Yoga For Healthier Aging

By Coleen Elkins

As we age we lose our flexibility and our balance. Yoga may be a solution for some of us to maintain flexibility and stability. Always talk to your doctor before beginning something new.

Yoga is adaptable for the very young and the aging population and for those with specific needs and abilities. Just because you are nearing retirement or are retired doesn't mean you need to become sedentary. Yoga classes are now available in senior centers, community centers and even store fronts.

Yoga has helped people with arthritis with muscle tone and flexibility. There are many types of Yoga to consider including water Yoga and chair Yoga. There are many ways to learn besides attending class. There are books on Yoga, videos on Yoga, and internet classes.

Yoga can help improve your mood, balance, strength and possibly even sleep better. It may take a while for you to feel comfortable learning Yoga so after speaking to your doctor and deciding to give it a try remember to go slowly but be consistent in practicing.

Back To The Future - Doctors Home Visits On The Rise

                                                                 By Coleen Elkins

In the 1960's doctors making house calls was not all that uncommon. It appears those visits are on the rise and could save millions of dollars in ER visits. Sometimes for seniors just getting to a doctors office is more than they can endure. Now with portable technology doctors, physicians assistance, nurse practitioners can preform portable EKG's, echocardiograms right in the patients home. Same day urgent visits can be arranged as well.

Medicare paid for 2.8 million house calls in 2012 a number that nearly doubled in a decade. The house call visits on a study of two groups revealed a 17 percent cost decrease in those receiving home healthcare.

The idea of bringing peace of mind to seniors and caregivers and saving money is very appealing and welcomed at a time when we see medical costs rising.

You can read more here 

How Much More Will You Pay For Health Insurance Next Year?

By Coleen Elkins

Whether you have health benefits from an individual plan through a private insurance company, employer benefits from your job, or you have purchase insurance through an exchange your rates are going to increase for 2015. The question is how much more will you be paying?

There are many variables considered to find the answer. Health plans are still filing for rate increase through their state department of insurance. According to data research from PricewaterhouseCoopers the national average to date for increases is 8.2 percent. In Arizona the average is 11.2 and said to be one of the lower premium increases reported with an average of $331 matching Michigan as the lowest currently reported. Other variables are network size, benefit options chosen plan level selected.

Open enrollment for 2015 begins on November 15th 2014 and ends February 15, 2015. 

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Therapy Dogs Healing Powers

By Coleen Elkins

Have you ever been in the hospital as a patient or visiting someone and notice dogs walking down the halls and into rooms with there owners?  The look of joy and surprise on a patients face when the dog and owner are standing in the doorway will warm your heart. At one hospital in Waco Texas the dogs are even dressed in cheerful attire. In this particular hospital they also visit the ICU surgery unit.

The visits are short and the dogs have been trained how to behave when visiting patients. You will see them in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and senior centers.  They have been found very therapeutic for those with autism.  

Does your dog have the "Midas touch"? There are many training courses both in person and on the web for owners and their dogs. The dogs are expected to be non-aggressive, obedient and not bark or jump on anyone. Volunteering your dog can be very rewarding for both of you. Spending a few moments petting a dog is known to lowers ones blood pressure. If you are spending a couple days a week volunteering you are getting some exercise yourself. The feeling of putting joy in another person's heart will leaving you feeling in a good mood for the rest of the day and beyond. The training courses will cost you, but the return is well worth the money spent.

If you have a little time you can commit each week here are some websites that offer training.

Therapy Dogs International 

American Kennel Club - Therapy Dogs

Is A Copper Plan On The Way?

By Coleen Elkins

It is anticipated that in some regions health plans will experience double digit rate increases for 2015. So how will the Affordable Care Act react to the increases? Will people drop their benefits because they have become unaffordable?

One health insurance carrier announced of the 700,000 they enrolled during the enrollment period they have lost nearly 200,000. Once the increases are announced in September how many more will just quit paying? Having an alternative to switch them to would be a solution but it would have to be implemented by Congress. There is not enough time to get that accomplished for 2015.

If a Copper plan is put in place it would have a 50 percent cost sharing. It would reduce premiums and lower the governments cost by about 18 percent. It would also reduce revenue which might hurt the Affordable Care Act's financial stability.

The Copper plan would look very much like a current catastrophic plan for those under age 30. Will that be attractive to consumers or will they only be enrolling because they are left with no alternative other than to pay the "penalty"?

Look for the Copper plan to arrive in 2016 pending a vote.

Hosptials Revisit Charity Programs Under ACA Regulations

By Coleen Elkins


Hospitals are revisiting their charity programs under ACA. Most hospitals offer discounts for those that are on a cash basis.

There are charitable organizations and foundations that offer assistance to those that can not afford to pay for their hospital stay. Applications for assistance must be submitted for consideration. The income qualification guidelines varied greatly from less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level to 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

Now under ACA it is mandated that hospitals make these programs public. The hospitals are now changing the applications requirements. If someone would qualify for a subsidy under ACA and they did not apply during open enrollment or at the time they became qualified they are disqualified for  financial assistance through the benevolence programs. The hospitals are hoping this will spark enrollments for the 2015 plan year. Some hospitals are considering eliminating the charity programs completely.

Large Employers Reducing Benefits And Raising Employees Contributions Toward Health Insurance

                    By Coleen Elkins

Employees are beginning to take notice to the changes in their benefits especially those working for large employers. Employers such as hotels and restaurants are taking steps to reduce costs for themselves and shifting more cost to the employees. The only way they can manage this is is to reduce benefits by offering plans that raise deductibles and out of pocket expenses. The employers are offering two-tiered benefit levels. One very expensive benefit rich plan much like they have always offered in the past and an alternative lower benefit "skinny plan".   

Four years from now an employer that offers a plan to employees that costs more than $10,200 per employee will be accessed a forty percent tax. Knowing that is coming employers are preparing for a shift in benefits now. This tax is driving a big change for both employers and employees. 

Employers offering a plan that is ACA-compliant plan avoids tax penalties and disqualify the employees from getting subsidized benefits from a state or federal exchange. The Affordable Care says a plan offered by an employer is "affordable" if it costs the employee 9.5 percent or less of their income. 

The shift toward consumer directed health plans allows employees to build their own benefit package to meet their personal needs. These plans will be high deductible plans with variations of benefit structure. 

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