Issue No. 102

December 8, 2015

 


 
Insurance, however prevalent as compared to merely two years ago, is still in a position of finding its place in the lives of millions. Selecting an insurance plan isn't something to rush into.
 
TACT, in the midst of all that has transpired, finds itself in a unique position of being able to offer the highest quality of insurance to an underserved industry with service at the same great rates to which you are already accustomed! We encourage you to field your options but allow us to help you understand them. Remember, with TACT, YOU are our business.
 
We wish you a very Happy Holiday Season and look forward to serving you as we edge on a new year.

  
 
  
 
Now serving ALL of Texas Agriculture -
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TACT - Dedicated Insurance Professionals
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 News Affecting You

 

  
NOW EFFECTIVE!

improved quality - increased provider accessibility - continued low costs

You Spoke! We Listened!

With TACT You Get More! 
We have heard you and know that you want better provider coverage, more access to your doctors and facilities.  

We have worked very hard to find YOUR solution!  

We are excited to announce our new 
partnership with CIGNA!!  

Effective December 1,  you NOW have access to all the providers and facilities CIGNA has to offer!  This will be a long term relationship, providing the solution to make sure our members receive the best care available!

Information and updated ID cards 
should be in your mailbox!

 Breaking Health News

 

  
The Kissing Bug
Chagas Disease in Texas
 
 
Courtesy - Fox News
Recent reports in Texas suggest the growing problem of Chagas disease, a potentially life-threatening condition transmitted by triatomine bugs, or "kissing bugs," is not improving in the state this year. Last week, NBC 5 in Dallas reported that at least a dozen Texans have been infected since two years ago, when the state began tracking the disease. Chagas has historically been the most problematic in Latin America.

Kissing bugs- which got their nickname due to their affinity for feasting on human faces and lips at night- carry the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi that causes Chagas. The condition is chronic and leads to flu-like symptoms, but in about one-third of individuals it can cause cardiac problems and in 10 percent gastrointestinal issues, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In rarer cases, Chagas can cause death.

According to NBC 5's report, which is the result of a four-month collaboration with The Dallas Morning News, a surge in the number of Texans being infected with Chagas is not the result of more bugs in the state.

Rather, it is due to more suburbs being developed on once-rural land where the bugs have always lived, Ed Wozniak, a researcher with the Texas Department of State Health, told NBCDFW.com. The outlets' report indicated that about 66 percent of the bugs that have been analyzed and tested positive for the parasite in Texas were found to be filled with human blood.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests travelers who sleep in well-constructed facilities are at low risk for exposure to triatomine bugs. According to the WHO, vector control is the most effective prevention method in Latin America. This can include: spraying of houses and surrounding areas with residual insecticides, personal preventative measures such as bednets and good hygiene practices in food preparation, transportation, storage and consumption.

While Texas officials are aware of the growing problem in the state, they are urging anyone who begins exhibiting flu-like symptoms and believes they have been bitten to contact the Texas Department of State Health Services for testing. Benznidazole and nifurtimox are 100 percent effective in killing the parasite and curing the disease, but only if given soon after infection at the onset of the acute phase, according to the WHO.

Click here to read more about Chagas symptoms.


Agriculture News

   
 2016 Winter Weather Forecast 

Courtesy - Farmer's Almanac
Much of the central United States will see near-normal winter temperatures. This includes the western and central Great Lakes, the upper peninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and most of the Great Plains.
In these areas, Ms. Nature will mix intervals of unseasonably mild temperatures with occasional shots of bitter cold; average it out and it comes out-average!

Texas and the other South Central States will see a cool to cold winter, but nothing too extreme.

Farther west, over the Rockies, the Colorado Plateau, Pacific Northwest, and the Southwest States, milder than normal temperatures are expected.

"It's like Winter Déjà vu," states Geiger, adding "last year our bitterly cold, shivery forecasts came true in many states including the 23 eastern states that experienced one of their top-ten coldest Februarys on record. This year many of these same states may want to get a jump start now and stock up on lots of winter survival gear: sweaters, long johns, and plenty of firewood."

HOW MUCH SNOW?!
Precipitation-wise, if you like snow, then you should head out to the northern and central Great Plains (most of the North Central States), the Great Lakes, New England (sorry Boston!), and parts of the Ohio Valley where snowier-than-normal conditions are forecast.

Over the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States, the winter will be stormy with a good amount of snow. We are "red-flagging" the second week of January and the second week of February for possible heavy winter weather with a long, drawn out spell of stormy weather extending through much of the first half of March. So sharpen those skis and boards, because the eastern slopes look like the ideal places to carve some turns.

An active storm track will bring above-normal precipitation to the Southeast States, as well as the Mississippi Valley, Southern Great Plains, the Gulf Coast, and along the Atlantic Seaboard.



 
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 Healthful Hint
  
Naughty or Nice?
The Best Foods To
Boost Your Holiday Mood! 


Courtesy Eating Well Magazine
If you're feeling blue-or want to ward off feeling that way-there are some foods to consider adding to your diet that might help. Studies suggest that the following foods may help reduce stress, ease anxiety and fight depression. See which healthy foods to eat to help you boost your mood.

1. Chocolate
This may not be news to you, but it is good to know that there's some science behind the theory that chocolate makes us happy: eating dark chocolate (1.4 ounces of it, to be exact) every day for two weeks reduced stress hormones, including cortisol, in people who were highly stressed. Experts believe it could be thanks to the antioxidants in chocolate. When you do indulge, be sure to account for the 235 calories that 1.4 ounces of chocolate delivers-or you may be stressed to see extra pounds creeping on.

2. Carbs
Despite persistent myths to the contrary, carbs don't make you fat and they can boost your mood. In a new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, people who for a year followed a very-low-carbohydrate diet-which allowed only 20 to 40 grams of carbs daily, about the amount in just 1/2 cup of rice plus one piece of bread-experienced more depression, anxiety and anger than those assigned to a low-fat, high-carb diet that focused on low-fat dairy, whole grains, fruit and beans. Researchers suspect that carbs promote the production of serotonin, a feel-good brain chemical. Also, the challenge of following such a restrictive low-carb diet for a full year may have negatively impacted mood.

3. Fruits & Vegetables (and other whole foods)
Another reason to eat healthy, whole foods! In a recent study of close to 3,500 men and women published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, those who reported eating a diet rich in whole foods in the previous year were less likely to report feeling depressed than those who ate lots of desserts, fried foods, processed meats, refined grains and high-fat dairy products. Previous studies have shown that antioxidants in fruits and vegetables and omega-3 fatty acids in fish are associated with lower risk of depression. Folate, a B vitamin found in beans, citrus and dark green vegetables like spinach, affects neurotransmitters that impact mood. It's possible that the protectiveness of the whole-food diet comes from a cumulative effect of these nutrients.

4. Fish
Eating oily, fatty fish (salmon, tuna, sardines, rainbow trout) and mussels will give you omega-3s-a key mood-boosting nutrient and one our bodies don't produce. Omega-3s alter brain chemicals linked with mood-specifically dopamine and serotonin. 

5. Saffron
In one study, from Iran's Roozbeh Psychiatric Hospital at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 50 women with PMS were given two (15 mg) saffron capsules or placebo capsules daily over two menstrual cycles, keeping track of their symptoms in diaries. By the end of the study, over three-quarters of the women who had taken the equivalent of a micropinch of saffron reported that their PMS symptoms (such as mood swings and depression) declined by at leasthalf, compared with only 8 percent of women in the placebo group. In earlier studies, saffron had antidepressant effects comparable to the antidepressants fluoxetine (Prozac) and imipramine (Tofranil). Researchers believe that the spice works by "the same mechanism as Prozac," helping to make the feel-good neurotransmitter serotonin more available to the brain.

6. Coconut
When you're stressed, the scent of coconut may blunt your natural "fight or flight" response, slowing your heart rate. People who breathed in coconut fragrance in a small pilot study at Columbia University saw their blood pressure recover more quickly after a challenging task. The researchers speculate that inhaling a pleasant scent enhances alertness while soothing our response to stress.

7. Tea
Fuzzy brain? Drinking caffeinated black, green or oolong tea may elicit a more alert state of mind, says a study in The Journal of Nutrition. Researchers think theanine-an amino acid present in these tea varieties-may work synergistically with caffeine to improve attention and focus. To reap the benefits, the study's results suggest drinking 5 to 6 (8-ounce) cups of tea daily.



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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
Ag Producers Co-op
Sunray, TX 
 
Craig Rohrbach
Parmer County Cotton Growers
Farwell, TX
 
Dean Sasser 
Farmers Coop Elevator
Levelland, TX

Tony Williams
Texas Cotton Ginners' Association
Austin, TX
 
Paul Wilson 
United Cotton Growers
Levelland, TX


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Dental Open Enrollment
As Part of our Health Plan, YOU are Eligible!

  • December is open enrollment for TACT Direct Pay Dental.
    • run on a calendar year, all groups to renew on January 1
  • Exceptional Dental Coverage
  • Favorable claims experience and growth

Mark your calendars!
Call TACT Today!
806-747-7894


 
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. 

 TACT - Dedicated Insurance Professionals
  you know and trust...like Family. 
 
 
Next Issue:  December 22, 2015 
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