HHS Says 105 Million No Longer Have Health Insurance Limits

The 2010 health reform law has eliminated lifetime limits on insurance coverage for more than 105 million Americans, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a report released on Monday.

HHS calculated how many Americans were enrolled in health insurance plans that imposed limits on how much they would pay out over a patient's lifetime. Such limits hit patients with costly diseases, such as cancer, especially hard.

“For years, Americans with lifetime caps imposed on their health insurance benefits have had to live with the fear that if an illness or accident happened, they could max out their health coverage when they needed it the most,” Sebelius said in a statement.  “Now, because of the health care law, they no longer have to live in fear of that happening.”

HHS said it estimates that 70 million people in large employer plans, 25 million covered by small employer plans, and 10 million who bought their own health insurance had lifetime limits on their health benefits before the health reform law took effect.

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M&S Advert - Simply Fuller Longer weight loss diet - Marks & Spencer 2011

Find out more from M&S here: http://health.marksandspencer.com/our-health-ranges/simply-fuller-longer

If you're planning a New Year diet then M&S's Simply Fuller Longer plan could help you get started. Exclusive to M&S, the range was launched in January 2010. The range was developed with expert advice from scientists at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health at the University of Aberdeen. The Rowett Institute is renowned for its ground-breaking research on effective weight-loss and their work has shown that diets higher in protein result in more effective weight loss as part of a calorie controlled diet.

The range is based on the principle that protein fills you up more than carbohydrate or fat do, and so keeps you fuller for longer. And because you feel fuller for longer, you should be able to control hunger more, reducing the temptation to snack. Products can be included as part of a weight loss or weight maintenance diet.

Over the past year, MArks and Spencer's have carried out independent diet trials in overweight women and men who have been following a Simply Fuller Longer meal plan for 4 weeks. These results have not been published, and we have more research underway, but the results so far look promising:

-All participants in the study lost weight, with an average reduction of 5% of total body weight over 4 weeks

-Participants felt fuller - which meant that they ate fewer calories than they were eating before, but at the same time reported that they didn't feel as hungry

-There were improvements in body composition such as fat loss and reduced waist size

Find out more at:http://health.marksandspencer.com/our-health-ranges/simply-fuller-longer

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