By S Porter
There are many options available to Americans for health and dental plans. The most common health plan is regular insurance provided by employers, but there are other types of plans that don’t cost as much. Dental plans are also usually provided by the workplace, but they are disappearing as employers are trying to cope with rising health costs. 46 million Americans are without health insurance and nearly 50% of this country has no dental insurance. As we live longer and demand more from our health and dental providers, the price tag for these plans will continue to go up.
Health insurance is what everyone is familiar with, but most people don’t really know how it works. You and your employer pay the insurance company a regular monthly premium, and you are responsible for a small co-pay when you go see the doctor or get a prescription. Over time, the money you pay the insurance company adds up to much more than the average person will ever use in healthcare. If something tragic happens, you will thank your lucky stars that you have insurance, but even major surgery will not offset a lifetime of paying into the system. Insurance companies only pay the doctor a small percentage of what they bill and the result is multi-million dollar insurance companies.
Dental insurance works almost exactly the same way that health insurance does but dental insurance companies are usually much smaller. Like healthcare, you will pay into the system much more than you will ever use for the comfort of having it when you need it. Most employers have stopped offering dental to their employees because it’s not as important as health, but still expensive. You can also get a dental plan directly from some dentists that work in a dental chain, but they don’t usually cover the big expenses like braces. This leaves most people stuck with nothing and they just pay full price when they need to go to the dentist.
Discount plans like Ameriplan insurance are the alternative to regular health and dental insurance. With these programs, you pay a very small monthly fee and in return the health and dental providers give you a large discount on their services. The down side to these plans is that 80% off a $100,000 bill is still a $20,000 bill. You pay the discounted price that insurance companies enjoy, but this can still leave you stuck if something really bad happens. Dental is better than health with these programs because no one is going to lose their house over a dental bill. These plans are good for people that have no health or dental at all because something is better than nothing, and the cost is hundreds of dollars less per month.
Each person’s situation is different and the plan that’s best for them depends on their needs. If you are in good health and don’t have any coverage, a discount plan is going to be your best option. This will give you the option to save money for an emergency while enjoying a good discount on your everyday health needs like regular checkups. Another great option for most people is a discount plan combined with catastrophic health insurance. Catastrophic health insurance covers you in case of a big problem, but has a large deductible so it won’t help with everyday healthcare. Together you can have good coverage for substantially less than regular health insurance premiums. Health and dental care have a huge impact on your life, and it’s in your best interest to learn as much as you can about them so you can get the perfect plan for you.
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Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
How to Keep Your Vision Healthy
By S Porter
Health vision is something many of us take for granted, and if your eyesight has always been good, you may have never been to an optometrist. As we age though, the body requires more and more maintenance and this includes your eyes. People with bad eyesight are familiar with seeing an eye doctor, but everyone needs to take care of their eyes so they last as long as you do. There are many ways to take care of your eyes and most of them are just common sense, like don’t stick things in them. Other things are not so obvious but can have long lasting effects.
Diet can have an affect on healthy vision, although there is some argument as to how much. Vitamin C and E, along with calcium and folic acid can help you avoid macular degeneration and cataracts. There are also many different types of eye drops that do various things, like helping cataracts and glaucoma, but many optometrists say that regular eye drops bought off the store shelf can actually hurt your vision. Swimming can have an adverse affect on your vision, but it depends on the individual and most doctors agree that it takes years of constant exposure. Other environmental concerns include airborne pollution and other chemicals in enclosed spaces, which can also slowly degrade your vision over time.
Seeing an eye doctor is also a part of good vision health and is also the most overlooked by people with good eyesight. Newborns are usually checked at birth and again at 6 months. Children are due at ages 3, 6 and 13, but they will need to go more often if there is a family history of vision problems or if a problem is found during a routine checkup. Adults older than 18 need to go every 3 years until they turn 40; then they need to go every 2 years or as often as the optometrist recommends depending on how fast their sight is diminishing. Many late vision problems can now be corrected with LASIK surgery if you have the money or the insurance and you are looking for a more permanent solution than thicker glasses.
To offset the cost of vision care, especially if your eyesight is bad, many people have some type of vision plan. Health insurance usually includes some type of vision benefits, but they don’t cover much or there is a large deductible. Discount plans like the Ameriplan dental plan are also an option, and they can also provide savings on expensive procedures like LASIK eye surgery. You can also get a vision plan directly from some vision providers which can be the perfect solution if you only need vision insurance. If your eyesight is good and you only need regular checkups, you may not need to get a vision plan at all.
Preventative checkups and a good diet will keep your eyes seeing things as they should be seen. If your eyes are good now, don’t wait until they aren’t to take care of them. Like health care and dental care, waiting until you have a problem may already be too late to prevent permanent damage. If you have a more serious problem, such as glaucoma, and you ignore it; blindness and extreme eye pain will result. As with anything else, living well and taking care of yourself can add years of life and more importantly keep you happy longer into life.
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Health vision is something many of us take for granted, and if your eyesight has always been good, you may have never been to an optometrist. As we age though, the body requires more and more maintenance and this includes your eyes. People with bad eyesight are familiar with seeing an eye doctor, but everyone needs to take care of their eyes so they last as long as you do. There are many ways to take care of your eyes and most of them are just common sense, like don’t stick things in them. Other things are not so obvious but can have long lasting effects.
Diet can have an affect on healthy vision, although there is some argument as to how much. Vitamin C and E, along with calcium and folic acid can help you avoid macular degeneration and cataracts. There are also many different types of eye drops that do various things, like helping cataracts and glaucoma, but many optometrists say that regular eye drops bought off the store shelf can actually hurt your vision. Swimming can have an adverse affect on your vision, but it depends on the individual and most doctors agree that it takes years of constant exposure. Other environmental concerns include airborne pollution and other chemicals in enclosed spaces, which can also slowly degrade your vision over time.
Seeing an eye doctor is also a part of good vision health and is also the most overlooked by people with good eyesight. Newborns are usually checked at birth and again at 6 months. Children are due at ages 3, 6 and 13, but they will need to go more often if there is a family history of vision problems or if a problem is found during a routine checkup. Adults older than 18 need to go every 3 years until they turn 40; then they need to go every 2 years or as often as the optometrist recommends depending on how fast their sight is diminishing. Many late vision problems can now be corrected with LASIK surgery if you have the money or the insurance and you are looking for a more permanent solution than thicker glasses.
To offset the cost of vision care, especially if your eyesight is bad, many people have some type of vision plan. Health insurance usually includes some type of vision benefits, but they don’t cover much or there is a large deductible. Discount plans like the Ameriplan dental plan are also an option, and they can also provide savings on expensive procedures like LASIK eye surgery. You can also get a vision plan directly from some vision providers which can be the perfect solution if you only need vision insurance. If your eyesight is good and you only need regular checkups, you may not need to get a vision plan at all.
Preventative checkups and a good diet will keep your eyes seeing things as they should be seen. If your eyes are good now, don’t wait until they aren’t to take care of them. Like health care and dental care, waiting until you have a problem may already be too late to prevent permanent damage. If you have a more serious problem, such as glaucoma, and you ignore it; blindness and extreme eye pain will result. As with anything else, living well and taking care of yourself can add years of life and more importantly keep you happy longer into life.
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Starting an Ameriplan Business Is Now Permanently Less Expensive
By S Porter
Ameriplan is now offering a choice for new independent business owners (IBOs) to sign up without purchasing the traditional IBO packet. IBOs pay a $50 monthly fee and receive the ability to sign up members and build a residual income. Until the new pricing was launched, they also paid a one time $45 fee at sign up for the IBO packet that included mail-in forms to sign up members and IBOs alike.
Over the last decade, Ameriplan has really moved on to the internet by offering its IBOs websites and the ability to sign up members instantly online. Because of the increasing use of these websites, the need to sign people up with mail-in forms has become obsolete.
“I’ve been with Ameriplan for more than 6 years, and during that time I have never signed up a member with a mail-in form. I’m sure some people still use them, but my business is completely online,” says Jason Pachello; an Ameriplan IBO.
There are still a few holdouts to the new online way, and there will still be some need for these mail-in forms for years to come. For those who still want to work with pen and paper, the IBO packet is still available during sign-up for an additional $45. Those that don’t need them can opt out of the IBO packet and just pay the regular monthly fee with no additional charges at sign-up.
One of the better unintended consequences of the internet is the shrinking need for paper. Thousands of trees are cut down each year just too print bills and other disposable forms of record keeping. Ameriplan now joins a very long list of companies that are helping our environment by making the constant need for paper ever smaller.
Ameriplan is a seventeen year old company that offers discount health and dental programs to members. Anyone who wants to build an income can join Ameriplan as an IBO (independent business owner) for a small fee per month and collect residual income from the members they personally sign up. Becoming an IBO now includes the websites needed to sign-up members and IBOs online without the need for any mail-in forms.
Along with the mail-in forms, the IBO packet also includes some sales aids like DVDs and brochures. All of these materials have also been reproduced on the internet now, and customers have the ability to watch the movies and look at the program details any time they want.
Ameriplan is constantly expanding its member, provider and IBO bases. In the last few years, they have begun to offer several new discount programs that don’t have anything to do with health or dental. Two new programs will soon be available; one is another discount health program that includes vision and hearing, and the other is a package of programs that include identity theft assistance and auto club.
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Ameriplan is now offering a choice for new independent business owners (IBOs) to sign up without purchasing the traditional IBO packet. IBOs pay a $50 monthly fee and receive the ability to sign up members and build a residual income. Until the new pricing was launched, they also paid a one time $45 fee at sign up for the IBO packet that included mail-in forms to sign up members and IBOs alike.
Over the last decade, Ameriplan has really moved on to the internet by offering its IBOs websites and the ability to sign up members instantly online. Because of the increasing use of these websites, the need to sign people up with mail-in forms has become obsolete.
“I’ve been with Ameriplan for more than 6 years, and during that time I have never signed up a member with a mail-in form. I’m sure some people still use them, but my business is completely online,” says Jason Pachello; an Ameriplan IBO.
There are still a few holdouts to the new online way, and there will still be some need for these mail-in forms for years to come. For those who still want to work with pen and paper, the IBO packet is still available during sign-up for an additional $45. Those that don’t need them can opt out of the IBO packet and just pay the regular monthly fee with no additional charges at sign-up.
One of the better unintended consequences of the internet is the shrinking need for paper. Thousands of trees are cut down each year just too print bills and other disposable forms of record keeping. Ameriplan now joins a very long list of companies that are helping our environment by making the constant need for paper ever smaller.
Ameriplan is a seventeen year old company that offers discount health and dental programs to members. Anyone who wants to build an income can join Ameriplan as an IBO (independent business owner) for a small fee per month and collect residual income from the members they personally sign up. Becoming an IBO now includes the websites needed to sign-up members and IBOs online without the need for any mail-in forms.
Along with the mail-in forms, the IBO packet also includes some sales aids like DVDs and brochures. All of these materials have also been reproduced on the internet now, and customers have the ability to watch the movies and look at the program details any time they want.
Ameriplan is constantly expanding its member, provider and IBO bases. In the last few years, they have begun to offer several new discount programs that don’t have anything to do with health or dental. Two new programs will soon be available; one is another discount health program that includes vision and hearing, and the other is a package of programs that include identity theft assistance and auto club.
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Friday, May 22, 2009
The Argument Against Universal Healthcare
By S Porter
The idea of a nationalized healthcare system has been around for a long time, and like most other social ideas, it sounds good when you first hear it. Healthcare for everyone in the United States would be a dream come true for lots of families but the problems with universal healthcare far outweigh the benefits. Many countries have tried this and failed because of some basic ideas that aren’t even being considered.
1. The Competition – or lack there of. One of the things that made this country great is the free market principle of competition. Doctors spend years in medical school to graduate and join the ranks of practicing MDs. When they do, they usually have huge debts to repay and big dreams of being successful, rich doctors. Competition creates winners and these doctors strive to be the best so they can make a name for themselves and ultimately make more money. In a universal healthcare system, the government decides what a doctor can charge and they all make the same amount. There is no longer a reason for a doctor to strive to be the best because there is no reward for doing so. This hinders medical advancement and makes everyone take the same sub-standard healthcare; it also greatly reduces the drive for people to become doctors at all. I understand that the need to help others should always come first, but that won’t pay off years of student loans and put food on the table.
2. The Cost – somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 trillion per year. That makes the recent stimulus package from congress seem small by comparison. Large numbers like this tend to fall on deaf ears because no one really knows how much that is. To give you an idea, it’s $10,000 per year for every person living in this country. The reason healthcare costs have risen to where they are is because we have already begun moving toward socialized healthcare for several years now. It works like this: Medicare and Medicaid put about 20% of the country in a free healthcare program, but someone has to pay for it; so the other 80% see a rise in their healthcare costs. This causes more people from the 80% to lose their healthcare because they can no longer afford it and they join the other 20% who are getting it for free. Healthcare costs continue to rise for those who are paying for it as more and more people get it for free; but in the end, this money has to come from somewhere. The only way to fix this problem is to un-socialize the system and make healthcare affordable to more people. One company with a solution is Ameriplan Health. In this health program, doctors offer big discounts for all their services in exchange for payment from the patient… no insurance or big government to get in the way.
3. The Government – can’t do anything efficiently. Every program that our government has taken over dies a slow death. They have ruined retirement with social security, and forced more people into poverty through welfare. This is the same group of people that pay $5,000 for a toilet seat. Most of the people on capital hill have never had to worry about healthcare and have no idea how it works. They are interested in your vote; and if universal healthcare sounds good to you, they will be happy to do it regardless of right or wrong. Good healthcare is not a right… it’s a privilege that should be worked for and cherished, not handed out.
I wish everyone could have the best healthcare but that is not the world we live in. We should endeavor to make it as affordable as possible for as many people as possible, but the more “free” it becomes, the worse it will get.
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The idea of a nationalized healthcare system has been around for a long time, and like most other social ideas, it sounds good when you first hear it. Healthcare for everyone in the United States would be a dream come true for lots of families but the problems with universal healthcare far outweigh the benefits. Many countries have tried this and failed because of some basic ideas that aren’t even being considered.
1. The Competition – or lack there of. One of the things that made this country great is the free market principle of competition. Doctors spend years in medical school to graduate and join the ranks of practicing MDs. When they do, they usually have huge debts to repay and big dreams of being successful, rich doctors. Competition creates winners and these doctors strive to be the best so they can make a name for themselves and ultimately make more money. In a universal healthcare system, the government decides what a doctor can charge and they all make the same amount. There is no longer a reason for a doctor to strive to be the best because there is no reward for doing so. This hinders medical advancement and makes everyone take the same sub-standard healthcare; it also greatly reduces the drive for people to become doctors at all. I understand that the need to help others should always come first, but that won’t pay off years of student loans and put food on the table.
2. The Cost – somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 trillion per year. That makes the recent stimulus package from congress seem small by comparison. Large numbers like this tend to fall on deaf ears because no one really knows how much that is. To give you an idea, it’s $10,000 per year for every person living in this country. The reason healthcare costs have risen to where they are is because we have already begun moving toward socialized healthcare for several years now. It works like this: Medicare and Medicaid put about 20% of the country in a free healthcare program, but someone has to pay for it; so the other 80% see a rise in their healthcare costs. This causes more people from the 80% to lose their healthcare because they can no longer afford it and they join the other 20% who are getting it for free. Healthcare costs continue to rise for those who are paying for it as more and more people get it for free; but in the end, this money has to come from somewhere. The only way to fix this problem is to un-socialize the system and make healthcare affordable to more people. One company with a solution is Ameriplan Health. In this health program, doctors offer big discounts for all their services in exchange for payment from the patient… no insurance or big government to get in the way.
3. The Government – can’t do anything efficiently. Every program that our government has taken over dies a slow death. They have ruined retirement with social security, and forced more people into poverty through welfare. This is the same group of people that pay $5,000 for a toilet seat. Most of the people on capital hill have never had to worry about healthcare and have no idea how it works. They are interested in your vote; and if universal healthcare sounds good to you, they will be happy to do it regardless of right or wrong. Good healthcare is not a right… it’s a privilege that should be worked for and cherished, not handed out.
I wish everyone could have the best healthcare but that is not the world we live in. We should endeavor to make it as affordable as possible for as many people as possible, but the more “free” it becomes, the worse it will get.
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Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Does Anyone Really Need Health Insurance
By S Porter
We have all heard the numbers by now; 46 million people in this country are uninsured. This is a disturbing number, but it’s important to understand who these people are and why they are uninsured. Medicare and Medicaid are government programs that have been set up to take care of many of these people, but not all of them. Government programs take money from the taxpayers and use it to cover the uninsured, but the more government intervenes; the more expensive healthcare gets for all of us. The government tells healthcare providers what they can legally charge someone on Medicare and Medicaid, but it’s not enough to cover operating costs for the hospitals and doctors so they have to overcharge the people with private insurance to cover the difference. This makes healthcare more expensive for the people who are paying and less affordable for lower income families who then have to start relying on the government as well. There are a little over 300 million people in the United States and 1 in 6 of us doesn’t have any health insurance at all because the cost keeps going up to cover those who can’t pay.
People who are 18 to 30 years old make up about half of the uninsured. Simply put, they believe they are invincible and really don’t see much of a need for health insurance. They rarely to never need to see a doctor so if they don’t get health insurance from their employer, they won’t buy it themselves at any price. The people I know from this age group that do need to see a doctor quickly realize that if they are in a lower income bracket, the government will take care of them, so why buy health insurance?
The 30 to 65 age group is the backbone of our healthcare system and this is where all the money comes from. These people are in moderate health and they are in the prime money making years of their lives. The other half of the uninsured are from this group; 11 million of them are uninsured and another 11 million of their children. If we are to fix the healthcare system and bring down costs, this is where we need to start. Low income families are covered by Medicaid but these 11 million families make a little too much, don’t have health through their employers and can’t afford to get insurance. Discount fee for service plans like Ameriplan are designed for this group. Combined with catastrophic health insurance they can provide the right cost vs. coverage to supply this need.
Those aged 65 and older are eligible for Medicare at one level or another. Medicare also covers the disabled and the government is on an eternal quest to expand these benefits to cover every procedure in existence. We are living longer lives and the older we get, the more healthcare we need. Baby boomers are just starting to hit retirement age and over time, there will be more people in this age group and less in the 30 to 65 age group. This is a recipe for trouble as there will be many more healthcare users and fewer healthcare payers. One solution to this problem is government subsidized elderly healthcare combined with tax credits to offset the premiums. This way healthcare is still not run by the government and companies can compete to offer the best rates.
There is a deep debate going on across the country about healthcare reform. Some people, like me, believe that the answer is always a capitalist solution and the government can only get in the way and make things more expensive. Others think that a socialist approach would work better with the government completely taking over the industry, offering universal healthcare and then charging the people for it. One thing is for sure; if we do nothing, healthcare costs will continue to go up and more people won’t be able to afford insurance.
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We have all heard the numbers by now; 46 million people in this country are uninsured. This is a disturbing number, but it’s important to understand who these people are and why they are uninsured. Medicare and Medicaid are government programs that have been set up to take care of many of these people, but not all of them. Government programs take money from the taxpayers and use it to cover the uninsured, but the more government intervenes; the more expensive healthcare gets for all of us. The government tells healthcare providers what they can legally charge someone on Medicare and Medicaid, but it’s not enough to cover operating costs for the hospitals and doctors so they have to overcharge the people with private insurance to cover the difference. This makes healthcare more expensive for the people who are paying and less affordable for lower income families who then have to start relying on the government as well. There are a little over 300 million people in the United States and 1 in 6 of us doesn’t have any health insurance at all because the cost keeps going up to cover those who can’t pay.
People who are 18 to 30 years old make up about half of the uninsured. Simply put, they believe they are invincible and really don’t see much of a need for health insurance. They rarely to never need to see a doctor so if they don’t get health insurance from their employer, they won’t buy it themselves at any price. The people I know from this age group that do need to see a doctor quickly realize that if they are in a lower income bracket, the government will take care of them, so why buy health insurance?
The 30 to 65 age group is the backbone of our healthcare system and this is where all the money comes from. These people are in moderate health and they are in the prime money making years of their lives. The other half of the uninsured are from this group; 11 million of them are uninsured and another 11 million of their children. If we are to fix the healthcare system and bring down costs, this is where we need to start. Low income families are covered by Medicaid but these 11 million families make a little too much, don’t have health through their employers and can’t afford to get insurance. Discount fee for service plans like Ameriplan are designed for this group. Combined with catastrophic health insurance they can provide the right cost vs. coverage to supply this need.
Those aged 65 and older are eligible for Medicare at one level or another. Medicare also covers the disabled and the government is on an eternal quest to expand these benefits to cover every procedure in existence. We are living longer lives and the older we get, the more healthcare we need. Baby boomers are just starting to hit retirement age and over time, there will be more people in this age group and less in the 30 to 65 age group. This is a recipe for trouble as there will be many more healthcare users and fewer healthcare payers. One solution to this problem is government subsidized elderly healthcare combined with tax credits to offset the premiums. This way healthcare is still not run by the government and companies can compete to offer the best rates.
There is a deep debate going on across the country about healthcare reform. Some people, like me, believe that the answer is always a capitalist solution and the government can only get in the way and make things more expensive. Others think that a socialist approach would work better with the government completely taking over the industry, offering universal healthcare and then charging the people for it. One thing is for sure; if we do nothing, healthcare costs will continue to go up and more people won’t be able to afford insurance.
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Filling Your Prescription, Over the Border
By S Porter
Medications have been going up in price for years now, and many people have no choice but to keep paying for them. We are living longer lives in the United States and senior citizens are relying on prescription drugs to keep them healthy. Drugs today focus on treating various problems, but not on curing them. If we as a country want to continue to this cycle, we can expect that drug prices will keep going up and more people will need more of them to live healthy. As we age we are more prone to have health problems in our lives and there is no cure for aging.
There is a delicate balance that needs to be maintained between supply and demand for medical advancement and consumer prices. Drug companies spend billions of dollars on medical research and it takes years for these drugs to be approved by the FDA. Once they are approved, the pharmaceutical company that created the drug gets to patent it for a limited amount of time. They charge inflated prices during this time to recover the capital spent to develop the drugs and to start researching and developing new drugs for the future. Without the ability to recover this money, drug advancement would grind to a halt. Once the patent expires, the drugs are reproduced by generic companies for a fraction of the cost and they become more affordable to the general public.
One way that people in the United States have been dealing with the high price of new drugs is to buy them from Canada and Mexico. The government is usually opposed to doing this because the FDA has no say in how Canadian drugs are produced or how safe they are. Most people have the idea that you can get these medications from across the border for a significant discount, but the average price difference for these drugs is less than 5%. If you buy your prescriptions from another country and you get something that hurts you instead of helping you, then you have no way to hold them responsible. All of these negative points make it hard to say that importing your medications is a good idea, but many people do it anyway.
To deal with the cost of medications in the United States, we have created many different prescription plans. Some are from the private sector, like private health insurance that includes drug benefits. Some are from the government in the form of Medicare and Medicaid for lower income families and seniors. Still others are discount plans from private companies like Ameriplan that offer discount prices on prescriptions to its members. You can also get a prescription plan directly from most pharmacies you get your medications from. The big problem with prescription plans is that they all have different prices for different drugs and people that have many prescriptions end up needing several plans to meet their needs.
As a nation, we have a great healthcare system that has doubled our life expectancy over the last 100 years, but it’s become too expensive. Compared with other countries, ours costs the most. Importing your prescription drugs can help to bring down your expenses, but not by much, and the upside doesn’t outweigh the risk. We have become dependant on our healthcare system and our need continues to increase as we live longer. Many years ago if you went to the doctor with a problem, you were given a checkup and a couple pills and everything was right in the world. Now if you go to the doctor with a problem, you get a checkup and a couple pills you need to take for the rest of your life. If we can switch our focus back to fixing health problems rather than just treating them, the world can be right once again!
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Medications have been going up in price for years now, and many people have no choice but to keep paying for them. We are living longer lives in the United States and senior citizens are relying on prescription drugs to keep them healthy. Drugs today focus on treating various problems, but not on curing them. If we as a country want to continue to this cycle, we can expect that drug prices will keep going up and more people will need more of them to live healthy. As we age we are more prone to have health problems in our lives and there is no cure for aging.
There is a delicate balance that needs to be maintained between supply and demand for medical advancement and consumer prices. Drug companies spend billions of dollars on medical research and it takes years for these drugs to be approved by the FDA. Once they are approved, the pharmaceutical company that created the drug gets to patent it for a limited amount of time. They charge inflated prices during this time to recover the capital spent to develop the drugs and to start researching and developing new drugs for the future. Without the ability to recover this money, drug advancement would grind to a halt. Once the patent expires, the drugs are reproduced by generic companies for a fraction of the cost and they become more affordable to the general public.
One way that people in the United States have been dealing with the high price of new drugs is to buy them from Canada and Mexico. The government is usually opposed to doing this because the FDA has no say in how Canadian drugs are produced or how safe they are. Most people have the idea that you can get these medications from across the border for a significant discount, but the average price difference for these drugs is less than 5%. If you buy your prescriptions from another country and you get something that hurts you instead of helping you, then you have no way to hold them responsible. All of these negative points make it hard to say that importing your medications is a good idea, but many people do it anyway.
To deal with the cost of medications in the United States, we have created many different prescription plans. Some are from the private sector, like private health insurance that includes drug benefits. Some are from the government in the form of Medicare and Medicaid for lower income families and seniors. Still others are discount plans from private companies like Ameriplan that offer discount prices on prescriptions to its members. You can also get a prescription plan directly from most pharmacies you get your medications from. The big problem with prescription plans is that they all have different prices for different drugs and people that have many prescriptions end up needing several plans to meet their needs.
As a nation, we have a great healthcare system that has doubled our life expectancy over the last 100 years, but it’s become too expensive. Compared with other countries, ours costs the most. Importing your prescription drugs can help to bring down your expenses, but not by much, and the upside doesn’t outweigh the risk. We have become dependant on our healthcare system and our need continues to increase as we live longer. Many years ago if you went to the doctor with a problem, you were given a checkup and a couple pills and everything was right in the world. Now if you go to the doctor with a problem, you get a checkup and a couple pills you need to take for the rest of your life. If we can switch our focus back to fixing health problems rather than just treating them, the world can be right once again!
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
Important Times in a Child’s Dental Schedule
by: S Porter
Dental and health topics are talked about frequently in the
United States and it seems that the do’s and don’ts change on a
daily basis. We all know that we should see a dentist every six
months for preventative care because that hasn’t changed for
many years, but what about your children? Teeth are easily
maintained after they all come in and nothing else changes, but
while children grow they need several checkups to ensure long
lasting healthy teeth. What happens during the first 12 years of
your child’s life will impact their teeth for as long as they
live.
Children begin to get their baby teeth between 3 and 6 months
and it’s easy to tell when this is happening because of their
need to bite. After their baby teeth begin to come in, they can
be cleaned by a light rubbing with a wash cloth until they are 1
year old. From 1 to 7 years old, children need a soft toothbrush
and a pea sized dab of toothpaste. Dentists recommend that
children make their first trip before they are 3 years old, but
it’s time to make a decision at 1 year. If your child has high
risk factors for tooth problems, 1 year is a good time to make
your first appointment. High risk factors include; lots of
juice, going to bed with something to drink, thumb sucking and
most of all… the health of YOUR teeth.
From 6 months to about 7 years, children have their baby teeth
and they need to be treated well to last even that long.
Fluoride and calcium are chemicals that bonds to teeth and makes
them much stronger, but too much fluoride and it can cause teeth
to become brown stained. It is essential that children receive
the right amount of these chemicals and the only person
who can tell you how much is your dentist. Some parts of the
country have more naturally occurring fluoride in the water and
food supply than other parts of the country and your local
dentist will be able to tell you how much your child is getting.
Fluoride and calcium are even more important after your child’s
adult teeth come in between 6 and 7 years old. These are the
teeth they will have for the rest of their lives and
strengthening them very early on will help protect them until
they have children and grandchildren of their own.
Research has always shown that children who don’t receive proper
dental care early on have tooth problems most of their lives.
Not getting enough strengthening chemicals in their food due to
malnourishment and lack of dental care has always plagued the
poorer sections of the country and the children pay for it. Over
half of the country has no dental insurance through their
employer and dental appointments can become very expensive if
your child needs braces or has cavities. One solution to this
problem is a dental discount program like Ameriplan. In one
of these programs, dentists offer big discounts to their
patients in exchange for cash payment. These programs cost less
than $20 a month but they can cut the cost of braces in half.
Other portions of the population may get assistance through
Medicare and Medicaid, but lots of people will have to just suck
it up and pay out of pocket.
New advances in mouthwash and toothpaste can allow you to whiten
your teeth or strengthen them from the inside, but children have
no idea what they need and don’t need. It’s up to us as parents
to see to their health and dental and provide them with long,
happy and productive lives. When our children have children of
their own, most of these dental do’s and don’ts will have
changed. Until then, we can only do what we feel is best and
what we know works!
Article showing at EzineArticles,GoArticles,ArticleDashboard,ArticlesBase,
ArticleSphere,DimeCo,Amazines,ArticleAlley
Dental and health topics are talked about frequently in the
United States and it seems that the do’s and don’ts change on a
daily basis. We all know that we should see a dentist every six
months for preventative care because that hasn’t changed for
many years, but what about your children? Teeth are easily
maintained after they all come in and nothing else changes, but
while children grow they need several checkups to ensure long
lasting healthy teeth. What happens during the first 12 years of
your child’s life will impact their teeth for as long as they
live.
Children begin to get their baby teeth between 3 and 6 months
and it’s easy to tell when this is happening because of their
need to bite. After their baby teeth begin to come in, they can
be cleaned by a light rubbing with a wash cloth until they are 1
year old. From 1 to 7 years old, children need a soft toothbrush
and a pea sized dab of toothpaste. Dentists recommend that
children make their first trip before they are 3 years old, but
it’s time to make a decision at 1 year. If your child has high
risk factors for tooth problems, 1 year is a good time to make
your first appointment. High risk factors include; lots of
juice, going to bed with something to drink, thumb sucking and
most of all… the health of YOUR teeth.
From 6 months to about 7 years, children have their baby teeth
and they need to be treated well to last even that long.
Fluoride and calcium are chemicals that bonds to teeth and makes
them much stronger, but too much fluoride and it can cause teeth
to become brown stained. It is essential that children receive
the right amount of these chemicals and the only person
who can tell you how much is your dentist. Some parts of the
country have more naturally occurring fluoride in the water and
food supply than other parts of the country and your local
dentist will be able to tell you how much your child is getting.
Fluoride and calcium are even more important after your child’s
adult teeth come in between 6 and 7 years old. These are the
teeth they will have for the rest of their lives and
strengthening them very early on will help protect them until
they have children and grandchildren of their own.
Research has always shown that children who don’t receive proper
dental care early on have tooth problems most of their lives.
Not getting enough strengthening chemicals in their food due to
malnourishment and lack of dental care has always plagued the
poorer sections of the country and the children pay for it. Over
half of the country has no dental insurance through their
employer and dental appointments can become very expensive if
your child needs braces or has cavities. One solution to this
problem is a dental discount program like Ameriplan. In one
of these programs, dentists offer big discounts to their
patients in exchange for cash payment. These programs cost less
than $20 a month but they can cut the cost of braces in half.
Other portions of the population may get assistance through
Medicare and Medicaid, but lots of people will have to just suck
it up and pay out of pocket.
New advances in mouthwash and toothpaste can allow you to whiten
your teeth or strengthen them from the inside, but children have
no idea what they need and don’t need. It’s up to us as parents
to see to their health and dental and provide them with long,
happy and productive lives. When our children have children of
their own, most of these dental do’s and don’ts will have
changed. Until then, we can only do what we feel is best and
what we know works!
Article showing at EzineArticles,GoArticles,ArticleDashboard,ArticlesBase,
ArticleSphere,DimeCo,Amazines,ArticleAlley
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