Health care law encompasses the laws and regulations governing hospital and health care administration, and an understanding of health care insurance is integral to it. There are significant differences in the types and amount of coverage provided by various private insurance policies, such as HMOs, PPOs, disability insurance, and hospital indemnity insurance, just as there are important differences in the cost to the purchasers of health insurance. There are also public health care insurance programs. Elderly and disabled persons may be eligible for coverage through the federal Medicare program. The joint state-federal Medicaid program helps certain individuals, including disabled persons and low-income elderly persons, pay for long-term care and in-home health care.
Lansford is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, 27 miles (43 km) north of Allentown. Settled in 1845, Lansford was incorporated in 1876. In 1900, 4,888 people lived in Lansford; in 1910, 8,321 people inhabited it, and in 1940, 8,710 residents called Lansford home. The population was 4,230 at the 2000 census. Lansford is located 9 miles (15 km) south of Hazleton, near anthracite coal mines. The old No. 9 Wash Shanty coal mine in Lansford, which operated from 1855 to 1972, is now open as a tourist attraction offering tours of the mine. One of the bosses of the mine was shot as part of the union strife which included the trial of the Molly Maguires. A museum displaying a collection of mining artifacts is also on the site.