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Friday, 13 May 2016

Princess Health and Insurance commissioner sues contractor for failed Kentucky Health Cooperative, alleging gross negligence in handling claims. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Insurance commissioner sues contractor for failed Kentucky Health Cooperative, alleging gross negligence in handling claims. Princessiccia

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State Insurance Commissioner Brian Maynard, acting as liquidator of the failed Kentucky Health Cooperative, filed suit in Franklin Circuit Court Friday against against the company that the co-op hired to process and pay claims. The suit contends that CGI Technologies and Solutions Inc. was "grossly negligent" in processing and paying claims and thus breached its contract.

The co-op, created by federal health reform to compete with insurance companies and hold down premium costs, had financial problems from the start. This year Republicans accused former Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat who embraced health reform, of holding down co-op premiums to make the reforms look good. Beshear denied the charge.

The co-op announced in October 2015 that it would close because Congress did not provide sufficient "risk corridor" payments to insurers with disproportionately sick policyholders and the Obama administration was unwilling or unable to make up the difference. The co-op, which had a deficit of $50 million in 2014, was expecting a risk-corridor payment of $77 million but got only $9.7 million. Most other co-ops also failed.

�We have a duty to investigate the causes of the co-op�s collapse and to hold responsible those individuals who caused the collapse,� Maynard said in a press release. �This includes recovering funds from responsible parties so that the doctors, nurses, and hospitals that treated Kentuckians insured by the co-op are fairly compensated for their services.�

Thousands of patients and thousands of providers will have to wait until Oct. 15 or later to find out how much of their medical bills sent to the co-op will be paid, Kentucky Health News reported in February. The co-op "left thousands of providers waiting for payment," Stephanie Armour reported for The Wall Street Journal. It covered about 51,000 people through the end of 2015. Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd will decide how much will be paid to whom.

Princess Health and McDonald's stops sending to schools man who says he lost much weight eating only at McDonald's, including Big Macs and fries. Princessiccia

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Photo via flickriver.com
McDonald�s has stopped "giving nutrition advice to students in schools, pulling back on a program that critics said was a subtle form of fast-food marketing that could imperil kids� health and understanding of nutrition," Roberto Ferdman reports for The Washington Post.

The company had been sending to schools "a middle-aged teacher from Iowa who came to fame after claiming to have lost almost 60 pounds eating only McDonald�s," including Big Macs and french fries, Ferdman writes.

"McDonald�s said in a statement this week that Cisna stopped those visits last fall, after a Washington Post article highlighted how McDonald�s used its relationship with local schools and teachers� associations to get its message in front of students. . . . McDonald�s had long defended the practice, saying that Cisna�s presentation was about choice, not about eating McDonald�s. But critics argued it amounted to little more than a veiled attempt to woo customers at a young and impressionable age."
Princess Health and Health-insurance stocks fall in reaction to federal judge striking down one Obamacare subsidy; ruling is stayed pending appeal. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Health-insurance stocks fall in reaction to federal judge striking down one Obamacare subsidy; ruling is stayed pending appeal. Princessiccia

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"Shares of Humana, Aetna and other health insurance companies tumbled on Thursday, as a federal judge ruled that Affordable Care Act subsidies could not be dispensed without congressional approval," Boris Ladwig reports for Insider Louisville. "Humana�s shares slid 2.5 percent, and Aetna�s dropped 3.26 percent. Insurers Anthem and UnitedHealth Group also booked declines."

District Judge Rosemary Collyer of the District of Columbia ruled that Congress had never provided money for the subsidies to people who buy health insurance through Kynect and other exchanges. "Without subsidies, fewer people would be able to afford to purchase health insurance, which means insurance companies would lose customers," Ladwig explains.

Collyer, an appointee of George W. Bush, allowed the program to continue while the Obama administration appeals her ruling to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court appears likely to decide the issue.

The suit by House Republicans involved only cost-sharing subsidies, not the income-tax credits that apply to monthly premium payments. The Obama administration funded the cost-sharing with money from the tax-credit account.

The cost-sharing subsidies are available to people with incomes between 100 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level � between $24,300 and $60,750 for a family of four. "Several million Obamacare customers receive cost-sharing subsidies, but the exact figure is unknown," Jennifer Haberkorn reports for Politico. "As of the middle of the last Obamacare enrollment period, 57 percent of people who signed up for coverage through the federal exchange on HealthCare.gov receive them. . . . If the subsidies are ultimately struck, it would reinforce claims from opponents of the health law that the Obamacare insurance plans are not actually affordable."

Thursday, 12 May 2016

Princess Health and May 12th, 2016 One Thing's For Sure. Princessiccia

Princess Health and May 12th, 2016 One Thing's For Sure. Princessiccia

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May 12th, 2016 One Thing's For Sure

Today was busy and solid. I maintained the integrity of my calorie budget, remained abstinent from refined sugar and hit my water goal.

I know tomorrow is scheduled as a thirteen hour work day with a late afternoon location broadcast--so, I'm doing myself a huge favor and going to bed early.

Not a "tweets only," but close!

Before I go--It's ThrowBack Thursday!
photo revisedbeforeandafteronthegrill.jpg
This might have been my first "before-during" photo comparison. I didn't even know how to do such a thing--I remember asking my oldest daughter to do it--and she did a great job! I had lost almost 180 pounds by this point during my initial weight loss. #tbt

photo IMG_2119_zpsmkqzem7l.jpg
One thing's for sure--I'm enthusiastic and passionate about weight loss and maintenance! Give me a microphone and a stage--and watch out!

Goodnight, friends!

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Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
Princess Health and Shepherdsville bans smoking with children in vehicle. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Shepherdsville bans smoking with children in vehicle. Princessiccia

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In the first such ban in Kentucky, the Shepherdsville City Council has passed an ordinance prohibiting smoking in motor vehicles with children inside them.

Smoking in vehicles with children "is something we see a lot around here," and is "a big problem," Kalynn Walls, a legal assistant who helped write the ordinance, told Laura Ungar of The Courier-Journal. The ordinance "is kind of a common-sense thing" that is designed partly "to spark other cities to adopt policies like this," Walls said.

The ordinance says people can't "use tobacco products with a residue of smoke" in a vehicle occupied by anyone under 18. The ban applies to cigarettes, cigars, pipes and other products, but not to e-cigarettes. It is a secondary offense, meaning drivers can't be pulled over for it, but can be cited if stopped for another violation. Conviction carries a fine of up to $250.

The ordinance was inspired by a similar law in England and is the first in Kentucky, according to Ellen Hahn, a University of Kentucky nursing professor and director of the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy.

Hahn told The Courier-Journal that she wishes Bullitt County, of which Shepherdsville is the county seat, prohibited smoking in workplaces. The county health board passed a smoking ban three years ago, but the fiscal court sued to overturn it, and the Kentucky Supreme Court said smoking bans should be enacted only by elected officials.

In Bullitt County, 27 percent of adults smoke, about the same rate as statewide. "Kentucky consistently has one of the highest adult smoking rates in the nation," Ungar notes.

Princess Health and Ky. has plan to keep Zika virus out of state, but needs your help; travelers to Zika-affected areas need to take precautions. Princessiccia

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By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

State officials launched a mosquito prevention campaign May 9 at the Kentucky State University Research Farm near Frankfort as part of the state's efforts to combat the Zika virus, with an emphasis on the need for Kentuckians to do their part at home and when they travel.

"Zika prevention is mosquito prevention," Health Secretary Vickie Yates Brown Glisson said at the news conference where she introduced the campaign, "Fight the Bite Day and Night."

To date, six cases of Zika have been confirmed in Kentucky, all in people who were infected abroad and then returned to the U.S. But Glisson said it is "very possible" that Kentucky could have a local outbreak because the state has the species of mosquito that transmits the virus.

Of the 59 mosquito species in Kentucky, only one, Aedes aegypti, a small, black mosquito that bites mostly during the day, has been confirmed as a Zika carrier, and it is "very rare," accounting for "roughly one out of every 5,000 or so mosquitoes that we catch here in Kentucky," said Grayson Brown, director of the Public Health Entomology Laboratory at the University of Kentucky. However, Brown said six or seven other species in the state could be Zika transmitters, including the state's most common monquito, Aedes albopictus, better known as the Asian tiger mosquito.

The major concern is that a Zika-infected person will return to the U.S., get bitten by a mosquito that can transmit it to the next person it bites, with the cycle continuing.

Symptoms of the virus include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes, although about 80 percent of people who are infected with the Zika virus never show symptoms.

Those in greatest danger from the infection are women in early pregnancy. Infants born to Zika infected mothers are at high risk for microcephaly, a condition where the infants head is smaller than normal, as well as other possible severe fetal brain defects. It has also been associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body's immune system attacks its nerves, in adults. The World Health Organization has declared Zika an international health threat.

Dr. Ardis Hoven, infectious disease specialist with the Kentucky Department of Public Health, urged travelers to protect themselves from mosquitoes by using EPA-approved repellents and wearing protective clothing while in affected areas, and doing so for three weeks after returning home to prevent transmission to local mosquitoes.

"If everyone does this, it greatly reduces the risk of Zika ever getting into Kentucky's mosquito population," said Hoven, who is also chair of the World Medical Association. "We are counting on you, so please take this advice seriously."

The state has created an extensive action plan to monitor Zika infected mothers and their infants that includes a monitoring schedule, and access to many social and healthcare services as needed. The state health department has reported that one of the confirmed Zika cases in the state is a pregnant woman.

Hoven advised pregnant women to not travel at all to affected areas and specifically said, "Pregnant women should not attend the Olympics," which will be held in Rio de Janeiro in August.

Concerns about Zika in Rio prompted Amir Attaran, a professor in the School of Public Health and the School of Law at the University of Ottawa, to write a commentary for the Harvard Public Health Review, calling for the Olympic Games to either be postponed or moved to another country.

"Does it really make sense to send a half-million [Olympic tourists] into Rio, which is, to be very clear, not the fringes of the outbreak? It's the heart of the outbreak," Attaran told NPR. "But is it at the end of the day sensible to run the risk of a global epidemic of, let's face it, brain-damaged babies, when that could be avoided by simply postponing the games or moving them elsewhere?"

Attaran, whose wife is from Brazil, told NPR that while the risk is quite low for individual athletes or individual tourists, "when you multiply (that) by 500,000, the odds are extremely high that somebody will take the disease elsewhere and seed a new outbreak."

Zika can also be transmitted sexually, which has occurred about 10 times now in the United States, Hoven said.

Shelley Wood, nurse consultant for Zika at the state health department, said male travelers without symptoms should use condoms for eight weeks after departure from a Zika-affected area. Men with Zika symptoms should get tested and use condoms for six months, and male travelers with pregnant partners should wear condoms throughout the pregnancy .

Wood also said couples should take steps to prevent conception for at least eight weeks after returning from a Zika-affected area, and women should not travel to such areas eight weeks before they are trying to conceive.

State officials urged Kentuckians to be vigilant about mosquito control and reminded them to remember the "3 D" approach to decrease the risk of infection by mosquitoes:

  • Drain all standing water where mosquitoes breed such as bird baths, tires, buckets and gutters
  • Defend against mosquitoes with approved insect repellents at all times for outdoor activities.
  • Dress in light colored long sleeved shirts and pants.

State Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles announced a partnership between his Agriculture Department and the health ahency as part of its Zika prevention plan. This partnership allows health officials to mobilize "strike teams" and use Agriculture Department equipment if the state begins to have local transmissions of Zika. Typically, the Agriculture Department sprays for mosquitoes at the request of local officials or local health departments.

Hoven said, "As with all public health issues, the best form of protection is prevention, not clean-up."

The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture website has the latest updates on Zika and its spread.

Wednesday, 11 May 2016

Princess Health and May 11th, 2016 One Of The Golden Keys. Princessiccia

Princess Health and May 11th, 2016 One Of The Golden Keys. Princessiccia

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May 11th, 2016 One Of The Golden Keys

I've had a couple of questions lately about intuitive eating. I suppose it was on my brain--because when the topic of mindful eating came up within a support exchange, I confused the two! I'm human!

As a good friend and loyal-longtime reader of this blog later described (after my confusion), mindful eating is critically important--and completely different from intuitive eating: "...mindful eating is taking the time to eat my food slowly, savoring each bite and not rushing through my meal, turning off the TV, thanking the people that brought the food to you...being conscious of what you are eating. I sometimes find that I get full and don't even eat all my food." 

Spot on! Mindful eating has played an important role in what I do, too. I can't count the number of times in my past when I consumed something so fast, I didn't even realize what I was doing. Ever inhale your food? That was me most of the time, as if I was in a race of some sort. Have you ever inhaled macaroni and cheese? Dangerous and painful! Mindful eating--yes, yes, yes...very important!

My reply incorrectly used the term "mindful eating," instead of "intuitive eating," two very different things!

As I often do, after investing some thought and energy into writing something elsewhere, I'll bring it here as a topic. So, with a few edits--and some additions, I'll share it tonight.

The questions I've received lately about intuitive eating were both very similar, one asking my opinion on the topic and both asking essentially the same main question: Will I ever transition into more of an intuitive eating program?

The simple answer to that, for me, is--without hesitation: No. 

Here's why:

It never worked for me. Believe me, I wanted to be an intuitive eater really really bad--I tried it after my initial 275 pound weight loss and gained a lot of weight. I wanted to be that kind of "normal," mostly because, deep down, I always resented and resisted my truth.

My normal and my truth is: I must make the effort and set the boundaries in order to lose weight--and also to maintain, where I am now. If I could intuitively eat, I don't think I would have successfully gained up to and maintained a 500 pound weight for nearly twenty years.

Now, I'm not resentful or resistant--I found acceptance--and took it further, to a full-on embrace of my truth each and every day--and instead of a drag, it's a beautiful experience--giving me a tremendous amount of life and freedom. And it isn't just because I'm measuring and weighing the food--logging everything and maintaining the integrity of my plan. The source of this life and freedom is bigger than that. It is, because I'm living in harmony with my truth, my "normal," and that is, in my opinion--one of the golden keys to this deal.

Intuitive eating works beautifully for some! It's simply one of those self-discovery things--it's the whole "finding what works for you," deal.

My word of caution is simple: The important thing is to maintain a higher level of awareness so you can honestly recognize the signs of whether it's working or not working. If chaos, instability and struggle keep interrupting your consistency--then it might be time to reevaluate. That was my biggest issue at one point during relapse/regain--I kept pushing ahead, insisting I could do it, while everything kept falling apart over and over again.

Today was a really good day. I maintained the integrity of my maintenance calorie budget, I remained abstinent from refined sugar, I met my daily water goal, I had a great workout tonight and I jazzed up my food a little bit. It was solid. I'm grateful. I'll aim for another one, tomorrow!

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Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
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