Health, Wellness, Insurance, and Healthcare Marketplace News

Can you confidently say, “I don’t suffer...

ContentsI don’t suffer from diabetesWhat is diabetes?Am I at risk? Can diabetes be inherited?What are the symptoms?Can diabetes be prevented or cured?Does my health plan cover diabetes? I don’t suffer from diabetes The chances are that...

Eye Injury

ContentsWho is at risk?Common causes of eye injuryPreventionAre my family and I insured for eye injury? Who is at risk? We all are. Each year there are about 2.5 million eye injuries in the USA. (American Academy of Opthalmology) Not...

Cholesterol, Frend, or FOE?

ContentsCholesterol, Friend or FoWhat is cholesterol – what does it do?What causes high cholesterol?Are high levels of cholesterol dangerous?What will it cost to check my cholesterol level?My cholesterol is too high – what can I do?...

How can I make the pain go...

If you are reading this article, you are probably concerned, either for yourself or a loved one, about the impact that chronic or acute pain has. Pain can have a life-changing effect on your way of life. Pain can affect your sleep,...

The Seasonal Flu Jab – your questions...

Perhaps you are hesitating about the need to keep your own and your loved one’s flu defenses up to date. We spell out the vaccination program’s why, when, and who. ContentsIs getting a flu jab more critical this season?When...

Preparing for the first year of marriage...

It’s important because you want to get off to a great start. You want to hit the ground running if you will in the right direction. And so I want to share just a few of the things that you should be considering.  We have the...

FREE Health Insurance if Your Income Doesn’t...

Under the new Special Enrollment Period (SEP), eligible applicants can enroll in an ACA-compliant health plan through the marketplace year-round This Special Enrollment Period does...

The Importance of Breastfeeding During the COVID-19...

Across the generations, there have been reasons to find alternatives to the biological imperative to breastfeed. Modern science has provided ever safer options for mothers for whom breastfeeding is not medically possible or who choose...

What are Non-Pharmaceutical Drug Treatments for ADHD?

Yes, there are non-pharmaceutical approaches to supporting those living with ADHD-affected loved ones and minimizing their dependence on pharmaceutical drug intervention and the risk of side effects. We spoke recently on what to do if...

What Should I Do if I Think...

So just what is ADHD anyway? Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder that affects the brain’s ability to control regular and sustained attention as well as hyperactivity in some cases. ADHD is...

It’s Pride Month – Let’s Talk Health...

Due to the Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015, same-sex married couples qualify for the same benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as heterosexual couples in all 50 states. But despite that...

Do I have “Long COVID-19?”

The term “Long COVID” has been frequently spoken about in the news media as of late. If you still feel like you are recovering from lingering symptoms from a prolonged past COVID-19 infection, your symptoms may be due to a case of Long...

What Does it Cost to have a...

Nearly 4 million women in the United States will give birth annually and in 2020 alone, approximately one in nine U.S. women of childbearing age was uninsured. If you are insured, the cost of having a baby will require you to first...

Does Insurance Cover Abortions?

Many Americans have questions regarding current and future abortion protections in the United States. One such common question is whether insurance even covers the cost of an abortion at all....

Will my Health Insurance Cover Therapy?

According to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an estimated one out of five U.S. adults experience a mental health issue every year. However, many of those afflicted do not seek help for their problems due to a litany of...

Millions at Risk to Lose Health Insurance...

The approaching risk of losing coverage for many of those success stories due to the end of the pandemic’s national public health emergency....

Moving? What a Change in Residence Means...

Have you recently moved to a different county? Or even just a different zip code? Both of these moves qualify as triggers under the SEP for you to utilize a health insurance marketplace, such as TrueCoverage, to shop from more than...

Do I Need & am I eligible...

Even if you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, your immunity to COVID reduces over time. Booster shots are needed to maintain your resistance to infection and reduce the chances of the more severe consequences that might lead to...

Coffee Makes You Poop. Now We Know...

A recent article from CNN.com asked the question many of us pondering while on the toilet, “Why does coffee make you poop?” There haven’t been many serious studies on the subject, but other studies over the years have found coffee good...

Am I or Someone I Love, an...

Most people in America consume alcohol periodically, more than 85 percent in fact. Occasional use of alcohol is not necessarily harmful. Some doctors claim that small quantities of alcohol add to the beneficial effect of a good diet in...

Biden Looks to Fix the “Family Glitch”...

The Biden administration recently announced a proposal from the U.S. Treasury Department to fix an issue that has existed in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) since its inception, the so-called "family glitch." Under the original ACA, a...

What is Alopecia? (Hair Loss)

For many, the pop culture debate regarding the slap heard round the world at this weekend’s Academy Awards ceremony has resulted in more questions than answers. Today we will get down to the root of one of those questions, just what is...

Understanding Developmental Disabilities in Children

Anyone considering starting a family, expecting a child currently, or just watching their current children grow will at some point worry about any possible developmental disabilities present in their child. But just what are...

Kidney Health During Kidney Month

March is National Kidney Month, but one should be aware of kidney disease year-round. But just what is chronic kidney disease? Thirty-seven million Americans suffer from chronic kidney disease, and millions more are at risk to join...

COVID-19 and Your Pets w/ Infographic

A recent article and infographic posted by PetNewsDaily detailed the risk to household pets from COVID-19; we share the infographic at the bottom of this article. Cats, in particular, are vulnerable to COVID-19, so both pets and their...

Millions to Lose Medicaid & CHIP Coverage...

Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was passed in March 2020. This bill required states to halt their standard eligibility checks on current and new Medicaid and CHIP users, which...

Thyroid Disease Awareness

Did you know that approximately 20 million Americans are affected by some type of thyroid disease? But just what is the thyroid, and why does it matter?...

Claiming Crypto: How to File Cryptocurrencies on...

In recent years, buying and selling in cryptocurrencies has been all the rage, but what does that mean for your tax return? With so many apps to buy and sell crypto, it can quickly become a complex task at tax time....

Stay Heart Healthy for American Heart Month

February is American Heart Month. But just what is the difference between a heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and how are they affected by conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure?...

Five Things You Can Get Free From...

We all pay taxes, and we all resent it. So often, it seems like we get nothing tangible in return. Still, there are many things you can get free of charge from the federal government....

How to Find Affordable Health Insurance Coverage...

Have you ever seen a list of ways to get healthy in the New Year? Bet you have. There are lots of them. Most of them will tell you to start a new trendy and complicated diet, start working out every day, or otherwise completely change...

Free COVID-19 Home Tests Coming to Medicare

Have you ever seen a list of ways to get healthy in the New Year? Bet you have. There are lots of them. Most of them will tell you to start a new trendy and complicated diet, start working out every day, or otherwise completely change...

How to Get Free COVID-19 Tests and...

Have you ever seen a list of ways to get healthy in the New Year? Bet you have. There are lots of them. Most of them will tell you to start a new trendy and complicated diet, start working out every day, or otherwise completely change...

Cancer Awareness, Detection, and Prevention

Have you ever seen a list of ways to get healthy in the New Year? Bet you have. There are lots of them. Most of them will tell you to start a new trendy and complicated diet, start working out every day, or otherwise completely change...

Congenital Disability (Birth Defect) Prevention

Have you ever seen a list of ways to get healthy in the New Year? Bet you have. There are lots of them. Most of them will tell you to start a new trendy and complicated diet, start working out every day, or otherwise completely change...

Five Ways to Get Healthy in the...

Have you ever seen a list of ways to get healthy in the New Year? Bet you have. There are lots of them. Most of them will tell you to start a new trendy and complicated diet, start working out every day, or otherwise completely change...

COVID-19 Pills are Here, but can they...

Two new COVID-19 treatments in pill form have recently hit the streets, but how do they work, and how can you get them? Both pills, Molnupiravir from Merck and Paxlovid from Pfizer, need to be started in patients right away to be...

Maximizing Your Annual Health Insurance Plan Deductible

Like all forms of insurance, health insurance is designed to protect you from the unexpected. Very few of us can afford the high costs of medical interventions resulting from chronic illnesses or severe accidental injury. But unlike...

How to Destress This Holiday Break

Facing the scary thought of taking a few days off from work over the holiday season? Concerned about getting all your shopping and wrapping complete in just a couple of days? Fret no more, we’ve got some tips to help you destress your...

But What is in the Build Back...

The House has passed President Biden’s chief bill of legislation for his first term, the Build Back Better Bill, which features all sorts of improvements to citizens’ healthcare and childcare but also other more partisan...

Omicron Variant of COVID-19 Enters the U.S.

The New York Times has recently reported the first-ever case of the COVID-19 omicron variant in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on December 1,...

Diabetes Awareness Through the Holidays

For the past 46 years, the United States has recognized November as National Diabetes Month to bring awareness to the disease. But now, as we exit the Thanksgiving holiday and begin thinking about consuming all...

What Does Working from Home Mean for...

What Does Working from Home Mean for my Health Insurance? In October 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 4.1 million people had quit their jobs in the United States during...

Tips to Relieve Seasonal Depression

When days get shorter, and the weather gets colder in the fall and winter, you might notice a change in your mood, too. Seasonal depression, also known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), refers to the depression...

Veterans Day 2021

Veterans Day is fast approaching this coming November 11, and it offers us a day to honor and give thanks to America’s veterans of all wars. Observed on World War I’s Armistice Day, the date was initially made a federal holiday in 1938...

OSHA Lays Out Rules of Biden’s Vaccine...

There has been much speculation regarding President Biden’s vaccine mandate in the few months since it was announced. Still, now the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued rules regarding the rollout, as...

Is pain management covered by health insurance?

What are the risks of long term opioid treatment? Medicare Part A/Part B or Part C Advantage with Drugs coverage or Medicare Part D drugs coverage ensure that prescribed pain management care while part of a medical procedure is...

The Fight to Hold on to ACA...

A recent CNN report detailed the current Congressional battle to hang onto temporary enhancements made to premium healthcare subsidies by the American Rescue Plan (ARPA). These additions to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed an...

Dr. Fauci Says Halloween 2021 is a...

As the Food and Drug Administration is still considering Pfizer’s request to authorize their COVID-19 vaccine for use by children aged 5 to 11, one might assume that the nation might face yet another canceled year of Halloween trick or...

Why Get a Flu Shot with a...

As flu season begins, many people are planning to get a flu vaccine. But does it matter if you have been vaccinated against the coronavirus? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO)...

Unvaccinated Pregnant Women Facing Increased Risk of...

COVID-19 deaths in pregnant women continue to rise as the total reached 171 maternal deaths from the disease in the United States with 22 in August alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as they urgently...

The 1, 2, 3 Open Enrollment Renewal...

As we approach the Affordable Care Act’s Open Enrollment period from November 1, 2021, through January 15, 2022, for 2022 plan year coverage, you are hopefully thinking about renewing your policy and any potential...

Five Epic Fails Often Made When Looking...

Focusing Only on Monthly Premium Costs The premium, or monthly cost of your policy, is often what people focus on when purchasing a healthcare plan. Second, they may consider the deductible, which is the money you will need to spend...

Suicide prevention month

Did you know that suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S. States? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it absolutely is, totaling almost 50,000 deaths in 2019. Suicide and mental health...

What is Long-Term Healthcare Insurance? And, is...

Most don’t like to dwell on the thought, but most of us will have to depend on others for our daily needs later in life. Long-term healthcare insurance is a tax-efficient way of saving funds for the specific purpose of meeting...

President Biden Makes Sweeping Employer Vaccine Requirement...

A recent article on CNN.com detailed the new vaccine requirements for certain key employers set-forth by President Biden amid the recent surge of the delta variant of COVID-19 in the U.S. The new rules apply to two-thirds of the...

Recent Poll Finds Eldercare a Fast Growing...

A recent article on Benefits Pro details a Homethrive2021 Employee Caregiving Survey that found that two-thirds of respondents stated that expanding access to home-based care for the elderly is important. In fact, this ranks higher in...

Are Health Savings Accounts Worth It? How...

Let’s review why HSA’s exist and then at how they work. Then, we will show you how to take advantage of yours. ContentsSo, why do Health Savings Accounts exist? Why choose an HDHP? And how does an HSA play a part?What is a Health...

Recent Poll Finds Unvaccinated Think COVID-19 Vaccine...

A recent article by The Hill detailed the latest poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation of just over 1500 adults, which found that 53 percent of unvaccinated adults in the U.S. believe that the COVID-19 vaccine posed a larger risk to...

Breast cancer care. Will my ACA-compliant insurance...

As with all queries about what is or is not covered by your health insurance, the answer is never straightforward.  We aim to present you with some guidelines that may help inform your choice of health insurance plan. So, let us...

Is it illegal not to have health...

Are there penalties for not having health insurance? To insure or not insure? The first of these questions is very easy to answer.  No federal mandate forces you to have health insurance-so the choice is yours.  If you are...

Employers mull health insurance surcharges for unvaccinated

Some employers may tack on health coverage surcharges for employees who don’t plan to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to an Aug. 5 blog post from Mercer, an asset management firm. The blog post likened...

Can my health insurance plan be canceled...

The emphatic answer is NO!   UNLESS? UNLESS WHAT? In this article, we set out the grounds on which either you or your insurer can cancel your health insurance plan and the consequences. The good news is that you can change your...

Are my health insurance premiums tax-deductible?

A simple question? -YES A simple answer NO? We explain who is eligible and how much you can claim. First, let’s briefly consider the purpose of health insurance and secondly the reason why since 2010, the federal government,...

I think my parent needs hearing aids....

First, what makes you think your parent has hearing loss? The usual signs are that they frequently ask to have something repeated or fail to grasp the complete sense of a conversation. The most telling sign is that when alone, they...

How quickly must I pay for my...

Very few of us are glad to find a hospital bill in our mailbox. If the amount is small or at least manageable, we won’t worry too much.  We should, of course, make sure that amounts are correct and then pay within the specified...

Time is Running Out to Sign Up...

If you don’t have health insurance, you have a few weeks left to sign up for for low- or no-cost private coverage through the public marketplace. A special enrollment period that opened Feb. 15 and closes Aug. 15 allows individuals to...

Which is better, an HMO or a...

A Health Maintenance or a Preferred Provider Organization? WHICH IS BEST FOR YOU? We begin with a brief explanation of the differences between these two types of health insurance plans, HMO and PPO, and then discuss some reasons for...

I can’t pay my medical bill –...

If you are reading this article, you are probably worried about a medical or hospital bill that you will find challenging, or even impossible, to pay.  It is no great comfort to know that you are not alone. Every year thousands of...

Getting Infertility Coverage through the ACA Extension

As of mid-July, more than 2 million Americans have signed up for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act’s special enrollment period that the Biden administration put into place because of COVID-19. Illinois...

When should I take my child to...

The Why, Who, and When of that first visit. Will it be covered by the AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (ACA)? Just about everyone can list a few reasons WHY good dental care is essential.  As a parent, you are aware from your own experience,...

Does my health insurance cover overseas travel?

When planning a trip abroad, a cruise, a job assignment, or even a permanent relocation, you need the security of knowing that your health insurance plan covers (and your dependents) should you get sick or injured. Many policies,...

ACA: How to shop the c

Congress must Extend ARPA Benefits to keep...

Without Congressional action to extend the innovative tax credits implemented as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), 2023 consumer healthcare costs could skyrocket. The ARP Act signed in March 2021 A significant part of the...

Stomping out COVID-19 Vaccine Myths

Misinformed people throughout the country continue to latch on to misbeliefs, nonsense, and outlandish tales instead of protecting themselves and the rest of the Nation. COVID-19 vaccine myths seem to have real staying power, and this...

Understanding Hospice Care

Deciding for a loved one to go into hospice care can be an overwhelming and difficult decision. However, if you discuss your options with us beforehand, it may help put your mind at ease. Let’s talk about whether or not hospice...

When Should I See an Allergist?

If you’re feeling tired all the time, your throat is constantly sore, or you have a stuffy nose and itchy eyes most of the time, then you probably might be experiencing symptoms of allergies. But when should people see an...

ALS: What does Insurance Cover?

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. The progressive degeneration of motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to paralysis or death. It’s important to know what your insurance...

Do I Have Covid or Seasonal Allergies?

Covid-19 and Seasonal Allergies are challenging to differentiate due to their similarities. The stress of the pandemic has people wondering if they should take a Benadryl or get a Covid test. Here we will explain the differences...

The government will pay your internet bill....

Washington wants to pick up the tab for tens of millions of Americans’ Internet connections. That may include yours. The Emergency Broadband Benefit, or EBB, was launched Wednesday to help a surprisingly wide range of people hit...