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The prelude to the transformation of what was to come in in 2014 is here. Obamacare is in effect and almost all Americans have access to affordable health insurance that covers essential care.
At Texas Ag Coop Trust, we are always looking for ways to reduce cost and improve benefits for our members. In today's uncertain financial environment, combined with the ever increasing cost of health care and health insurance, it is more crucial than ever that we are committed to providing our members with the benefits and coverages they need and generate additional revenues to offset cost increases.
TACT aids in providing group benefits to members in the agricultural industry. TACT provides quality life and health benefit plans and works to hold down future rate increases for participants.
In our effort to provide exceptional health benefits, customer service and affordable rates, we are excited to announce some exciting changes coming, including our relocation and positive service provision adjustments.
We look forward to continuing our provision of great service, outstanding benefits and SAVINGS to you!
You are a partner in decision making and you are partnered with a thriving coverage provider. Keeping YOU the priority. Keeping YOUR NEEDS in perspective. With TACT, YOU are our business.
Now serving ALL of Texas Agriculture -
Contact us for more information
TACT - Dedicated Insurance Professionals
you know and trust...like Family.
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$250K Fine for Lying on Health Insurance Forms
Courtesy - Associated Press
Lying to the federal health insurance man could cost you dearly.
The Obama administration Friday spelled out civil fines of up to $250,000 for knowingly and willfully providing false information to get taxpayer-subsidized coverage under the new health care law.
New regulations say the fines also apply for lying to escape the law's requirement that most Americans carry health insurance.
If you fail to provide correct information - but there's no malicious intent- you still risk a $25,000 fine. It can be waived if there's a reasonable explanation and you acted in good faith.
Enrollment counselors are also subject to fines for disclosing or misusing an applicant's personal information.
Republicans have criticized the administration for what they say are weak protections against fraud in the new insurance exchanges.
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US, Canada, Mexico Strengthen Information Sharing in Health Emergencies
Courtesy - hhs.gov
The United States, Canada and Mexico have adopted a set of principles and guidelines on how the three countries' governments will share in advance public information and communications products during health emergencies of mutual interest. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Canada's Minister of Health Rona Ambrose and Mexico's Secretary of Health Mercedes Juan signed a Declaration of Intent, formally adopting the principles and guidelines, at a trilateral meeting today during the 67th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
"The United States, Canada and Mexico have had a long and close relationship in supporting and improving our collective ability to respond to public health events and emergencies of mutual interest when they arise," Secretary Sebelius said. "This declaration reinforces our joint efforts to strengthen our national capabilities to communicate effectively with our respective populations."
"Infectious diseases are not limited by countries' borders, and neither are the ways through which we receive the news," said Minister Ambrose. "This Declaration will help our countries work together on the essential task of communicating more effectively on public health issues, which will protect the health of all of our citizens."
"The collaboration between the three North American countries has proved to be an extraordinary contribution to strengthening the security of health in the region," said Secretary Juan. "The clear, transparent and timely exchange of information has been, and will remain, a central pillar of this cooperation, particularly for responding to public health emergencies."
The Declaration of Intent calls on the three countries to:
- Share public communications plans, statements and other communications products related to health emergencies with each other prior to their public release;
- Apprise other appropriate authorities, depending on the type of health emergency, within their respective governments when the declaration is invoked;
- Conduct an annual short communications exercise to improve joint coordination; and
- Hold recurrent meetings, as they may mutually determine, to review and propose amendments to the Declaration of Intent.
The formal Declaration of Intent not only supports the requirements of the International Health Regulations, which calls for neighboring countries to develop accords and work together on shared public health issues, but also the underlying principles of the 2012 North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza (NAPAPI). The NAPAPI builds upon the experiences of the H1N1 influenza pandemic and outlines how the three countries intend to strengthen and coordinate their emergency response capacities, including public communications, in anticipation of a pandemic virus originating in or spreading to the North American continent.
The full Declaration of Intent is available at:
English version:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2014pres/05/wha-d
eclaration-us-canada-mexico-en.pdf
Spanish version:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2014pres/05/wha-declaration-us-canada-mexico-es.pdf
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A monster El Niño could be on its way, and it will likely have a complicated effect on the world's breadbaskets.
Something fierce is rising out of the Pacific Ocean, and its appetite for the world's major carb crops could be even more ravenous than that of a monstrous mythical sea creature. But this is a monster with some benevolence. The expected arrival of El Niño in the coming months could be a boon for protein-heavy vegetarian diets, with boosted worldwide soy yields.
A dinosaurian belch of warm water thousands of miles wide has appeared at the surface of the Pacific Ocean near the equator. The warming ocean conditions have spurred NOAA to project a two-thirds chance that an El Niño will form by summer's end. It's tipped to be of the monster variety-the extreme type that could become more common with global warming. Because the planet has warmed since the last extreme El Niño, some 17 years ago, there are fears that these warm waters could herald record-shattering extreme weather and temperatures.
For a sense of the type of havoc that extreme El Niños can wreak, think back to the late 1990s, or to the early 1980s, when widespread flooding and droughts plagued every inhabited continent, bleaching corals, ravaging wildlife, and killing tens of thousands of people. And as you mull over those disturbing memories of yore, chew on a sandwich-and savor it, for the weather that's forecast to strike us could make that bread harder to get.
Scientists analyzed United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization maps showing where major crops are grown-wheat, soy, rice, and corn, which provide 60 percent of the world's cropland-derived calories. They compared those maps with 20 years worth of weather observations. Then they factored regional growing seasons into their analysis to forecast how El Niño, La Niña, and the current nothing phase that lies between them (sometimes called La Nada) could affect growing conditions during the three months that precede each crop's harvest.
Overall, the researchers discovered that yields could rise from about a third of harvested areas worldwide during the coming El Niño, most notably on soybean fields, mostly because of heavier rainfall and cooler temperatures. They found that between a fifth and a quarter of harvested areas worldwide could see yields fall, largely due to hot and dry conditions expected in those places. Corn, wheat, and rice yields are all expected to fall overall. Farmers that will be hit the hardest include wheat and corn growers in parts of the United States.
Charted information is available here
Annual weather summary, including precipitation and temperature information through October is available here
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May - Melanoma
Awareness Month
Surprising Statistic - More Kids Getting Melanoma
 With summer just around the corner, it is time to begin thinking smart when
it comes to the sun!
Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, doesn't usually occur in kids, but a new study shows that it's happening more often.
While melanoma in children is still extremely rare, the rate increased by about 2 percent per year from 1973 to 2009 among U.S children from newborns to age 19. Melanoma accounts for up to 3 percent of all pediatric cancers, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
According to the study, 1,317 children were diagnosed with melanoma during the study time frame. Of these, 1,230 children were white. Because the number of melanoma cases among other racial and ethnic groups was so small, researchers focused the analysis on white children.
The biggest jump in melanoma rates was seen among adolescents aged 15 to 19, especially girls, the study showed. The new findings were published in the May print issue of Pediatrics.
Recent studies have also shown that melanoma is on the rise among adults as well. Exactly what is driving these trends is not fully understood, but increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation from both the sun and tanning booths as well as greater awareness of melanoma may be responsible, according to study authors led by Jeannette Wong of the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
The researchers used a database to capture trends in childhood melanoma, but they did not have any information on participants' tanning habits or sun exposure history.
Boys were more likely to develop melanomas on their face and trunks, while girls were more likely to have melanoma on their lower legs and hips, the investigators found. Other risks for melanoma among children and adults include fair skin, light-colored hair and eyes, moles, family history of melanoma and a history of sunburns.
Dr. Amy Forman Taub, a dermatologist in Lincolnshire, Ill., said that tanning behaviors have a lot to do with the increasing rates of melanoma in children and adults. "It's the tanning booths and the fact that we go away on vacation where we are exposed to a lot of intense sun," she said.
Genes may also play a role, suggested Taub, who was not involved in the new study.
It is rare, but children do get melanoma. When in doubt, get it checked out.
To read the article in its entirety click here
Note of Interest: The Texas Senate voted the week of April 20, 2013 to raise the minimum age for using a tanning facility to 18 from the minimum age of 16½ with parental permission.
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Contact Us
Texas Ag Coop Trust
1802 East 50th St., Ste. 107
Lubbock, TX 79404
806-747-7894
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Texas Ag Coop Trust
Officers, Board of Trustees
Kimberly Tullo-Holcomb
TACT Executive Director
Lubbock, TX
Jim Turner, Chairman
Dalhart Consumers Fuel Association
Dalhart, TX
Bret Brown, Secretary/Treasurer
Sunray Coop
Sunray, TX
Paul Wilson United Cotton Growers
Levelland, TX
Cary Eubanks
Slaton Coop Gin
Slaton, TX
Dean Sasser
Farmers Coop Elevator
Levelland, TX
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Texas Ag Coop Trust
is endorsed by:
Texas Grain & Feed
Association
Texas Cotton Ginners Association
 Texas Coop Marketing Exchange
Texas Corn Producers |
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