It's been a tough couple of decades for marriage. Facing a current divorce rate of approximately 50%, pundits and analysts have blamed everything from secularism to birth control to same-sex marriages. One study has even noted a connection between divorce and being a "born again" Baptist! However, regardless of the reason, the one thing that everybody seems to agree on is that marriage is on its way out the door.

There might be a light at the end of the tunnel. Recently, Kaiser Permanente conducted a study in which it sought to explore the potential connection between marriage and health care. The poll revealed that 7% of Americans admitted that, within the last year, they or someone in their household had decided to get married so they could get health benefits through their spouse. This ties in with the 28% of respondents who admitted that they had experienced problems because of the cost of health care. Respondents were more concerned about health care than housing and food costs.

While 7% is a very small fraction, it highlights a major issue: people appear to be making long-term life decisions based upon their worries about health care. On the bright side, however, the decline in health care may accomplish what alimony, societal approbation, and religious tirades have failed to do: it may strengthen the institution of marriage. After all, while many people don't have a problem with adultery and others aren't worried about going to hell, nobody wants to have an untreated case of strep throat!

Bruce Watson is a freelance writer, blogger, and all-around cheapskate. His wife has great insurance and has told him that, if he sticks around for a few more years, she'll put him on her policy.

This week, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is sponsoring Cover the Uninsured Week, a program launched in 2003 to raise awareness of the plight of the 47 million Americans who lack health insurance.

The foundation's web site is packed with helpful information and resources, as well as moving personal stories and facts and figures documenting the problem. Perhaps most helpful are the state profiles with specifics on eligibility and coverage information, and state-by-state guides on how to find low-cost and free health insurance programs. The site also links to events happening across the country to provide health education and to sign up families for health insurance. For example, ten health fairs are being held in California this week and weekend by various community organizations. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation also sponsors back to school week in August to help uninsured school children enroll in health plans.

Here in Connecticut, I read about the campaign in a local paper, which mentioned that Americares runs three free clinics in the state, in Bridgeport, Danbury and Norwalk. To find out if you're eligible, visit the Americares free clinics website. The Stamford-based charity opened its first free U.S. clinic in 1994 to serve the medical needs of the working poor, although it is better known for its international relief work.

Yesterday it was reported that Whirlpool Corp. suspended 39 employees for lying about tobacco use. The employees had signed paperwork indicating that they did not use tobacco, but they were seen smoking or chewing tobacco on company property.

The company's stance is simple: They have employees fill out paperwork that asks them about tobacco use. The paperwork says that they could be suspended or terminated if they lie. Whirlpool then uses the paper to charge tobacco users an extra $500 per year toward their health insurance premiums.

Personally, I don't care if people smoke or not. But I do care if they lie to their employer about it. The simple fact is that health insurance premiums are higher for tobacco users. The reasons are obvious: They cost insurance companies more. I think that employer should have every right to recover part or all of that additional premium based upon the smoking factor.

What would happen if you developed a mystery illness, and what would happen if your insurance carrier found a way to weasel out of paying for it?

Hopefully you'll never find out. But if want to know what it's like, you can ask Lori Hall Steele.

I heard about her story earlier today, and I read about her in this recent article in her hometown paper, and all I could think was that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain should be all over this, the next time any of them get into a health care debate or discussion. If there was ever an argument for universal health insurance, it seems like this would be it -- well, among thousands of other sad tales out there, obviously.

Ms. Steele is a freelance writer in Traverse City, Michigan, and has written thousands of articles about everything from weddings to war and coyotes to chocolate truffles. She has penned stories for the Associated Press, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post and numerous magazines from Brides to Kansas City Parent. And when she was a young reporter, she won a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award citation for a newspaper series that chronicled the lives of impoverished single mothers in rural northern Michigan.

Coming full circle, she, too, is now an impoverished single mother, thanks to the help, or non-help, of her health insurance carrier.

Insurance is a necessity of modern life. Face it, there is, as yet, no way to guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen to you or that you will live forever. Oftentimes, though, people forget that simple fact and discover all too late that they did not adequately protect themselves.

The good news is that getting proper insurance coverage does not have to be expensive. Even the most pricey insurance is a pittance compared with the costs that could be incurred if you lack sufficient protection. Below are 10 types of policies that are worth the money:

Life insurance
This is especially important if people count on your salary to pay the bills, whether it's your spouse or your kids. "Many people put off getting life insurance," said Jeanne Heisler, a New Jersey agent. "It's very inexpensive, especially if you are young." Single people may not need the coverage if they have enough money to cover their funeral expenses and pay off their debts.

Homeowner's insurance
Banks require that people get this coverage before they agree to underwrite a mortgage, since it protects homeowners from damages caused on their property to other people. The key for homeowner's insurance is to make sure that there is enough to cover the replacement value of the home, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Personal items such as furniture, sports equipment or clothes are also protected under these policies from "insured disasters" such as a fire or hurricane.

I like conspiracy theories. Speaking as someone who has to confer with three or four friends before deciding on a brand of toilet paper, I love the idea that there are super-secret cabals that control everything that happens to me. In some ways, the supposed control of the Trilateral commission, the Illuminati, the Hashshashini, the Carlyle group, and the Rosicrucians make my total lack of power seem understandable. With all these super-secret organizations fighting for world domination, it's easy to understand why I can't even get extra whipped cream at Starbucks.

That having been said, I also realize that conspiracy theories are total nonsense. As anyone whose ever tried to keep a secret will tell you, any group larger than one person probably has a stool pigeon in it. Besides, who needs scapegoats like the Masons and the Men in Black? I already know who rules the United States.

Insurance companies.

A few days ago, I wrote a post in which I discussed the pros and cons of health insurance for pets. I was very quickly hit with numerous e-mails and posted comments, in which readers documented their experiences, both positive and negative, with pet health insurance companies.

Incidentally, the general consensus was that Banfield's Wellness Program, available at PetSmart, is a pretty good deal. Some people, however, seemed to feel that Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), was a skeavy, scamming bunch of scuzzballs.

After reading through readers' comments on my blog, I searched the internet and was blown away by the outpouring of anger over dishonest pet insurance companies. According to many writers, some insurance companies, including VPI, regularly cite pre-existing conditions and hereditary health problems as excuses for refusing payment. The basic complaint is that insurance companies manipulate sentimental pet owners then unceremoniously dump them when they actually need help. As the sentimental owner of a wonderful cat, I have to admit that I find this outrageous, but I also find it kind of funny. After all, pet insurance companies are merely copying the tactics of some human insurers. A good example of this is the recent fuss over Health Net.

I don't think this is what Ben Franklin had in mind when he established the American insurance system: 47 million of us in this country are uninsured, and those of us who live in California narrowly escaped criminalization for not being able to afford an HMO, PPO or any other combination of initials that will help pay our medical expenses. Meanwhile, the Democratic presidential hopefuls are arguing over the definition of universal health care. It makes me sick to think about it.

Most consumers don't know that they can negotiate their medical bills, and that leaves them at quite a financial disadvantage. Insurance companies negotiate prices all the time, and savvy consumers should too. It's not uncommon for an insurance company to negotiate a price for a procedure that is one-half or less of the stated cost from a hospital or doctor.

What's the key? Well the first step is having the guts to ask for a discount. It may seem strange if you've never done it before, but medical care providers are expecting it. Experts say it's easy to get a 30% discount if you just ask, and maybe even more if you bargain well.

One other key to saving money on your medical costs is asking lots of questions. You should talk with your physician about lower cost alternatives, such as a generic prescription or the ability to do outpatient surgery instead of traditional hospitalization.

It's popular to complain about the high cost of health care, but consumers need to become more proactive if they want to see lower costs. That will involve more preventative health care, and will rely heavily on seeking out the most economical options for treatment. Until consumers become more savvy and more cost-conscious, health care costs will likely continue to rise quickly.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

You've probably heard about people paying more for their health insurance if they smoke or have a pre-existing health condition. That's not new. What is new is that now your company might make you pay for your own health-compromising vices.

Health insurance costs have been a major sore spot for employers over the last several years. It can easily cost a thousand dollars or more per month to insure a family, and much more if a company has sick employees or a particularly generous health plan. In an effort to help cut those costs, employers are turning to their employees who smoke, eat poorly, and are overweight to foot the bill. 16% of employers are now making smokers pay the toll for their bad habit.

Of course, workers are fighting back, saying that this isn't fair. What seems unfair to me is an employer not charging employees for their bad habits, but having to cut benefits across the board to save money. That hurts those with a healthy lifestyle, and that seems awfully unfair.

Other companies have tried the flip side of this, offering wellness rewards to the workers who maintain healthy lifestyles. Companies who do penalize workers with vices most often offer programs to help them change their bad habits. Maybe now's the time to consider giving up cigarettes and eating better?

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

Last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) handed down a ruling that will allow employers to treat younger and older retirees differently. What once might have been seen as age discrimination is now OK, according to the EEOC.

What does this mean to the retirees? Well, some workers retire from their jobs with promises of ongoing healthcare benefits. This ruling allows employers to cut off those benefits (even if they were promised) for the older retirees who are eligible for Medicare.

Since there are some things that Medicare doesn't cover, it is often preferable for a retiree to stay on a company health insurance plan as long as possible. But the employers argued that the cost of covering older retirees is too expensive. Rather than cease providing health care to all retirees because of this cost, the employers successfully argued to the EEOC that they should be allowed to drop coverage for those eligible for Medicare (and who are typically the most expensive to insure).