If you have an iPhone, there is a feature that allows medical staff to treat you in an emergency without needing your passcode.

The Medical ID feature is free on all iPhones.

Security is a big issue, so I always tell people to have password protection on their phones.

Some readers have expressed concerns about password protection, because they are worried police or EMS will be unable to access their phone for important, lifesaving information.

The good news, is there is a solution!

Set up the Medical ID on your iPhone. This allows emergency personnel to access medical information, without having to use your password to get into your phone. All they have to do, is tap the emergency section on your locked screen.

So how do you set up your Medical ID?

Go into your “Health” app and tap the “Medical ID” button. Then add your emergency information by selecting “Edit.” You can add medical conditions, allergies, or any other important information for first responders. Then tap “Done.”

For pictures, a video tutorial and more help, click here.

Make sure to share this lifesaving tip with your friends and family!

To learn more health and wellness tips, pick up the WMBW Summit. It contains 6 interviews by top female health professionals plus two workout videos and 3 bonus videos on mind-body wellness with myself, MyHealthSpin Founder Lori-Ann Rickard. Plus a newly added bonus video from Dr. Jennifer Shell! Use promo code “BEWELL” to receive 50% off!

The post Can Your iPhone Save Your Life? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Did you know that a group of 13 male, Republican Senators is currently working on a draft bill of the repeal/replace Obamacare behind closed doors?

The group of Senators claimed they are close to having a proposal to take to the floor.

The bill has been drafted behind closed doors, with many senators unaware of any details. Some Democrat Senators have expressed outrage at the closed-door approach to the drafting.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R – S.C. stated that the bill is being drafted from a one-party perspective because no Democrat is willing to help with the draft. He said that although this is not the ideal approach, it’s the only way they are able to draft the bill.

In 2017, approximately 12.2 million people were enrolled or automatically re-enrolled in a Affordable Care Act Marketplace plan (“Obamacare Exchange.”)

The changes to the healthcare bill will affect millions of people, yet we know very little about the potential changes.

The Senate Committee has stated that they will submit the draft bill to the Congressional Budget Office prior to releasing to the public, for nonpartisan analysis of things such as the cost, and how many people will gain or lose coverage, if enacted.

Once the bill is drafted, there are still many uncertainties.

Many experts have stated that the chances of it passing is very unlikely. No Democrats are expected to vote to repeal Obamacare. Republicans can’t lose more than two votes to pass the bill, and several Republicans have already expressed concerns.

What are your thoughts on the replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act? Would you like there to be more transparency?

Get involved by contacting your representatives to let them know your opinions!

To learn more about health and women’s health check out the Women’s Mind Body Wellness Summit. It contains 6 interviews by top female health professionals plus two workout videos and 3 bonus videos on mind-body wellness with MyHealthSpin Founder Lori-Ann Rickard.

The post Is Your Health Insurance Cancelled? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

If you haven’t seen the clip, click here to watch.

Unfortunately, several hours after the birth of his baby, Jimmy and his wife Molly learned that Billy had a heart defect and needed surgery to save his life.

Jimmy thanked Cedars-Sinai Hospital and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for providing Billy with amazing care. Because of the attentive staff and great care, his newborn son is home and doing well.

Jimmy’s message was extremely important and shows how far we have come in healthcare, and how far we have to go.

Friends, family, and readers have asked me some questions about what Jimmy had to say. Here’s my take:

Jimmy spoke about “pre-existing conditions.”

Question: What are pre-existing conditions and how do they affect healthcare coverage?

Answer: Pre-existing conditions are health problems that occur prior to the date new health coverage starts.

Jimmy is correct that prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), pre-existing conditions, such as birth defects, could prevent someone like baby Billy from getting coverage. They also enabled insurance companies to charge individuals more. The ACA now prevents health insurance companies from refusing coverage or charging more for pre-existing conditions.

Question: What is the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”)?

Answer: NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is the nation’s medical research agency. Jimmy is correct that, despite initial plans to cut the budget for NIH, Congress increased its funding by $2 billion.

As a mother of two and a parent of a daughter born with a serious disease, I was touched by Jimmy’s message. It’s important to stay in the know about healthcare and healthcare policies, in case you or a loved one is impacted.

Congratulations to Jimmy Kimmel and his family on their baby boy!

To learn more about health care for your family, check out the Women’s Mind Body Wellness Summit. It contains 6 interviews by top female health professionals plus two workout videos and 3 bonus videos on mind-body wellness with MyHealthSpin founder Lori-Ann Rickard.

The post Jimmy Kimmel’s Healthcare Scare: What You Should Know appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Although I had a fantastic time once I was in Greece, it was extremely difficult for me to make the decision to go on an extended vacation abroad. It’s always difficult to leave daily life, work and children behind. I struggled with the idea of being away from my business and in a different country than my daughters. My friends convinced me that the trip was a necessity, and now I know they were right! I needed the trip to relax, unwind and enjoy myself.  My daughters were fine and my business was still standing upon my return home.

Vacations are so important for your personal health and well-being! People forget the importance of getting away from the daily grind. In 2014 in the United States, employees only used 51% of their vacation time and 15% of people didn’t take any time off at all. Recently, some employers have started to encourage their employees to take vacations given the many health and workplace benefits.

Vacations are good for you — they increase your productivity and they reduce your stress. Vacations allow you to unwind, recuperate, and feel healthier. People even have a reduction in cholesterol after a vacation and feel more satisfied with their lives in general after a vacation.

Given all the perks of vacations, where are you going this summer?

For more healthcare tips for you and your family, check out my workbook for dealing with caring for your children, as well as your aging parents: Life in the Sandwich Generation. Life in the Sandwich Generation is a workbook filled with information, tips and tricks for managing the demands needing to care for your aging parents, as well as taking care of your children. It details how you can involve your children in the process and how to learn more about your parents health and finances, while still making time for yourself and your spouse. You can find it here for only $10!

The post My Greece Vacation appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

I was recently contacted by the fabulous website Grandparents.com with some questions regarding health insurance and what it doesn’t cover. I have been approached many times with questions about health insurance, as it can be very confusing to navigate.

Did you know that the average age of a grandparent in the United States is 48? Neither did I. Grandparents, along with many other people, struggle with finding healthcare coverage for themselves and their loved ones.

We shared a lot of interesting information with Grandparents.com. Here is a glimpse at only a few of the many interesting facts we discussed:

• Insurance is essential. Make sure to research and compare insurance policies before selecting a plan. Consider if the plan covers your prescriptions, physicians, and services you need or may utilize in the future. Make sure to use your medical life list when evaluating options.
• If your insurance tells you that alternative therapies, such as massage or acupuncture, are covered services, make sure to find out what is required for them to be covered, how many visits are covered, and what health care providers you can see. Unforeseen costs can be burdensome, so make sure you know before you go!
• A good rule of thumb to determine whether a service is covered by insurance is to ask yourself whether or not the service is a medical necessity? This can be tricky, but usually insurance companies say services such as travel vaccinations or massages are not a medical necessity, and therefore are not covered.
• If you are receiving high out-of-pocket costs for services that are not covered, look for a plan that better suits your needs. If that’s not feasible, talk to your doctors and ask if they will put you on a payment plan or offer discounts for paying in cash.

For more information, check out the article today on Grandparents.com and make sure to let us know what you think!

For more healthcare tips for you and your family, check out my workbook for dealing with caring for your children, as well as your aging parents: Life in the Sandwich Generation. Life in the Sandwich Generation is a workbook filled with information, tips and tricks for managing the demands needing to care for your aging parents, as well as taking care of your children. It details how you can involve your children in the process and how to learn more about your parents health and finances, while still making time for yourself and your spouse. You can find it here for only $10!

The post Sneak Peek: What doesn’t your health insurance cover? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

We received a lot of great questions and, due to time limits, we were not able to answer all of them. So as we promised, here are some of your questions and the answers:

1. If I signed up for Obamacare and am expecting a baby in May (after enrollment), how do I get my baby coverage?

ANSWER: Having a baby is a “qualifying event” under Obamacare, so you can add the baby when he or she is born. Generally, you will need to sign your baby up for coverage within 60 days of the birth.

2. How do I know whether to pick my employer-provided insurance or Obamacare?

ANSWER: If your employer offers you health insurance, you will not be eligible for Obamacare. You can only buy Obamacare coverage if you cannot get coverage any other way.

3. I’m turning 65 soon. When can I apply for Medicare?

ANSWER: You can apply for Medicare 3 months before your 65th birthday. Enrollment will stay open up to 3 months after your 65th birthday. If you do not sign up within that 7 month timeframe (3 months before, the month you turn 65 and 3 months after) you will have to wait until the next Medicare open enrollment period.

4.  If I change from Obamacare to my new employer’s health plan, can I ever switch back?

ANSWER: If you lose your job or for some reason your employer no longer offers you health insurance, you can reapply for Obamacare. Losing your job or your health insurance is a qualifying event under Obamacare so you won’t have to wait for open enrollment to apply.

5.  I currently have Obamacare insurance but I’m almost 65 years old.  Can I apply for Medicare and use my Obamacare as my supplemental insurance?

ANSWER: No. Once you switch to Medicare, you will not be eligible for Obamacare.

Please continue to send us your questions. We will be scheduling more webinars soon. I’d love to hear from you!

To learn more about your healthcare, please subscribe to MyHealthSpin.com and receive a FREE copy of my toolkit which includes 2 free eBooks and lots of great information. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

The post How to Choose the Right Health Plan appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

As of October 1, 2015, there is a new code set that doctors must use called ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, Revision 10).

Some of our readers have mentioned that they have been noticing a lot of commotion behind the scenes in their doctor’s office lately.

That’s because doctors and hospitals all over the country have been preparing for the switch to ICD-10. ICD-10 is far more complex and specific than the ICD-9 code system it replaced.

There are now almost 70,000 billing codes, as opposed to the previous 14,000 codes. Hospital procedure codes are expanding from 4,000 codes to 72,000 codes.

This means that your doctor will need to be a lot more specific in their coding and may have a lot more questions for you.

Many doctors think this could be problematic, especially during the transition period.

Some doctors and experts have questioned the new codes, as they are extremely specific. For example, under ICD-10, cardiologists no longer have 1 code for angioplasty, now they have 845 codes, and dermatologists now need to specify which of the 8 kinds of acne a patient has. This has caused many doctors a great deal of stress.

Even more problematic for many doctors is that the external causes of injuries have been greatly expanded in the new code system. Many of these new external causes codes are very strange, and again, very specific.

These include specific codes for:

• Sucked into jet engine, subsequent encounter;
• Pedestrian on foot injured in collision with roller-skater, subsequent encounter;
• Swimming-pool of prison as the place of occurrence of the external cause;
• Burn due to water-skis on fire, subsequent encounter;
• Spacecraft collision injuring occupant, sequela;
• And many, many more.

So next time you’re in your doctor’s office and you see them struggling to describe the reason for your visit with extreme specificity, you’ll know why.

Right now you can receive a FREE copy of my ebook Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

With MyHealthspin, You Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

The post Do you know about your doctor’s new codes? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Many of our readers have questions about how to handle problems when they or their loved one is in the hospital. One of the things I always recommend is to contact the hospital’s patient advocate.

Most hospitals and healthcare facilities have a patient advocate that can often help you deal with the complexity of a hospital stay. Whether you are having trouble getting to talk to the doctor or you need a “team” meeting with all of your doctors to understand how the healthcare team is working together to get you better, a patient advocate can help.

Here are 3 things you should know:

1. Patient advocates have many different names: They can be called Ombudsman, Care Advocates, Health Planners, Coordinators or Navigators.
2. Different advocates specialize in different areas: Some advocates help you get insurance. Some help you figure out your hospital bills. Some advocates will sit with you and doctor to help you talk to the doctor about your care. Some will help you determine the best place for you to go when you leave the hospital. When you talk to a patient advocate, find out what they can do to help you. If they are not the right person, they will help you get to someone who can help with your particular problem.
3. You must be your own patient advocate: You should never assume that the hospital will take care of everything. Hospitals have many patients and many healthcare specialists. If you are not getting the care you think you need, you must speak up. By asking the nurse or the doctor to speak with the hospital’s patient advocate, you will often be taking one of the best steps toward solving your healthcare problems.

Have you ever used a patient advocate? What tips do you have? I’d love to hear from you!

To learn more about your healthcare, please subscribe to MyHealthSpin.com and receive a FREE copy of my ebook Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD

With MyHealthspin, You Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

The post 3 Things to Know about a Patient Advocate appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Lori-Ann and her father

As my dad was aging, we went to a lot of doctors. It was often difficult to make sure that my dad and my family understood what was happening with his health. Because my dad had been a Methodist minister for over 65 years, many people knew him and were concerned about his health. My dad was a very proud man and didn’t want everyone knowing what he was going through. It was often hard to balance getting all the important information to the people who needed to know but keeping my dad’s private information private.

As a patient or caregiver, health privacy is important for keeping the right people in the know.
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If you are trying to manage this for your family, you need to know some basics about health privacy. First, healthcare providers have specific rules to keep your health information private. It helps to know these rules in order to get the information you need:

1. Only the patient can give authorization to release their health information to family and friends.
2. The patient doesn’t need to sign an authorization if the family member is with them at the time of the doctor visit.
3. Your doctor can give your health information to other healthcare providers who are treating you or your insurance company without your authorizaiton.
4. You are entitled to your health records. If you ask for them, the doctor must give them to you.
5. Your healthcare provider must protect your health information whether it’s on paper or in an electronic format.
6. If you need any specific information, make sure you ask for it.
7. If you only want certain individuals in your family to get health information about your loved one, make sure you are very specific with your healthcare provider.

Knowing these rules helped me manage my dad’s healthcare and keep his information private when necessary.

Have you had any problems with your or your family’s health privacy? I’d love to hear from you!

If you or your loved one is going to be in the hospital, download my FREE ebook, Easy Healthcare: Your Hospital Stay.

With MyHealthSpin, You Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

The post My Dad and his Health Privacy appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

I would like to thank all of the firefighters, police officers, and volunteers that helped the victims and their families.

My heart goes out to the victims and their families on this 14th anniversary of the attacks.

We will never forget.

Since my work is demystifying healthcare, if you are an individual or a personal representative of a deceased individual who suffered physical harm or was killed as a result of the 9/11/2001 attacks, check out The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund at vcf.gov.  The act was expanded in 2011 to include individuals who experienced injuries from the attacks or from subsequent debris removal.

Stay healthy, and once again, take some time to remember all that we lost on September 11, 2001.

MyHealthSpin helps you Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

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