Healthy Tips

You can’t get around the fact that everyone needs some kind of affordable health insurance and to get that you need to know something about the health insurance industry. There are many firms that think that they have the policies that will be the best for you, but until you’ve got a good understanding of what you need to know to approach the bigger carrier like Cigna with confidence, you should hold back before starting off.

First Things First

It doesn’t really matter whether you’re looking for the best in life insurance or student health insurance, you need to get with  some professionals that can show you the ropes. And that’s what they do best here at Insurance Care Direct. These are the people that have your best interests in mind and they know that the best in health insurance plans are what you’re looking for.

Have a look at what they offer on the way of the instant quotes feature that’s the best way to get the online health insurance quotes that you need. It’s a simple and fast program and it works like this.

Get the quotes. All you need to do here is fill out a simple questionnaire and you’ll be on the way to getting all the best health insurance quotes that you could hope to get. Imagine all the biggest carriers like United Healthcare fighting over your inbox.

Compare. Remember that all the information is coming to you. There’s no need to get up and no need to turn a page. Just look at your monitor and compare all the best prices.  Save. This is the part where everyone’s ears really perk up. You can really save a lot of money by getting these health insurance quotes off the Internet. Remember that the Internet allows you to cover a lot more ground in half the time. You’re ready to save and get the best policies when you get together with Insurance Care Direct.

You need to make sure that you can get the best in health insurance for you and your family and to that end you know that you  can trust the professionals at Insurance Care Direct. These are the people that know all the regulations state by state and they can handle all of your health insurance needs.

What is Sustainable Health?
Sustainable health is a personal commitment to maintaining and taking responsibility for your own health, through preventative (proactive) means.

•    This means not only having regular exercise, and taking care of what we eat, but also maintaining a healthy and balanced state of mind.

For 4,500 years, Indian Aryuvedic medicine has taught us that illnesses are caused through an unhealthy or unbalanced mind.  Although modern science has disproved this, there is still some truth in the Aryuvedic approach.  However, science just does not have all the answers and doesn’t work for everyone.

Health is a three way balance of genetics, environment and state of mind.  Most often genetics and environment are out of our control. 

•    Ultimately the only thing we can control is our state of mind and the toxins we put into it, through what we eat.

If you take responsibility for your own health through preventative means, then ultimately you don’t place a burden on the people you love such as your family, relatives and society in general.  Taking care is the rule here.

Sustainable Health is:
•    A preventative approach

•    A balance of mind, body and spirit

•    Taking care of what we put into our bodies

•    Taking natural medicines to maintaining your health and hopefully preventing illnesses before they take shape.

•    Leading and maintaining a balanced life, by taking a “middle road” approach.  Not too little, not too much is the key.

What are its aims?
•    Taking responsible for one’s own health, through a proactive approach rather than a reactive approach.

Current Approach
Most doctors fail to realize this because they and the industry work on reactive approach, and they are trained to think in a reactive approach.  In western civilization this is how doctors make a living and pharmaceutical companies thrive.

•    In ancient China, the opposite was true.  If a patient was sick, then the doctor was fined for failing his or her duty.

•    Today we are ruled by pharmaceutical companies and health insurance companies, using a fear approach.

•    Nearly all reactive medicines have side effects, just ask any G.P.  Some have even been well documented by researchers and doctors.

Point in example is the arthritis pill Vioxx, which has reportedly killed over 100,000 people in the U.S since its introduction, and over 300 people in Australia.  Vioxx relieves pain of arthritis but triggers heart attacks and strokes. 

•    How many other medicines are there like that?

Sustainable Health Principles
•    Your health is fundamentally directly related to your mental condition and toxins we put into our bodies, through what we eat, drink and breathe.
•    Chronic and terminal illnesses doesn’t just happen. They happen for a reason. A sure sign that you and your body may be out of balance or “sync” with your environment.

The 10 principles of Sustainable Health:
1.    Maintain a balanced life, (middle road approach)
2.    Have a healthy diet
3.    Exercise regularly
4.    Sleep well
5.    Maintain a regular rhythm in life.
6.    Take preventative natural medicines to maintain health
7.    Engage in spiritual practices manifested through meditation, mind training and raising personal consciousness
8.    Learn to live and laugh more
9.    Building discipline in our selves through mind training and raising awareness
10.    Take a simpler approach to life

•    The result of this will reduce your stress level and the impact of stress upon your health and body.

Balanced life
What is a balanced life?  A balanced life means being in control of all aspects of our life, such as:
1.    Physical
2.    Mental
3.    Spiritual
4.    Family
5.    Financial
6.    Work and Career
7.    Social

It also means not to live to excesses, because we become attached to them.  When we become attached to them, we lose empowerment and they take over and control us.  Point in example is TV, drugs and gambling.

Preventative Medicines
•    Tribal societies have long known about preventative, which we are only starting to realise now.
•    Daily doses of preventative medicine may help you and boost your immune system.
What are natural preventive medicines?  Thinks like herbs, tonics, foods and drinks.  Things like fresh fruit or plants like St.Johns Wort, Aloe Vera or Mangosteen, just to name a few.

Spiritual Practices
Why do we need to maintain a spiritual approach?  What if I am an atheist or don’t believe in God?
•    Being spiritual doesn’t necessary mean believing in God.  Believing in oneself is far more important.  In essence you have God within, but most people fail to realise and acknowledge it.

Sleep
What is the importance of sleep?  Why is it so beneficial?
Hazrat Khan a famous Sufi teacher, lecturer, writer, and musician from India has described sleep as “food for the soul”.  Rumi another famous Sufi poet says in one of his poems, “O sleep, every night thou freest the prisoner from his bonds.”
“The prisoner when he is asleep does not know that he is in prison; he is free. The wretched is not wretched; he is contended.  The suffering have no more pain and misery.” 
•    Sleep frees and rests our mind, and ultimately our soul.

Being happy
Studies have shown that happy people are also healthier people.  Happiness is simply a state of mind.  Being happy truly comes when we are in control of our own thoughts and actions.
•    How can one be happy in the modern world with all the tragedies, violence and terrorism? 
One must remember that it’s not what happens to us that counts (because most often it is out of our control), but how we deal with it.  We can control how we react to it.  We have a choice.  The choice is to react to it in a negative way or positive way.
If we have a defeatist, negative attitude then we lose our empowerment.  If we take a positive, courageous attitude, then we can be empowered.

•    How is it that after the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004, children can still laugh and play and carry on with their day to day activities? 
The universe tells us that nature of life is to go on and the carrier of life is hope.

•    Perhaps we can take a lesson from these unfortunate people, to free our minds up, because we often find that we are prisoners of our own devices attached to comforts and material possessions we don’t really need driven by our insecurities and status anxiety.  These insecurities are manifested through modern day media which is driven by society’s capitalistic ideals.

Giant neon lighted billboards of men showing their abs; women in their skimpiest swim wear proudly displaying their curvaceous bodies; full page newspaper and prime time TV ads extolling the advantages of being fit. The fitness fever is raging!

People want to lose the love handles, the beer bellies and the ego deflating unwanted fat. Various weight loss diets have comeand left, the latest exercise equiment has been raved about but the popularity of fitness clubs is still gaining ground. Membership in a health center is increasing and is is now at an all time high. The American Sports Data projected that by year 2030, the health club membership will steadily rise from 35 million to 70 million.

Flashing a health club membership card seems to be a status symbol. After all fees to become a member, especially to posh health clubs, can be quite expensive. Additionally, it is a sign that the member is aware of the health hazards of not staying physically active. Getting a health club membership card means that the person is aware of the need to exercise and desires to be physically fit to prevent coronary heart diseases, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes as well as various cancers that are commonly associated with being overweight.

Naturally, an exercise regimen can be done at home. Why then do people join health club? First off is the motivation that the environment of the health clubs provides. Exercising alone can be tough. Being surrounded by friends and other people who have the same goal is motivating. Fitness centers are staffed with certified trainers and health card staff who will guide members on the proper techniques of exercising minus the risks of incurring injuries. Personal trainers will custom design programs that will suit a member’s particular needs. Most health clubs have nutritionists and dieticians who will recommend the correct diet that will speed up the realization of the weight loss goal.

A membership card will give you access to various types of exercise equipment as well as other amenities like saunas and institutional sized swimming pools, tennis courts and running tracks. Since health clubs are well maintained facilities it will always be the right temperature to do the stretching, the weight lifting and all the other exercises needed to lose weight and to tone the muscles.

Health club membership does have several downsides too. For one, membership can be pretty expensive. The location of the fitness club counts a lot too. Chances are membership in a fitness club that is not easily accessible would be wasted money as the member would find excuses not to go. The same thing is true with a fitness club that is too crowded or one that has unfriendly or “invisible” staff. A new member just starting on a program needs to be guided by professionals. In some cases though, in house trainers have many customers and getting their attention is quite hard.

Health clubs do have pros and cons. It would be up to the prospective member to choose the right club that would suit his needs.

If you are planning to visit USA on J1 Visa, you need to carry a health insurance with you. Health insurance is important for everybody for protection against accidents and illnesses, but there are many countries that do not stress on its people for buying one. USA is, however, very particular about visitors health insurance and makes it mandatory for anybody traveling to US to buy one definitely.   

Who holds J1 Visa?
J1 Visa is meant for exchange visitors, scholars, post graduate research students, trainees and other people who are visiting USA. A J1 Visa is not valid without a proper health insurance plan in place that meets the requirements laid down by the US authorities. 

Benefits of J1 Visa Health Insurance
There are many benefits that a health insurance plan offers. These cover you from medical expenses arising out of unexpected events and accidents. The cost of medical expenses in USA are high and one needs to be adequately insured medically if one thinks of making a visit to USA. There are several plans available and one can make a choice between different plans to choose the one that suits the best. 

Regulations Governing J1 Visa Health Insurance
There are certain rules and regulations set by the Department of State, USA concerning the J1 Visa health insurance. One should keep these regulations in mind before purchasing any health insurance plan. One must also note that one’s dependents must also have a health insurance plan to cater to their health needs. The following are the regulations:

*   Minimum Benefit of Insurance: The insurance policy should provide benefit of a minimum of $50,000 for accidents or illnesses.

*    Deductible Limit: There is a limit of $500 for deductible i.e. a deductible should be less than this limit for an illness or accident.

*    Rating of Insurance Corporation: The insurance corporation that underwrites the insurance policy specifically for J1 Visa holders should be rated “A” or more. This applies to all types of ratings like Standard and Poor’s Claims Paying Ability rating, Insurance Solvency International Ltd. Rating, etc. This ensures that certain underwriting standards are maintained.

*    Repatriation Limit: Repatriation of remains must be around $7500.

*    Insurance from Home Country: If the J1 Visa holder wants to satisfy the requirements of insurance as per the rules of the home country then such insurance has to be fully backed by full credit and faith of the government of the home country.

The above mentioned requirements are to be taken care of, if you are planning a visit to USA. However, one need not to worry about meeting theses requirements since there are many insurance corporations in USA who are specialized in providing insurance policies that conform to the regulations set by the Department of State.

Health insurers cover dependents up to a certain age, and it is up to the parents to know when to expect their children’s coverage to expire. Moreover, parents should understand that college students under a family health plan may not receive full benefits, if they attend college out of the insurer’s network.

Three Health Insurance Alternatives For College Students

Fortunately, parents do not have to worry too much about their college student going to school with a health plan. They have three avenues to choose from to remedy the problem:

1.    Have their child apply for health insurance at their college or university

If the parents’ child does not have medical insurance, chances are their school will offer it to them at an inexpensive rate. The school’s health plan’s costs and coverages are usually fixed, so if their child has some sort of preexisting condition, the plan may not cover them entirely.

2.    Look for a private health insurer to insure their child

Parents who don’t like the idea of having their child insured under the college or university’s health insurance plan should talk with a private insurer. Private insurance companies have a broader range of coverage and benefits, and students can get several different discounts to lower their monthly premium.

3.    Look into student organizations for help

Student organizations, such as the American College Student Association (ACSA) would help college students looking for short-term health insurance. Parents could find inexpensive coverage for their college student, especially if their child is planning on traveling or studying abroad.

Get College Students Prepared With Life Insurance Now

A college student should always have a health insurance plan for life’s coincidences, and parents should know how to go about getting it, before their child goes off to college. This means that parents should know the health condition of their child and how long their kid would need coverage. Major medical expenses like prescription drugs and physician visits should be covered in any medical insurance policy, especially in a school’s health insurance plan. When in doubt, parents should compare health insurance policies to see which one suits their child. No matter what, college students need a good health insurance plan to keep them healthy during their collegiate studies.

staff contribution: Brandon Clayton

One of President Obama’s major initiatives will be to bring the US health care system into the 21st century.    Our lagging health care infrastructure has lead to massive medical inefficiency, high premiums to the average citizen and an overall ‘leaky faucet’ effect that is contributing to the pool of problems our economy faces.  The Obama administration has proposed a five year, near $100 billion dollar, initiative to fix our health care system through innovative new technology that includes creating electronic versions of all health records.

Although creating electronic health records is a huge step in ‘leveling up’ our health care system to meet modern day information technology standards, there is also the less celebrity concept of implementing high-tech network technology towards health care.    It will be one thing for doctors and patients to have access to medical data, and another for them to communicate that data.

From the Cisco System’s blog:

“Web 2.0 technologies are beginning to change the practice of medicine,” says Lynne A. Dunbrack, program director for Health Industry Insights a market research and advisory firm in Framingham, MA. “We now have a significant number of doctors who grew up with the Internet, and they want to use online collaboration technology to keep up with the relentless demands for ever-greater speed and efficiency.”

Medical communication technology still needs to catch up to the rest of the Web 2.0 technology , whether it be the ability for patients to easily browse a number of potential doctors or primary care facilities, or the functionality to allow a doctor to instantly access and update a patient’s records via their iphone.  Although medical technology has advanced in leaps and bounds as far as its primary purpose- diagnosing and repairing patients, it still needs to embrace a new wave of communication and network technology.

This may be a difficult task.  One barrier to the health care stimulus’ task of digitzing records is simply doctors and medical specialists are used to the old way of doing things.  It can be extremely difficult to fully transition from the paper to digital world because it is a 180 degree change in the every-day routine and process of the work.  The same goes for embracing new health care networking and communication technologies.

However, the advantages to utilizing these new technologies will far outweigh the hurdles of changing old ways.  Cutting-edge video conferencing can allow multiple specialists to collaborate and diagnose on a level never before possible.      ‘Medical-networking’ platforms can allow for patients to easily communicate with their doctor’s and nurses on a personal level, but prevent over-inundation of the available medical resources.

The first step to leveling up our health care system is for the medical community to change their mindset, and realize that any significant change for the good requires crossing a number of hurdles.  The second step is rewiring and revamping the hardware and network infrastructure of medical facilities across the country.  The barrier to entry here is the enormous cost and risk for both public institutions and private practices to make the digital leap of faith.  There are ways to soften this blow as well.

Large network providers, like Cisco Systems and Juniper networks, can aid public medical institutions by providing the necessary network hardware infrastructure in bulk.   Private practices are scared of technological change because it seems like a risk (and investment) that could set them back some years, or worse, sink their business.    However, some of the costs that private medical institutions and practices will incur can be lowered by purchasing used network hardware and computer equipment, such as a used router or refurbished server.

Although costly, if US medical institutions change their mindset and network infrastructure, it will put us well on our way to 21st century health care.