Our helpful health care links

Californians Can Now Pay Cash For Health Insurance At 7-Eleven

The largest publicly run health plan in the nation, L.A. Care, will allow customers who do not have traditional bank accounts to pay their health insurance premiums with cash.

Medicaid Expands In Other States, But Not Florida

The Florida Senate has proposed a plan that would accept federal funds under the Affordable Care Act to establish a state-run private insurance exchange for low-income residents.

P.S.–TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

ObamaCare has added an extra enrollment period that will take place from March 15 – April 30, 2015.

Spin your healthcare your way and check out our Easy Healthcare eBook Guides.

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HealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Choose Your Health Insurance gives you the practical steps you can take to choose the right insurance plan for you and your family.

The post Helpful Healthcare Links: April 23, 2015 appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Our helpful health care links

‘Uber for Nurses’: Chicago Startup Sends Healthcare to Your Home

The popularity of Uber is striking a rise in startup companies looking to provide on-demand services to a variety of fields. One such startup is Chicago-based Go2Nurse, an app that provides people in need with a healthcare professional on-demand.

The Extra Cost Of Extra Weight For Older Adults

Obese people are far more likely to become disabled as they age, and researchers say this burgeoning demographic will strain hospitals and nursing homes.

We hope we have helped you SPIN YOUR HEALTHCARE YOUR WAY!

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How do you make the right decision about moving yourself or a loved one into an Assisted Living Facility without being overwhelmed? How do you even begin talking about it? HealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: Choosing an Assisted Living Facility” ebook guide gives you all of the practical advice you need to make the right choice.

Available for download, NOW!

The post Helpful Health Care Links: March 6, 2015 appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Happy 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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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.

The post Helpful Health Care Links: December 26, 2014 appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

As the holidays approach, many people will consider buying their loved ones health trackers such as smart phone apps or devices such as Fitbits or Bodybuggs.  While these items are wonderfully helpful in keeping track of your fitness progress, they may also be capturing your health information and selling it.

In MyHealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Healthcare Privacy, we discuss what you can expect regarding how your medical information is managed. One of the subjects we talk about is that fact that health apps and devices don’t necessarily protect your health data.  

Most health apps want your health information so they can sell it to advertisers.  A recent study found that 10 health apps sold your health information to over 76 third party companies.  This information often included your name, email, exercise habits, diagnosis searches, location, gender,  etc.  While sharing this information may not bother you, you want to make sure the information does not get used against you.

You may see privacy notices from these various companies that let you know that they are not selling your information now.  This does not mean that they won’t sell it in the future.  If you want your information to remain private, you should determine whether you can opt out of any sharing of your information in the future.

A bigger problem is how an insurance company might use this information.  Insurance companies can buy the health data from these companies and use it to set your premiums for your health insurance.  For example, if you are using a health app that assists you in stopping smoking, an insurance company may use the information collected in the health app to set your premium higher if you are struggling to quit smoking.  Health insurance premiums for smokers can be 50 percent higher than non-smokers.

You should also be concerned if your health app captures a lot of personal information along with your location.  Taking  your health status and your location and selling it can cause a breach in your health privacy.  Again, remember there are no HIPAA protections for you as a health app consumer.

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Healthcare has changed radically. Gone are the days when the only medical professional a patient saw was their trusted local doctor. MyHealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Healthcare Privacy walks you through the practical steps you can take to safeguard your healthcare privacy as a patient.

Available for download NOW!

The post BEWARE: Don’t Gift Away Your Health Privacy! appeared first on MyHealthSpin.