Coverage Countdown

Coverage countdown: Deadline to sign up for health insurance is Monday

Published: 12:12 pm CDT, March 28, 2014

There are only a few days left to sign up for health insurance coverage for 2014 through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

March 31 is the deadline for most uninsured individuals to sign up to buy insurance. People who start applications before the deadline but aren’t able to complete the enrollment process by the deadline will still be able to get coverage.

Those who don’t start enrolling before March 31 will have to pay a penalty on their 2014 federal income tax.  The annual fine is 1 percent of annual income or $95 per person in the household, whichever is higher. The payment for uninsured children under 18 is $47.50 per child. The maximum payment for families is $285. These fees will be higher each year that people go without coverage.

The deadline does not apply to people who are eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program or small business owners, all of whom can purchase coverage year-round. Small businesses aren’t required to purchase insurance for employees, but may find more affordable options through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

If you lose your job, get married or divorced, have a baby or otherwise lose insurance coverage after March 31, you may be able to buy coverage during special enrollment periods.  Individuals in these circumstances should check with their state’s Marketplace to see if they qualify for  special enrollment.

Some individuals still uninsured after March 31 may be able to get an exemption so they don’t have to pay a fine, or may be able to purchase less expensive catastrophic coverage that covers very high medical bills. People with very low income or who can’t find affordable coverage may be exempt from the penalty.

There are additional hardship exemptions, including being uninsured for three months or less, declaring bankruptcy within six months, being unable to pay healthcare bills for the last two years or homelessness.

Certain groups, including religious sects with objections to health insurance or members of organized American Indian tribes, also are exempt.

Depending on the category you fall into, exemptions can be filed on the 2014 federal income tax return or via the Marketplace website.

Health insurance coverage starts May 1 for those who meet the March 31 deadline. The next open enrollment period for anyone needing insurance will start Nov. 15 for coverage beginning in January 2015.

The Health Insurance Marketplace was set up as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which became law in 2010.  The law aims to make healthcare coverage more available, affordable and adequate.

For more information:

• Understanding the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplaces
• One page guide to the Health Insurance Marketplace

Source:AHA
Speaking of sign ups....you can register online for a course with HealthPro at hpec.org.  If you prefer to call,  our phone number 951-279-6110.  Have a wonderful weekend.
 

Gen-X Are More Likely to Have Diabetes Than Baby Boomers

People born from 1966 to 1980, known as Generation X, are fatter and twice as likely to have diabetes as Baby Boomers were at the same age, according to an Australian study that predicts younger generations will be sicker and costlier to care for in old age.

National health survey data were used to compare the groups at age 25 to 44 years. While Generation X was better educated and less likely to smoke, their prevalence of obesity was about 50 percent higher than recorded for Baby Boomers, born from 1946 to 1965, at the same age. For males especially, the trend corresponded with increased diabetes, researchers at the University of Adelaide, in South Australia, found.

Their findings, published today in PLOS ONE, suggest the current generation of breadwinners may be vulnerable earlier in life to diabetes, hypertension and other lifestyle-related diseases, pulling them out of the labor force at a younger age.

“The physical activity and food environment has changed drastically over the past decades to one in which transport options encourage sedentary behavior and food high in fat and sugar is often more readily available than a healthier alternative,” they said, adding that if trends continue, “there will be significant implications for workforce capacity, health care utilization and, therefore, health costs.”

The research, funded by the Australian Research Council, adds to evidence suggesting that successive generations are developing obesity and related chronic conditions earlier in life, the authors said.
At the same relative age, Baby Boomers in the U.S. and U.K. have been shown to have a greater prevalence of obesity than people born from 1926 to 1945, associated with more disability and chronic conditions, including diabetes and hypertension.
Source: BloombergBusinessweek

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Teaching Gardens - Let's Get Planting!

Obesity is one of the most expensive health care problems in America. One third of U.S. children are overweight or obese putting them at higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

The American Heart Association is taking a new approach in the fight against childhood obesity. We’ve teamed with noted child-nutrition activist and philanthropist Kelly Meyer to create the American Heart Association Teaching Gardens planted in elementary schools across the country that become real-life learning laboratories for students to learn what it means to be healthy.

Aimed at first graders through fifth, we teach children how to plant seeds, nurture growing plants, harvest produce and ultimately understand the value of good eating habits.

Garden-themed lessons teach nutrition, math, science and other subjects all while having fun in the fresh air and working with your hands.

Together, we can dramatically change the way America thinks about and consumes food.
Source: AHA

Sign up for a class at HealthPro today - we offer day, evening and weekend classes to accommodate your busy schedule.  Visit our website at hpec.org or give us a call at 951-279-6110.

Reduce Your Sodium Intake in 21 Days

On average, American adults eat more than 3,400 milligrams of sodium daily – more than double the American Heart Association’s recommended limit. But you can change your salty ways and reduce sodium in your diet in just 21 days.

In fact, in three weeks you can:

• Change your sodium palate
• Start enjoying foods with less sodium
• Reduce bloating

Reduce sodium in 21 days

Reduce sodium in 21 days with the following tips in the infographic below.
Week 1 foods to avoid:

• Bread and rolls
• Cold cuts and cured meats

Week 2 foods to avoid:

• Pizza
• Poultry

Week 3 foods to avoid:

• Soups
• Sandwiches

Source: AHA

Sign up for a class at HealthPro today - visit hpec.org to view our current and upcoming courses.
You can also call us at 951-279-6110.

 

April 2nd is National Walking Day - Lace Up!

Get Up and Move! These days, adults are spending more time at work than ever before. An unfortunate side effect is that, as a nation, we're becoming more inactive. This is a problem when you consider that physical inactivity doubles the risk of heart disease!

But take heart! It's a problem you can help fix by encouraging your community and company to take part in the American Heart Association's National Walking Day.

On this day, Americans are encouraged to lace up their sneakers and take at least 30 minutes out of their day to get up and walk. It's a great way to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity and to get your family, friends and co-workers started on a healthier way of life.
Source: AHA

HealthPro offers the HIGHEST quality classes for the LOWEST prices!  Sign up today at hpec.org or give us a call at 951-279-6110.

Beware of the Salty Six

Six Common Salty Foods (Infographic)

 

by Kate Silver

How to Minimize Sodium in Your Diet

Pass the salt, you say? Most of us would actually benefit from passing on the salt. Sodium puts us at a higher risk for heart disease and elevated blood pressure, and even without a shake here and there, our food is already brimming with it. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting sodium intake to less than 1,500 milligrams a day, yet the average American eats over 3,000 milligrams a day, according to the AHA.
According to Ashley Simper, community and outpatient dietitian at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois, this is one of the most challenging diet recommendations she works with. “Lots of food manufacturers have been making foods more palatable by putting a lot of salt in them, and people are buying a lot of processed foods,” says Simper. In fact, about 77 percent of the salt we consume is already in the prepared foods we eat—it’s not coming from our saltshakers. Plus, people are eating fewer fresh, home-cooked meals and dining out more, which adds up to Americans consuming more than double the amount of sodium that’s recommended.
It’s not easy to combat the sodium overload, says Simper, but it can be done. “Fresh is best,” she says. “Shop the perimeter.” The outer edges of the grocery store contain fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat and dairy—all of the fresh items that are vital to a balanced, low-sodium diet.
Below, Simper outlines the “Salty Six,” (i.e. six foods that sneak salt into our diets) for Go Red, and offers tips on how to reduce sodium intake.

1. Bread and rolls

Most bread will have 100 to 200 milligrams of sodium per slice. If you’re eating a sandwich, those numbers add up quickly. Read the label and find a whole-grain bread that has less than 200 milligrams of sodium per serving. Also consider switching to whole-grain pita pockets, whole-grain English muffins or whole-grain bagel thins, all of which have fewer than 150 milligrams of sodium. And limit how much bread you eat throughout the day. Two slices should be the maximum.

2. Cold cuts and cured meats

Just six thin slices of deli meat can add up to half of a day’s worth of recommended sodium intake. Ham is a particularly high offender, and there’s no close alternative.. If you do indulge in lunch meats, find a low-sodium variety, but be sure to read the labels; even those cold cuts marketed as low-sodium may run high. One viable alternative is to substitute hummus, egg whites, veggies or low sodium tuna, as alternate sandwich options.

3. Pizza

Pizza brings together a melting pot of high-sodium ingredients: cheese, pepperoni, sausage, tomato sauce and crust. Lessen the blow by choosing an olive oil sauce instead of tomato, ask them to go light on the cheese and opt for veggie toppings instead of meat. Limit yourself to two small slices, and have a salad or steamed vegetable to round out the meal.

4. Poultry

This one can be sneaky. What looks like a natural fresh or frozen piece of chicken could actually be injected with broth or sodium solution preservatives that boost sodium content up to 200 milligrams per serving. Read the label, and if has anything other than “chicken,” look for another brand. Even fresh poultry will have some inherent sodium. When purchasing chicken, avoid any prepared or processed products, which are packed with seasonings and sodium and are often fried. Consider fresh fish to bake or grill as another low-sodium alternative.

5. Soup

Many prepared soups are a hidden bunker of salt. You can easily blow an entire day’s worth of your allotted sodium intake just by eating a single serving which often measures in at 600 to 1,000 milligrams per serving (with two servings per can). It helps to choose a lower-sodium variety, but even those can score 400-plus milligrams per cup. Homemade soups (ones made without store-bought broth or bullion) are an option, but for those people who are used to high-sodium soups, the transition may seem flavorless and bland but with time your taste buds will adjust.

6. Sandwiches

Burgers and sandwiches are another hidden trove of salt, particularly if the meal is coming from a restaurant. It’s extremely challenging to follow a low-sodium diet if you dine out, particularly if you eat at fast food spots, where a single sandwich can contain a day’s worth of sodium. One way to lower sodium content is to request the burger or sandwich grilled and not fried, without cheese and with the condiments on the side (BBQ sauce and ketchup, in particular, add sodium and sugar). A better way to go is to share a sandwich and order a fresh side, such as a salad, fruit or low fat yogurt.
Try using the American Heart Association’s Sodium Tracker to keep track of your daily sodium intake. Learn how to navigate fast food menus to minimize sodium intake when you’re on the go.

 Source: AHA website
HealthPro is an Authorized TRAINING  CENTER....align your Training Site with us today!  Give us a call at 951-279-6110 or check out our website at hpec.org.
Have a great weekend and try to minimize the sodium in your diet which puts you at a higher risk for heart disease and elevated blood pressure.

The American Heart Association has recently started a push to have state-required CPR classes as part of high school graduation curriculum.

Interviews with dispatchers indicate that minors are sometimes the most proactive and effective lay first responders. In a recent news article, 9-year-old Tristan saved his sister's life after she fell into a pool and was pulled out not breathing. He snapped into action and revived her using CPR he learned from the movie "Black Hawk Down."

High school students are prime candidates for performing CPR because they still have the general boldness of young children while being strong enough to perform compressions. Studies have shown that 83% of high-schoolers are very willing to provide bystander CPR. 86% of these students support mandatory CPR training in high school.

 

Pledge Your Support

Let’s save more lives. Let’s train the next generation of lifesavers. Let’s teach America’s students to Be CPR Smart.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest is a leading cause of death in the U.S.—but when ordinary people, not just doctors and EMTs, are equipped with the skills to perform CPR, the survival rate can double, or even triple.
Help us add thousands of lifesavers to our communities. Join us in supporting legislation that will ensure all students learn CPR before they graduate from high school.

STATE Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Source: AHA and StudentCPR.com

 

There's still time to sign up for our PHTLS and PHTLS hybrid course taking place this Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th.  Call HealthPro at 951-279-6110 or check us out on the internet at hpec.org.

 

Stroke Warning Signs

Stroke Warning Signs
Learn to recognize a stroke, because time lost is brain lost.

Call 9-1-1 IMMEDIATELY if one or more of the following symptoms suddenly occur:

Numbness or Weakness

Of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body

Confusion

Or trouble speaking or understanding

Vision Disturbances

Or trouble seeing in one or both eyes

Loss of Balance or Coordination

Dizziness or trouble walking

Severe Headache

With no known cause

A stroke is a medical emergency!

If given within three hours of the start of symptoms, a clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke.
Source: AHA website

Knowing First Aid and Basic Life Support (BLS) is a great way to be prepared in the event of a life threatening situation.  HealthPro is a wonderful place to obtain these skills and we offer classes in the Inland Empire and Orange County.  You can sign up online at hpec.org or give us a call at 951-279-6110.  

Hands-Only CPR

                                                                         

 Learn Hands-Only CPR  

One quarter of Americans say they’ve been in a situation where someone needed CPR. If you were one of them, would you know what to do?

                         

Getting Trained      

Studies have shown that being trained in hands-only CPR can make the lifesaving difference when someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest.

Join the millions of people we train each year by taking a 30-minute Citizen CPR class or sign up for Red Cross training courses to get certified in first aid, full CPR and using Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). The courses teaches how the hands-only technique can save a life.

 

What is hands-only CPR?      

Hands-only CPR is a potentially lifesaving technique involving no mouth to mouth contact. It is best used in emergencies where someone has seen another person suddenly collapse. The hands-only technique increases the likelihood of surviving cardiac emergencies that occur outside medical settings.

                         

How is CPR different from hands-only CPR?      

Full CPR combines rescue breaths with chest compressions and is the best option in some emergencies, including those involving infants and children, drowning victims, or people who collapse due to breathing problems.

Source: American Red Cross

 

Learn CPR today to make a lifesaving difference in your community.  HealthPro offers courses taught by friendly healthcare professionals.  Check our schedule at hpec.org or give us a call at 951-279-6110. 

Look for the Heart-Check

Heart-Check Food Certification Program

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Updated:Mar 4,2014

The Heart-Check mark makes it easy to spot heart-healthy foods in the grocery store or when dining out. Simply look for the name of the American Heart Association along with our familiar red heart with a white check mark on the package or menu. But not all red hearts you see are from the American Heart Association; look for the AHA name to be sure.

When you spot the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark, you'll instantly know the food has been certified to meet our nutrition requirements. It's a good first step in creating an overall sensible eating plan.
Source:AHA

Taking a CPR or other course at HealthPro is a good first step to learn a life saving skill, obtain CEU's or just increase your knowledge.  You can check out class times and pricing at hpec.org or give us a call at 951-279-6110. 

Cardiac Arrest VS. Heart Attack

Source: AHA

 

Sign up for a CPR class today at HealthPro.  We have a new Corona location at 1307 W. 6th Street, Suite 141. Check out our website at hpec.org or give us a call at 951-279-6110.