Lead Poisoning: Feds Send Mixed Messages to America's Kids

Lead Poisoning: Science writer Deborah Blum reports for Mother Jones on the mixed messages sent by the federal government which has lowered acceptable lead exposure levels for children to near zero but has slashed funding for programs that could reduce lead contamination in homes nationwide.

Cost of Care: Health costs are rising because the cost of medicine and treatment is rising, even as Americans use less health care in the current economic downtown, Julie Appleby reports for Kaiser Health News.

Teen Diabetes: Diabetes and prediabetes rates among American teenagers have skyrocketed from 9 percent to 23 percent in less than a decade, Nanci Hellmich reports for USA Today.  

 Medicaid: Sign of the recession era: The Wall St. Journal, known for its affluent readers, recommends Medicaid as "rehabbed" option for people who can't pay their medical bills.

Contraception: A coalition of Catholic groups has sued three federal agencies over new regulations that would require the groups to provide contraception coverage in their health plans for employees, Laurie Goodstein reports for the New York Times.

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