Getting health insurance quotes without giving your phone number is easy and something you should do right now. Whenever you are online do you stop when asked for your phone number and best time to call? I do…I can’t stand to be interrupted at home…especially by a salesperson.

Asking for your phone number is an intrusion most people avoid. The bad news is they are unaware of market conditions in personal health insurance. Health insurance is an expensive, necessary evil but it should be something you should never overpay for. Asking for a phone number is a turnoff. But there is good news…

You can get up to a hundred health insurance quotes without giving your phone number. You are asked for the following and the following only, for each person you are trying to insure:

· Zip code

· Gender

· Date of Birth

· Smoker or not

· Student or not

That is it…no phone number…no medical questions.

My wife and I have used this free, no obligation service for 8 years. I hate to spend a penny on insurance of any kind. But I have the assurance that I am paying the very least amount for my policy.

I filled this out just the other day…it took less than a minute…I received 112 different policy quotes to choose from…the quotes had the monthly premium, company name, deductibles, co pays, and a real plus…I could find out if my current doctor accepted this policy.

You should know what kind of policy you are looking for. Since we are healthy, exercise and eat right, we look for high deductible catastrophic coverage. These have the very lowest premiums.

But the prices vary greatly…I identified a savings of $684 per year over what I am paying now. So you should use this free service every several months. It is easy fast…and no one will call.

Once you narrow down the policy that meets your needs you then fill out one application and one application only. Isn’t this better and far faster than talking to several dozen salesmen or saleswomen. That is what you would have to do to get the same amount of information with every other service on the web.

Wouldn’t you rather get health insurance quotes without giving your phone number?

Here’s how…

Obesity, which contributes to several health problems like cancer, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure has become epidemic and affects nearly half the U.S population. The number of obese people has doubled since 1985, which has led to a 30% increase in health premiums. The overall financial costs of obesity are greater than those for alcoholism or smoking. The annual cost of treating health problems related to obesity is estimated at upward of $100 billion. Reduction of health costs over time will not happen if obesity is ignored.

Why more taxes?

Two reasons; First and most obvious is to raise part of the money for what is being proposed as universal health care, a subject that carries with it a separate debate. The second and probably most import reason is to raise awareness of what we are eating and how it affects our bodies. The American public is woefully ignorant about nutrition.

What to Tax

There have been dozens of “sinful-food” tax proposals from a penny a can for sodas to 10% on all fast food items. It probably needs to be more inclusive than that. Packaged foods with a lot of sugar and starch probably contribute as much to the problem as the entire fast food industry. It could well be a sliding scale on all foods except fresh produce based on grams of fats and sugar per 100 grams or per serving.

What is the Tax Rate?

The Department of Agriculture has suggested that, for “sinful-food” taxes to change the way people eat, they may need to equal at least 10% to 30% of the cost of the food. It is estimated that a 10% federal tax on fattening foods would raise $530 billion over 10 years. There should also be a program of tax subsidies to encourage the purchase of healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetable. This of course would reduce the gross income somewhat.

Opposition Response

Most of us are opposed to more taxes, myself included, but there are other oppositions to a tax of this kind. Here are some of the most common.

• I,m not fat and I don’t want to pay for someone who is and I like my sodas and Dorritos. You can still eat whatever you like. Paying $1.10 for a 99 cent bag of Dorritos may well be the cheapest way for you to pay for this problem. It is inevitable because of the magnitude of this social problem that it won’t cost you in some way.
• The government must stop trying to legislate our behavior and picking our pockets. Sorry friend…too late. In a society this complex and generally prosperous, everything we do in some small way affects everyone else. “No man is an island.” The only way for the government not to do something is to completely drop the idea of universal health care. How good is your imagination on that happening?
• It’s a regressive tax that unfairly affects the poor. This appears to be true on the face of it. Low income people eat high starch and fast foods in an attempt to stretch their food dollar. As mentioned earlier there should be a tax subsidy for choosing healthy foods. More of the public health dollar needs to go to nutrition education and awareness. With the right information and a little assistance, low income people can have healthy diets.

One of the glitches in pursuing a national health care problem is the political avoidance of personal accountability and responsibility. We have been lulled into reliance on government, a condition which is hard to reverse, and the government seems to cherish it’s role. Individual responsibility is the ultimate solution; until then everyone pays in one way or another.

Why are Americans so worked up about health care reform? Statements such as “don’t touch my Medicare” or “everyone should have access to state of the art health care irrespective of cost” are in my opinion uninformed and visceral responses that indicate a poor understanding of our health care system’s history, its current and future resources and the funding challenges that America faces going forward. While we all wonder how the health care system has reached what some refer to as a crisis stage. Let’s try to take some of the emotion out of the debate by briefly examining how health care in this country emerged and how that has formed our thinking and culture about health care. With that as a foundation let’s look at the pros and cons of the Obama administration health care reform proposals and let’s look at the concepts put forth by the Republicans?

Access to state of the art health care services is something we can all agree would be a good thing for this country. Experiencing a serious illness is one of life’s major challenges and to face it without the means to pay for it is positively frightening. But as we shall see, once we know the facts, we will find that achieving this goal will not be easy without our individual contribution.

These are the themes I will touch on to try to make some sense out of what is happening to American health care and the steps we can personally take to make things better.

• A recent history of American health care – what has driven the costs so high?
• Key elements of the Obama health care plan
• The Republican view of health care – free market competition
• Universal access to state of the art health care – a worthy goal but not easy to achieve
• what can we do?

First, let’s get a little historical perspective on American health care. This is not intended to be an exhausted look into that history but it will give us an appreciation of how the health care system and our expectations for it developed. What drove costs higher and higher?

To begin, let’s turn to the American civil war. In that war, dated tactics and the carnage inflicted by modern weapons of the era combined to cause ghastly results. Not generally known is that most of the deaths on both sides of that war were not the result of actual combat but to what happened after a battlefield wound was inflicted. To begin with, evacuation of the wounded moved at a snail’s pace and this caused severe delays in treating the wounded. Secondly, many wounds were subjected to wound care, related surgeries and/or amputations of the affected limbs and this often resulted in the onset of massive infection. So you might survive a battle wound only to die at the hands of medical care providers who although well-intentioned, their interventions were often quite lethal. High death tolls can also be ascribed to everyday sicknesses and diseases in a time when no antibiotics existed. In total something like 600,000 deaths occurred from all causes, over 2% of the U.S. population at the time!

Let’s skip to the first half of the 20th century for some additional perspective and to bring us up to more modern times. After the civil war there were steady improvements in American medicine in both the understanding and treatment of certain diseases, new surgical techniques and in physician education and training. But for the most part the best that doctors could offer their patients was a “wait and see” approach. Medicine could handle bone fractures and increasingly attempt risky surgeries (now largely performed in sterile surgical environments) but medicines were not yet available to handle serious illnesses. The majority of deaths remained the result of untreatable conditions such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, scarlet fever and measles and/or related complications. Doctors were increasingly aware of heart and vascular conditions, and cancer but they had almost nothing with which to treat these conditions.

This very basic review of American medical history helps us to understand that until quite recently (around the 1950’s) we had virtually no technologies with which to treat serious or even minor ailments. Here is a critical point we need to understand; “nothing to treat you with means that visits to the doctor if at all were relegated to emergencies so in such a scenario costs are curtailed. The simple fact is that there was little for doctors to offer and therefore virtually nothing to drive health care spending. A second factor holding down costs was that medical treatments that were provided were paid for out-of-pocket, meaning by way of an individuals personal resources. There was no such thing as health insurance and certainly not health insurance paid by an employer. Except for the very destitute who were lucky to find their way into a charity hospital, health care costs were the responsibility of the individual.

What does health care insurance have to do with health care costs? Its impact on health care costs has been, and remains to this day, absolutely enormous. When health insurance for individuals and families emerged as a means for corporations to escape wage freezes and to attract and retain employees after World War II, almost overnight a great pool of money became available to pay for health care. Money, as a result of the availability of billions of dollars from health insurance pools, encouraged an innovative America to increase medical research efforts. More Americans became insured not only through private, employer sponsored health insurance but through increased government funding that created Medicare and Medicaid (1965). In addition funding became available for expanded veterans health care benefits. Finding a cure for almost anything has consequently become very lucrative. This is also the primary reason for the vast array of treatments we have available today.

I do not wish to convey that medical innovations are a bad thing. Think of the tens of millions of lives that have been saved, extended, enhanced and made more productive as a result. But with a funding source grown to its current magnitude (hundreds of billions of dollars annually) upward pressure on health care costs are inevitable. Doctor’s offer and most of us demand and get access to the latest available health care technology in the form of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostic tools and surgical procedures. So the result is that there is more health care to spend our money on and until very recently most of us were insured and the costs were largely covered by a third-party (government, employers). Add an insatiable and unrealistic public demand for access and treatment and we have the “perfect storm” for higher and higher health care costs. And by and large the storm is only intensifying.

At this point, let’s turn to the key questions that will lead us into a review and hopefully a better understanding of the health care reform proposals in the news today. Is the current trajectory of U.S. health care spending sustainable? Can America maintain its world competitiveness when 16%, heading for 20% of our gross national product is being spent on health care? What are the other industrialized countries spending on health care and is it even close to these numbers? When we add politics and an election year to the debate, information to help us answer these questions become critical. We need to spend some effort in understanding health care and sorting out how we think about it. Properly armed we can more intelligently determine whether certain health care proposals might solve or worsen some of these problems. What can be done about the challenges? How can we as individuals contribute to the solutions?

The Obama health care plan is complex for sure – I have never seen a health care plan that isn’t. But through a variety of programs his plan attempts to deal with a) increasing the number of American that are covered by adequate insurance (almost 50 million are not), and b) managing costs in such a manner that quality and our access to health care is not adversely affected. Republicans seek to achieve these same basic and broad goals, but their approach is proposed as being more market driven than government driven. Let’s look at what the Obama plan does to accomplish the two objectives above. Remember, by the way, that his plan was passed by congress, and begins to seriously kick-in starting in 2014. So this is the direction we are currently taking as we attempt to reform health care.

1. Through insurance exchanges and an expansion of Medicaid,the Obama plan dramatically expands the number of Americans that will be covered by health insurance.
2. To cover the cost of this expansion the plan requires everyone to have health insurance with a penalty to be paid if we don’t comply. It will purportedly send money to the states to cover those individuals added to state-based Medicaid programs.
3. To cover the added costs there were a number of new taxes introduced, one being a 2.5% tax on new medical technologies and another increases taxes on interest and dividend income for wealthier Americans.
4. The Obama plan also uses concepts such as evidence-based medicine, accountable care organizations, comparative effectiveness research and reduced reimbursement to health care providers (doctors and hospitals) to control costs.

The insurance mandate covered by points 1 and 2 above is a worthy goal and most industrialized countries outside of the U.S. provide “free” (paid for by rather high individual and corporate taxes) health care to most if not all of their citizens. It is important to note, however, that there are a number of restrictions for which many Americans would be culturally unprepared. Here is the primary controversial aspect of the Obama plan, the insurance mandate. The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided to hear arguments as to the constitutionality of the health insurance mandate as a result of a petition by 26 states attorney’s general that congress exceeded its authority under the commerce clause of the U.S. constitution by passing this element of the plan. The problem is that if the Supreme Court should rule against the mandate, it is generally believed that the Obama plan as we know it is doomed. This is because its major goal of providing health insurance to all would be severely limited if not terminated altogether by such a decision.

As you would guess, the taxes covered by point 3 above are rather unpopular with those entities and individuals that have to pay them. Medical device companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, doctors and insurance companies all had to “give up” something that would either create new revenue or would reduce costs within their spheres of control. As an example, Stryker Corporation, a large medical device company, recently announced at least a 1,000 employee reduction in part to cover these new fees. This is being experienced by other medical device companies and pharmaceutical companies as well. The reduction in good paying jobs in these sectors and in the hospital sector may rise as former cost structures will have to be dealt with in order to accommodate the reduced rate of reimbursement to hospitals. Over the next ten years some estimates put the cost reductions to hospitals and physicians at half a trillion dollars and this will flow directly to and affect the companies that supply hospitals and doctors with the latest medical technologies. None of this is to say that efficiencies will not be realized by these changes or that other jobs will in turn be created but this will represent painful change for a while. It helps us to understand that health care reform does have an effect both positive and negative.

Finally, the Obama plan seeks to change the way medical decisions are made. While clinical and basic research underpins almost everything done in medicine today, doctors are creatures of habit like the rest of us and their training and day-to-day experiences dictate to a great extent how they go about diagnosing and treating our conditions. Enter the concept of evidence-based medicine and comparative effectiveness research. Both of these seek to develop and utilize data bases from electronic health records and other sources to give better and more timely information and feedback to physicians as to the outcomes and costs of the treatments they are providing. There is great waste in health care today, estimated at perhaps a third of an over 2 trillion dollar health care spend annually. Imagine the savings that are possible from a reduction in unnecessary test and procedures that do not compare favorably with health care interventions that are better documented as effective. Now the Republicans and others don’t generally like these ideas as they tend to characterize them as “big government control” of your and my health care. But to be fair, regardless of their political persuasions, most people who understand health care at all, know that better data for the purposes described above will be crucial to getting health care efficiencies, patient safety and costs headed in the right direction.

A brief review of how Republicans and more conservative individuals think about health care reform. I believe they would agree that costs must come under control and that more, not fewer Americans should have access to health care regardless of their ability to pay. But the main difference is that these folks see market forces and competition as the way to creating the cost reductions and efficiencies we need. There are a number of ideas with regard to driving more competition among health insurance companies and health care providers (doctors and hospitals) so that the consumer would begin to drive cost down by the choices we make. This works in many sectors of our economy but this formula has shown that improvements are illusive when applied to health care. Primarily the problem is that health care choices are difficult even for those who understand it and are connected. The general population, however, is not so informed and besides we have all been brought up to “go to the doctor” when we feel it is necessary and we also have a cultural heritage that has engendered within most of us the feeling that health care is something that is just there and there really isn’t any reason not to access it for whatever the reason and worse we all feel that there is nothing we can do to affect its costs to insure its availability to those with serious problems.

OK, this article was not intended to be an exhaustive study as I needed to keep it short in an attempt to hold my audience’s attention and to leave some room for discussing what we can do contribute mightily to solving some of the problems. First we must understand that the dollars available for health care are not limitless. Any changes that are put in place to provide better insurance coverage and access to care will cost more. And somehow we have to find the revenues to pay for these changes. At the same time we have to pay less for medical treatments and procedures and do something to restrict the availability of unproven or poorly documented treatments as we are the highest cost health care system in the world and don’t necessarily have the best results in terms of longevity or avoiding chronic diseases much earlier than necessary.

I believe that we need a revolutionary change in the way we think about health care, its availability, its costs and who pays for it. And if you think I am about to say we should arbitrarily and drastically reduce spending on health care you would be wrong. Here it is fellow citizens – health care spending needs to be preserved and protected for those who need it. And to free up these dollars those of us who don’t need it or can delay it or avoid it need to act. First, we need to convince our politicians that this country needs sustained public education with regard to the value of preventive health strategies. This should be a top priority and it has worked to reduce the number of U.S. smokers for example. If prevention were to take hold, it is reasonable to assume that those needing health care for the myriad of life style engendered chronic diseases would decrease dramatically. Millions of Americans are experiencing these diseases far earlier than in decades past and much of this is due to poor life style choices. This change alone would free up plenty of money to handle the health care costs of those in dire need of treatment, whether due to an acute emergency or chronic condition.

Let’s go deeper on the first issue. Most of us refuse do something about implementing basic wellness strategies into our daily lives. We don’t exercise but we offer a lot of excuses. We don’t eat right but we offer a lot of excuses. We smoke and/or we drink alcohol to excess and we offer a lot of excuses as to why we can’t do anything about managing these known to be destructive personal health habits. We don’t take advantage of preventive health check-ups that look at blood pressure, cholesterol readings and body weight but we offer a lot of excuses. In short we neglect these things and the result is that we succumb much earlier than necessary to chronic diseases like heart problems, diabetes and high blood pressure. We wind up accessing doctors for these and more routine matters because “health care is there” and somehow we think we have no responsibility for reducing our demand on it.

It is difficult for us to listen to these truths but easy to blame the sick. Maybe they should take better care of themselves! Well, that might be true or maybe they have a genetic condition and they have become among the unfortunate through absolutely no fault of their own. But the point is that you and I can implement personalized preventive disease measures as a way of dramatically improving health care access for others while reducing its costs. It is far better to be productive by doing something we can control then shifting the blame.

There are a huge number of free web sites available that can steer us to a more healthful life style. A soon as you can, “Google” “preventive health care strategies”, look up your local hospital’s web site and you will find more than enough help to get you started. Finally, there is a lot to think about here and I have tried to outline the challenges but also the very powerful effect we could have on preserving the best of America’s health care system now and into the future. I am anxious to hear from you and until then – take charge and increase your chances for good health while making sure that health care is there when we need it.

Basically curry’s medical benefits are derived from their spice rich ingredients; here is the break down of usual spices found in curry (and their benefits):

Turmeric, curry’s main ingredient is recognized by its yellow color. A member of the ginger family, turmeric has long been associated with its healing properties. Used as a common antiseptic in India, turmeric is used regularly to treat damaged skin such as cuts or burns. It’s even being touted as a possible cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

Cinnamon – Cinnamon is a natural antioxidant which is beneficial to the beautification purposes, not to mention cinnamon oil has antimicrobial properties which prolongs the life of the curry.

Black Pepper – Black pepper has a very long history of medical benefits, the list goes like this: Alleviated hemorrhoids, Alleviates gas, helps constipation, improves digestion, improves appetite lost, promotes sweating (cardio workout), Promotes urination, anti-bacterial effects, natural anti-oxidant, and everyone’s favorite; helps in breaking down fat cells.

Allspice – Allspice is also known as Jamaican pepper, Myrtle pepper. It’s beneficial attribute comes from folklore whereby it provide relief for digestive problems.

Anise – Anise leaves in curry are used to treat digestive problems, toothaches and the oil extract can be used to treat lice and scabies.

Asafoetida – the main medical usage for Asafoetida is for the aid of digestive system, mild cases of asthma, bronchitis and is traditionally used in the aid of children’s cold.

Cardamom – Cardamom is used traditionally in Chinese medicine to treat stomach-aches, constipation, dysentery, and other digestion problems.

Chili Pepper – Red chili peppers are very rich in vitamin C and pro-vitamin A. Additionally, peppers are a good source of most vitamins B, especially B6. Potassium in chili that are high magnesium and iron would really make up for those lazy days.

Clovers – Clovers are reported by many people to be extremely effective in their struggle with nicotine cravings. Well, imagine having craving for curry instead (who’d complaint).

Coriander leaves – Coriander leaves has been used as a folk medicine for the relief of anxiety and insomnia in Iranian folk medicine.

Cumin – Cumin can be really helpful in asthma, common and a booster in immune system during cold and flu season. Capsulated Cumin can be beneficial to hair and nails, and if mixed with moisturized cream you can reap the benefits of a healthier skin.

After listing only a fraction of the benefits for eating curry, the people that gave the word curry should really give it a new identity, not as a combination of different herbs, but a combination of different medical miracles that really taste GOOD.

The majority of people who use medicinal cannabis tend to use it for counteracting the symptoms of a long standing chronic condition, rather than as a method to look after their immune system to keep in good health. While research into the benefits of cannabis for the immune system is quite sparse, there are early indications which seem to suggest that there could be some benefits to be had.

Research conducted in San Francisco seems to suggest that cannabinoids can help the ECS (endocannabinoid system) function. To make this as simple as possible for you to understand, this is a system of receptors (CB1 and CB2) which are located all around your body. The endocannabinoids are able to help keep the ECS functioning well, thus maintaining your health, as well as helping with counteracting any pain that you may experience as part of an ongoing chronic condition.

If the immune system becomes out of balance for any reason, this is when problems occur which are detrimental to your health. For example, MS is an autoimmune disease which caused in part by an unbalanced immune system, so if the immune system can be balanced with cannabis, could we see a reduction in the occurrence of MS? It certainly seems possible.

Cannabis also has long standing anti-inflammatory properties which are well known. This is why it is so good at lessening the symptoms of arthritis, according to https://cannabis.net. Inflammation also occurs when your body is exposed to dangerous toxins, and cannabis is able to respond to the inflammation by binding to the receptors to reduce this inflammatory response. If you suffer from inflammation on a regular basis, you will quickly notice the benefits of using cannabis to manage and reduce these levels of inflammation.

Researchers also seem to believe that cannabis can play a crucial role in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, but also for more common conditions such as Crohn’s disease.

Have you been using cannabis to help your immune system stay healthy? It may not be a viable way to maintain your immune system for some, but if you are in good health and willing to take the plunge, let us know how you get on. Also, we’d recommend you visit your local dispensary for help with selecting the best strain for your own personal use, if you are unsure of which strain to go with. They will be able to offer the best advice.

You know that quilting makes you feel good, but now there’s scientific evidence to back up what you’ve always suspected-not only does quilting make you happy, it’s actually good for your health. Researchers at the University of Glasgow published their findings in the peer-reviewed Journal of Public Health after conducting qualitative research using a local quilting group as their source. The end result? “Quilting seemed to possess some distinct properties for enhancing well-being that would not be replicable through outdoor/physical activity.” In other words, that’s dry research speak for saying quilting gives you a workout you’re not going to find in your local step class.

The biggest perk? When you’re happy and doing something you love, your brain gets saturated with dopamine and serotonin, otherwise known as happy chemicals-especially when you’re doing “meaningful work” using your hands. According to Kelly Lambert, PhD and a member of the neuroscience department at Randolph-Macon College, quilting complements these conditions perfectly.

Get Healthy and a Stunning Quilt

Next on the health benefits list is a decrease in stress levels. Dr. Lambert says quilters “feel a sense of accomplishment that increases your ‘reward chemicals’ and decreases the chemicals related to stress or anxiety.” Of course, lower stress levels are linked to a variety of good things from a lower risk of heart attack and stroke to lower body fat. In a time when stress levels are breaking through the roof for most people, who wouldn’t benefit from a little cultivation of mindfulness?

If you’re more into quantitative proof, a clinical psychologist published research in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing evidence that quilting leads to decreased blood pressure, heart rate and respiration. Finally, according to Harvard neurologist Marie Pasinski, MD, quilting is a soother for the brain. The Glasgow research echoes these sentiments, with the participants saying that quilting was a (relatively) easy way to embrace creativity, and the use of different colors and textures gave them a “sense of wellbeing.”

Straight from the Source

The Glasgow participants specifically cited, time and again, bright colors and how they elevated their moods-particularly during those dreary British winters. Most of the group also said there was something captivating about quilting and that they got into a flow, much like a runner’s high. It’s relaxing and at least for a little while, their anxieties were put on the back burner. However, quilting also requires problem solving skills, like when new patterns and shapes are required. From newbies to quilt masters, everyone said that at some point they always find a new challenge.

Finally, getting that tangible end result is a built-in reward that offers plenty of satisfaction and the feeling of achievement. During the social aspect of quilting as a group, the women said they felt inspired and all those compliments don’t hurt when it comes to getting a self-esteem boost. Quilting is “uniquely good for you” concluded researchers-a sentiment that’s obvious for quilters, but it’s quite the rush to get a nod from the world of academe (kind of like nailing that tumbling blocks pattern on your first try).

If you’re fortunate enough to have employer-provided health insurance, that narrows your options down to the plans that your employer offers. If you don’t have coverage through your job, perhaps an organization or association that you belong to will allow you to buy health insurance through them at a group rate.

Another option is to check your local Obamacare health insurance marketplace to see if you qualify for an upfront premium credit, which would get you reduced premium costs. Even if you don’t qualify for the credit right away, buying your health insurance through the marketplace means you may qualify for it when you file your tax return for the year.

If you can’t, or won’t, get health insurance from any of these sources, you’ll have to fall back on buying a private plan. It will give you the widest range of options, but likely will be far more expensive.

Decide which type of policy to buy

Health insurance policies come in a variety of basic types, although you may not have access to all of these options through your preferred source. Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) are a very common type of health insurance policy. With an HMO, you’re required to use healthcare providers within the policy’s network, and you have to get a referral from your primary care physician in order to see a specialist.

Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs) are also quite common. A PPO health insurance policy has a network, but you’re not limited to in-network care — although using network providers is cheaper — and you don’t need referrals to see specialists.

Exclusive Provider Organizations (EPOs) are a hybrid between HMOs and PPOs. You’re required to stick to the plan’s network, but don’t need referrals for specialists. Finally, Point of Service (POS) plans are a less common option that are essentially the opposite of an EPO. You’re not limited to the POS plan’s network, but do need a referral to see a specialist.

Of the four common types of plans, an HMO or EPO tends to be cheaper than a PPO or POS with the same level of coverage. However, if network coverage is poor in your area, or you’re uncomfortable limiting yourself to network providers, it may be worth paying a little more to get a PPO or POS policy.

More: Buyer beware: Long-term care costs are surging, survey says

More: Obamacare overhaul efforts are dead for now. What does that mean if you’re an Obamacare consumer?

More: Trump says he’ll negotiate with Democrats on health care plan

High deductible versus low deductible

All things being equal, the higher a plan’s deductible is, the lower the monthly premiums will be. A high deductible means that you’ll have to pay a lot of healthcare expenses yourself before the insurance policy kicks in, but if you have few or no medical expenses in a given year, these plans can be a bargain. Very low medical expenses means that you probably won’t surpass the deductible, even of a low-deductible plan, so getting a high-deductible plan keeps your insurance costs as low as possible while still protecting you in case something catastrophic happens.

If you decide to go the high-deductible route, getting a Health Savings Account (HSA)-enabled plan, and funding it with at least the equivalent of a year’s deductible, is your best option. An HSA plan neatly covers the biggest weakness of a high-deductible health insurance policy – namely, that you’d have to shell out a great deal of money on a major medical expense before the insurance would take over. If you have a full-year’s deductible tucked away in your HSA, you can just use that money to finance your share of the expenses, while simultaneously enjoying the triple tax advantage that an HSA offers.

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Comparing coverage

There are two major factors that affect how well a particular plan will cover your medical expenses: the plan’s network and its coverage policies. Even if you choose a plan with out-of-network options, like a PPO, you’re still better off using in-network health providers as much as possible because doing so will reduce your costs. And the rules that a given health insurance policy uses to decide what’s covered and what’s not – and how much the co-pays will be – can make a huge difference in how helpful a particular policy really is for you.

For example, if there’s a rather pricey medication that you take every day, you’ll definitely want to get a health insurance policy that lists that medication on its formulary. If you travel a lot, stick to plans that offer good out-of-area treatment options. And if you already have a primary care physician, you’ll definitely want to pick a plan that includes your doctor in its network.

Finding the best deal

If you’re stuck between two or three different policies and can’t decide which one to choose, try this exercise. Multiply the monthly premium by 12 to get your annual cost for a plan, then add in the plan’s out-of-pocket maximum. The result is the most you would end up spending on health care if you had one or more major medical expenses during the year. Do this calculation for each plan you’re considering, then compare the results. The plan with the lowest total is likely the best deal for you.

Whether you are a professional ice skater, a toddler, a retiree, a student, or a housewife, you can get health benefits from ice skating.

Being in itself an aerobic exercise just like walking, running, and swimming, it offers positive effects for your cardiovascular health. An advantage over running is that it is not as hard on your joints, as it is a low-impact exercise, unless you do jumps while ice skating. It makes heart muscles healthy, providing significant protection from coronary artery diseases and subsequent heart attacks. It also aids in weight loss, as one gets to burn 250 to 810 calories per hour with recreational ice skating, according to the U.S. Figure Skating Association webpage. Meanwhile, competitive skating uses up more calories, at 450 to 1,080 per hour of skating. Just to illustrate, a 68-kg man skating continuously for an hour burns as much calories as when he is running five miles in an hour.

As with other sports activities, ice skating also improves ones endurance. Endurance builds when one maintains a constant, steady pace, over a longer period of time. It is important though that at the start, it is all right to settle for short distances, but over time, these have to be increased gradually so that endurance increases as well.

Ice skating also improves muscle tone. When ice skating, the quadriceps and hamstrings are the leg muscles which do the most work, but many other muscles in the body work in concert with these leg muscles. The abdominal and back muscles also need to contract and relax in order to maintain an upright posture and balance.

Mental fitness is also enhanced with ice skating, as it exercises ones mental control during the act. One needs to be very alert and aware during skating. It is a de-stressor and a form of relaxation for many individuals who use it as a means to break free from the stresses of life and work. The fresh air and sunshine in outdoor ice skating, as well as the company of family and friends, greatly help in unwinding from a long week of work and problems. Self confidence is definitely improved as well. The challenge of establishing full body control and balance brings pride when one is able to overcome these.

It is very nice to see that adults are becoming more aware of their health, and that many have turned to ice skating to become physically fit. Gone are the days when only children were interested in moving and gliding on ice.

Introduction

Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D., now in his 86th year, is the most famous living guru in the fitness field. He’s the father of the aerobics movement whose books, medical clinic, research and lectures have probably converted a million or more couch potatoes into regular exercisers. Cooper’s first book, entitled Aerobics, reminds some of the wisdom of Schopenhauer, who noted that all reforms have three stages: first they are ignored, then vigorously opposed and finally accepted as self-evident.

I know Dr. Cooper. He and his wife Millie are widely admired. Only a crank would niggle, cavil, nitpick or get snitty about his work. Really – who would dare put forward a negative assessment about any recommendations from this storied exercise guru? Well, I would.

I take exception to Cooper’s much-publicized Twelve Steps to Good Health. Cooper’s 12 Steps should not to be confused with the better known 12 Steps of Alcohol Anonymous, the 12 Steps to Boost Your Health for Life by Joshua Rosenthal or the book, Twelve Steps to Psychological Good Health and Serenity by Gabriel M. A. Segal. I’m not enamored with these 12 Step approaches, either, but this critique is only about Dr. Cooper’s distinctive 12 step recommendations.

Before I describe my concerns, have a look at Cooper’s Twelve Steps to Good Health.

1. Stop using all tobacco and drugs.

2. Limit alcohol to no more than 10 drinks per week.

3. Start exercising.

4. Use less salt, eat less fat-especially animal fat.

5. Eat more fresh vegetables.

6. Avoid obesity.

7. Take proper diet supplements, including calcium and antioxidant vitamins C, E and A.

8. Faster your seat belt.

9. Avoid exposure to the sun.

10. Get immunization shots.

11. Get adequate prenatal care.

12. Get regular medical examinations.

The steps are boilerplate and obvious (avoiding smoking and obesity), overly general (how much more of the good things, how much less of the bad?), arguable (taking supplements) and, in one case, inapplicable to half the population (prenatal care)

In short, they don’t amount to much. From such a vaunted fitness expert, I think we should expect 12 innovative, specific exercise tips we don’t already know, all reasonably specific.

Of course, better would be 12 REAL wellness tips.

Cooper’s Steps Reconsidered

Here is a critique of each step.

1. Stop using tobacco and drugs? Are you kidding? That’s impossible for most people because they would not be caught dead or alive with tobacco products. (As for drugs, well, that depends on the drugs.) Anyway, most people don’t smoke or misuse drugs, though pain relief (opioid) drugs are a serious problem! A substitute step for those not practicing this egregious aspect of self-destruction: Try experiencing at least 23 good laughs daily, more if possible.

2. Ten alcoholic drinks a week? That’s too many! Alcohol is fattening, expensive and often contains sugar. Excessive drinking often causes one to appear stupid. A substitute step: Drink at least eight glasses of water daily.

3. Start exercising? Where have you been? On the moon? Nobody can be well without regular exercise and premature illness and death without it is guaranteed, unless you die first from an accident or something. Do not go into middle age without it! A substitute step: Increase your exercise regimen! Do more than the minimum daily requirements for disease avoidance. Follow the advice of the late Dr. George Sheehan – be a good animal and move often, with grace and power.

4. Less salt, less fat? You can do much better. Consider becoming a vegan. Even a half-ass vegan, or part-time vegan, AKA vegetarian. Doing so will contribute to less animal cruelty and probably weight loss, should you need to lose weight.

5. More fresh vegetables? Depends. Depends on how much you’re eating now. A substitute step: Put less focus on food and more on adding meaning and excitement to life. Nurture your passions.

6. Avoid obesity? Of course. Good idea. Be sure to also avoid exposure to radiation, hungry reptiles, the Republican Party and bubonic plague, while you’re at it. A substitute step: Commit to achieving and maintaining a fit body through life-long exercise and sound eating habits.

7. Food supplements? Few need them. The Harvard Health Letter notes that if supplements actually worked (doubtful for most), they would have side effect risks as well as benefits. No drug is entirely safe, even if taken as directed.

8. Fasten seat belt? You need Dr. Cooper to tell you that? Go much further: make sure your car’s air bags are not under recall, do less motoring and, when you do drive, never ever under any circumstances text or talk into a phone that you’re holding. And drive defensively, assuming other drivers in and around you are mentally challenged and not likely to drive sensibly.

9. Avoid sun exposure? What planet are you currently inhabiting? If Earth, this step will be challenging, to say the least. We all need a bit of star light but get yours earlier or later in the day, whenever possible. Never sunbathe or use a tanning booth and cover up as much as practical.

10. Immunizations? Sure – annual flu shots, vaccinations for children and, as required, for travel to hazardous environments. But, put a REAL wellness spin on this one – immunize yourself against worseness. That is, make efforts to avoid associating with negative people, design your environment to support growth and development and do things that naturally make you feel positive and cheerful.

11. Prenatal care? Good idea if you’re pregnant. A more widely applicable step might have occurred to Dr. Cooper. How about seek work that’s challenging and meaningful, in an environment where you associate with positive coworkers. Also, work at becoming very, very good at what you love to do with the idea that, eventually, someone or many people might want to compensate you for it. Example: writing a regular blog for SeekWellness! (I’m still waiting – you have to be patient.)

12. Regular medical exams? Oh, the humanity, the horror. There is too much medical testing in America. A substitute step: Be more self-reliant. Be familiar with medical self-care – recognize when you need to see a medical professional.

Summary

Dr. Cooper’s steps seem to assume most Americans and others have god-awful, self-destructive lifestyles and are unable or unwilling to think and act in ways that enhance best possibilities for a good life. Hmmmm.

Come to think of it, Dr. Cooper might be on to something. Most people could benefit from some of his recommended 12-steps for minimizing ill health. However, in order to go beyond prevention to functioning in exuberant ways, a different set of steps or recommendations is required.

The reformed steps provided above emphasize the positive – the use of reason and the enjoyment of personal liberties for an exuberant approach to life. Warning signs, such as described in the last AWR dealing with disease and organ interest groups (DOIGs), never provide the higher states of genuine aliveness associated with optimal mental and physical wellbeing.

People have different preferences towards available life options. Same is true for the statement “health is wealth”. What exactly is it? A simple preference that signifies health is superior to wealth? Or a comprehensive statement that indicates health and wealth are linked with each other, systematically and dynamically?

Health is a comprehensive concept, it includes physical strength, mental power and spiritual-wellness of a person. On the other hand, wealth is the richness of a person i.e. abundance of money and worldly items. “Health is Wealth” is a simple statement but its meaning is so fabulous when deeply thought. People now a days refer the statement as when a person is healthy, he is capable of making wealth. On the contrary, if one is not healthy he/she cannot work productively, and hence won’t be able to generate income for independent living. This explanation is true but the deep meaning of this claim can be understood by the words of Virgil: “The greatest wealth is health.” Mr. Virgil is trying to enlighten the concept that the greatest wealth is health, not money or worldly items. There is nothing more valuable in our life than having a good health.

Patrick Meagher said: “Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” Nowadays people are influenced by wealth improperly that they don’t even care about their health, the greatest wealth. They don’t understand that without health there is no real happiness and enviable success. A person with poor health is unable to enjoy the pleasures of life. I think such people are foolish enough because they do not care about their health. Our first priority should be to maintain our health in the best way.

There are multiple methods and practices by which a person can stay healthy; Spending time in natural environment i.e. visiting parks and gardens. Physical exercise is also essential e.g. morning walks, playing sports, etc., it keeps a person smart and healthy. Water is the cure for all types of illness, so drink water to stay healthy and fit. Eating a balanced diet keeps people away from different illness and diseases. It is said that: “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Abandon unhealthy practices and habits e.g. smoking, drinking and taking drugs because it harms internal parts of our body. Always be optimistic and cheerful because: “Laughter/smile is the best medicine.” On the contrary, an unhappy person is more prone to fatigue and other illness.

Remember, living a healthy life can be the greatest gift you can give yourself because one cannot enjoy life if he/she is unhealthy. In addition, we must not harm our health by running madly behind wealth. I would like to conclude my essay on the nice words of Mae West: “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”