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Dear Marci,
I’ve been receiving a lot of mail lately from Medicare Advantage plans, with information about joining their plan. I’m not sure that I want to switch my coverage, and I would rather that these plans do not contact me. Are there any rules that Medicare Advantage plans have to follow when marketing their plans? – Joel (Chicago, IL) Dear Joel,
Yes, there are guidelines that insurance companies have to follow when marketing their Medicare Advantage orPart D plans to you. These guidelines are meant to prevent plans from misleading you about how much a plan costs or what it covers. Understanding the ways that insurance companies are allowed to contact you will help you to spot Medicare marketing fraud. Remember, both Medicare Advantage plans are stand-alone Part D plans are always run by private insurance companies. Insurance companies are allowed to mail you marketing materials without your permission. They also can place advertisements on the radio, in the newspaper, and on television. However, insurance companies and brokers must get your permission before directly calling, emailing or visiting for an appointment. Cold calls are not allowed. A broker cannot visit you in your home or nursing home unless you request that they do so. You can schedule an appointment to meet with a plan representative, and meet them in either your home or a public place such as a library or coffee shop. In health care settings, plan representatives can provide sales information in common areas like conference rooms, cafeterias, or community rooms; they cannot provide plan information in hospital or doctor’s waiting rooms. Representatives also cannot approach you in public areas such as parking lots or malls. If you put your name and contact information on a list at a promotional or marketing event, this may give the plan permission to contact you. Be wary of providing contact information if you are not interested in follow-up contact from the plan. A plan cannot insist that you provide any information if you are attending a promotional or marketing event. In addition, plans cannot call you and imply that they are calling on behalf of Medicare; Medicare will never ask these insurance companies to contact you. No one from Medicare or a private plan should call you asking for private information, such as your Social Security number, Medicare number, or a bank account number. If someone does call asking for your personal information, it is fraud. Do not share this information with people besides your doctors and health care providers. Finally, insurance companies and brokers cannot offer gifts for signing up for a plan. They can give small gifts worth $15 or less only if they are made available to everyone, not just people with Medicare. These gifts cannot be given as a reward for signing up for a plan. Gifts cannot be benefits, such as a free checkup or health care procedure. At promotional or marketing events, the insurance company can offer light snacks or refreshments. They cannot provide a full meal, or market their plans in places where free meals are served, such as senior centers. If you suspect that an insurance company has broken any of these rules, you can contact 800-Medicare toreport the issue. You also can call the Office of the Inspector General at 800-447-8477 to report fraud. It is helpful to write down as many details as possible, such as names, dates, and locations. Medicare will not use your name without your permission when investigating fraud. Remember, in many cases, Medicare will be unable to investigate fraud without your help so always report suspected fraud. -Marci
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A recent study in Sweden found that daily exercise may significantly lower the risk of heart failure. Nearly 40,000 adults of all ages participated in the study since 1997. Adults who got an hour of moderate exercise or half hour of vigorous exercise every day were 46 percent less likely to experience heart failure than those who did not | ||
Got Stress – Get Answers!
Is stress a problem in your life? Let’s make a list of things that are stressful and see what can be done to lower these stress points.
If you are trying to figure out what is causing all of the stress in your body, you may want to do some research. This is something that you can do on your own to find a way to pin point the problems and to get started with the treatments of them. You should sit down and think about the problems that you are having in your life and what you can do to change the situation.
Make a well thought out list of all the problems that you are facing in your life. Think about these problems and what you are worried about. When you are thinking about what is disrupting your life, you may find the answers to the questions of what is causing all of your problems and your stress.
Think of all the people that are adding to your stress. This will include all relationships both at home and at work. Figure out what the problems are with these people and if you need to have them in your life or if they are someone that you should distance yourself from. There is nothing wrong with ending a relationship that is in turmoil. You should be prepared to do this if it is relevant to your health and well-being.
Think of things that you can do to improve your lifestyle. If you are eating the right things, taking the time to exercise and get the proper nutrients for your body. Are you talking about your feelings with others? Do you need to find a different career path? These are examples that you need to think about when you are trying to define your life and what is causing you the most problems with stress
Do not forget about the humor and entertainment in your life. You have to include these things into your life so that you are taking a break from the stress that can build up. You should jot down the things that you like to do and what makes you happy. Make sure that you are applying these things to your life so that you can become a better and well-rounded person.
Make sure that you are going over your lists on a regular basis. Make the necessary changes where they are needed and take the time to enjoy things. You need to stop and smell the roses once in a while to maintain a healthy outlook on life. You will find that once you apply this list, you will watch your stress disappear for good.
Healthy Shopping for Healthy Eating!
Healthy eating starts with one key activity—healthy shopping. When you head to the grocery store, it is easy to pick up lots of foods that are bad for our bodies without even realizing it. Shopping for a healthy diet can be difficult if you do not know how to do so, but with these tips, you should find it easier to do so the next time you head to the grocery store.
First, have a plan before you ever leave your house. Use the sales fliers to check out the great products that are on sale and take an inventory of your pantry and refrigerator to see what foods you need to purchase. Make a list of all of the foods you’ll need and stick to that list. Allow yourself one or two compulsory buys, but otherwise stay to the ingredients you’ll need to cook healthy meals for yourself and your family for the rest of the week. Before you leave, review your list and take out any unnecessary junk food.
Another great shopping tip to go along with making a list is to shop for a week at a time, or even longer if you have a large freezer. When you have to run to the grocery store every day, you are more likely to pick up junk food items every time you make a trip, and before you know it, your snack supply will be overflowing. You can shop for a week or two in advance by taking a day to plan meals for the week and packaging fresh product to be frozen.
When you’re shopping, it is also important to read the label. Try to avoid purchasing brand name items simply because they are brand name or store brand items simply because they are less expensive. Actually look at the product’s nutritional value and try to get the most nutrients for your money. When you eat higher quality foods, you’ll feel more full and, in turn, eat less, so this really is the best way to bargain shop.
If you are just shopping for yourself, you should also consider picking up a basket at the door instead of getting a shopping cart. The biggest problem with health and grocery shopping is grabbing junk food items that you don’t really need. If you have a small basket, you simply won’t have room for chocolate brownies and ice cream with your load of other foods, so you’ll pass them by.
Last tip, don’t forget to consider drinks into your healthy shopping plan. Most people don’t realize it, but sodas, punches, and beers can have many empty calories and are generally bad drink choices. Instead, look at the labels and choose diet drinks, water and sports drinks, or natural fruit juices, like apple juice. With these tips, healthy eating—and shopping—should be much easier!
Water – The Best Natural Drink !
There are a lot of commercial health drinks out there in the market nowadays. They claim that they provide cure for illnesses, even citing studies of their drastic impact on cancer. But amidst these countless choices, we may e forgetting about nature’s most important “cocktail” – water.
Some health professionals say that most of the people nowadays are dehydrated and they are not aware of it. People are more interested in drinking coffee, tea and sodas which also contains caffeine. About 83 percent of our blood is made of water. Muscles are made of 75 percent water, while bone is 22 percent composed of water. Actually, an average person who weighs around 150 lbs., contains 40 to 50 quarts of water. That makes 2/3 of our body weight are from water.
Drinking water also retains the fluids necessary for the body to function. When the body gets less water, it begins to hold on to each drop of fluid and water it has. Water is stored outside the cells making feet, legs and hands to swell. To overcome this problem, the best thing to do is to drink plenty of water. The stored water outside the cells will be released.
Aside from being completely necessary for biological processes, drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water a day will definitely give you significant health improvements. It would improve your energy, increase mental and physical performance, remove toxins and other waste products from the body.
Water also helps you to get glowing and healthy-looking skin. Water acts as a natural body purifier, this disposes the toxins out of your body. There are even studies citing water intake as an important factor in weight loss. When a body does not have enough water, the fat cells cannot be easily metabolized. This “rubber-like” fat cell is harder to lose. Water can also suppress your hunger.
Not drinking enough water is also the number one reason of fatigue. There are also studies that showed that drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water a day relieves most patients from back and joint pain. It even has effects on our memory and ability to concentrate. If you lack water intake, you can have short-term memory, trouble with your basic math and focusing on what you have in front of you, either a computer screen or a page you are handling.
Aside from regular tap water, you can see a lot mineral water and even alkaline water in the stands. Compared to ordinary tap water, alkaline water has higher pH level. Alkaline water is said to have help in neutralizing acids and remove toxins from the body. Alkaline water drinkers and proponents believed that most of what we eat and drink produces acid waste. Aside from this, they also say that alkaline water gives electrochemical activity to the cell.
To keep the body hydrated, you do not have to drink from your water bottle every time. Food is also source of your 20 percent total water intake. The remaining 80 percent comes from other beverages. Fruits and vegetables also contain a lot of water. Oranges would have 87 percent of composed of water.
Even if there are people promoting alkaline water, there are still other health care professionals who thinks that we should just stick to regular, plain water. Whether it is alkaline water or normal water, we could not deny that it is one of the wonders of Mother Nature. Over centuries, water has been the natural health drink for us.
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