A new study links poor neighborhoods with poor health

Today's Daily Briefing has stories that link health to wealth and vice versa, an interactive on consumers' health spending and a lesson from the end of the long-term health insurance program CLASS.

Economy Links to Health: A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine links health with the affluence of your neighborhood. Get the rundown (and a great lead) from Gene Emery at Reuters Health, more analysis from John Bohannon at ScienceNow, and a description of the most unpleasant elevator ride you can imagine from Amina Khan at the Los Angeles Times. (Aerial view of Los Angeles by Scorpions and Centaurs on Flickr Creative Commons)

Health Links to Economy: Andy Miller at Georgia Health News looks data that compares health outcomes and economic status in his state.

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Health Care Spending: Victoria Stagg Elliot at American Medical News reports on how and which consumers spend on health care, with a great interactive graphic. (H/T Emily Mullin)

No More CLASS: Long-term health insurance is no longer part of the new health care law. Public policy expert Robert Reich explains what we can learn in his blog: "If a public insurance system has minimum benefits and must pay for itself, it can't be voluntary. Everyone has to sign up."

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