Health Engagement Expert Krishnan Sastry Joins Privia Health as SVP, Products

Fri, Jul 13, 2012, 6:51 AM EDT - U.S. Markets open in 2 hrs 39 mins

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Expert: Multiple Soldier Deployments Health Risk

Dr. Stephen Xenaxis, a former military psychiatrist says it's time to consider multiple military deployments as a public health risk in the wake of accusations that a U.S. soldier klled 16 Afghan civilians. (March 20)
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Family Health Insurance Expert Frank Saltzburg Exposes Secrets of Obtaining Best Health Coverage at Most Affordable ...

PHOENIX, March 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Health insurance costs are creating struggles for many individuals, families, and small business owners today. Within many companies, from small to large, the cost of supplying employees health insurance coverage has become so expensive they are now passing on a significant portion of the expense to employees.

People always ask, "How much does health insurance cost?" and "How can I save money on health insurance?" he said.

"There are several strategies that will allow millions of families to acquire excellent, affordable comprehensive health coverage. Unfortunately, unless the soon-to-be insured does their homework with a state-licensed insurance professional, they will be unaware of these simple solutions for themselves, their families, or small businesses," said Saltzburg, whose company, Healthcare Solutions Team, LLC (arizonahealthcarereformexpert.com), custom-designs affordable health care plans in 44 states based on medical history, medical provider access, and budget.

The four secrets of obtaining the best affordable health coverage are:

Always use a professional, state-licensed broker or agent. They are trained and educated to be aware of the best plans in the current market. It does NOT cost you any more to use a broker as major medical rates are already approved by your State Insurance Commissioner.Don't use an online quote engine as your final answer - it is only a starting point.Be aware of telemarketing call center representatives who do not have a state-issued health insurance license.Utilize the "bundle" concept to give you better coverage at an affordable price with less out-of-pocket financial exposure.

"To further add to the confusion and frustration for families and businesses looking for affordable health care, there has been a huge influx of online insurance quote engines. The problem here is these quote engines assume you are in perfect physical and mental health. You'll be in for quite a shock. The price you were quoted online is not your final cost as your policy has been 'rated up' which could result in prices that are 20% - 200% higher," he stated.

"One other major challenge to getting the best medical insurance coverage is the increase in 'telemarketing call centers' that, in most cases, are not state-licensed to represent valid Major Medical coverage. They typically offer "guaranteed issue" or "group membership" plans, which are severely limited to defined maximum coverages, usually at 31 days per calendar year in the hospital. If the policy does not state 'unlimited' coverage, you are not getting the proper coverage. This type of coverage is geared toward people who were previously denied health insurance, or may have a pre-existing condition that currently is considered uninsurable. If the cost of this plan appears to be very low, there is a reason. You are not getting a true Major Medical plan," Saltzburg said.

Millions of families and business searching for affordable health care coverage are very concerned about their deductible. Gone are the days when the deductible may have been $500 - $1,500, even under a large company group plan. The average deductible today is estimated at $5,000.

"We design our plans strategically so that the deductible is no longer a major issue. According to industry analysts, about 8 out of 10 hospitalizations (80%) occur due to accidents. Up to 18% of hospitalizations happen due to critical illnesses such as heart attacks, cancer, stroke, kidney failure, severe burns, loss of limbs, blindness, deafness, coma, and advanced Alzheimer's disease," he stated.

"We 'bundle' our plans to include accidental coverage to pay up to the deductible amount. Plus, we offer critical illness coverage to also offset the deductible. The critical illness coverage offers the ability to have a lump sum payout to allow the insured to have an extra $5,000 up to $100,000 living expense money. So while they are recuperating from their critical illness, they won't worry about paying daily living bills. Bundling allows the insured to have a higher deductible, a lower premium, and an even more comprehensive plan," he said.

About Frank Saltzburg

With more than 20 years of financial services, health, health care reform, sales, and management experience, Frank helps clients obtain the health care coverage that best solves their needs. His expertise includes custom-designing affordable health care plans for individuals, families, and small business owners. He is part of Healthcare Solutions Team, LLC and is licensed in AZ, PA, FL, TX, MO, NV, and MN. He is a speaker on the current Health Care Reform Act as it relates to individuals, families, and small business owners.

For information, please go to http://www.arizonahealthcarereformexpert.com.

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Health Tips From the Echo Boom Expert

 Tim Smith has given me some great gust posts about the Echo Boom and now he is asking me to pass on some advice.  I get this type of advice all the time from a source close to me and even follow it from time to time.  Not often enough, though, I am told. 

         3 Health Habits to Try (and Maybe Continue)
 
Some friends and I predicted that the gym would be packed for the first three weeks of January, and drop off from there.  It didn’t even last two weeks this year.  While some may forgo their resolutions of being healthier, losing weight, or having more energy, these all can be achieved without going to the gym (though, that addition can certainly help).  Unlike many fitness experts, who’ll list a thousand ways you can be healthier (all of which would deplete your energy levels while you try), I’ll list three health habits to change for the next three months.  The key: do only one at a time for a month before moving on to the next.  If you try each for three months and you see no results, discontinue it (the try-it method).
1.      Give up sugar.  Don’t indulge from time to time.  Don’t come up with excuses why you’re not going to try.  Just give it up.  Sugar doesn’t give you more energy; it actually steals energy from you by giving you a short burst of energy with a rush (hello dopamine) and then a crash.  But we don’t need a short burst of energy – we need energy that lasts and lasts and lasts.  Sugar fails.
And the news on grows worse for sugar consumers.  Not only does sugar give you a quick rush while taking away your long-term energy, it also tends to increase your calorie consumption (ie: appetite).  In other words, sugar addition makes losing weight seem like an impossible goal.
2.      Intermittent fasting.  To an outside observer, this almost sounds like a religious practice, but it isn’t.  Here’s some research on alternate day fasting (ADF):
·         In male humans only, insulin sensitivity seemed to increase after three weeks (insulin sensitivity makes it easier to lose fat and gain muscle).
·         In male humans, triacylglycerol concentrations decreased; in female humans, HDL-cholesterol increased.
·         In animal studies, ADF showed positive effects against cancer.  However, the human studies were too short to state either way (this also applies to blood pressure – the study was too short to indicate any long term results).
Before anyone cries “correlation is not causation” (for the record, the actual truth regarding correlation is that correlation may or may not be causation), keep in mind that many intermittent fasting studies have lacked significant length.  This favors the try-it method: if it works for you, then continue doing it.  If it doesn’t, discontinue.

3.      Eat more fruits and vegetables.  Cliché, right?  Except I’m not going to ask that you eat 5-7 servings.  Instead, eat one fruit and one vegetable a day and do it for the next three months.  You can add more if you want later (and are feeling the results), but setting a small habit of a fruit and vegetable will establish an important routine while adding a nutritious source to your daily diet.
Also, make things easy on yourself regarding the fruit and vegetable.  If you love taste, eat your favorite tasting fruit and vegetable.  If you love convenience, eat the most convenient fruit and vegetable to you.  If you like nutritional value, eat what you consider to be the most nutritious fruit and vegetable.  What you select should reward you.
You won’t feel as overwhelmed by doing one of these resolutions for a month before moving on to the next one as you would if you tried going to the gym, eating healthy, and cutting back on food.  Meet small goals that equate to large results over the long run (like giving up sugar) and you’ll find that your energy levels increase to where meeting difficult tasks becomes easy.  In other words, these are the 20% of solutions that will give you 80% of the results.  You can focus on the other 80% later.
Timothy Smith writes about fitness, health and nutrition at the Smashion Babble.  He is also an expert on the Millennial generation and writes about them at The Echo Boom Bomb (and written several articles for Peter on Millennials).  When he’s not working out, writing about a myriad of topics, and eating healthy, he programs in VB.NET and T-SQL (he’s also learning C#).

 You can follow me on twitter @peterreillycpa.

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Houston mental health expert does his part to help veterans

Dr. John Oldham is president of the American Psychiatric Association and chief of staff at the Menninger Clinic in Houston.

Last week, Oldham participated in a roundtable discussion at the White House on raising awareness among civilian health care providers of combat-related mental health conditions, and to better coordinate care among civilian, military and veterans health care systems.

Chronicle reporter Lindsay Wise interviewed Oldham about the national effort to reduce the stigma surrounding post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, and to help military personnel and their families transition smoothly to civilian life.

Q: What did you discuss Tuesday at the White House?

A: This is in connection with this initiative that was launched by Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden called Joining Forces, and what that entails is really to try to address some of the needs of the returning military from overseas and combat, and help them even beyond the regular channels that they would normally be using to get help. … They want not only to provide educational information for the families and the public, they also want to facilitate access to appropriate mental health care, and the third thing they want to do is help returning veterans with obtaining meaningful employment. And so what the Joining Forces initiative has done is, it's pulled together key officials from the Department of Defense and from Veterans Affairs and is trying to link and bridge all of their efforts with leaders from all of the civilian organizations that would be pertinent in a comprehensive program of care. What they want to do is build a strong bridge between the military help that they receive immediately on returning from deployment and continuing care as they re-enter society.

Q: Why is it important to raise awareness among civilian health care providers about neurological and psychological issues affecting military service members and their families?

A: It's estimated that about 50 percent of military personnel who need mental health care do not get it, and one of the big reasons is the tremendous stigma that's associated with seeking help for mental problems. Part of the goal here is to heighten awareness among the public to what they call the military culture, so part of the educational materials that this effort is putting together include trying to help people understand the military culture, which really doesn't make it comfortable for these people to seek help for psychiatric problems. Sometimes there are soldiers who are coming back and want to go back for another tour of duty, so there has to be a careful evaluation as to whether that's safe for the soldiers and whether they're fully recovered or can become fully recovered to do that. An analogy is the stories you see in the news about professional football players who have concussions and don't want people to know it because they want to be able to go back in the game.

Q: I've spoken to troops and their families who said they don't want to see a military doctor or therapist for mental health issues because they're worried it will affect their security clearances or damage their careers.

A: That's not uncommon because there's a real perception that you're going to jeopardize your military career if you're known to be seeing mental health care providers, and that's part of what this whole effort wants to work against, and help people get over and get past.

Q: What can civilians do that the military isn't already doing?

A: We hope that we can also encourage civilian employers to become a little more proactive in reaching out to returning soldiers to make employment opportunities available to them. Employers would benefit from availing themselves of a lot of this educational material to understand what the re-entry process is like and the experience is like for soldiers returning from combat. … Over the next four years there will be about a million military personnel coming off of active duty as the military downsizes. So that's a lot of people who are going to be looking for alternative occupational situations and having to make pretty remarkable changes because a lot of these are career military who haven't known a whole lot else.

lindsay.wise@chron.com

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