.

Doctors' Groups Applaud Health Care Ruling - ABC News

The U.S. Supreme Court's Thursday ruling that the Affordable Care Act, , with its individual mandate, is constitutional has elicited a wide range of opinions from across the medical community.

Most major national medical organizations -- including the American Medical Association, the National Physicians Alliance, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Association of American Medical Colleges -- hail the ruling as a victory. Many of these organizations have been strong supporters of the ACA since Congress passed it in 2010.

"The American Medical Association has long supported health insurance coverage for all, and we are pleased that this decision means millions of Americans can look forward to the coverage they need to get healthy and stay healthy," said Dr. Jeremy Lazarus, president of the American Medical Association.

"At last, the country is moving in a healthy direction on health care," said Dr. Valier Arkoosh, president of the National Physicians Alliance.

However, a handful of medical organizations are not as enthusiastic.

PHOTO: Supporters of President Barack Obama's health care law celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 28, 2012, after the court's ruling was announced.

David Goldman/AP Photo

Supporters of President Barack Obama's health... View Full Size
PHOTO: Supporters of President Barack Obama's health care law celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 28, 2012, after the court's ruling was announced.
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"We cannot overlook provisions like the Independent Payment Advisory Board that threaten the doctor-patient relationship and the administrative burdens within the law that could greatly hinder providers' ability to deliver quality care by infringing upon exam room time," said Dr. John Tongue, president of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

"We are concerned that there are key aspects to this law that will, ultimately, hurt this nation's ability to provide widespread are for its citizens," the American Urological Association, the American Association of Clinical Urologists, and the Large Urology Group Practice Association said in a joint statement.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the individual mandate, which states that all Americans must have health insurance or else pay a fine. The Court stated that the fine is essentially a tax, giving the government the right to impose it. However, the Court limited the law's ability to expand Medicaid, deciding that the U.S. government cannot withhold a state's Medicaid money if the state doesn't want to participate in the expansion.

The ACA, initially passed through Congress in 2010, could potentially cover more than 30 million people who are currently uninsured in the United States.

The law also has support from a wide range of patient advocacy groups, including the American Cancer Society, the National Organization for Rare Diseases, the American Heart Association, Consumer Reports, and the March of Dimes.

"The ruling is a victory for people with cancer and their families nationwide," said Dr. John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society.

"[This is] very important to rare disease patients," said Mary Dinkle of the National Organization for Rare Diseases.

The parts of the law that have already been implemented will not be changed. Thus, children can stay on their parents' health insurance until they turn 26, and patients will not have to provide co-payments for preventive care. However, the key piece of the law -- the individual mandate -- will not commence until 2014.