Obama calls for end to mental illness stigma

WASHINGTON | President Barack Obama on Monday called for a more robust national discussion on mental illness, saying the time had come to bring the issue "out of the shadows."

Week highlights major public health issue

GRIFFITH | Rather than nourish her small body, food threatens Charlee Prutsman’s life.

Health care upheld with key vote from NW Indiana's Roberts

WASHINGTON | America's historic health care overhaul, certain now to touch virtually every citizen's life, narrowly survived an election-year battle at the Supreme Court on Thursday with the improbable help of conservative Chief Justice John Roberts.

Where you live can help determine your health, studies say

BALTIMORE — Sabrina Oliver looked forward to good schools and safer streets when she moved her family from her crime-ridden and trash-strewn West Baltimore neighborhood to the suburbs, but was surprised to discover another benefit as well — a dramatic improvement in their health.

Seniors' medical pot collective stirs up trouble

Joe Schwartz is a 90-year-old great-grandfather of three who enjoys a few puffs of pot each night before he crawls into bed in the Southern California retirement community he calls home. The World War II veteran smokes the drug to alleviate debilitating nausea.

5 Americans: How health care law affects them

CHICAGO (AP) — A couple on Medicare got a rebate check to help with prescription drug costs. A Chicago man with diabetes got health insurance through a new government program. And a Philadelphia businessman is hoping his company will qualify for a tax credit.

Illinois kids without health insurance coverage

Newly released U.S. Census figures show 4.5 percent of children statewide lack health insurance coverage. The list shows the counties, percentage of children without health insurance and the margin of error.

Census: Child health coverage up in Illinois

CHICAGO | In the midst of an economic downturn, Illinois children were slightly more likely to be covered by health insurance in 2009 than the year before, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau figures.

Calif measure shows state's conflicted link to pot

SAN FRANCISCO | California has a long history of defying conventional wisdom on the issue of marijuana, including its embrace of the drug in the 1960s and its landmark medical pot law 14 years ago. So it may not be all that surprising that a November ballot measure to legalize the drug has c…

$93,000 cancer drug: How much is a life worth?

BOSTON | Cancer patients, brace yourselves. Many new drug treatments cost nearly $100,000 a year, sparking fresh debate about how much a few months more of life is worth.

Illinois to enroll uninsured in new high-risk pool

CHICAGO | Illinois residents who've been uninsured at least six months can start applying today for a new federally funded health insurance program for people with medical problems.

State regulators seek OK over health insurance rates

CHICAGO | Illinois regulators will ask lawmakers for the authority to approve or deny health insurance rate increases, saying residents need protection from skyrocketing costs that aren't justified.