One of the key components to making sure that there’s enough money and health care available for all of us living in the United States is plan, plan, plan. If experts were just to estimate what the population will be in a particular year (and much of it has to be some speculation) or if age and gender breakdown weren’t taken into consideration, health care providers would find themselves with a huge demographic portion needing care and with no money available to serve them with. Luckily for all of us, the National Health Care Expenditure Accounts Projections Team (NHCEAPT) is all over this type of things, and they have identified a trend that all of us, from young to old, should be aware of. Here is what we can expect to see through the year 2017 (doesn’t that year just sound so scifi?) and some suggestions on how we can be prepared for it.

Get Ready Medicare: Here Come the Baby Boomers

Baby boomers are little kids rocking out and bopping around to some music on the stereo. A “baby boomer,” a term created by the U.S. Census Bureau, is used to describe anyone born right after World War II, when everyone was so happy to see one another return home safely that all they did was sit around and make babies. The decade is usually considered between the years of 1945-1955. My parents? Proud baby boomers. And soon enough, people like my folks are going to be needing to access public programs like Medicare. According to the folks with the NHCEAPT, the outlook for national spending in the next eight years calls for steady growth. Spending growth is projected to be 6.7 percent in 2007, similar to its rate in 2006. Average annual growth over the projection period is expected to be 6.7 percent.

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The term “Medicaid issues” is rather vague, and you can let your fingers do the walking online if you are wanting to learn more about Medicaid plans. Medicare Advantage, however, is more specific. These are health insurance plans that are a part of the Medicare program, and they include things like:

• Medicare Health Maintenance Organization (HMOs)
• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO)
• Private Fee-for-Service Plans
• Medicare Special Needs Plans

The interesting thing is that these plans do exist and are available under Medicare, so it is only my educated guess that Health Net was lobbying to reduce restrictions here as well, possibly opening the doors to more potential members and not barring people for health issues.

Considering that Medicare is intended to provide health care to our elderly population, trying to keep people from getting health coverage based on preexisting medical conditions is pretty absurd. You show me one 75 year old who has made it that far in life without bringing any medical baggage along with them and I’ll buy you a cookie.

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There are some health insurance companies where you feel like you are being taken advantage of at every single turn. Hidden charges show up on bills, you don’t have an easy time getting in to see your doctor, and you may spend upward of an hour trying to get the right person on the phone for customer service. This is not to say that health insurance companies exist simply to frustrate you: quite the opposite. Sometimes they just do not seem like they are doing all they can to best serve your interests as a consumer or customer. Health Net, one of America’s biggest health insurance companies serving over 6.7 million people across the country, has recently stepped up to the plate big time in the game of keeping people’s best interests (and health) at heart. In the third quarter of 2008, the insurer spent $670K lobbying with the federal government for a variety of different groups and lifting coverage restrictions.

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Bankruptcy is no picnic. Having to legally declare yourself officially broke in hopes of someday cleaning your slate and getting back on your feet isn’t easy for anyone, and there are always countless contributing, individual factors as to why someone finds themselves whispering “bankrupt.” For those who gamble away their savings, lose their homes and drink away the last of their pennies, they are left to lie in a bed of their own making. However, President Elect Obama is proposing a dramatic change in some legislature which would help those people and families who had to file bankruptcy because of medical bills. What does this mean for the average American and is it really as good as it seems?

A Bankruptcy Reprieve

If you were to take a peek at Obama’s economic agenda, you’d see this listed in a bullet point: “Obama and Biden will create an exemption in bankruptcy law for individuals who can prove they filed for bankruptcy because of medical expenses. This exemption will create a process that forgives the debt and lets the individuals get back on their feet.” Taken from the horse’s mouth, or as close to that as we can get before Obama takes office, this seems like a dream scenario. If you are someone who has had to give up everything to spend down to the last penny on medical expenses for your loved one (partially covered by your health insurance or not), this may seem like the savings grace you have been dreaming of. But are all people in this scenario: virtuous, thrifty spenders who have only gone into such horrendous debt due to medical bills?

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SAD, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, can sound downright silly to those who have not experienced it. “You mean to say that you get depressed when winter time rolls around and there’s less light? What are you, a vampire?” Sadly (pun intended), those who suffer from SAD are just like the rest of us but they feel the changes of the seasons just as much as a bear hibernating for the winter. What exactly is SAD? According to webmd.com, SAD is “a form of depression that tends to occur as the days grow shorter in the fall and winter.

What Causes SAD?

It is believed that affected persons react adversely to the decreasing amount of light and the colder temperature as autumn and winter progress.” Depression, wanting to sleep all the time and sometimes a craving for starchy foods are symptoms of SAD, and while they may sound mild, imagine dealing with them for the long winter months. SAD isn’t a hopeless battle for those who suffer from it, so get some help in turning your SAD into happiness and joy.

Let There Be Light

One of the most effective treatments for SAD is lighting therapy. Light therapy comes in two forms, bright light treatment and dawn simulation. In bright light treatment, you sit in front of a light box for a specified amount of time (usually in the mornings), and you can actually buy these yourself. Plug one of these boxes in while you’re working in the morning, having breakfast or reading the paper, and enjoy its warmth for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Dawn simulation is just like it sounds: you have a certain amount of light shining on you while you sleep and it increases toward the morning hours. The treatment’s effectiveness varies, but since it’s not always practical for busy people to sit in front of a light box for a long period of time, dawn simulation seems to be the most efficient use of time for people on the go.

photo credit: Flóra

Yesterday, we looked at the types of health reform that Obama plans on instituting. Today, we’ll look at how these plans may be carried out.

If you were hoping Obama was going to charge in on his gallant steed and change the way health insurance operates in this country, you are probably mistaken. “The Obama plan is actually quite traditional,” says John Sheils, Senior Vice President of the Lewin Group, a health care policy research company. “It is very similar to the proposals made by other democratic candidates during the primaries.” This isn’t something to get down about, but realistic expectations should be held near and dear. Although there are some changes and extensions that Obama is hoping to make to the way things operate currently, what he drafts and what actually makes it through Congress are another story.

Bill Clinton and George Bush didn’t get bills passed simply due to lack in trying. Congressional support from the Democratic members, as well as their input, is going to be a crucial component of how the health care and insurance turns out for all of us, so that is what you will want to keep your eye on.

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