Living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is always something that should be a top priority. Your body is the only one you are going to get in this lifetime, and you should always be thinking about how to take the best care of it. Ladies, when you’re having to think about being healthy for two (and no we aren’t talking about fretting over your partner’s alarming disdain for vegetables), your health is more important than ever.

Your body is home to a tiny, dependent little being, and making sure you have the best of resources available to you should be your top priority. Your baby needs frequent and adequate checkups from the moment of conception, and this can quickly get expensive if you don’t have health insurance during pregnancy. But sometimes figuring out the best health insurance for you and your soon-to-be new addition isn’t simple and straightforward.

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Breast cancer, contrary to popular belief, can occur in men. Although male breast cancer is a hundred times less common than with women, it is a dangerous disease. According to the American Cancer Society, 1,910 new cases of breast cancer in men were recorded in 2009. It is estimated that 440 men in the United States will die from the disease this year.

Really? Men Have Breast Cancer?

Although men are not thought of as having breasts, they do have breast tissue that exists in small amounts behind the nipples. As such, men are not immune from the occurrence of breast cancer. It is easier to detect cancer in men because an asymmetrical lump tends to appear. However, the problem is that men tend to ignore symptoms. The signs of male breast cancer are similar to those found in women: enlarged breasts, lumps, discharge, and pain. Men who experience or observe these symptoms are encouraged to avail of health insurance options for breast cancer and have themselves checked out.

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Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a two-part series on the controversy surrounding health insurance for same-sex marriage partners.  You can find part 1 here.

Let’s assume that the Defense of Marriage Act (DMA) eventually gets repealed. States that don’t support gay marriage aren’t allowed to deny that other states do? Would this then open up the forum for the Federal Government to acknowledge same-sex marriages? It seems that for Obama to agree with what this appeals court in California is bringing up, the Defense of Marriage Act would have to be repealed. We’re talking about health benefits for federal employees and their partners — and it seems that same-sex partners of federal employees won’t be seeing health benefits any time soon unless the DMA is axed.

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Note from the Author: Before I even begin addressing this interesting piece of news, I would like to add a disclaimer. I greatly respect that there are a variety of opinions and beliefs in this world, and I am sure that our reader base is about as diverse as diverse can get. I mean, everyone cares about health insurance right? I also respect that not everyone is going to agree with my opinion. I realize that the sensitive and largely disputed topic of same-sex marriage usually involves disturbing some sort of beehive. If you choose not to agree with what is to follow, then I encourage you to post your thoughts in the comments section.

Even if you aren’t a resident of the Golden State, you probably heard all of the controversy and buzz around California’s Prop 8 back in November of 2008. The proposition passed by voters denies the rights of same-sex couples to legally get married. For those of us who believe that marriage should be a right for all people, regardless of their sexual preference, this proposition’s passage was incredibly disappointing. Interestingly enough, however, a federal appeals court in California seems like it is trying to redeem the state’s liberal reputation.

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Oh Boston…a stunning city rich with history, and understandably mad about their Red Sox. After all, they just so recently overcame the Curse of the Bambino to win a World Series, and it’s no surprise that the city and the baseball cans are rabid for the team’s good fortune to continue. One hospital that provides health care in Boston, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, loves the team so much that they are not going to give up their partnership being the Sox’s “official hospital” while facing massive budget cuts. What is the hospital having to cut to keep ties with the team intact, and how might this effect hospital employees?

A Hospital’s Swing and a Miss

Imagine you are a hardworking, dedicated employee of your local hospital. You work hard, provide patients with the best care imaginable, and one day you come in to work to find that you won’t be getting matching contributions to your 401k as you were promised upon your initial hire. Why? “Oh, we want to keep out relationship with the Boston Red Sox strong. Sorry.”

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The language barrier for recent immigrants to the United States is taking a toll on how they receive access to and understand their health care options, according to a recent report by Kaiser. This further exemplifies the holes in the United States’ health care system, and raises huge concerns over those who are eligible and paying for health care yet are not receiving what they deserve. What is happening here and how can it be fixed?

Health care and immigration

I can only imagine how frustrating it is to be a newcomer to this country and want to get health care coverage, but not be able to find a single person to help you understand your options. For many who call the help lines for a plan like Medicaid, you may find that you can get instructions in Spanish, but what about the other hundreds of languages that immigrants speak? And what about other options for helping recent immigrants understand their health care options?

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