Health is strongly influenced by where people live. Key factors that shape the health of Wisconsinites differ around the state, as does overall health. The factors affecting how healthy people in a community are include rates of smoking, poverty levels, access to health care services, and even commuting patterns. These factors help to create differences in both quality and length of life in all of Wisconsin's 72 counties.

Recent news on the health front should give Wisconsinites pause when considering the direction our state is headed related to affordable health coverage.

Do new strict requirements for Medicaid adopted by states violate the law? A federal court is set to decide after recent arguments presented by policy experts who said the requirements do violate law.

“My family conversations over Thanksgiving were all about health care,” Mary shared with me. “It’s all so confusing.”

Mary’s family is not alone. From recent conversations, I’m betting that health care dominated talk at many Thanksgiving gatherings.

As expected, the Senate version of the Republican Health Care Bill has been released. It is 142 pages long, so I have not yet had time to read it, but there is a summary at the Senate Budget website - the link is included. Note that the summary is written in Republican Happyspeak so that it sounds wonderful - like it will fix our healthcare problems, save you all a lot of money, and include a free trip to Disneyland for everyone.

BySenator Kathleen Vinehout “Obamacare is the law of the land,” House Speaker Paul Ryan told the nation. “We’re going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future.” The much-maligned Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed in 2010 will stay in place. Self-employed older Americans and state budget directors breathed a sigh of relief.