Thursday, 4 September 2014

Order the usual portion or avoid Economy menu

If you cannot resist, then choose low-calorie foods, such as grilled chicken or chili con carne with red pepper and beans, fruit or vegetable salads with proper dressing, baked potato. Order the usual portion or avoid Economy menu. Drink plain water or diet soda instead of sugary soda.

I want to make healthy snacks - At least once a day, eat a healthy diet. A handful of nuts, dried fruit or yogurt mixture will be more useful than cookies or chips.

The yogurt should contain a minimum amount of sugar. Take advantage of the summer season, eat as much fresh fruit. Citrus fruits are especially good because they are eating takes time, and therefore have time to reach the brain signals of satiety. You can have drying or whole-grain crackers with low fat cheese. Do snacks when you are really hungry, not when you are bored or just to relieve stress. In one approach should eat one serving.

I want to eat less - Plan your day so that in the afternoon hiking in the cafe did not remain the only option to use your coming home to dinner waiting for you ready to warm food. Cook food more than once. Leftovers can be put in the refrigerator and warm up at any time. For lunch and dinner, you can also eat healthy fast food, such as oatmeal with fruit. click to boost it now .......(http://fatlossexperts.pen.io/)

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

How the New Health Care Bill Will Affect Uninsured Americans

On the one hand, I had heard a lot about this new health care bill, but on the other hand, I really haven't heard much. What I'm trying to say is that I had seen it in the news - a lot. However, I didn't really know how health care reform would affect me as an uninsured American, so I did a little research. Here is my story. For a little background, I am a healthy, 22-year-old female.

 I am not married, and I don't have a family to support. However, I recently graduated from college, and my career is just getting started. To summarize, this new bill is all about providing 'affordable, quality health care for all Americans' and 'reducing the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.' It all sounds good to me. Who couldn't use affordable, quality health care?

Based on personal experience, I know what it's like to worry about ending up in the hospital with no way to pay the bill. All my life, I never once worried about how the hospital and doctor bills always got paid. I got sick and my mom brought me to the doctor

 Dentist visits and eye exams were always covered. Even after I graduated from college and had to buy my own insurance plan through MinnesotaCare, it was extremely cheap (we're talking $30-$40 per month). That's the only way I was able to afford it. Well, about a year ago I decided to move out of state MinnesotaCare doesn't cover people who are living in Fargo, North Dakota, so I had to drop my insurance.

 I planned on finding a new insurance company right away, but that never happened. It's not to say that I haven't tried. I have researched different plans online and even put in an application. Until I found out that the cheapest plan they offered had a $140 premium with a ridiculously high deductible.

 Guess what? Between loan payments, car insurance, monthly rent, groceries, gas, and all the other little bills, there isn't much left over. So now I have been uninsured for almost a year. Fortunately, other than one clinic visit (less than a month after losing my insurance), I have been healthy thus far. When I first read that, starting in the year 2014, every American will be required to be insured (with a few exceptions), I wondered about those of us who can't afford to buy insurance.

 Then I read further to find that people with low-income may be able to get a cheaper rate to cover emergency health care. That's all I would need: a little peace of mind that, should I end up in the emergency room, the bill will be covered. I can save up my own money to cover routine visits, such as eye exams and dentist visits. The good thing is that this new public insurance policy will work alongside private insurance companies, so those of you who are currently insured and don't want to switch will be able to keep your existing coverage. The new health care plan will cover 36 million uninsured Americans in the next 10 years.

 Now, I'm not going to pretend that I know a whole lot more about the new health care bill than I did at the beginning of this article because, from what I've heard, a lot of people were against it in the first place and I still haven't figured out why. There must be another side to the story; however, I see this as being a good thing for most of us.

Pro-life and conservative overtures

A major reason for selecting Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate may have been to alleviate the worries pro-life and conservative voters who continued to regard McCain as insincere in his pro-life and conservative overtures. But after the election, the self-proclaimed pro-life Republican Governor went on to appoint a former Planned Parenthood board member, Judge Morgan Christen, to Alaska's Supreme Court. This happened in March of 2009, about the same time that Brownback escorted Kathleen Seblius through a safe confirmation process


The efforts of the so-called pro-life Republicans are laughable because it is so transparently insincere. That's also what makes it so appalling. How, then, are we to take these people seriously when they say they are debating the question of government funded abortion?


I look at the debates staged by Politicians as mere shadows on the walls of Plato's Cave. As the Political Class continues to distract us in the Private Class by waving their arms in front of the fire (television cameras), and casting images on the wall (our living rooms), many people don't think to look at what's happening right outside in the real world. Or at least, that's what the politicians are hoping. Personally, I think more people understand exactly what's happening than the clueless fools in Versailles D.C. realize.

It is because I am pro-life that I find it contemptible when members of the Political Class use the abortion issue to pander to the emotions of the Private Class, and to attempt to distract us. People who take this issue seriously, on either side of the debate, should be deeply angered and offended at every one of the politicians in Washington. Shame on them!

Health Care System is a Distraction

While watching the various politicians during this entire health-care debate asking "how do we do this?" I am noticing the glaring omission of a major question. No one is asking: "should we do this?"

One way or another they are going to further expand the Federal State into our health-care market. There isn't a debate on that issue. Not only are they not asking "should this be done," they don't want We The People asking that question either. This is why the Political Class has tossed a neat little distraction into the media: tax-funded abortions.

It has been my experience as a pro-life individual that, when it comes to the members of the Political Class, the abortion question is an insincere debate. This emotional issue is being used to distract voters from asking if it is necessary and wise to expand government further into the realm of health-care.

If recent election cycles have taught us anything, it is this: politicians don't have convictions, they have platforms. This is a truth that became painfully clear when pro-life voters were told that Democrat control of Congress and the White House will result in legislation making abortion actual law, rather than a mere court decision. Yet this is something that didn't happen before, and I believe it will never come to pass in the future.

 On the other side of the issue, pro-choice voters were told that Republican control of Congress and the White House will mean legislation making abortion entirely illegal; something that also never came to pass.

The truth is, the politicians will never entirely solve any issue, especially an emotional mine-field like abortion. The Political Class needs these issues to remain unresolved so that they can convince us that we need them to fix these problems. Never mind the fact that they cause most of these problems in the first place.

If they actually solved these hot-button issues in one direction or the other, they would have less to use when they need to pander for votes and money. From my own experience as a pro-lifer, a simple look at recent experience of the 2008 presidential election demonstrates an offensive lack of sincerity on the part of the so-called "pro-life Republicans.

" That was an election that gave us pro-lifers two laughable choices. One ticket presented us with a guy who worked against the few people in Congress who were honestly pro-life, supported embryonic fetal experimentation, happily accepted pro-choice endorsements, and had been financed by socialists like George Soros and Teresa Hienz Kerry for the better part of the past decade

 On the other ticket was Senator Barack Obama. Senator Brownback, another self-proclaimed pro-life candidate for president in the 2008 election, later went on to personally host a warm welcome for President Obama's enthusiastically pro-choice candidate for Secretary of Health and Human Services, then-governor of Kansas, Kathleen Seblius.

 Rather than so much as question her views on State-funded abortion, Brownback promised to personally see her through a successful confirmation process!

Tips and Ideas for Getting Health Insurance Quotes

Always consider getting a quote from a dedicated health insurance company to compare with the rates that are being offered by your insurance company as these health insurance companies very often have competitive rates that cannot be compared with the offerings from the mainstream insurance companies.
On the other hand don't assume that because it is a dedicated health insurance company that you will be getting the best rates all of the time as other insurance companies can discount their health insurance rates simply because you have other items insured with them.

By doing your research first before signing up with any policy whether it is with your own company or another health insurance company you can be assured of saving money and this can become quite a considerable saving over time that can allow you to invest in a more comprehensive policy.

There are many different health insurance companies to choose from and you should get rates from as many as possible before deciding on which one to use.

By doing your research and getting health insurance comparisons you can be assured that you are getting the best deal that is possible in the market.

Most people don't bother getting health insurance comparisons and by doing so they are paying considerably more than they should be for their insurance policies.

With the benefit of being able to get health insurance comparisons off the Internet within minutes there is no excuse for not taking the time and doing a little research to see what is available.

As you will be paying these policies for many years to come the saving can be quite considerable and can in fact often help you to cover the cost of additional insurances
.
Most insurance companies will let you get free quotes directly off their websites by simply inputting the necessary information for the insurance that you require.

You can get these health insurance comparisons emailed to you and then it is simply a matter of looking through the various different options before making your decision or talking with your own insurance company to see if they can come up with a better deal.

Before you pay for any health insurance, free quotes are available on the Internet to compare prices with other insurance companies and you can save yourself quite a lot of money by taking the time to fill in the necessary information for a health insurance free quote.

There are many businesses looking for your business and even after you have received a health insurance free quote from them you still have the opportunity to negotiate the price down to suit your financial requirements based on the plan that you believe is suitable for you.

A health insurance free quote is always the first step in planning any health insurance cover.
You are not bound to accept the terms or the price of any of these health insurance free quotes however by offering these services the insurance companies will be able to contact you to talk further about your requirements and come up with a plan that you might find suitable.

If you are in the market for health insurance individual quotes then these can be obtained in a relatively short time by accessing the online forms where you can input the same information into many different insurance websites and let the representatives contact you with their available policies, terms and rates.

Once you have filled out the first health insurance individual quote form keep a copy of the information that you used for that form and it is a simple matter of copying and pasting that same information in to all the other websites without having to rethink the form requirements each time


Get a list of all the Web sites that offer health insurance individual quotes and create a folder with you can store the information to go through the process in a systematic manner and in doing so you will be able to get the best policy at the best rates for your requirements.


Meeting the health care demands

The House bill does address concerns expressed by businesses in Southern Nevada. Specifically, the Act reduces or eliminates surcharges businesses currently pay for insurance. Further, a Titus amendment allows more small businesses to enter into the Health Insurance Exchange to leverage their purchasing power to get lower rates. None of these provisions, however, solve the problem of enriching the insurance industry at the expense of the poor and illiterate.

House minority leader, John Boehner, R., Ohio, voted nay on the legislation but not because it disenfranchised the poor. He simply argues that any democratic proposed health care will increase costs, add to the skyrocketing debt , destroy jobs, and cut seniors' Medicare benefits. To far too many in congress dollars are more important than meeting the health care demands of the nations citizens.

Boehner, for example voted nay on H.R. 3962, because he is paid to do so by the insurance and health professionals. His nay vote cost the insurance and health care industry in excess of $202,000 in "contributions."
Titus, who received $6,000 from the American Health Care Associaton (AHCA), did vote yea in-spite of AHCA's position, correctly, that HR. 3962 will make Medicare unsustainable and therefore detrimental to the nation's seniors.
 epublicans as represented by Boehner are protecting the insurance industry from economic damage. Democrats, as represented by Titus, appear to feel that anything is better than nothing. As a result, the poor will be poorer and Medicare for seniors will be less and healthcare will remain essentially the same: the domain of a profit motivated insurance industry.

Most, but not all, of the inequities, can be helped by a public option or, even better, a single payer system. These provisions seem less and less likely as politicians angle for ways to suck the poor and illiterate dry, cut Medicare at the federal level, and transfer inevitable cuts in Medicaid to the cash starved Governors.

Maybe something better will happen as the House version goes to the Senate for consideration. According to Senator Harry Reid, D., Nev., the next step in the health reform process is to "find middle-ground that will create competition to make health care more affordable for all Nevadans." Unfortunately, there is no middle ground when it comes to passing the burden on health care to the illiterate, poor, and disenfranchised.

Burden of Health Care

Some of the lower income individuals would be covered by an expansion of Medicaid, the state-federal health program for the poor. In this case, adults up to 150 percent of poverty - individuals making up to $16,245 and a family of four up to $33,075 - would, in theory, be covered. This would add 15 million to Medicaid. That number is far below the number of poor and illiterate that populates our states. Further, Medicaid is a pig-in-a poke since Governors control the percent of people enrolled in Medicaid and in tight economic situations they simply cut
.
Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons cut Medicaid payments during the H1N1 epidemic to hospitals by 5% across the board, and some physicians, especially pediatricians specializing in orthopedics, urology and cancer, saw their Medicaid payments reduced by 41%.

Gibbons has also proposed to eliminate Medicaid coverage for low-income pregnant mothers. The state has already reduced personal-care assistance to the elderly and disabled. He has capped dental benefits under the state's SCHIP program at $600 a year, and eliminated orthodontics and vision coverage. Further, Gibbons has capped enrollment at 25,000 for the program, which already has 23,000 enrollees and pending applications for 7,000 children.

The cuts mean $21 million less in Medicaid funding for the State's public hospital: The University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas,. The cuts add to the expected loss of $51 million, about 10% of the hospital's net revenue, for uncompensated care.

The Medical Center has already stopped accepting new patients at the outpatient oncology clinic, and has canceled a contract for outpatient dialysis. It also ended routine prenatal care, thus leaving 600 women to find other providers, and it discouraged women with high-risk pregnancies from using the hospital by closing a unit that was losing more than $2 million a year.

Congresswoman Dina Titus, (D. Nev.), attempted to put a positive spin on H.R. 3962 by arguing that the Act, will ban insurance industry practices of discriminating against those with preexisting conditions or withdrawing coverage for people when they get sick. In addition, the legislation will close the so-called donut hole that forces nearly 13,000 seniors in her district to pay high out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs.
Further, the congressional version, Titus argues, eliminates co-pays for preventive services and "gender rating" by insurance companies. Gender rating is particularly onerous and has led to women paying up to 48 percent more in premium costs than men for coverage through the market place.

One particularly interesting provision of the act ends the insurance industry's exemption from anti-trust laws that has allowed them to stifle competition. Further, there is a grant program to encourage states to implement alternatives to traditional malpractice litigation. The Act also permits states to enter into agreements to allow for the sale of insurance across state lines.

Passes Burden of Health Care Costs to the Illiterate and Poor

The recently passed House version of health care (H.R. 3962) will cut Medicare for seniors, increase profits for insurance companies and impose a cost burden on the poorest and illiterate citizens

The Congressonal Budget Office (CBO) estimates the Act's net cost at $894 billion over 10 years. However, those net costs would be offset by the combination of other spending changes, which CBO estimates would save $426 billion, and receipts resulting from the income tax surcharge on high-income individuals and other provisions, which JCT and CBO estimate would increase federal revenues by $572 billion over that period.

However, some savings come from cuts in Medicare. The American Health Care Associaton (AHCA), reports that the Act includes $23.9 billion in Medicare cuts and when combined with the $12 billion in cuts that went into effect on October 1, makes Medicare unsustainable and therefore detrimental to the nation's seniors.

Some income is expected to come from requiring the uninsured to purchase overage insurance and imposing penalties on the most illiterate and underpaid of the Nations citizens who cannot afford coverage. According to the National Coalition on Health Care, "it is conceivable that by next year, 57 to 60 million Americans will be uninsured."

Like far too many legislative acts, H.R. 3962 falls most heavily on the poor and illiterate who are essentially disenfranchised from the political process. It is that group that will be victimized by health care reform if the provision requiring people to purchase insurance eventually becomes law without a competitive public option to keep prices low.

According to the National Right to Read Foundation, 42 million adult Americans can not read and 50 million can only read at the 4th or 5th grade level. Further, one out of every four teenagers drops out of high school, and of those who graduate, one out of every four has the equivalent or less than an eighth grade education. Further, the number of functionally illiterate adults is increasing by approximately two and one quarter million persons each year. This number includes nearly 1 million young people who drop out of school before graduation, 400,000 legal immigrants, 100,000 refugees, and 800,000 illegal immigrants, and 20 percent of all high school graduates.

An additional 237 billion dollars a year in unrealized earnings is forfeited by people who lack such basic reading skills, according to Literacy Volunteers of America. These are the people, who cannot afford insurance now, and who will be forced to purchase insurance from the private sector under H.R. 3962. Forcing the poor and illiterate to purchase health care, under penalty of law, is unconscionable.