WHO PAYS FOR CONTRACEPTION? • One-quarter of the more than 20 million American women who obtain contraceptive services from a medical provider receive care from a publicly funded family planning clinic. • In 2008, 7.2 million women, including 1.8 million teenagers, received contraceptive services from publicly funded family planning clinics in the United States. • Federal employees are guaranteed insurance coverage for contraceptives. • Nine in 10 employer-based insurance plans Read more [...]

Sharing a secret Dating someone new means sharing idiosyncracies, emotional baggage, and experiences that have shaped your lives. But what if that includes a health secret? Jill*, a 33-year-old New Yorker, knows that finding Mr. Right also means telling him she has bipolar disorder. Though she takes medication, she still lives with symptoms like insomnia and a nervous smoking habit. So how much should you reveal about a health secret? If you’re considering spilling the beans, here are Read more [...]

Human Rights Watch released a report last week, Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison Population in the United States, that details a new challenge created by the extreme sentences dished out over the past generation. According to the report, in 2010 there were 124,400 prisoners—8 percent of inmates—aged 55 or older, which is an increase of 57.3 percent from 2009. This is due to the number of inmates serving life sentences and the many others serving sentences of 20 years or longer. Roughly half Read more [...]

Introduction | The Meth Epidemic | FRONTLINE | PBS. Speed. Meth. Glass. On the street, methamphetamine has many names. What started as a fad among West Coast motorcycle gangs in the 1970s has spread across the United States, and despite lawmakers' calls for action, the drug is now more potent, and more destructive, than at any time in the past decade. In The Meth Epidemic, FRONTLINE, in association with The Oregonian, investigates the meth rampage in America: the appalling impact on individuals, Read more [...]

Undetected and untreated STDs can increase a person’s risk for HIV and cause other serious health consequences, such as infertility. STD screening can help detect disease early and, when combined with treatment, is one of the most effective tools available to protect one’s health and prevent the spread of STDs to others. STDs in the United States: A Look Beyond the Data STDs primarily affect young people, but the health consequences can last a lifetime Young people represent 25 percent Read more [...]