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I’ve been advised, that as of October 1, 2010, my health insurance plan premiums are going up. Not the 40% originally planned by Anthem Blue Cross, but a whopping 17%, meaning that my monthly payment for me and my daughter will go from $439 to $527. Annually that means an additional $1020 out of my pocket (for a total of $6324 per annum) on top of my $40 copay per visit and my annual deductible.
The letter from Anthem talks in circles about health care reform and how these changes may or may not have affected my policy and that my age and that of my daughter (10) may have something to do with the increase (a basic bunch of crap to tell us that any excuse is allowable for raising rates) and again in circles about how they realize how tough the economy is:
At Anthem, we understand that raising premiums creates many challenges and is hard on individuals and families, especially in these tough economic times. We know that we can do better — and we will — but we can’t do it alone. We’re all in this together. We’re working with doctors, insurers, regulators and you to improve the health care enviornment. And we are investing in many initiatives to reduce the cost of care, including:
pushing harder for higher quality health care from our partners
negotiating for the best rates for health care products and services on your behalf
making more tools available to help you better manage your health and out-of-pocket costs
continuing to provide significant discounts through access to our large nationwide provider networks
…blah…blah…blah…
This past year I turned 50, which meant it was time for me to have a preventative colonoscopy. Considered an out-patient surgery by my plan, my cost, plus co-pay would have meant close to $1000 for me. I was not able to take care of it last year and it is unlikely I’ll be able to afford $1000 for that procedure this year. Interestingly, the new health care reform bill will be phasing in the cost of colonoscopy to be part of the included wellness health program that insurance companies will have to cover. I guess I’m being charged that amount anyway. Not only am I furious, I’m disgusted. The spirit of health insurance reform is to help Americans have affordable health care coverage and actually be able to take preventative steps to stay healthy.
As of Monday, I’m exploring my options with Kaiser (an HMO organization) and we’ll see if I can do better there. Disgusting. Shame on Anthem, the state of California’s LARGEST health benefits company. They say they are
“committed to help transform health care in California and make sure we meet your needs.”
If anyone from Anthem leadership is a Gen Plus reader, let me assure you…you are definitely NOT meeting my needs. Where is a 17% increase warranted in ANY company right now? Auggghhh!
Summer is a crazy, crazy time for me and I was remiss in not pointing you to the fabulous Blogging Boomers Carnival #173, hosted last week at Fabulous After 40! This week, BBC #174 is over at one of our Carnival founders home away from home, Life Two, hosted by Wesley Hein, who we ALL love! Don’t miss out on the tidbits of summer inspiration from our gang of top-rated boomer bloggers.
I switched my eating lifestyle about 6 months ago — going from the types of food that most North Americans eat — to organic meat, fish and poultry (i.e. free range and living with a bit more respect than the “product” farms”); and organic and locally grown produce. I stopped buying any prepared foods and bake and cook all my own. For awhile I’ve been in my own inner turmoil over eggs. Because I bake so much, I use a great deal of eggs. And there is a world of difference to my extremely slim pocketbook between $1.49 for a dozen extra-large eggs at Trader Joe’s, and $3.79 for a dozen large free-range organic eggs. I’ve done my research and it seems that the nutritional value between organic and non-organic is virtually the same. That the brown eggs cost more because the chickens need additional feed. And that the choice to buy organic eggs is largely a moral choice. Well, I couldn’t bring myself to buy the less expensive eggs because I can’t deal with the idea of eating the eggs from these poor chickens who sit under each other, being defacated upon, and basically spending a life just sitting in a cage and laying eggs. It seemed to me that it couldn’t possibly be a clean enough environment, and that the chickens must ingest some of that poop. Which would lead to them having to be treated with massive amounts of antibiotics to keep them from getting … salmonella.
Well, I may be spending $4-6/week on my eggs, but I’m not one of those who is going to get sick from one of the FIVE HUNDRED MILLION (yes – 500,000,000 ….500M) eggs that have been recalled. Talk about food conglomerates owning the food chain. How is it possible that we have left ourselves in the hands of such huge monopolies, whose bottom line is only about bottom line? Having worked in corporate environments for so many years, I understand adhering to minimum requirements, but I have also seen what minimum requirements are…and I can guarantee you, they are to minimize the exposure of a company, NOT to guarantee the safety of the North American consumer. Here’s a CNN article on the mess.
If there is any more “in-your-face” example of how the food chain has been corrupted, I’m not sure what it would be. the salmonella is not on the shells of the chicken eggs. It is in the eggs. The laying hens are contaminated from eating tainted feed, or ingesting fecal matter from other chickens, or from myriad reasons. So either the chickens will be destroyed, or they’ll be treated with massive antibiotics to get rid of their infections. Which will pass, again, through to the eggs. We are what we eat and as a society we are far too reliant on major industry. When something like this egg disaster happens, you can see how fragile our food-chain system has become. That is why it is SO important to support your local farmers. At the very least, I can get local supply of free-range chicken eggs if I need to. At the very least, I can get seasonal produce from the farmer around the corner.
It doesn’t matter that it is more expensive — my pocketbook is very tight, yet I’d rather eat food that I know will not make me sick…if we stop supporting local growers and they shut down, what happens when we really have a contamination crisis and can’t count on quality of the product from most of the mega-growers?
Here’s another thing to think about. When is the last time you found a bug in your salad, a worm in your tomato, or in your lettuce? I’m sure you’ll be hard-pressed to remember a time. When I switched over to locally grown and organic produce, I started finding a few bugs here or there. A ladybug in my salad. A worm in one tomato and an ear of corn. A bit of rot on a lemon. The last time I remember finding a worm in a tomato was probably about 15 years ago (and I launched it across the table at my sister…not on purpose…which was what I had done all through our childhood, whenever I found a worm in my veggies or fruit). This summer when I found a worm in my corn I was actually amazed and delighted. It meant that the corn had been grown in an environment where a bug might actually wander into the crop. If none of you remembers the last time you found a bug in your produce, what does that mean about the environment in which they are grown? All I’m saying is think about it.
Did you all notice that yesterday (my sister’s birthday, by the way) was August 9th, 2010…or 8,9,10? I realize today is 9,9,10, but I liked yesterdays numerology…hence that date added to the Gen Plus List!
Tons ‘o’stuff to share. In no particular order:
For years, in our family, we opened our doors to international students and created friendships with these wonderful kids…many that have lasted for many, many years. There is a great host family program that might interest you, whether your kids are out of the house, or still living with you. Welcoming a high school foreign exchange student into your home is a great way to increase global awareness for your family, your schools and even across your community.Learning more about the EF Foundation for Foreign Study may encourage you, your family, or friends to learn more about becoming a host family!
The deadline for this year is coming up quickly and the EF Foundation for Foreign Study is looking right now for host families for the 2010-2011 school year.
EF Foundation has:
Connected over 100,000 talented, enthusiastic students from 30 countries with caring host families across America
Been facilitating foreign exchange for more than 30 years.
Connected more students with American host families than any other program of its kind!
This is a PSA which showcases some of the young people and families that have benefited: EF Foundation Definitely worth your consideration.
AND…
…a new article Women Will Steer the Fate of Health Care Reform written by author Dora Calott Want, M.D. The article discusses the role of women and the fact they have a large role in steering the health care choices of their family. Now with the new Affordable Care Act, the actions of women on behalf of their families will collectively shape the future of health care in America.
Dora is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. A graduate of the Yale School of Medicine and the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, she received her M.A. in English literature from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been the recipient of a writer’s residency from the Lannan Foundation. In addition, her new book The Kitchen Shrink is published by Riverhead Books, The Penguin Group.
AND…
…mmmm….mmmm….mmmm! What chocolate is to the palate is Lang Lang to a renewed love affair with classical music. Many of us only “met” Lang Lang through the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics, but if you DON”T know who he is, then it is time you did. Do you remember when you first saw the Beatles shake up and create rock’n'roll? Lang Lang is that same elixer to the classics. With his emotion just bursting out of him, you can feel what the meaning of the music is. Sony Music got it right on and signed him on. And, boy is it right. His first album for Sony, “Live in Vienna”, is also is the first time he records Beethoven sonatas: the famous Appassionata, and C major Sonata op. 2, no. 3. Frankly, I’ll listen to Lang Lang anytime…playing anything. Watch this clip and see if you aren’t blown away. Good job, Sony.
Releasing August 24th.
AND….
As you may know by now, I’m really big into good, healthy eating. Well, author Judith J. Wurtman has just released The Serotonin Power Diet (Rodale Inc.; December 2009, ISBN: 978-1-59486-972-3, $15.99, Paperback). This book shows readers how to eat in order to maximize their bodies’ serotonin production. I’m ALL for that. Born with the most sluggish of metabolisms (yes, I could withstand cold Siberian winters subsisting on pototo soup) and exercise copiously just to be able to eat a home-baked chocolate- chip muffin, I, for one, can’t wait to read this book and see what I can do to give me some of that full pleasure that seratonin provides (vs. eating more chocolate!)
Based on over 30 years of pioneering research on the connections between food, mood, brain, and appetite, Dr. Wurtman and her colleague, Nina T. Frusztajer MD devised and clinically tested this groundbreaking program. The program was developed at a Harvard University affiliated hospital weight loss clinic to help people on antidepressants lose weight. The diet continues to work for those who have a few pounds to lose or more.
By Dora Calott Wang, M.D.,
Author of The Kitchen Shrink: A Psychiatrist’s Reflections on Healing in a Changing World
As mothers, daughters, wives and leaders of households, women often steer the health care choices of families. Thus in the coming years, women will also be a major force toward implementing health care reform and the landmark Affordable Care Act.
Whenever we enroll a child into newly available health insurance, whenever we convince parents to get mammograms or colonoscopies that will be free under Medicare in 2011, each time we appeal an insurance company’s denial of care, or when we choose health insurance in new marketplaces beginning in 2014 — we will be helping to shape the future of health care in America. In fact, much of the ACA depends upon the actions and choices of patients, with women often taking the lead.
Many ACA laws are already in effect. For example, nursing mothers in most workplaces are now entitled to time and private space to pump breast milk for a child’s first year of life. Did you ever think the feds would mandate this? It’s a new era.
The ACA’s main goal is for nearly every American to have health insurance. New opportunities are already available, and uninsured members of your family may qualify. If someone in your family has been denied health insurance because of a pre-existing illness, check out the new “high-risk pool” insurance plans available now. Log onto Healthcare.gov to find local options, and get your loved one covered. Medicaid has been expanded, so someone in your family may be newly eligible. By September 23, you can insure your children under your own health plan until they are age 26, and insurance companies will have to accept all children under age 19 with pre-existing illnesses.
Patients (and the women often guiding them), might possibly exert the most influence on health care reform through two important ACA measures — appeals processes that should be in place by Sept. 23, and the new health insurance marketplaces in effect by 2014.
In the words of President Obama, the ACA aims to protect patients against the worst abuses of health insurance companies. The ACA provides many safeguards against insurance companies denying coverage. Yet the devil is still in the details when it comes to holding insurers more accountable toward paying for care. To fight against insurance companies taking our premiums, then trying not to pay for medical care, the federal government is cracking down on fraud, waste and abuse. The ACA eliminates life-time caps on health insurance benefits, while mandating that insurance companies now must spend at least 85 percent of their dollars on medical care, rather than on profit and administration.
We the public can do our part to keep insurance companies honest through new appeals processes which should be in place by Sept. 23 for new insurers. If you feel your new insurer is unfairly denying care, or is stalling on time-sensitive care, you will be able to appeal to the insurer itself, but also to an external review process. The ACA leaves it up to individual states to institute these appeals processes, but the federal government will hear grievances if state processes are inadequate.
These appeals processes will be an all-important aspect of health reform — which will be driven by patients making appeals, and therefore reliant upon all of us.
Another crucial step is that by 2014, we can shop for health insurance in new exchanges offering comparisons between different plans. So if we see an insurance company hiking rates by 70 percent in one year, for example, or if an insurance company has a reputation of not paying for care (yes, this will still happen under the ACA), the new exchanges will offer options. Collectively, by choosing insurance for our families, we’ll determine which insurers succeed or fail, and thus shape the landscape of American health care.
The lady of the house has always had a large role in steering the health care choices of her family. Now with the new Affordable Care Act, the actions of women on behalf of their families will collectively shape the future of health care in America.
For more information about the ACA and its timeline, log onto the excellent website, Healthcare.gov.
Author Bio
Dora Calott Wang, M.D., is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. A graduate of the Yale School of Medicine and the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, she received her M.A. in English literature from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been the recipient of a writer’s residency from the Lannan Foundation. Her memoir, The Kitchen Shrink: A Psychiatrist’s Reflections on Healing in a Changing World was published by Riverhead Books, The Penguin Group.
It is summer. My busiest season and sadly, blogging time is severely cut down. However, you must not, should not miss our weekly Carnival (even if I did! LOL.). This week at Contemporary Retirement! and LAST week at MidLife Crisis Queen. Stay tuned for a full-bodies Gen Plus list…lots of goodies to share!
A few months ago, I watched a film called Food, Inc that so impacted my way of looking at food and how big business has literally changed the food we ingest, that I radically changed our family food preparation and consumption. (For past posts, head over to the “Health and Fitness” category in the sidebar or click the link.
In order to avoid the massive amounts of hormones and antibiotics in beef and chicken from most of the major growers, I switched over to organic meat — meaning the cattle and fowl are free range. Cows are grass-fed in pastures, chickens in natural sunlight. If they are being fed corn it is not genetically modified…basically they are living a life closer to what nature intended than in the cattle and chicken farms that show very little respect for the lives that they raise and slaughter. I’m not a vegetarian and I have nothing against raising cattle or fowl for human consumption. But to see cows standing knee deep in their excrement in vast, acres of excrement and mud…no. That doesn’t sit well with me.
On the fruit and vegetable end of things, after much deliberation, I’m buying a combination of organic and locally-grown produce. I’m shopping for most of my food at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, which both offer me a good range of meats and produce and they fit my food choice preferences. I get most of my local produce at the Tapia Brothers market (if you are in LA, at the corner of Havenhurst and Burbank) where much of their product is from their farm across the street or brought in from a range of less than 50 miles. So it is farm-ripened rather than truck/transit-ripened.
Because I’m lactose intolerant, I have to ingest soy milk if I want to have a semblance of milk in my diet or cooking, so I purchase organic and limit my intake to about 8 oz a day max. (The isoflavins in the soy milk are good for you in small amounts, but not in the large amounts that we are ingesting by virtue of all the soy fillers in most prepared foods.)
AND, the biggest change is that I’m ONLY buying fresh food and making all cookies, cakes and avoiding any packaged goods. Once I started reading labels and discovering just how much soy and corn is added to just about every packaged food, I couldn’t, in good conscience, continue to keep ingesting it. My own theory is this: soy and corn fatten up the cows and chickens, and if we have such huge amounts of soy and corn fillers in OUR foods, then we will fatten up as well. In addition to this, the changes to our food supply really started within the past 10-15 years — coincidentally the same period of time as I’ve had trouble losing belly fat. You could say it was my age. You could say that I wasn’t getting enough exercise.
In my case, I radically changed the foods I put into my body and those of my family. I’m NOT dieting. In fact, I’m eating whatever I want, whenever I want…however ALL the food is chock full of goodness and not an artificial filler in sight. I’ve now officially lost about 8 pounds over the past three months. No diet. No change in my level of activity. Just no preserved/packaged foods (i.e. no soy/corn fillers), fresh local or organic produce, and free-range organic beef and chicken. The fish is often farm-raised, but then I’m making sure it is organic (so even though corn-fed, it is not genetically modified corn) or wild-caught. I have my own continuing battle over farmed fish vs. wild-caught because of the wild fishing methods being harmful to other sea creatures…so I’ll keep having a think on that one. I don’t see a clear answer yet on the fish front.
But 8 pounds? Just from avoiding the fillers? Does it take me more time to prepare all my foods? Yes. Definitely. From soup stocks to baked goods…a lot more time. Is this higher quality of food more expensive? Yes. Definitely. However, I’m no longer spending a cent on packaged anything, so it seems to even out. Am I wasting food? Very little. Most leftover bones, and vegetable scraps go into my freezer for soup stock. It took me a few weeks to realize that such fresh food goes bad more quickly, so I’m heading to the store and local farmer more often, but other than that, it is becoming a fairly easy and enjoyable way of life. I really feel that I’ll lose another 5 – 10 pounds over the next 6 months to a year as the belly fat continues to dissolve without fillers and excess estrogen (from pesticides and preservatives) to keep it there.
I don’t worry about when I eat out or if my daughter desperately wants something that is filled with corn syrup and fillers, because it is the rare occasion and not the rule.
I feel incredibly healthy. So, there is the update.
I have had an informal Google group running for a couple of years, but really have paid no attention to it. Over the past month a technical recruiter has been posting many technical openings all across the US. He is looking for people with skills ranging from Ruby on Rails, to PeopleSoft, to SharePoint, to System Engineers and more. I have no relationship with the recruiter, but if you are interested in taking a look, or know someone who might be, just send them over to the Gen Plus Google group.
I’m a social butterfly. One of those people who loves any sort of opportunity to chat with new people, experience exciting new things, see new sights. Very socially oriented.
As a result, and as a business owner, I LOVE networking events and social mixers. Most of the people who attend are in business for themselves, or, if in big business, responsible in some way for building their networks to best benefit their employers. I’ve gone to home-grown mixers, chamber of commerce, consulate events, alma mater brunches, political call campaigns, Canadian expat events, and temple-created business mixers. But I’d never been to a Jewish Chamber of Congress event.
A week or so ago there was a big LA business mixer in downtown Los Angeles and at that event my companion and I happened upon a literal wandering Jew. He had lost his booth! With a little of this, a map of that, he was on his merry way and invited us to stop by as we did our rounds. His booth? The Los Angeles Jewish Chamber of Commerce. Not only had I not heard of it, but, as a Jewish woman, I’m automatically attracted to Jewish community-oriented activities because it feels familiar. Of course we stopped by. Of course we got on the mailing list. And, of course, found out that there was a Jewish LA CC mixer just a few nights later.
We decided to go. And I’m so glad we did! An elegant little affair in the Millenium Biltmore in downtown LA (historic and lovely) and I have to say, I’ve NEVER had such a relaxed and wonderful time at a networking event as this one. Everyone was truly delighted to be there and everyone was open to talking to…well…everyone. The founder, Jeff Gurman, was all smiles and handshakes, welcoming everyone, introducing everyone. He started the LA Jewish CC a couple of years ago and I think he’s onto something. In any event, I’m definitely going to the next event. Here’s a pic of me and Jeff mugging for the camera.
But here’s what I really want to tell you about. I met a gentleman who was very understated and impressed the socks right off me. We had a nice chat, standing at the bar, and I learned that he had left a large brokerage firm about 8 years earlier to start his own company with a partner. Now a thriving asset management company, I was amazed at what he had been able to do in 8 short years. From a tiny office he now had 12 asset managers (brokers) working for him managing a large amount of wealth. He mentioned, in passing, that he had 100% client retention. I was floored. 100%? Over 8 years not ONE client has left him? Not one. The rest of his team was there wearing their power suits. He wasn’t wearing a suit…just a nice shirt…and taking the time to have a chat with an unwealthy stranger.
I don’t know that so many others would fall off their heels at the concept of 100% client retention in an 8-year span. But my whole business life has been about acquisition of new business and retention of old business, marketing and delivering service, and, most importantly, building relationships. His secret? Of course…it was all about the relationships he had with his clients. In 8 years, every single one of his clients got a call, every single day, to bring them up-to-speed on how their portfolio was doing. Through ups and downs. Every single day. I don’t talk to all of my immediate family every single day, but imagine how much more connected we’d feel if we DID touch base every single day.
Imagine how fantastic our business relationships would be if we talked to each of our active clients every single day. Maybe we, too, would have 100% client retention.
That’s what I got out of my first LA Jewish CC mixer. Now, go call someone.
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