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The cost of having a baby even with insurance equals average the monthly income of a woman

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Childbirth is the number one reason American women visit the hospital, and it ain't cheap. In fact, it's getting more and more expensive. A new study published in Health Affairs found that the cost of having a baby with employer-sponsored health insurance increased by almost 50% in the past seven years.

The study evaluated "trends in cost-sharing for maternity care for women with employer-based health insurance plans, before and after the Affordable Care Act," which was signed into law in 2010. The study looked at over 657,061 women enrolled in large employer-sponsored health insurance plans who delivered babies between 2008 and 2015, as these plans tend to cover more than plans purchased by small businesses or individuals.

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U.S. cancer death rates are declining. Here's what we're doing right

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Cancer is still the second leading cause of death after heart disease for both men and women. The American Cancer Society predicts that 2020 will bring almost 1.8 million new cancer cases and 600,000 cancer deaths, but there's also some good news. The American Cancer Society recently published a report in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians stating the U.S. cancer death rates experienced the largest-single year decline ever reported.

Between 2016 and 2017, cancer death rates fell by 2.2%. While cancer death rates have been steadily falling over the past three decades, it's normally by 1.5% a year. Cancer death rates have dropped by 29% since 1991, which means that there have been 2.9 million fewer cancer deaths in the past three decades than there would have been if the mortality rate had remained constant.

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A boss in England gives nonsmokers four extra days off a year

via Haldean Brown / Flickr

In a typical work day, people who smoke take more breaks than those who do not. Every few hours they pop outside to have a smoke and usually take a coworker with them.

Don Bryden, Managing director at KCJ Training and Employment Solutions in Swindon, England, thinks that nonsmokers and smokers should be treated equally, so he's giving those who refrain from smoking four extra days to compensate.

Funny enough, Bryden is a smoker himself.

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Anti-vaxxer arrested for spreading fake news during the deadly measles outbreak in Samoa

via NZ Stuff / Twitter and Leakblast / Twitter

A state of emergency has been declared in Samoa, an island with a population just below 200,000 in the South Pacific, after a measles outbreak has infected over 4800 people and killed over 70, mostly young children.

For perspective, the U.S., a country with a population of 327,000,000 has had around 1,300 causes of measles in 2019, the country's largest outbreak since 1992.

At the time of the outbreak only 31% of the island's population was vaccinated.

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