Term
| Health Maintenance organization |
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Definition
| Organization contracted by individuals or insurance companies to provide health care for a yearly fee. Such network health plans limit the choice of doctors and treatments. About 60% of Americans are enrolled in this organization or similar programs. |
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Term
| National health insurance |
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Definition
| A compulsory insurance program for all Americans that would have the government finance citizens' medical care. First proposed by President Harry S.Truman, the plan was soundly opposed by the American Medical Association |
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Term
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Definition
| A program added to Social Security system of 1965 that provides hospitalization insurance for the elderly and permits older Americans to purchase inexpensive coverage for doctor fees and other medical expense |
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Definition
| A public assistance program designed to provide health care for poor Americans. This is funded by both the state and the national government. |
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Term
| Environment Protection Agency |
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Definition
| An agency of the federal government created in 1970 that administers much of U.S environmental protection policy. It is the largest federal independent regulatory agency |
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Definition
| The law aimed at combating air pollution |
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Term
| Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 |
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Definition
| A law intended to clean up the nation's rivers and lakes. It requires municipal, industrial, and other polluters to use pollution control technology and secure permits from the Environmental Protection Agency for discharging waste products into waters. |
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Term
| Endangered Species Act of 1973 |
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Definition
| This law requires the federal government to protect actively each of the hundreds of species listed as endangered - regardless of the economic effect on the surrounding towns or region |
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Definition
| A fund created by Congress in 1980 to clean up hazardous waste sites. Money for the fund comes from taxing chemical products |
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Definition
| Rising use of fossil fuels has warmed the surface of the Earth. The greenhouse effect occurs when energy from the sun is trapped under the atmosphere and warms the Earth as a result. |
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