Archive for October, 2009
With open enrollment season upon us, consumers have a chance to evaluate these consumer-driven plans and decide if these new options might be right for them. Past editions of this study have accurately predicted other health care changes, so these findings carry a great deal of weight among industry leaders.
Consumer-driven health plans, which include health reimbursement accounts and health savings accounts, are high-deductible medical plans that are coupled with a savings account. Employees can use those funds to pay their health care costs.
With lower premiums than traditional health insurance plans, consumer-driven health plans enable consumers to choose what kind of health care services they would like to receive, making them more active participants in the decision-making process.
Nearly 30 percent of employers are planning to offer these consumer-driven health plans, and employees will need to determine if they are ready to switch to this new way of approaching health care.
The study also revealed that there is not much hope for those awaiting nationalized health care. Only 3 percent of respondents felt that there was a likelihood of adopting a single-payer system and only 7 percent saw U.S. government mandates in America’s future.
While the future of health care is still unknown, the study predicts that America is headed toward private market initiatives to help solve this crisis.
OneWorld Community Health Center is looking for 6,000 kids.
The agency that generally provides health care to the underserved has received $706,264 from the federal government to create a program to enroll thousands of children in either of two government insurance programs for low-income children.
Many metro-area children are eligible but aren’t enrolled because their families don’t know the programs exist or don’t know their kids could qualify, said Andrea Skolkin, chief executive officer of OneWorld. That means some of those children are going without health care or are getting far less than they could.
OneWorld’s goal is to enroll at least 6,000 children. The agency’s outreach effort has just begun.OneWorld will place staff members in day care centers, schools, after-school programs, churches, food pantries, organizations and other places.
“We want to be where people are versus making people come to us,” Skolkin said.
They will contact families at those sites and determine whether they have children who qualify but aren’t enrolled in Medicaid or the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The staff members will have laptops to take down information and scanners to scan in citizenship documents and proof of Nebraska residency. Children must be citizens to receive the health care benefits.
The agency also will take referrals. For information, call 502-8888.
OneWorld, based in the Livestock Exchange Building, 4920 S. 30th St., has hired a director and will employ five full-time staffers for the program. OneWorld also has a clinic in Plattsmouth.
President Barack Obama this year allocated $40 million to agencies in 42 states and Washington, D.C., for programs to conduct enrollment efforts over the next two years.
Through a competitive process, OneWorld was one of 69 entities to receive money. Iowa doesn’t have a program among the 69. An additional $40 million will be distributed in 2012.
Enrollment among children in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program has gradually risen in Iowa and Nebraska. The economy has worsened and awareness of the programs has broadened, spokesmen in Iowa and Nebraska say.
A child qualifies for Medicaid if his family’s annual income is at or somewhat above the federal poverty level, which is $18,310 for a family of three.
Qualifying for CHIP isn’t as stringent. In Iowa, the state raised the CHIP ceiling this year to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or $54,930 for a family of three. Nebraska raised its income ceiling for CHIP from 185 percent this year to 200 percent, or $36,620 for a family of three.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services has estimated there may be close to 15,000 eligible children who aren’t enrolled. The Iowa Department of Public Health estimated there could be as many as 38,000 children who aren’t covered.
Women’s health is a delicate matter that is in constant change from the time you are born. Every single stage in a woman’s life is faced with different changes, not to mention the menstrual cycle that starts as soon as you reach your teens. Women are faced with questions about their health everyday, and to answer them you need to have the right women’s health clinic.
Prevention
Understand your body as it is unique. There might be many general rules and regulations applied to women’s health. However, remember that your body is unique and that there can be instances where you will react totally different than what the general rule predicted.
In order to know your body well you need to have regular check ups in a women’s health clinic where your doctor will draw a chart with your family history and present physical state. All this information will help you address the issues your body is facing at any given time accurately, and thus pinpoint a health hazard situation even before it occurs.
One of the most frequent issue women face is hormonal imbalance, which occurs every month before, during and sometimes after your period. The symptoms are mood swings, irritability, loss of appetite or increased appetite, and sometimes insomnia.
Most of us women and men are aware of these symptoms as you must have seen them in one of your relatives at one point or the other. However, if you do understand them you may be able to deal with them differently. Women’s health clinics provide assistance with these symptoms and other hormonal imbalances that women face during a life span such as during pregnancy and menopause.
Locate A Women’s Health Clinic Near You
It is essential for the good health of your body and mind to try and locate a women’s health clinic close to you and try to access the same. The advantage of attending a women’s health clinic over a general clinic is that they deal with specific female issues and try to resolve them.
Women face many traumas during a life span from the health point of view and it can easily take a toll on their other capabilities. For example, pregnancy and menopause can cause severe depressions that inevitably will interfere with your other areas of life such as professional and personal.
To handle women’s health efficiently, and before it can cause severe damage, locate a women’s health clinic that is suitable to you and try to engage in regular visits. You will soon see a great improvement in your physical and mental health by just gathering the required knowledge. When you also have answers to the situations you are faced with you will once again feel in control of your life.