Toby House, Inc.

When Apple CEO Steve Jobs put out a cryptic statement this week about his widely discussed weight loss, he practically guaranteed a new round of speculation about its cause. He also ensured the speculation would include a fresh dose of misconceptions.

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Norah Vincent spent 18 months living disguised as a man. The experience led to deep depression and a stay at a mental institution. Once she left, Vincent decided to check back into institutions across the country. She tells her story in Voluntary Madness.

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As many Americans struggle to pay for health care or health insurance, hospitals in Mexico are expanding in hopes of wooing more patients from north of the border. Costs for procedures are often significantly cheaper due to lower overhead in Mexico.

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Grocery retailer Giant, which operates about 160 pharmacies in the mid-Atlantic states, is offering free generic drugs this winter. The company says it knows it will lose money, but says its pharmacists have heard many anecdotes about families struggling.

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When nonprofit hospitals need money to modernize their emergency rooms or build a new wing, they go to the bond market. For five weeks in September and October, the hospital bond market essentially shut down, poisoned by the mortgage crisis. Meanwhile, hospitals have had to scale back construction plans.

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Chances are you've seen a blind person accompanied by a guide dog. But what about a guide horse or a monkey trained to help an agoraphobic? Non-traditional service animals help many people with disabilities, but a new proposal would ban them.

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The health care industry has been one of the strongest engines of the economy recently, adding jobs as other industries cut them. But there's growing evidence hospitals are not so immune to the recession.

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Dr. Judy Garber, director of the Cancer Risk and Prevention Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, answers listeners' questions about genetic testing.

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President-elect Barack Obama wants his supporters to host "health care house parties" to provide input into how his administration should fix what ails the nation's health care system — and to further his grass-roots organizing movement.

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For many people seeking answers through genetic testing, all the DNA probing ends in this twist: Less certainty, not more. This sometimes leads to tough personal decisions, like those made by Nashville novelist Susan Gregg Gilmore and her family.

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After packing on the holiday pounds, many will target the battle of the bulge for their New Year's Resolution. Men's Fitness magazine lends readers a hand with its new "Get Fit, Stay Fit 2009 Guide." Roy Johnson, the publication's editor-in-chief, gives listeners a sneak peek.

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A study published in this month's Pediatrics journal found that there was an exceedingly wide variation not only in what pediatricians and family practitioners paid for vaccines, but also in the reimbursements they received from insurers and managed care organizations.

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Some 46 million Americans have no health insurance. Another 25 million have insurance — but in the case of serious illness or injury, they still would be exposed to financial catastrophe. President-elect Barack Obama has promised to make health care one of his top priorities, but what are the chances of his success?

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Servicemen and women who come home for good from Iraq and Afghanistan face many challenges, among them, finding a job. That's difficult for everyone these days, not just those returning from military service.

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You have only until Dec. 31 to switch from one Medicare prescription drug plan to another. With many insurers changing the details of next year's plans, it's worth reconsidering which plan is best for you.

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The last major push to change the health care system failed in 1993-94. Former U.S. Sen. David Durenberger, a Republican from Minnesota, wanted to ensure it won't happen again. Earlier this year, he organized a conference of 40 "veterans" from that era. He talks about the plan they produced.

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With a Democratic president about to take office and strong majorities in the House and Senate, backers of single-payer national health insurance are saying now is their moment. But passage of a government-funded national health plan isn't much more likely in the next four years than it was the last time Democrats controlled Washington.

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We only have radio to give you this holiday season. With that in mind, Kathleen Tacelosky asked us to produce a story on her sister-in-law — a doctor in New Jersey who doesn't accept health insurance from her clients.

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As an infectious disease specialist, Dr. Paul Farmer has traveled the planet to organize and provide medical treatment for people living in poverty. He believes good health care is vital but just the first step in creating a world free of all human suffering.

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Many of veterans injured by roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan were burned beyond recognition. The medical staff members who dress their wounds in the burn unit of Brooke Army Medical Center help ease their agonizing pain. But they also fight their own emotional battles.

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