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Six Big Mistakes People Make When Seeing Their Doctor

April 30, 2022 Comments Off

The doctor is the one with all the knowledge. So all we have to do when we’re sick or injured is show up, right? Well, you can take that attitude but your healthcare will suffer. Going to see the doctor (or physical therapists) should be far more involved than just “showing up.”
Below are six big mistakes people make when seeing their doctor. As you will discover there’s a central theme running through each mistake. That theme is you need to be responsible for your own healthcare.
Being Unprepared
You might spend hours picking out an outfit for a big event or taking copious notes for your upcoming fantasy draft, but when it comes to seeing your doctor you arrive completely unprepared. Do you have a list of your symptoms? Do you have a list of questions you’re going to ask your doctor? Do you have a list of the medications you’re taking? You don’t have a lot of time with your doctor so being prepared is the best way to make efficient use of the time you do have.
Being Unorganized
This goes hand in hand with being prepared. Remember, it’s your body and it’s your health. Your healthcare provider shouldn’t be the only keeper of your health history. You should be journaling, or at the very least, taking notes of your doctor visits, medical procedures, allergies, and the medications you’ve taken over the years. Having all your medical data at your disposal and easily accessible will play a huge role in ensuring that your doctor visits are positive and productive.
Being Uncommunicative
No two doctors are alike. Each has their strengths and their weaknesses. However, all doctors have one thing in common-none of them can read minds. That’s why you have to tell them everything. You can’t assume they already know or they’ll figure it out via a test result. Communicating effectively helps your doctor help you. Remember, you only have one doctor but he or she has hundreds of patients. They’re not spending all their time thinking about you and your health.
Being Shy
So you’ve got a thing on your thingy or you make an odd noise every time you bend over, don’t be embarrassed. Your doctor sure isn’t. They’ve heard it all before and probably more than once. Not only should you be brave and tell your doctor about that embarrassing seepage, or that awkward rash, but you should do it right away. If you wait until the last minute your condition won’t get the attention it deserves.
Being Passive
Like we said it’s your body and it’s your health. You need to take control. You need to educate yourself on what ails you and what options are available for your treatment. Reading a few articles on the internet doesn’t suddenly put you on par with your doctor, but it does show him or her that you’re taking ownership of your healthcare. They respect that. It also allows your doctor to spend less time on the basics and more time discussing the finer points of your condition.
Being Submissive
This doesn’t mean you need to boss your doctor around but it does mean you ask questions and thoroughly discuss your healthcare. Yes, your doctor is well-trained and educated, but that doesn’t mean you just get to sit there and agree with everything they say. You and your doctor should be on the same team; you should be partners. The hallmark of every good partnership is communication and mutual respect. So speak up, ask questions, and work with your doctor.…

The Beautiful Red Canary

April 26, 2022 Comments Off

The Red Canary, or “Red Factor Canary” is classed as a color canary — meaning that the bird is bred for its color and beauty, rather than their size, shape or singing abilities. They’re a cross-breed between the endangered Venezuelan Black Hooded Red Siskin and the Yellow Canary. The Red Canary is strictly a show bird and there are plenty of sub-categories this popular breed can fall into: Frosts and Non-Frosts, Lipochromes and Melonins, along with Soft Feathers and Hard Feathers. All categories affect the sheen and luster of each canary, while determining which class they fall into for competitions.
Just because they’re bred for competition doesn’t mean you can’t purchase one as a pet and wonderful showpiece at home: It’s just that they are a difficult canary to breed successfully and they do tend to cost more than other popular canaries that are bred for singing or their unique shapes.
The Red Canary also requires a unique diet to keep their color looking sharp: Red berries of all kinds, beets, squash, sweet potatoes, paprika, red peppers and others. Anything that contains Beta-Carotene and Canthaxanthin to help maintain and highlight their color. If you plan on entering them in competitions, you’ll have to monitor how the color foods affect their overall color to get award winning birds. This is most of the fun for owners, since it gives the owner a great deal of control to create a competition-crushing specimen.
Other than a special diet, they require an available bird bath and nothing more than other canaries. This is also a great breed for people who don’t like the singing aspect of canaries, as some Red’s sing, while most chirp once in a while and keep busy primping or roosting. Look for a breeder who specializes in color-bred canaries to make sure you get a true genetically color-bred bird and not something that’s been simply color fed certain foods to obtain the desired color.…

Involved in an Automobile Accident? How Can You Eliminate That Pain? Get Rid of Neck and Back Pain

April 4, 2022 Comments Off

Have you ever wondered why your back pain gets worse or keeps coming back, its called procrastination? Chiropractors will tell you: back pain, neck pain, musculoskeletal pain, and daily aches and pains are only symptoms and not the cause of your pain. Don’t cover your symptoms by avoiding them and hope they will go away. Pain is an indicator from your body telling you there is something wrong. Sure you can take drugs, medications, which shut off the brains from feeling pain, but the pain usually returns later.
Your body has a build in natural pain removal system designed with built in functions, which automatically repairs body symptoms when something goes wrong. One of those systems is PAIN! If pain persists you need to find a professional that can zero in on your particular problem and evaluate your symptoms.
Did you know another major cause of back pain is a lack of regular maintenance such as exercise and daily activity, which is often avoided due to instability or pain. You have seen the specialist, back doctor, or even considered surgery, but the pain persists. Your not alone millions of people suffer from back pain, sciatica, neck pain, headaches, degeneration and other conditions, but many take action steps to find the cause, reduce or eliminate their pain and symptoms.
Each year Americans spend more than one-tenth of their out-of-pocket health-care dollars on alternative medicine. Chiropractors and massage therapists are the leading alternative health-care practitioners. People in pain are looking for doctors that listen to what they have to say, become partners with them in resolving their symptoms. We live in a society that is filled with daily stress and demands. With the high-tech gadgets in our lives, we often forget to listen to our high-tech bodies.
It is estimated consumers spent over 25 billion dollars each year on alternative health-care. Chiropractic is the leading alternative health-care system with more than 33% of adults using some form of alternative health-care. Very few people that if given a choice would decide to have painful surgery or take lots of medication to reduce pain or injury or disease.
With the wide world acceptance of chiropractic medicine all that has changed. Chiropractors are trained in the holistic approach to treat the whole body. Keep in mind when one body system is struggling with an injury, the whole body is affected. Doctors of Chiropractic have helped countless people enjoy a renewed level of physical health and are able to help their patients on any age and fitness level. Chiropractors train for 6-7 years of total college education in basis sciences, clinical sciences, anatomy, physiology, nutrition, radiology, neurology, orthopedics, diagnosis, musculoskeletal systems and the nervous system.
If you have never explored the benefits of chiropractic or just haven’t seen one in a while, the time has never been better. Make your decision to treat your symptoms through effective care. Chiropractic medicine is worth looking into before you undergo painful surgery with its sometime long term health effect or taking medication to hide your symptoms or pain.…

The Canary-Finch Connection

April 2, 2022 Comments Off

Canaries are among the most beautiful, talented and yet private of all birds; they’re fine around their own kind for the most part, but tend to clam up and get shy among other species of birds. The finch, on the other hand is also a specimen to behold, with few talents and has a flare for being around other breeds of birds and also people. While canaries are a shy bird, it’s a known fact that if they can stand any bird, it’s the lovely finch — thus the canary finch connection.
The canary finch relationship depends on proper space, feeding (they love the same kinds of food), and the personalities of the individual birds you have. Another important fact of note, is that your canary will very likely stop to sing if it’s a singer. This should be of no concern though, as a canary will only sing if: A) It’s alone, or B) During molting season.
Your finch will absolutely love the company and will work very hard to break the ice with a canary, as it’s an animal/people pleasing bird. It’s best to keep them in separate cages if possible: It will be best for them to co-exist that way and then proceed to allow them to socialize through the cage — occasionally coming together during cage cleaning time while perching on a lamp-shade or counter-top.
As mentioned already: They can share the same food (although the finch can handle many seeds the canary will not) and feeding habits and will quite likely be able to stay in the same cage with one another. If you decide to try and bring the two together in the same cage, be sure to carefully observe them their first day together. In particular, watch the canary to see if they seem overly put off, or annoyed by the finch and you may make a canary finch connection in your own home.…

Small Business Requirements and California Healthcare Insurance Considered

March 10, 2022 Comments Off

If you run a small or medium sized business you are the back-bone of our economy. Of course, with that incredible position, there are some responsibilities too. There are certain things you need to know, and be aware of when it comes to small business health care insurance in CA, such as tax incentives and penalty fees depending on the size of your payroll and number of employees if you choose not to cover health insurance for your employees.
California small business healthcare insurance and California small group insurance can be a good incentive for employees and the benefits they desire. By providing this insurance, you will improve the quality and productivity of your workforce and prevent excessive turn-over. Yes, it can be costly at times, and that’s why it’s important to look at all the options and get a plan that makes sense for your company.
Additionally, you may decide to use “carve-out” options in the policy, as an incentive for employees during their probationary period to maintain peak performance and productivity until they reach a point they may be added to the company policy. You might also wish to do this for executives or owners with individual health insurance policies already in place.
There are several ways to set up these group insurance policies and small business healthcare insurance plans in the California which can help you strategically, while maximizing your coverage and minimizing your risks and monthly premium expenses for your company health insurance requirements. After all, every business needs to watch costs and maximize profits to stay in business.
When it comes to the most common type of health care coverage; California private health insurance plans, and CA individual healthcare insurance it is quite common to create a policy that offers affordability and brings a bit of frugality to the equation. After all, affordable healthcare insurance is the primary goal; that is to say the lowest premiums for health insurance in California, reasonable co-pays, and maximum coverage.
There are many tactics we can employ to get this done. Some folks are okay with just catastrophic coverage, which usually means a higher deductible, along with very low premiums. If you are of substantial personal financial strength perhaps an HSA or health savings account might be wise. There might even be tax advantages for you to set up a Health Savings Account (HSA).
You can set up an HSA for your California family health insurance or your IL individual health insurance plan. Or, you might find it beneficial to consider ways to use such strategies in a private health plan in California or as part of your Medigap strategy. We can help with all these things, as we are your California health insurance specialists.
Your goal is to approach your health insurance needs with a strategic mindset to minimize risk and premium costs while taking advantage of tax incentives and benefits without sacrificing coverage. If you are a small business in CA, health insurance plans are on your mind, and you are not alone. Hundreds of millions of Americans and 30 million small businesses are also thinking here, many are worried, and uncertain about the future. That’s why you must do your homework and due diligence.
Many of the new rules for ObamaCare are very complex and have phase-ins between now and 2014, you need to know what is going on. So, you should call your local health care insurance broker for a small business guide and then ask them to help you through the process. Please consider all this.…

The Limitations of Health Insurance

February 4, 2022 Comments Off

Insurance policy becomes a part of everyone’s life. This frees our thoughts of thinking about what to do or where to get the money needed when health problems come along. However, many of us tend to take time to scrutinize the provisions and the terms and conditions stipulated in the health care policy having in mind that those provisions have been bounded by what is lawful and that these terms and conditions are printed most of the time in a very small font and they are very wordy. Sometimes this becomes the reason of the dispute between clients and the insurance company.
Most of us treats this a petty issue until it comes out serious and we need legal assistance. In the first place, reading thoroughly the terms and conditions will make us decide whether or not to go on with our subscription with the said insurance. It would be too late for us to scrutinize its terms and conditions after we have already subscribed and worst after have encountered a problem in our claims. This will not only consume much of our time and money but will become a hassle in our regular scheduled activities.
It is impossible for us to find an insurance company that covers all the sickness a man could possibly have. It is therefore a must that we may be able to know the kind of diseases or ailments covered by the insurance company. Another important factor aside from the amount of premium to cover your potential hospital bills are the provisions of the services covered. For example, the limitations on room rates and the number of times of doctor’s visitation and the likes. Familiarizing these important factor make gets you prepared and makes your preference of the kind of health insurance you will get for yourself or your family members.…

Conclusion – What to Expect

January 1, 2022 Comments Off

The underlying intent of health care reform was to provide a format in the market place empowering the consumer. The formulators of HCR attempted to push the re-set button on competition when the new law eliminated discriminatory practices toward pre-existing health conditions among other mandates. Combined they hoped this revised market would reward only the carriers who were able to maximize efficiencies.
A likely unintended consequence could very well be a less competitive market. A rash of mergers and acquisitions may be looming over the next three years prior to the January 1, 2014 date, on which almost all of the mandates must be in place.
Some experts see another unintended consequence of fast rising prices for health insurance prior to January 1, 2014, when regulations govern premiums. The health insurance industry will surely push for some modifications such as increasing the “penalty for not enrolling”, or seeking limited enrollment periods.
Employers in the 50+ employees range may begin to lay off employees to fall below that threshold and avoid the burdens HCR is mandating. They may instead opt for longer hours rather than increasing staff to more than 50 employees.
In its present state, the totality of the mandates in HCR look to be moving the health insurance industry toward the same operating environment as public utilities. If the trend plays out, certain geographic areas may, in fact, see reduced competition. Small regional carriers would be the most likely for acquisition by the large multi-state carriers.
Research has shown that when the profit motive is removed, operating efficiencies of organizations diminish. Many fear the profit motive is being stripped from the health industry. Research and development of new technologies that diagnose and treat health problems could suffer.
You will hear many say US citizens have shorter life expectancies than other nations throughout the world and that is because the US does not have a comprehensive national policy on providing health care to all. The opponents say the life expectancy issue is more a function of life-style choices such as a poor diet and personal hygiene practices.
The debate will continue to be vociferous and heated for the years to come. As the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, issues rules and regulations, we will begin to see the direction HCR is taking, whether it will in deed become the biggest social program in American history or a catalyst to improve efficiencies and therefore reduce health care costs.
One certainty is known now. The 2700+ pages of HCR law will be challenged Constitutionally. The rules and regs that come out of HHS will be challenged in court and public opinion. New rules and regs will be issued to clarify previous determinations.
How we shop for insurance will change: Consumer Owned and Oriented Plans (COOPs), Exchanges, subsidies, private purchase, small group, large group and individual plans. The category in which you find yourself on January 1, 2014, will generally determine where and how you shop for insurance. For example, those who qualify for a subsidy may be required to buy through the Exchange in order to receive the subsidy.
Health plans with limited benefits will be forced to comply with mandates or cease marketing those products.
The minutiae are so vast and complex, and some people might come to see the system invasive of privacy. When you receive your W-2 statement, you will notice the value of your health insurance on it. If it is too rich, you will have some tax consequences. If nothing is listed, you will be fined. The IRS will be in charge of this monitoring process.
Picture this… January 1, 2014, arrives. You’re a family with 2 dependent children. You recently had to sell your lake house last year to keep your health insurance from lapsing.
Your neighbor down the street decided to let the insurance company repossess its health insurance policy so he could hang onto his mountain retreat. He has offered you to feel free to enjoy his getaway anytime you need, but you feel bad because you can not reciprocate by allowing him and his family to enjoy the peace and relaxation your health insurance can offer, although you have offered to share with him a reading of the policy.
Then one crisp winter evening following days of white-out blizzard conditions, an avalanche fells the cabin with the two families trapped inside.
True/False:
Will your friend be able to buy health insurance on the way to the hospital?
False? we all should be able to enjoy the health insurance reforms as providing a much welcomed relief to long lingering problems of skyrocketing premiums, exclusion of health conditions, and so on.
True? a nightmarish scenario begins. You beat yourself senseless now having realized you did not need to spend all that money …

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