Positive health: the human right to health care under the New York State Constitution.

I. INTRODUCTION

In his first State of the State address, former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer recognized the urgent need to "reform our health care system." (1) He explained that "when 2.8 million New Yorkers can't afford health insurance, that affects not only them and their families,

it affects everyone," and promised to take steps to make health care more affordable and accessible to all New Yorkers. (2)

As the governor recognized, access to quality health care is essential to realizing our full potential as individuals, families, communities, and as a society. Our children learn more effectively when they come to school healthy and strong. Our workforce is more productive and our economy more robust when workers and their families receive quality health care. Affordability of care promotes not only good health, but also economic security. In addition, the affordability and quality of the health care that all of us receive improves drastically when our system prevents and treats health problems early and through regular, rather than emergency, care. (3)

Conversely, the entire state suffers when people and whole communities are denied meaningful access to care. Those ill effects are exacerbated when some communities are repeatedly burdened with multiple barriers to quality care, and when the racial or economic make-up of communities plays a role in determining who has access to care. (4)

Equal access to quality health care for all New Yorkers is a top priority for the State's residents. (5) An overwhelming majority of New Yorkers believe that everyone in the State has a right to health care, (6) and hold federal, state, and local government responsible for fulfilling that right.

Male Hair Loss Treatments: You Don't Have To Be Bald

In our culture, a man's full head of hair is attributed to his virility. When a man becomes bald, he is no longer seen as youthful or attractive, at least in his eyes. For this reason, many men who find that they are losing their hair are rushing to find the latest male hair treatments. They want to stop their hair loss and they want to re-grow the hair they've already lost. They likely don't recognize the person staring back at them in the mirror and this creates a great sense of failure and worthlessness. They want to gain that confidence back and they can with the various male hair loss treatments available to balding men everywhere.

Consult A Professional

When looking for the latest male hair loss treatments, you probably don't have to go very far. There are hair loss specialists everywhere, in every state, in almost every city. One only has to look in the phone book or do an internet search to find out how many specialists are in the area. When you find a specialist who you feel comfortable visiting, call and make an appointment.

The Various Treatments Available

There are many different treatments available, depending on the cause of your hair loss and what you can afford. Ask your specialist which treatments are available to you.

Different doctors advocate different male hair loss treatments. Some specialize in laser therapies, some in hair plugs and some in hair transplants. Some like to prescribe pharmaceutical drugs and some are proponents of herbal supplements to stop hair loss and re-grow lost hair.

When you visit your hair loss specialist, you will be examined so that the cause for your hair loss can be determined. Then, the specialist will inform you of the male hair loss treatments available to you. Some are relatively inexpensive and some can cost somewhere in the thousands of dollars. It all depends on what you can afford and what male hair loss treatment you are most comfortable with.

Before you choose a male hair loss treatment, you should do as much research as possible so that you can learn about the pros and cons of each one. You don't want to jump into any treatment without learning about it. By being as prepared as possible, you can go through the male hair loss treatment of your choice and you can regain that virility and youth that you thought were lost forever.

Alternative Infertility Treatments: Don't Just Resort To Drugs

When a couple finds out that they are infertile, it can be devastating. It can be so devastating that they will often be willing to resort to anything to have a child, even if it can damage their health. They will most likely want to be pumped full of the latest infertility drug treatments, the ones that cause women to have five, six, and sometimes eight children at a time. These infertility drug treatments should only be used as a last resort, however, as there are other infertility treatments worth looking at that can help a couple conceive but won't potentially damage their health.

The most common forms of alternative infertility treatments involve stopping or restricting a behavior, rather than adding one. For instance, diet and exercise, quitting smoking, changing to a healthier lifestyle and more are the most common forms of alternative infertility treatments.

Diet And Exercise

Sometimes, diet and exercise are all a couple needs in order to have the baby, or babies, that they've always wanted. Especially if the couple is obese, they will want to try to lose weight before they have a child. Obesity is linked to many diseases and disorders and infertility happens to be one of them. Obesity, for example, is linked to diabetes, the growths of polyps on the cervix or uterus, as well as high cholesterol, all of which make it very difficult to have a child.

Even if you aren't obese, sometimes your diet can have drastic affects on your ability to conceive a child. If you suspect that your diet is the cause of your infertility, talk to a doctor, a dietician or just change to a healthier diet to see if that may be the cause of your infertility. Just don't expect instant results as it likely took a long time for your diet to show ill effects and it may take even longer to reverse those effects.

Quit Smoking

Smoking is bad for your health and it's even worse for trying to conceive. Quitting smoking is a very difficult ordeal, however, and it's not for the faint of heart. The trick to quitting smoking doesn't rely in the many products available, such as the patch, the gum or whatever else is sold at your local pharmacy. The trick to quitting smoking is to get rid of the temptation altogether. Try to stay away from smokers in general, at least for several months, or until the need to smoke resides.

Just remember, that no matter what you choose as your alternative infertility treatment, talk to a doctor to make sure it's safe. Only by consulting a doctor can you determine the cause of your infertility and whether or not an alternative infertility treatment will work for you.

Medicaid: Not Just For The Poor?

Economic stimulus legislation moving through Congress would allow states to open Medicaid to people who are unemployed (regardless of income), people with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, and all recipients of food stamps.

Is this a good idea? And, in the long term, in which direction should Washington be steering Medicaid?

Critics claim that this sets a bad precedent for expanding this public program beyond the poor, while others claim that Medicaid is the best way to temporarily help people affected by the shaky economy, and that those with money will pursue other options.

Under the bill, states could cover unemployed people under Medicaid, with the federal government picking up the tab, for those who lost their jobs between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2010. States could make this coverage available to unemployed and uninsured individuals in one or more of the following categories:

• Individuals (and dependents) who receive unemployment insurance benefits or who have exhausted unemployment insurance benefits;

• Those with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level and are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program;

• Those receiving food stamps who are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP.