Preventative testing over 50....when and why?

     As you push into your 50s and beyond, routine screenings to detect health problems become more and more important. Often, the earlier a problem is detected and diagnosed, the earlier it can be successfully treated or managed. Screenings are a critical part of protecting our health. But which tests do we really need, and when? And how do we weigh their benefits against any risks?

     The following screenings are recommended for people age 50 and older on a routine basis—that is, for people without symptoms or special risk factors for a given disease. The list is based on guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a panel of experts in prevention and medicine that, after careful review of scientific findings, issues advice meant to guide medical care broadly, but not to determine individual cases.
     Under health care reform law, people in original Medicare will receive free preventative screenings starting next January, and most Medicare Advantage plans already offer this benefit.  Visit medicare.gov to learn more  Most of these screenings also are free for those getting new health insurance policies this year, after Sept. 23.

Prostate cancer: PSA
The test: a blood test known as the prostate-specific antigen test or PSA.

The guidelines: The task force recommends against the PSA screening in men age 75 and older, and concludes there is not enough information to recommend for or against the test in younger men. The American Urological Association says the test should be offered to "well-informed men who wish to pursue early diagnosis," starting at age 40 and as long as a man's life expectancy is at least 10 years.

Breast cancer: mammogram
The test: a mammogram, which is a specialized x-ray of the breast.

The guidelines: The task force calls for women between ages 50 and 74 to get a mammogram every two years, saying there's not enough evidence to support a recommendation for or against the test later in life.

Colorectal cancer: sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy
The tests: A fecal occult blood test simply requires a stool sample to check for blood. In two other screenings—sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy—you must drink a preparation that purges your system. Then the doctor inserts a thin tube equipped with a tiny camera into the bowel to look for precancerous or cancerous growths. A sigmoidoscopy inspects only the lower colon, but a colonoscopy examines the entire colon.

The guidelines: The task force recommends screening with any of the three tests for people ages 50 to 75. Testing regimens, it says, can include a yearly fecal occult blood test, a sigmoidoscopy every five years with fecal occult blood testing every three years, or a colonoscopy once a decade.
For more information on cancer screening tests please click here.

Heart disease: blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, weight
The tests: blood pressure and weight measurements, blood tests for cholesterol and sugar levels; ultrasound exam for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The guidelines: The experts recommend getting your blood pressure checked at least every two years, your cholesterol checked regularly as determined by your doctor, and your blood sugar tested (a screen for diabetes) if you have high blood pressure or, for men, elevated cholesterol.

Cervical cancer: Pap smear
The test: a Pap test, involving a swab of the cervix.

The guidelines: The task force strongly recommends screening for women through age 65, saying evidence supports testing at least every three years.

Osteoporosis: DXA
The test: a bone mineral density scan. The most predictive test, according to the task force, is a DXA or dual x-ray absorptiometry scan of the hip.

The guidelines: Women should get a first scan at age 65, or at 60 if they are at increased risk because of factors like low body weight or a family history of osteoporosis, the task force says.

Depression: questionnaire
The test: Usually a questionnaire, possibly even a simple two-part question asking whether, in the last two weeks, a person has "felt down, depressed or hopeless" or "felt little interest or pleasure in doing things."

The guidelines: The experts recommend primary care doctors screen adults for depression—but only if those doctors have trained staff available to ensure appropriate follow-up and referrals for treatment. Many do not. 
To take a sample test click here.

HIV infection: HIV screening
The test: Usually a blood test to detect antibodies to the virus.

The guidelines: In 2006 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that everyone ages 13 to 64 be screened for HIV infection, regardless of their risk profile.

Before you take the test!

* Finding hidden disease can be a huge advantage—but not always. Screenings are useful when early detection—finding something before symptoms appear—leads to effective treatments that in turn lead to better outcomes like a longer life or less illness and suffering. With cervical cancer, early detection makes all the difference. By contrast, doctors could find additional lung cancers by screening apparently healthy patients, but this has not been shown to help people survive the disease.

     For further information on how new health insurance policies are covering these tests, please give our office a call or visit our website.

 

Medicare Supplement Insurance.

More than 3 million Medicare beneficiaries might not be able to keep the plans they like... I thought that was a promise???

     According to the article “More Than 3M Seniors Many Have to Switch Drug Plans” by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar on Yahoo News, even if seniors are perfectly happy with their drug prescription plan they will have to switch plans. Many consumers are finding this very frustrating.

     This is due to an attempt by government to simplify seniors’ lives but could turn into a hassle for those who were not intending on switching their Medicare supplement insurance plan during open enrollment. It also risks undercutting President Obama’s promise to let people keep the current health plans they have now.

     A recent analysis by a major private research firm estimates that over 3 million Medicare beneficiaries will see their current drug plan go away as Medicare tries to eliminate complicated coverage. President Obama wants finding health insurance and keeping quality health insurance to be easier, especially for seniors, but that could backfire during this transition process.  I am afraid that this may be the first of many surprises to come out of this Washington debacle.

         These new plans will be available during this year's open enrollment that takes place Nov. 15- Dec. 31.  If you need help understanding the new plans drug plans that will be available, feel free to set up an appointment with one of our knowledgeable agents or visit our website .  You can also visit Medicare.gov for their complete description of the proposed new plans.

Maxine on Healthcare . . . .


She nailed this one.

Maxine on healthcare -

.......Short 'n sweet . . . .

Let me get this straight. We're going to be "gifted" with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don't, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president who happens to smoke, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke.

What could possibly go wrong?

Health Insurance can protect more than just your health

     Many people think that health insurance just covers medical expenses when it can actually include benefits for loss of income and the medical expenses resulting from injuries or illnesses.

     Health insurance policies vary from each other depending on the methods of underwriting used by the insurance company, the injury or illness covered by your policy, types of insurers, benefits, services, and losses covered.

     Many people are covered by health insurance plans at work that usually cover medical bills, hospital stays and costs of surgeries, which would be considered to be major medical coverage.

The different types of health insurance policies are Fee-for-Service, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations(PPOs), Point-of-Service plans. All of these plans include coverage for many different medical expenses, hospital costs, prescription drugs, surgery expenses and sometimes coverage for dentists. Each plan will cover you differently and it is important to get the right plan for you and your family. Insurance companies will cover you based upon the type of policy you choose and the amount of coverage you want.  To learn more about what these policies may look like click here

     Other types of policies to add on to your health insurance or purchase separately from your insurance policy could include dental expense benefits and long-term care, hospital recovery insurance, accident only insurance, hospital confinement insurance, specified disease insurance, and temporary travel accident insurance. They are literally insurance policies for every type of unseen event that would cause you to require medical attention.

     It is important to know all of the different insurance policies out there and talk to your insurance agent about all of your needs before purchasing any type of health insurance policy.  We have the experience to help you cover all the bases concerning your insurance needs.  We have partnered with companies such as AFLAC and Florida Combined Life to make sure that you can be covered for any health related costs. 
     Please take the time today to talk to one of our Risk Management Professionals.  You can call directly (800-946-3303) or visit our website by clicking here

What does health care reform mean for me now?

I am constantly getting asked the same question, "What kind of impact is health care reform going to have on my health plan?" From the very beginning of all the changes, it has been unclear exactly what changes would happen and when they would happen. As time goes by, it is finally becoming clear what changes are actually going to take place right now.
As of September 23, 2010, we are going to see some immediate changes. The changes that are planned to take place are considered by most to be added benefit to health care plans.
So what are these changes?

-Elimination of lifetime maximums. Under the new law, lifetime maximums on the dollar value of coverage will be eliminated. Over 8.8 Floridians with private insurance coverage will be affected.
-Restrictions of annual limits. Insurance plans' annual limits will be tightly regulated to ensure access to needed care. This will protect the 7.7 million residents of Florida.
-Free preventative care provision. Qualified health plans must now provide preventative care like immunization or mammograms without charging deductibles, copays or coinsurance.
-Coverage for emergency services. Health plans are prohibited from charging higher cost sharing for emergency services obtained outside of the plan's network.
BlueCross Blueshield has worked hard to make sure all of their plans that will be available after 9/23 will conform to the new benefits provided under health care reform. Lifetimes maximums will be removed, annual dollar limits will be removed from all actively sold plans, preventative care will be offered with no deductibles, copays or coinsurance, and emergency services will have the same cost share whether in or out of network.
If you have questions as to how these changes will effect your current health plans, please give us a call at 1-800-946-3303 or visit our website by clicking here.

Is family still worth protecting?

 Nearly a third of U.S. households have no life-insurance coverage, the highest percentage in more than four decades, according to research firm Limra.
     About 35 million U.S. households neither own their own life-insurance policies nor are covered under employer-sponsored plans, up from the 24 million, or 22% of households, without coverage in 2004, according to the study this year by Limra, of Windsor, Conn.      Limra is an industry-funded research organization that has conducted periodic surveys of ownership trends since 1960.
     The percentage without life insurance is a sign of the financial pressures on middle-income families as the economy struggles.
     The rise reflects tight household budgets, loss of employer-provided coverage as a result of layoffs, and cutbacks by some employers in their benefits packages, Limra said.
     Half of the respondents in the latest survey said they needed more life insurance, but many haven't bought it because their financial priorities include paying off debt.
     Among households with children under 18, four in 10 respondents said they would immediately have trouble meeting living expenses if a primary wage earner died, and another three in 10 would have trouble keeping up with expenses after several months.
     "Clearly, more American families are living on the edge, surviving paycheck to paycheck, and, as our new study suggests, too many are without the safety net that life insurance provides," said Robert Kerzner, president of Limra.
     While the poor economy is a factor in the most recent decline in coverage, the life-insurance industry itself shares blame in the falloff in sales, according to other recent studies and consumer advocates.
     Prices of term life-insurance policies have dropped in recent years amid competition, but other types of insurance remain expensive to many middle-income consumers, and they often are put off by the hardball tactics of commission-paid sales agents.
     The industry also is grappling with a decline in the number of agents who sell to middle-class families, often described as those with household incomes of between about $35,000 and $100,000 a year.
     Since the 1970s, the number of company-affiliated life-insurance agents has dropped by nearly one-third, to 174,000 in recent years, according to data from Limra.
     Many agents have focused on higher-income families, who can afford the bigger policies that pay the higher commissions. Many also have favored sales of investment and retirement-income products like variable annuities, which also pay commissions.
     Life-insurance coverage provided through benefits packages at work has played a significant role in protecting families in recent decades, but it may be lost if the wage earner loses his job or reduces work hours.
     Employers scaling back or eliminating coverage is another factor in the declining percentage of households with insurance, Limra noted.
     The number of households relying solely on life insurance provided through an employer shrank to one in four, from about one in three in 2004, when the previous survey was conducted.
     And over the same period, the percentage of all households that have life-insurance protection outside of an employer-sponsored plan dropped to 44%, from 50%.
      Many survey respondents said they didn't know where to get help buying life insurance. Almost eight in 10 don't have an insurance agent or broker. Sixty percent of baby-boomer households would prefer to buy life insurance face to face, while younger generations are interested in gathering information online, the survey found.
     In 2009, insurers issued 9.4 million individual life policies in the U.S., about one million fewer than in 2004, according to Limra.
     Analysts said the industry hasn't solved the puzzle of how best to reach middle-income households in a cost-efficient manner and in a way that enables consumers to feel comfortable making financial decisions.
     Many of the clients that I deal with, on a regular basis, are completely shocked by the low rates associated with term life policies.  If you would like to get a free quote on just how little it will cost to protect your family, click here.

Do we really want Universal Health Care?

The United States is the only modern nation that doesn't rely on a government-run, universal health coverage system.  We spend twice as much or more on health care than other nations on health care.  Does this mean we are behind the rest of the world, or that they know something we don't?

Yes, we are the only modern country without universal health care.   Many health care reformers see this as a bad thing.  It is not.  So you have to ask yourself...  What kinds of problems are common to these foreign, mandatory universal health care systems? 

The greatest flaw in foreign universal health care is the lack of money to take care of those with the most need.  Tiny distressed babies, seniors, and those with chronic conditions suffer the most.  For instance, it is common to see older citizens in foreign nations walking slowly, hunched over, aided by a cane.  Their health care system gladly supplies them with a $10 cane to help relieve their suffering.  In the U.S. we provide $6,000 motorized scooters to give them maximum mobility.  Obviously it cost our system much more to do more, but we do it because we can.  When you think about it, are we willing to give up the care we have grown so accustomed to?

Matthew Reynolds

 * What really ails the U.S. health care system?  By Gregg Datillo and Dave Racer

 * Your Health Matter. By Gregg Datillo