Helpful Health Care Links: January 2, 2015

Happy New YearHappy New Year! We start 2015 with no shortage of healthcare news you can use.

Our helpful health care links focus on a variety of topics — a report the high rate of influenza  and the deadline for using health flexible spending accounts. We also include an article from The Dr. Oz Show with a quiz to discover your resolution personality. All are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!

What’s Your Resolution Personality?

A new year is a time to make good on the goals we’ve been meaning to accomplish. Take this quiz to find out if your personality type will make you more likely to keep your resolution, partially achieve it or abandon it completely.

Health Plan Enrollment Numbers Show Importance Of Coming Supreme Court Case

The subsidies that the court may eradicate are helping a large majority of HealthCare.gov customers pay for their medical insurance.

This Season’s Flue Activity Has Reached The Epidemic Threshold, The CDC Says

Fifteen children have died across the country from influenza, as the number of states reporting a “high” level of influenza activity jumped from 13 to 22 in one week.

Deadline Looms For Spending Health Flex Account Money

More than 15 million workers have employer-sponsored health accounts, which gave customers a chance to set aside up to $2,500 in pre-tax wages this year for health-related expenses not covered by insurance. But these accounts come with a big catch: Often you have to use the balance before the plan year ends or you lose it.

Federal Funding Bill Includes Alzheimer’s Accountability Act

Congress recently signed a funding bill including the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act, enabling scientists at the National Institutes of Health to tell Congress the amount of funding they need on an annual basis to reach the national goal to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025.

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Helpful Health Care Links: December 26, 2014

Happy Holidays Greetings On A LineHappy Holidays from MyHealthSpin!

Our helpful health care links focus on a variety of topics this holiday week — an Atlanta CDC worker being monitored for possible Ebola exposure and important information about smartphone apps which are meant to monitor hypertension. We also include a local story from Crain’s Detroit Business reporting on a lawsuit filed on behalf of 159 Detroit residents whose medical records were breached. All are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!

When Home And Health Are Just Out Of Reach

A Medicaid experiment helps some elderly and disabled people move out of institutions into their own homes.

CDC Worker In Atlanta To Be Monitored For Possible Ebola Exposure

A laboratory technician working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta may have been exposed to the Ebola virus.

Henry Ford Health Wins Appeal Over Online Posting Of Patient Medical Records

The Michigan appeals court has reversed a decision and dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of 159 people in the Detroit area whose medical records were mistakenly made available online.

3 Ways To Get Cheaper Health Care In 2015

Companies are offering workers more health and wellness options, which means more opportunities for you to shop around for the most affordable care.

Beware The Claims Of Hypertension Apps, Study Says

Many smartphone apps that contend they address hypertension make medical claims without clinical validation or FDA approval.

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Helpful Health Care Links: December 19, 2014

Thumbs Up!Our helpful health care links focus on a variety of topics this week — the 5 most affordable cities for assisted living and the affects of high medical costs on Americans. We also include a story from Spectrum Health touching on many American parents who feel their teen and young adult children are unable to manage their own health care. All are worth your time. And, as always, if you ever come across a healthcare story that you think merits more attention, please send it our way!

How the High Cost of Medical Care Is Affecting Americans

The New York Times/CBS News poll found that affording medical care is a hardship for more Americans than a year ago.

The 5 Most Affordable Cities For Assisted Living

Looking for assisted-living facilities for yourself or a loved one? If so, you should probably start by examining a map and your portfolio: Due to a variety of factors, the spot you choose on the former will have a huge impact on the latter.

Report: US Unprepared For Disease Outbreaks Despite Billions Spent

Major gaps exist in the country’s capacity to handle public health crises like Ebola despite massive government spending over the last decade, according to a new report.

Few Parents Think 18-Year-Olds Can Handle Their Health Care

Many American parents don’t think their teen and young adult children are able to manage their own health care.

Managed Care Plans Make Progress In Erasing Racial Disparities

Years of efforts to reduce the racial disparities in health care have so far failed to eliminate them. But progress is being made in the western United States, due largely to efforts by managed care plans to identify patients who were missing out on management of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

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All of this information and more will be explained in MyHealthSpin’s soon-to-be-released book, Easy Healthcare:  Choose Your Health Insurance.  For more information,  go to myhealthspin.com.

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