Tagged: blair horner

This past weekend marked the third anniversary of passage of the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.”  This is the ACA’s big year; this Fall Americans will be allowed to start enrolling in health insurance plans.  Starting on January 1, 2014, virtually all Americans will be required to have health insurance – either from the government, their employer, or through a health exchange.  Yet, even at this late date, many Americans are still unsure of its impact.

It’s well established that the income gap between rich and poor in America has increased over the past few decades.  Income inequality among developed nations is highest in the United States.  Most of the growth in this inequality has been between the middle class and top earners, with the disparity becoming more extreme the further one goes up in income.

Smoking is New York’s number one cause of cancer deaths.  Yet in recent years, the state has taken its foot off the gas and slashed its investment in combating tobacco in half.  That’s a mistake we’re starting to pay for.

Consider this: in 2009 smoking caused the cancer deaths of over 9,000 New Yorkers, 26 per day.  That staggering number is more than one quarter of all cancer deaths in New York State.  This is a public health catastrophe and reducing the carnage caused by smoking should be a top priority for Albany.

March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, a month dedicated to raising awareness about the need for regular colon cancer screenings.  Also known as colon cancer, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the nation.  Each year in New York State, more than 9,300 new cases of colorectal cancer are diagnosed and over 3,000 preventable deaths occur.