Home insurance, also commonly called hazard insurance or homeowners insurance (often abbreviated in the real estate industry as HOI), is the type of property insurance that covers private homes. It is an insurance policy that combines various personal insurance protections, which can include losses occurring to one's home, its contents, loss of its use (additional living expenses), or loss of other personal possessions of the homeowner, as well as liability insurance for accidents that may happen at the home. It requires that at least one of the named insured occupies the home. The dwelling policy (DP) is similar, but used for residences which don't qualify for various reasons, such as non-occupancy or age. It is a multiple line insurance, meaning that it includes both property and liability coverage, with an indivisible premium, meaning that a single premium is paid for all risks. Standard forms divide coverage into several categories, and the coverage provided is typically a percentage of Coverage A, which is coverage for the main dwelling. The cost of homeowners insurance often depends on what it would cost to replace the house and which additional riders—additional items to be insured—are attached to the policy. The insurance policy itself is a lengthy contract, and names what will and what will not be paid in the case of various events. Typically, claims due to earthquakes, floods, "Acts of God", or war (whose definition typically includes a nuclear explosion from any source) are excluded. Special insurance can be purchased for these possibilities, including flood insurance and earthquake insurance. Insurance must be updated to the present and existing value at whatever inflation up or down, and an appraisal paid by the insurance company will be added on to the policy premium. Fire insurance will require a special premium charge, plus the addition of smoke detectors and on site fire suppression systems to qualify.

Treatment Gap

The treatment gap is massive among those who need treatment for a substance use disorder and do not receive it. In 2007, 23.2 million people aged 12 or older required treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem, but only 3.9 million received treatment at a specialty substance abuse facility. Reducing this gap requires a multipronged approach. Strategies include increasing access to effective treatment, achieving insurance parity, and reducing stigmas and raising awareness among both patients and health care professionals.

Adjustable Gastric Band

A laparoscopic adjustable gastric band, commonly referred to as a lap band, is an inflatable silicone device that a surgeon places around the top portion of the stomach, via laparoscopic surgery, in order to treat obesity. Adjustable gastric band surgery is an example of bariatric surgery designed for obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or greater, or between 35 to 40 in cases of patients with certain co-morbidities that are known to improve with weight loss, such as sleep apnea, diabetes, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure or metabolic syndrome, among others. Gastric banding is the least invasive surgery of all bariatric surgeries. Gastric banding using laparoscopic surgery usually results in a shorter hospital stay, faster recovery, smaller scars, and less pain than open surgical procedures. The patient can continue to absorb nutrients from food normally. Gastric bands are made entirely of biocompatible materials, so they can stay in the body without causing harm. However, not all patients are eligible for laparoscopy. Patients who are extremely obese, who have had previous abdominal surgery or have complicating medical problems may require a more open surgery approach. The surgeon creates a small incision near the belly button and pumps carbon dioxide into the abdomen to create a workspace. Then the surgeon inserts a small laparoscopic camera through the incision into the abdomen. The camera sends a picture of the stomach and abdominal cavity to a video monitor. It gives the surgeon a good view of the key structures in the abdominal cavity. The surgeon makes more small incisions in the abdomen. The surgeon watches the video monitor and works through these small incisions using instruments with long handles to complete the procedure. The surgeon creates a small, circular tunnel behind the stomach, inserts the gastric band through the tunnel and locks the band around the stomach. Clinical studies of laparoscopic bariatric surgery patients found that they felt better, spent more time doing recreational and physical activities, benefited from enhanced productivity and economic opportunities and had more self-confidence than they did before surgery. The placement of the band creates a small pouch, or stoma, at the top of the stomach. This pouch holds approximately one half cup of food. A typical stomach holds about six cups of food. The pouch fills with food quickly, and the band slows the passage of food from the pouch to the lower part of the stomach, causing the sensation of being full. As the upper part of the stomach registers as full, the message to the brain is that the entire stomach is full, and this sensation helps a person to be hungry less often, feel full more quickly and for a longer period, eat smaller portions, and lose weight over time. As patients lose weight, their bands will need adjustments, or "fills," to ensure comfort and effectiveness. The surgeon can adjust the gastric band by introducing a saline solution into a small access port just under the skin. There are many port designs and a surgeon may place them in varying positions, but they always connect to the muscle wall in and around the diaphragm via sutures or staples.

Gastric Bypass

Gastric bypass procedures are any of a group of similar operations used to treat morbid obesity—the severe accumulation of excess weight as fatty tissue—and the health problems it causes. Bariatric surgery is the term encompassing all of the surgical treatments for morbid obesity, not just gastric bypasses, which make up only one class of such operations. A gastric bypass first divides the stomach into a small upper pouch and a much larger, lower remnant pouch and then re-arranges the small intestine to allow both pouches to stay connected to it. Surgeons have developed several different ways to reconnect the intestine, thus leading to several different bypass names. Any bypass leads to a marked reduction in the functional volume of the stomach, accompanied by an altered physiological and psychological response to food. The resulting weight loss, typically dramatic, markedly reduces comorbidities. The long-term mortality rate of gastric bypass patients has reduction of up to 40 percent. The gastric bypass, in its various forms, accounts for a large majority of the bariatric surgical procedures performed. An increasing number of these operations are by limited access techniques, termed laparoscopy. Laparoscopic surgery uses several small incisions, or ports, one of which conveys a surgical telescope connected to a video camera, and others permit access of specialized operating instruments. The surgeon actually views his operation on a video screen. The method is limited access surgery, reflecting both the limitation on handling and feeling tissues, and also the limited resolution and two-dimensionality of the video image. With experience, a skilled laparoscopic surgeon can perform most procedures as expeditiously as with an open incision—with the option of using an incision should the need arise. The gastric bypass reduces the size of the stomach by well over 90 percent. A normal stomach can stretch, sometimes to over 1000 ml, while the pouch of the gastric bypass may be 15 ml in size. The gastric bypass pouch is formed from the part of the stomach, which is least susceptible to stretching. That, and its small original size, prevents any significant long-term change in pouch volume. What does change, over time, is the size of the connection between stomach and bowel, and the ability of the small bowel to hold a greater volume of food. Over time, the functional capacity of the pouch increases, and by that time, weight loss has occurred, and the increased capacity serves to allow maintenance of a lower body weight. When the patient ingests just a small amount of food, the first response is a stretching of the wall of the stomach pouch, stimulating nerves, which tell the brain that the stomach is full. The patient feels a sensation of fullness, as if they had just eaten a large meal—but with just a thumbful of food.