 | |
Dedicated Insurance Professionals you know and trust...like Family |
|
|
| Issue No. 17 | August 28, 2012 |
|
|
Healthcare
the battle continues |
|
|
Greetings!
In June 2012, the Supreme Court largely let stand the Affordable Care Act - President Obama's sweeping healthcare overhaul, in a mixed ruling that Court observers were rushing to analyze. The law put in motion the creation of a nationwide insurance system that would sharply reduce the number of Americans without health coverage. As the battle continues, TACT is dedicated to keeping you informed as to news being released and making sure that you are kept abreast of all that directly affects you. Again, please note that the TACT office welcomes your calls and/or e-mails of question or concern. In the midst of this issue, we take pride in making you our priority.
TACT - Dedicated Insurance Professionals
you know and trust...like Family.
Sincerely,
Stoney Jackson
Executive Director
|
|
|
To Your Health
ConcerningMedicaid
|
The Battle Continues
Courtesy The New York Times
August 22, 2012
On July 11, less than two weeks after the Supreme Court decision, the House passed a bill to repeal President Obama's health care law. The bill was approved by a vote of 244 to 185, with five Democrats supporting repeal.
It has no chance of approval in the Senate and would face a veto from Mr. Obama if it ever got to him. But the House debate exposed the depth of passion over efforts to remake the health care system and suggested that the fight would continue next year, regardless of who wins the November elections for president and Congress.
Republican governors and state legislators also began to  plan a new approach that could have the effect of undercutting large parts of the law, which relies heavily on state governments for implementation.
Leaning on the Supreme Court's ruling, the governors of Texas, Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina said they would reject the law's proposal to expand Medicaid, and others said they were leaning toward rejecting it.
At the end of July, the Congressional Budget Office reported that the Supreme Court's ruling on Medicaid - which essentially made its expansion optional for states - would probably mean that 3 million fewer people would be insured under the law.
The budget office predicted that six million fewer people will be insured by Medicaid. But half of them, it said, will probably gain private insurance coverage through health insurance exchanges to be established in all states. Even though the law calls for the government to spend more per person on subsidies for insurance bought through exchanges than on Medicaid, the changes would reduce the law's cost by about 7 percent, or $84 billion between 2012 and 2022, the budget office said.
Click here to read the article in its entirety.
|
People With Medicare Save More
Than $4.1 Billion on
Prescription Drugs
Article is available by clicking here.
Eighteen million with Medicare also receive free preventive services in the first seven months of 2012.
Nearly 5.4 million seniors and people with disabilities have saved more than $4.1 billion on prescription drugs as a result of the Affordable Care Act, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today. Seniors in the Medicare prescription drug coverage gap known as the "donut hole" have saved an average of $768. During the first seven months of 2012, the new health care law has helped nearly 18 million people with original Medicare get at least one preventive service at no cost to them.
"The health care law has saved people with Medicare over $4.1 billion on prescription drugs, and given millions of beneficiaries access to cancer screenings, mammograms and other preventive services for free," said Secretary Sebelius. "Medicare is stronger thanks to the health care law, saving people money and offering new benefits at no cost to seniors."
The health care law includes benefits to make Medicare prescription drug coverage more affordable. In 2010, anyone with Medicare who hit the prescription drug donut hole received a $250 rebate. In 2011, people with Medicare who hit the donut hole began receiving a 50 percent discount on covered brand-name drugs and a discount on generic drugs. These discounts and Medicare coverage gradually increase until 2020 when the donut hole is fully closed.
The health care law also makes it easier for people with Medicare to stay healthy. Prior to 2011, people with Medicare had to pay extra for many preventive health services. These costs made it difficult for people to get the health care they needed. For example, before the health care law passed, a person with Medicare could pay as much as $160 for a colorectal cancer screening. Now, many preventive services are offered free of charge to beneficiaries, with no deductible or co-pay, so that cost is no longer a barrier for seniors who want to stay healthy and treat problems early.
In 2012 alone, 18 million people with traditional Medicare have received at least one preventive service at no cost to them. This includes 1.65 million who have taken advantage of the Annual Wellness Visit provided by the Affordable Care Act - over 500,000 more than had used this service by this point in the year in 2011. In 2011, an estimated 32.5 million people with traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage received one or more preventive benefits free of charge.
For state-by-state information on utilization of free preventive services, please visit:
Additional Reading:
COURTESY MEDICAL NEWS TODAY:
NOTE: Various misconceptions surrounding the continued viability of Medicare can be debunked or discredited, making it more important than ever for voters and policymakers to fully understand the program's existing contours and... continue reading here
NOTE: Significantly more children get health insurance coverage after increases in federal matching funds to states for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), according to new research from the University of Michigan. continue reading here
|
Noteworthy Healthcare News
Article is available by clicking here.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced awards of $48.8 million to bolster epidemiology, laboratory and health information systems in health departments in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Republic of Palau, the District of Columbia, New York City, Los Angeles County, Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston.
These awards represent the third year of funding made possible by the Affordable Care Act Prevention and Public Health Fund for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases Cooperative Agreements. "These awards support the critical work of public health departments to prevent, track and respond to new and emerging infectious diseases," said Secretary Sebelius.With Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity program support, state, local, and territorial health departments improve disease reporting and monitoring by hiring and training staff, investing in information technology, and buying laboratory equipment and supplies for diagnosing emerging pathogens.
Some specific highlights from the awards include: *Forty-nine states, the district and Puerto Rico will receive funding to carry out strategies to protect patients fromhealth care-associated infections, and sixteen of those will receive funding to prevent health care-associated infections across the spectrum of health care by building multi-facility prevention initiatives (California, Colorado, Connecticut., Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland., Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin).
*Forty-nine states, five large cities, the district, and Puerto Rico will receive funds to develop and sustain capacity to participate in meaningful use of electronic health records, e.g. through implementation of electronic laboratory-based reporting according to national standards, allowing for more efficient and effective information exchange within the state and with CDC.
*Four states will receive additional funding to advance the national implementation of electronic laboratory records specifically addressing healthcare-associated infections (Arizona, Tennessee, South Carolina, and New Mexico).
*All 50 states, the district, the five largest cities, Puerto Rico and the Republic of Palau will receive funds for the continued support of flexible, cross-cutting public health epidemiology and laboratory staff, equipment, supplies, travel, and training to sustain and improve their capacity to detect and respond to emerging infectious diseases.
Overall, the awards include $45.4 million in Affordable Care Act Prevention and Public Health Fund resources ($35.3 million for epidemiology-laboratory capacity, $9.3 million for healthcare-associated infections, and $0.8 million for immunization) and $3.4 million in annual appropriations.
|
Safety Video/DVD
Catalog Available
Berkley Agribusiness Risk Specialists, and its Risk Control Department, is pleased to offer its broad spectrum of safety videos available through their home office location in Urbandale, Iowa. The safety videos in our Loss Control library are produced by the Nation's leading safety program producers and are available to you on a free loan basis as a valued added service provided only to
Berkley Agribusiness Risk Specialists' policyholders.
The catalog is available on TACT's website by clicking here.
|
Is it really a Farm Bill anymore?
Courtesy registerherald.com
By Mannix Porterfield
Register Herald Reporter
Nutrition Guidelines
Wanted for Toddlers
Specific guidelines in the proper nutrition for toddlers and pregnant women are the goal of Sen. Joe Manchin in an amendment put before the Senate targeting the Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture. 
Mindful of obesity rates at record levels, Manchin co-sponsored the amendment to a farm bill with Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., one that obligates both federal agencies to form, implement and promote dietary guidelines for children up to 2 years old and expectant women.
"Right now, anyone in America can find science-based guidelines for what to eat and how much to have," Manchin, D-W.Va., explained after the amendment was offered.
"But we have never focused specific attention on pregnant women, infants and toddlers."
Manchin emphasized that such nutritional guidelines would be voluntary and provide parents "solid information" on feeding children so they can grow up in a healthy lifestyle.
"There's no question that our kids need to be physically active, which is why as governor, my administration put physical education back in schools for every West Virginia student in grades K through 12," the senator said. "Developing good exercise and eating habits as children is the best way to be healthy as an adult." Manchin's plunge into this arena came with his Healthy Lifestyles Act of 2005, one that also banned sugary soft drinks in elementary and middle schools in school hours, and requiring vendors to offer a like number of healthy beverages as sodas in high school bending machines. Figures kept by the Trust for America's Health show West Virginia's average obesity rate between 2008 and 2010 was 32.2 percent, third worst in the country. In the same period, the diabetes rate was 12 percent, second highest. The obesity rate in 2007 stood at 18.9 percent among West Virginia children, ranking the state 10th in that category. Manchin said children age 2 and under have unique nutritional needs but no science-based, government-set dietary guidelines are in force. "The fact is that we need to give people better tools to keep their kids healthy and right now, some parents mean well, but don't have the information they need to make the right decisions," he said. "The food that our children eat affects how they learn, which will affect how they can contribute to our society. If want to stay competitive, we have to keep ourselves healthy and strong. On top of that, giving our children a healthy start in life is more important now than ever, as we continue to see rising obesity rates among our youth and causing tremendous health problems as they get older."
This Article is available here. |
Aetna Buys Coventry for 5.6 Billion for Government Plans
Aetna, Inc. the third-biggest U.S. health plan, agreed to buy Coventry Health Care Inc. (CVH) for $5.6 billion, in the latest bid by an insurer to boost government business under President Barack Obama's health overhaul.
Aetna will pay $42.08 a share for Bethesda, Maryland-based Coventry, the best performer in New York trading among medical insurers this year. That represents a 20 percent premium over Coventry's closing price of $34.94 on Aug. 17, which gave the company a market value of $4.68 billion. Including the assumption of Coventry debt, the deal is valued at $7.3 billion, Hartford, Connecticut-based Aetna said in a statement.
Aetna Chief Financial Officer Joseph Zubretsky said in an interview last month that he was open to an acquisition of any size as long as it's a "strategic fit." Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Aetna joins competitors WellPoint Inc. (WLP) and Cigna Corp. (CI) in making acquisitions over the past year as the U.S. government expands medical coverage. The purchase means 30 percent of Aetna's revenue will come from federal-backed plans for elderly Medicare enrollees and low-income Medicaid patients, compared with the current 23 percent. Aetna's reach in the markets for small businesses and individuals will also grow.
"It's a deal that almost had to happen," said Thomas Carroll, a Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst in Baltimore. "For Aetna to really compete effectively amongst the other large, national managed-care companies, they have to do more in terms of gaining market share in the commercial business as well as getting a bigger foothold in Medicare and Medicaid, which are the growth areas in managed care over the next decade."
Aetna rose 5.6 percent to $40.18 at the close in New York, while Coventry surged 20 percent to $42.04. Aetna had declined 9.8 percent this year through Aug. 17, the last day of trading before the deal was announced. Coventry had gained 15 percent, the most in the S&P 500 index tracking the six biggest insurers.
New Customers
The deal will add more than 5 million customers to Aetna's 36.7 million members, including 250,000 people on Medicare health plans and 930,000 on Medicaid. Coventry provides prescription drug coverage to 1.5 million more Medicare enrollees as well.
Obama's health-care law seeks to add as many as 17 million patients under Medicaid, while individual states are turning to insurers to help manage existing programs at lower costs. Medicare managed-care plans are among the fastest-growing products for health insurers as Americans age.
At the same time, employer-backed plans that make up the bulk of Aetna's business face pressure amid the weak U.S. economy and new regulations in the health law. Much of the law kicks in starting in 2014.
Time's Running Out
To continue reading, click here. This article is also available on TACT's Facebook Page. Click below to LIKE us and view!
|
|
Stoney - Walking the Walk
Stoney weighed in August 21 at 230 pounds. He is maintaining his weight now and hasn't added any inches! Even though he is weighing about 5 pounds more than his original goal of 225 he is still way below his weight back in January when he weighed in at 252 pounds. Stoney is very happy with this stability in weight and is happy and enjoying life! Stay tuned as he continues his transformation and join Stoney and begin your own weight loss transformation.
Note From Stoney:
Follow Stoney's progress on Facebook!
|
|
Plaque May Be Linked With Early Cancer Death
Courtesy Time Healthland - click here
 Brushing and flossing are a must for keeping plaque off your teeth and gums. But having a healthy mouth may have other benefits: it could also help lower your risk of dying of cancer.
Researchers at the Karolinska Institute and the University of Helsinki report in the British Medical Journal Open that people with high levels of dental plaque were 80% more likely to die prematurely of cancer during a 24-year study period than people with little plaque.
"The results surprised us a lot," says lead author Birgitta Soder of the department of dental sciences at the Karolinska Institute.
Soder and her colleagues randomly selected 1,390 people to participate in the study beginning in 1985. All of the volunteers came in for a dental exam, and the researchers recorded the amount of plaque, tartar, gum disease and tooth loss they had. People who showed signs of periodontal disease were excluded. The participants then filled out questionnaires detailing behaviors that can influence cancer risk, such as smoking.
By the end of the study, 4.2% had died of cancer, and when the scientists compared the amount of dental plaque in those who had died to those who survived, they found a significantly higher amount among the deceased. .
Visit TACT's Facebook Page or Read more here: http://healthland.time.com/2012/06/12/got-plaque-it-could-boost-your-risk-of-early-cancer-death/#ixzz1yrSpjWP8
Eat Breakfast, Cut Diabetes Risk Courtesy WebMD Your mom was right, again. Don't skip breakfast!
 A new study shows that people who eat breakfast every day are less likely to become obese, develop type 2 diabetes, or gain fat around their tummy.
Even having breakfast just four to six times a week may help, says researcher Andrew Odegaard, PhD, MPH, of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
That's sensible advice, although it doesn't prove that breakfast made the difference, says Robert E. Ratner, MD, chief scientific and medical officer of the American Diabetes Association.
"Having regular eating habits with three balanced meals is probably better than random eating, which may lead to weight gain and dangerously high or low blood sugar," Ratner tells WebMD. "But scientifically, the study does not offer proof," Ratner says. People who eat breakfast daily are likely to have other healthy habits that could also explain the association, he says.
Click here to read more on the study.
To read more health news affecting you,
Like us on Facebook!
|
|
Refer Us!
Click above to learn more or
to contact the TACT office. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Facebook Feature
Find us on Facebook and access more detailed,
industry-related information.
Interact with us!
We're waiting to talk to you!
|
|
Contact Us
Texas Ag Coop Trust
1802 East 50th St., Ste. 107
Lubbock, TX 79404
806-747-7894
|
|
Texas Ag Coop Trust
Officers, Board of Trustees
George Reed, Chairman
United Farm Industries
Plainview, TX
Gregg Allen, Secretary
Olton Grain Coop
Olton, TX
Jim Turner
Dalhart Consumers Fuel Association
Dalhart, TX
Paul Wilson
United Cotton Growers
Levelland, TX
Cary Eubanks
Slaton Coop Gin
Slaton, TX
Dean Sasser
Farmers Coop Elevator
Levelland, TX
Bret Brown
Sunray Coop
Sunray, TX
|
|
Texas Ag Coop Trust
is endorsed by:
Texas Grain & Feed
Association
Texas Cotton Ginners Association
 Texas Coop Marketing Exchange
Texas Corn Producers |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Celebrate Cotton" Game Sept. 15
Special Ticket Pricing Available
Plains Cotton Growers has teamed up with Texas Tech Athletics and 10 corporate partners
supporting the cotton industry to bring you the "Celebrate Cotton" Game
as the Red Raiders host New Mexico on Saturday, September 15, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Game time is currently scheduled for 6 p.m.
We are pleased to offer you a special ticket price of
just $20 per ticket for this game!
Click on the banner above and enter Promo Code COTTON2012.
Follow the prompts to ensure you have a seat!
You also can call (806) 742-4412 or (888) GO-BIG12 and mention the promo code COTTON2012 to receive your special discount.
Cotton will be everywhere throughout the game. You don't want to miss out!
TACT - Dedicated Insurance Professionals
you know and trust...like Family.
Sincerely,
Stoney Jackson
Executive Director
Texas Ag Co-op TrustNext Issue: September 11, 2012 Newsletter Archives - click here |
|
|
