Allergy Season Is Here
Allergic rhinitis is typically a lifelong condition. The best way to control your allergies is to identify the allergens that trigger your symptoms and then take steps to limit your exposure to them. Air conditioning reduces pollen counts indoors by more than 90 percent. Face masks, similar to what surgeons wear, can significantly reduce the amount of allergen inhaled when outdoors or while doing yard work.
If you fail to get relief with this strategy, however, medications or allergen immunotherapy, or allergy shots, can be helpful. Those who look for relief at the local pharmacy are faced with many product choices. To make the right choice for you, you first need to learn what types of medications are available, how each works, and which symptoms they alleviate. Always talk with your doctor before using any over-the-counter medicines.
Article provided by U.S. News and World Report 3-22-06.
Variety Of Strategies Needed To Curb Health Costs
As use of consumer-driven health plans grows, employers that are most successful at containing cost increases are implementing a wide variety of tactics to encourage consumerism, according to new research from the National Business Group on Health.
Roughly 29% of employers offer a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account or health reimbursement arrangement this year, compared to 13% last year and 7% in 2004. Another 33% plan to do so next year, the survey of 508 mid-sized and large employers shows. Median employee enrollment in HDHPs is 7%.
The companies that are most successful in stemming medical inflation tend to combine consumer-driven plans with other strategies, like pay-for-performance, health improvement programs, health risk appraisals, claims analysis, purchasing coalitions, nurse help lines and giving workers provider cost information.
Watson Wyatt consultant Ted Nussbaum comments, “The best-performing companies are using various tactics to engage employees and lower cost trends because they recognize that all employees may not be driven by financial incentives alone.”
About 80% of firms say consumer-driven health plans are effective at increasing employee involvement in health care decision-making, and 59% consider them effective at controlling health care cost increases. However, mere cost-shifting to workers does not reduce overall cost increases, the survey finds.
“Employers should not focus on employee accountability alone,” says NBGH President Helen Darling. “When used in combination with promoting quality care, health management, use of data and appropriate use of care, companies are able to achieve significantly lower cost trends.”
Article provided by BenefitNews - March 21, 2006
Keep Physically Active
Studies show that regular exercise may lower the risk of a host of cancers, including colon, breast, and prostate cancers. Exercise does not have to be strenuous. Indeed, you can get the benefit from just 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise five or more days a week. For many people, looking for ways to work in activity during the day, rather than planning a formal exercise program, is the most effective way to achieve recommended levels of physical activity.
Consider the following ways to increase your activity level:
- Get on or off the bus one stop early and walk the rest of the way
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator
- When shopping, park the car in the far end of the parking lot
- Go dancing
- Work in the garden or mow your lawn
Article provided by U.S. News and World Report.
Weighing The Risks
This summer, Sherrianne Swartz plans to do something that most people take for granted: ride a roller coaster with her teenage son. It's not fear that has kept Swartz, 36, on the ground for the better part of a decade--but fat. At over 400 pounds, she has been too big to fit into the seat. Until now, that is. Barely 16 months after gastric bypass surgery, which reduced her stomach to the size of a hard-boiled egg, Swartz has shed 185 pounds.
To read this article in its entirety click on
U.S. News and World Report.
Maintain A Healthy Weight
Overweight adults are at a greater risk for colon, endometrial, breast (post-menopausal), esophageal, pancreatic, and kidney cancer. As one's body mass index increases, one's risk for other major health problems, such heart disease, stroke, diabetes, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, and osteoarthritis, also increases.
Choosing foods that are low in fat and calories is one key to maintaining a healthy weight.
Keeping an eye on portion size also is key. Nowadays, many restaurants serve large portions, so share with a friend or save half of the meal for lunch the next day.
And when making food choices, bear in mind that low-fat or fat-free doesn't always mean low in calories!
Article provided by U.S. News and World Report
Stay Tobacco Free
An estimated 45 million U.S. adults are smokers, and more than a third of all U.S. high school students smoke cigarettes. Yet tobacco use, particularly cigarette smoking, is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. The number of deaths per year from smoking exceeds the number of deaths per year from all accidents, suicides, drug use, homicides, and AIDS combined.
Smoking is responsible for 87 percent of all lung cancer cases. If you smoke two packs of cigarettes a day for more than 15 years, your chances of developing lung cancer are 1 in 5. Smoking also has been linked to cancer of the bladder, throat, pancreas, mouth, and cervix. Further, smokers also put the people around them at risk. Nonsmokers who live with smokers are more likely to develop lung cancer themselves.
Chewing tobacco and snuff are not safe alternatives to cigarettes. They are just as addictive as cigarettes and can cause cancers of the mouth and throat at a young age.
No matter how many years you've smoked, it is never too late to improve your health by kicking the tobacco habit.
Article provided by U.S. News and World Report.
Preventing Overpayments In Health Claims
Knowing that health insurers sometimes make mistakes in processing and paying claims, experts advise employers to audit their health plans every two or three years.
About 24% of vendors incorrectly processed 5% or more of health claims last year, down from 35% in 2004, according to The Segal Co. Furthermore, 46% of vendors incorrectly paid 1% or more of claims dollars last year, down from 56% in 2004.
Anthony Rienzi, a senior vice president at The Segal Co., attributes those improvements to health plan audits. "Things have improved fairly substantially. Auditing does improve results over time," he told attendees at the Benefits New York conference yesterday.
As an object lesson for employers, Rienzi recalled finding $700,000 in overpayments in a sample of 225 claims. Insurers aren't perfect and won't promise perfection, he said, but it's important to hold them accountable for factors over which they have direct influence, such as the timing of payments. Watch out for eligibility problems, such as incorrect hiring dates and termination dates, payments to ineligible dependents, and improper plan classification, he warned.
Article provided by BenefitNews - March 14, 2006
Carrier Facilitates Small Biz Group Coverage
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield recently waived a long-standing rule requiring 50% of all employees to sign up for insurance before the carrier would offer a group insurance plan to the business. Instead, Anthem has adopted a rule that says 75% of net eligible employees must participate.
The new rule at first glance seems to impose tougher restrictions, but not when employers understand the meaning of net eligible, according to Tony Felts, spokesman for Anthem BCBS in Indiana. He gives an example: Under the relaxed requirement, six of 10 employees could decline to enroll because they're covered in a spouse's plan. The net eligible is now four employees, and three of the four (75%) employees must decide to participate before the carrier will offer insurance to the business.
The rule was relaxed because most small firms, those with two to 50 workers, do not have health insurance benefits, Felts says, and Anthem believes the biggest reason is eligibility. "We are very enthusiastic about this because we believe we are reducing the difference between the number of insured and uninsured," Felts says.
The rule change affects Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Anthem is launching a direct-mail campaign spelling out the change to small businesses in the three states this month. The carrier contacted brokers and agents in December when the rule change took effect.
Article provided by BenefitNews 3-7-06.
Protect Yourself From The Sun
More than 1 million Americans will be diagnosed this year with a cancer that is almost totally preventable--skin cancer. It is the most common cancer in the United States and, for the most part, caused by too much exposure to the sun. The fairer your skin, the higher your risk of skin cancer. If you freckle or burn in the sun, you are at highest risk. Still, people of all skin colors can develop skin cancer. Most skin cancers are highly curable, although one form, called malignant melanoma, is much more serious.
Avoid prolonged exposure to the sun, especially from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you must be in the sun, cover up with clothing, sunscreen, and sunglasses.
Apply sunscreen about 30 minutes before going into the sun so it has a chance to be absorbed by the skin. Reapply often, as swimming and perspiration will remove it. Don't try to economize--apply sunscreen liberally.
To read this article in its entirety, click on
Sun Exposure.
HSA Deposits Near $1 billion
Americans have stashed a sizable amount of cash in health savings accounts, according to a recent study of 60 financial and health institutions by the newsletter Inside Consumer-Directed Care. Users have deposited almost $1 billion in HSAs since they were established three years ago, the study finds.
More than 820,000 accounts have been opened across the nation and about 60 new accounts are being added each month. The average amount in each account is $1,181, the study shows.
Observers expect heated competition for HSA deposits among banks, credit unions and other financial organizations as the balances continue to grow. The number of HSA administrators or custodians could grow from 300 to 400 by the end of this year, the study indicates. In fact, the BlueCross BlueShield Association plans to launch its own Blue Healthcare Bank early next year.
Article published by BenefitNews - March 9
Make Healthy Food Choices
You can reduce your risk of cancer by as much as 30 to 40 percent by making healthful food choices. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when planning meals, shopping, and eating out.
Eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
Eat a low-fat diet.
Eat small portions of meat.
Eat two to three servings of dairy products for calcium every day.
If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.
To read more on healthy choices click on:
Cancer Prevention.
Skipping Prescriptions Costly, Study Says: Employers Might Save By Covering Co-pays
The concept seems logical: Take medications as prescribed and lower your risk for surgeries, amputations and long hospital stays.
But a study paid for by drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) found that one in five Ohioans don't take their medications as recommended, a problem that adds $700 million a year to health-care costs statewide.
"Patients were continuing to be the problem by the lack of compliance," said Dr. David Nash of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and author of the study.
"There are . . . potentially billions of dollars that can be saved in Ohio."
The complete study won't be released until fall, but company officials gave an overview yesterday of the 429,000 Ohio health-insurance claims that were examined. The focus was on people who should take daily medications for chronic conditions such as diabetes, congestive heart failure, asthma and depression.
To read more on how the drugmaker plans to improve compliance and reduce overall health-care costs for employers, click on
prescriptions.
Vigilant Dental Care Reduces Premature Births
Plan sponsors may want to enhance their dental benefits in light of mounting evidence that pregnant women with poor dental hygiene are more likely to deliver premature and low-birth-weight babies. It costs $5 billion a year to treat such infants, who are 40 times more likely to die than other babies.
Pregnant women with chronic gum disease during their second trimester may be up to seven times more likely to deliver prematurely, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association. However, premature births declined by as much as 84% among women who received treatments for gum disease before the 35th week of pregnancy, researchers reported in the Journal of Periodontology.
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BenefitNews.
Before You Start To Train for a Marathon
So you think you're ready to start training for a marathon, huh?
The marathon is the longest and most difficult race most runners ever attempt. It's also the most popular.
Almost anyone can complete a marathon, but whether they can complete it without injury and without great pain and sorrow is the real test.
Will you be one of those who just manages through, or one of the ones who finishes with a smile and a great outlook for the rest of the day?
To read more on how to train for a marathon click on
Health and Fitness.
