Cancer in all of its forms can be a devastating disease to be diagnosed with. The American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network estimates that nearly 570,000 people die from cancer each year in the United States.

Despite this, many states do not have enough policies in place to help their residents prevent and battle cancer, says ACS CAN. There are currently six benchmarks highlighting care for certain types of cancer, smoking laws and tobacco taxes.

Twenty-three states have met none or only one of the established benchmarks says, ACS CAN.

"As advocates, we have the responsibility to educate the public on how to prevent and treat cancer effectively, but we cannot do it unless state and local policymakers take action," says cancer survivor and volunteer chair of the ACS CAN board of directors Robert Youle. "The most effective solutions will save countless lives and potentially millions of dollars in health care costs, and in many cases, it costs a state little or nothing to do the right thing."

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced new regulations that will require new health insurance plans to completely cover preventative care screenings.

The only thing some people may find harder than losing weight is keeping it off. Research shows that those who are held accountable by logging their weight are more likely to keep it off.

A study by Kaiser Permanente found that study participants who recorded their weight, diet and exercise regimen at least once a month maintained their weight loss over a two-year time period.

"Consistency and accountability are essential in any weight maintenance program. The unique part of this intervention was that it was available on the internet, whenever and wherever people wanted to use it," says study author and researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research Kristine Funk.

Health website WebMD notes that there are a variety of factors that lead to a person becoming overweight or obese, including genetics and environment. Even losing as little as 5 pounds can result in a person's blood pressure dropping.

People who maintain a healthy weight will likely face lower health insurance costs due to decreased risk of developing many weight-related conditions.

It's no secret that America has a weight problem. Combating the country's ever-expanding waistlines may start with helping children learn about healthy lifestyles.

Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and HealthTeacher have created a curriculum designed to help teachers instruct health practices to students.

"We are proud to be able to offer this health curriculum to schools in Minnesota to help educate children and families," said Dr. Alan Goldbloom, president and CEO of Children's of Minnesota. "If we can help teach kids about healthy lifestyles, the decisions they make can have a positive influence on not only their lives, but on their friends and family members as well."

A survey covering the years 1999 to 2002 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that 16 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight. Children who are overweight are more likely to keep the weight on as they get older. People who have a weight problem are more prone to developing conditions that are expensive to treat, leading some to pay more for health insurance and care services.

Patient satisfaction did not change despite longer wait times in American hospital emergency rooms, according to healthcare improvement company Press Ganey.

Their research indicates that nationwide, wait times increased 31 minutes between 2002 to 2009. Last year, a typical emergency room trip required waiting four hours and seven minutes.

It's believed that maintaining patient satisfaction is important to a person's overall health. Health insurance companies may ultimately end up saving too, if patients don't put off care and allow their condition to worsen.

"Improving patient satisfaction is not just about making patients happy, it is about improving the patient experience for the overall good of healthcare," says Press Ganey CEO Rick Siegrist. "Satisfied patients are more likely to disclose information and follow treatment plans. They also are more likely to seek care when they need it, avoiding larger health issues in the future.

A report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that there were over 119 million emergency room visits made in 2006. Just under 40 percent of those visits were paid for by private health insurance plans. Medicaid and Medicare were also commonly used to pay for treatment. NCHS data shows that less than 18 percent of patients used emergency room services without some form of health insurance.

Skin cancer rates for minorities residing in Florida buck national trends, according to a report released in the Archives of Dermatology.

The study found that rates of melanoma are lower for Hispanic women, but higher for Hispanic men and non-Hispanic black women in the state.

Researchers believe that the differences may be attributed to portions of the Caucasian population spending their early years in areas with lower UV levels and immigrants from areas like Latin America being exposed to higher UV levels at an early age.

"Although causation of melanoma among non-whites cannot be inferred from descriptive data, we believe that the observed trends in Florida are, in part, attributable to UV radiation exposure," the authors wrote. "The high UV index of Florida may potentially explain the higher incidence pattern in non-white Floridians compared with their non-white counterparts in the SEER catchment areas."

The Skin Cancer Foundation says that melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer, but can be cured if detected early. Those looking to get low health insurance rates should try to maintain good health. Avoiding excessive sun exposure may help reduce one's chances of getting skin cancer.