Happy and Healthy New Year!

As another year comes to a close, we reflect on what has happened in the past year and resolve to make changes in the future. Did you keep those new years resolutions from 2009? Did you lose the weight or exercise more?

I remember hearing Valerie Bertinelli in a recent commercial for Jenny Craig talk about her weight loss. She was almost in tears when she mentioned that for the first time her new years resolutions did not include weight loss! Wouldn't we all like to find ourselves there!

The simple connection between health and health care costs is one that many Americans struggle with. If you want to spend less on health care, spend more time improving your health so you won't need the health care system.

Of course changes need to be made to the system to make what health care you need cheaper so more people can afford it when they really do need it. But do we need health care as much as we think we do?

Right now, more than two thirds of us are overweight or obese. We struggle with losing the weight. Whether it is 10, 50 or 100 pounds, it is difficult to keep your eye on the prize... good health. But when you are faced with thousands of dollars worth of health care bills due to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, or diabetes, it is frustrating to think that simple diet changes could have prevented the pain, suffering and cost.

So when you make your New Year's resolution this year imagine it being the last time those resolutions include weight loss. You could gain energy, a longer life and lots of money along the way!

Happy New Year!

Is it over yet?

So you've spend the last month or so trying to figure out which medical plan is best for you. You compared the plans, considered how much you will pay and checked to see if your doctors are on the right list. So it's over until next year, right? WRONG!

The reason why Open Enrollment is so stressful for most people is because they really only think about their benefits once a year. Otherwise, it's pretty much the status quo... unless of course, you have a medical problem. Then the bills roll in and the confusion really sets in! Why am I getting this bill? Should I pay it? Do I need to fight with the insurance company?

The more you know about your benefits, the easier it is to understand what to do during the rest of the year when you are actually using the coverage you signed up for during Open Enrollment. We can help you navigate the health care waters all year round. Consider signing up for my convenient conference calls where you can learn a little about your coverage right from your own home.

Learning about your benefits all year round will make Open Enrollment next year a snap!

Open Enrollment

Ok so most people realize that Open Enrollment happens most often in the fall (with a few exceptions). It is the once a year chance to review the benefits you have through your employer (or Medicare). Most people ignore the massive packet they receive from their Benefits Department because it's overwhelming! Who has time to read this stuff.

The problem is that there is lots of info and only one packet to put it in. On one hand it is easier to do this all at one time. On the other hand, who can remember or retain it all?

The answer to the problem is not the obvious one. Yes, you should set aside some time to read your Open Enrollment packet. Most people spend less than 30 minutes and that is probably not enough time to get through all the info.

But the more important and easier way to do it is to pay attention all year round. Make it a game if you need to. Just like there are people who shop at pricey stores and never clip a coupon, there are many who do the work and take the time to find everything they buy on sale or they don't buy it. The same goes for your benefits. Read the emails, newsletters and posters your HR department puts out. Sign up for a health care related newsletter. Get your benefits news on a regular basis in small bites.

Why would anyone pay a higher price for healthcare than they need to? Most people don't realize that it's the lazy factor. They just don't make the time or it isn't high enough on their to do list. Just like with grocery shopping, the consequence is that you pay more at the register. Do your homework all year round and you'll be surprised at the little ways you can lower your healthcare costs.

If you need help doing the homework, let us know. We're here to help!

Does your doctor make patients well?

The news is filled with talk about health care lately. Most of the discussion centers on the cost of buying health care coverage and who should have it. But there isn't much talk about how good the health care you receive really is. This is an important part of the equation.

Right now, health care providers get paid for the visit, the event, or the test (ie, an office visit, a surgery or an x-ray). It doesn't much matter if you get better or not. Either way, the doctor is paid for his/her time not the outcome.

Some people would like to change the current system so that health providers would get paid based on the outcome of their work. Hospitals who have higher success rates for surgeries would be paid more. It sounds like a great idea but how would a patient know which hospitals or doctors have better success rates? There isn't one place you can go to be able to compare or rate health providers.

Most people use personal referrals, recommendations from docs you trust and even their own experience to choose their health care providers (hospital, doctor, labs). But there are some very good websites where you can compare the outcomes for various doctors and hospitals.

www.healthgrades.com

consumer reports

medicare.gov - hospital compare

Doing some homework could beforehand could actually make you healthier! Being informed allows you to choose a quality hospital or doctor with a higher probability fora successful recovery.

October is all about the boobs...

So many people see those little pink ribbons and immediately recognize the popular "breast cancer awareness" sign. We've done a great job at making Americans aware that October is Breast Cancer awareness month. But have we really taken action against breast cancer?

The bottom line is that if you catch it early, it's easier and cheaper to treat. You have a higher chance of beating it. Think you know what breast cancer is? Click here to check out some common myths. The reality is young people get it, men get it, having a family history of it doesn't guarantee you will get it.

Protect yourself by doing self breast exams and getting mammography as recommended. lots of clinics and hospitals will do them for free and most insurance covers the test at 100% (because it is preventive). Check with your insurance company or local hospital for more info.

The reality is, it's not easy to fit into a busy schedule, and no one wants the uncomfortable feeling of a mammogram. But detecting and treating breast cancer early is absolutely the best way to beat it.

It's all about the boobs people... do a favor for your favorite person (YOU!) and get a mammogram this month.

COBRA Basics

By request, I am discussing COBRA today. It is a more popular topic than ever because our unemployment rate is hovering above 9%. Many people think COBRA is a special kind of health coverage. It isn't! It is the same plan you were covered by while you were working.

As a newly hired employee at most companies (or state and local governments), you may be offered the ability to get medical coverage through the company. The cost of the coverage is relatively low compared to the price you would pay if you bought the coverage yourself.

One of the many reasons that the coverage is cheaper is because the employer pays a large portion of the cost for you. Employees usually only pay between 20% and 30% of the cost of the insurance while their employer pays the rest.

When you leave the company, your medical insurance ends. This is probably the worst time for you to have to pay for health insurance and many people go without it while they are out of work or in between jobs.

In 1986, Congress passed the COBRA law (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act). The law required employers to temporarily extend the health care coverage they offer to their active employees to those leaving their medical plans. This could be those who leave the company for another job, get laid off, spouses who are now divorced, children who are now too old to be covered under their parent's plan, etc.Depending on the reason you losing your coverage, you could be eligible to have COBRA for18 - 36 months.

About two weeks after your coverage ends, you will get a packet in the mail explaining how you can enroll in COBRA coverage. Once you complete the paperwork and pay, your COBRA coverage begins. The effective date is the day after your active coverage ends so there is no gap.

It all sounds great so far. You get to keep the coverage you had when you were working, right? Not so fast... the biggest problem with COBRA is that since you are no longer working, you don't get the "benefit" of your employer paying 70% or 80% of the cost of your health coverage. Now you are paying the full cost on your own (plus a 2% administrative fee).

So while COBRA sounds good, many people opt to skip it. Recently, as part of a large stimulus package to help the economy, Congress passed a law (ARRA) that requires employers to pay 65% of the COBRA costs for their recently laid off workers. The government repays the employer so it is really the government paying the 65%. The government gets this money from Americans who pay taxes.

The idea is that the amount a laid off worker would pay is about the same as they would pay if they had been working. The 65% COBRA subsidy is close to the 70% or so that the employer paid as a "benefit" to active workers.

There are rules about who is eligible and how long you can get the subsidy (up to 9 months) so click here to read more. Hurry, the COBRA subsidy ends soon!

An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure

In the old days, doctors wanted you to come to their office for a full physical once a year. These physicals were never covered by health insurance because the person wasn't actually "sick". So people paid full price for the visit.

Now, doctors and health insurers have learned physicals are not necessary for everyone every year. Generally the older you are the more likely you are to need one. Many health insurers now cover preventive care at 100% (free to the patient). They do this because it is cheaper to pay for a physical where an illness might be detected and treated in its early stages. If you try to treat an illness when it as advanced, more technology, tests and treatments are needed so the cost goes up and up.

A great example of this is heart disease. During a routine physical, your doctor will take your blood pressure. The doctor will likely recommend changing your diet and increasing exercise as a way to lower your blood pressure. But, if you need blood pressure lowering medicine, the doctor might give you a prescription to take. The cost you pay for the medicine each month is far cheaper than ignoring the high blood pressure until years later when you have a heart attack or stroke. The cost of treating you in the cardiac (heart) intensive care unit and later in cardiac rehabilitation is far greater than the copays for that blood pressure medicine. (Diet and exercise is even cheaper... FREE!)

So check your coverage to see if preventive care screenings (preventive physicals, well baby visits, mammography, pap smear, flu shot, prostate tests, etc,) are covered for your and your family. Then make sure each of you is taking full advantage of this benefit by having whatever preventive screenings the doctor recommends for you (based on your age and gender).If you don't take advantage of the preventive care now, you could cost yourself money and health later on.

Hey, doc! I have this pain...

Knowing someone in "the business" is always helpful regardless of what business that is. When your car breaks down, having a cousin who is an auto mechanic can be very helpful. Even if he doesn't actually work on your car, you can ask him questions at the Thanksgiving table about your carburetor and he is likely to at least point you in the right direction.

I have several friends who are doctors who share stories about how their friends and family come to them for medical advice. It doesn't matter that cousin Larry is a dentist. They still ask him questions about their bunions at the family reunion.

As a Benefits professional, I experience the same phenomenon. Two or three times a year, I receive a flurry of emails and phone calls from friends and relatives asking me to help them choose their medical plan or wondering whether it is worth it to carry Life Insurance.These are the typical questions that Benefits professionals receive from employees during the annual Open Enrollment period.

At first I thought that they were asking for my help because I was family and not likely to give them incorrect information. But after a while I realized that it is because I have learned how to translate "Benefit-ese" into simple, plain English. Those giant packets that get mailed to your home once a year from your Human Resources Department are intended to give you all the information you need to make good choices for your family. The truth is, (and it hurts me to say this) few employees actually read these packets at all.

They don't realize that their HR/Benefits Department puts months and months of hard work into choosing the Benefit plans to offer each year. Balancing cost with coverage and always faced with giant cost increases that far outweigh any raises received each year. They don't realize that their benefits Team is there to serve the employee and provide assistance when needed. They never take advantage of the health care experience the Benefits Team can offer. In fact,many people don't get their health care through their employer at all so they don't have the option of calling their Benefits or HR Department to ask a question.

I wanted to help people navigate the treacherous waters of choosing the right coverage for their family. A simple mistake during Open Enrollment could cost you thousands of dollars. I wanted to offer you the opportunity to take advantage of a personal Benefits Guide who help you choose the best path, spend the least amount of money and get the greatest use out of your health care coverage.

You may not have had a friend in the "Benefits" business who can explain it all in easy to understand terms... until now!