Usually, the best choice is your parent’s health insurance plan.  

First, you are only eligible for ObamaCare Health Exchange insurance if you have no other health insurance options.

Additionally, it is often better to stay on your parent’s insurance because if they have a big group plan at work the cost of maintaining coverage for you is not very expensive. This is especially true if your parents are already covering other members of the family. You should ask your insurance company how much it will cost to maintain coverage for you while you are in college. Your parents’ plan will also often cover more healthcare items and have a lower deductible than many ObamaCare plans.

If your parents do not have a health plan through work, ObamaCare may be a good option. To find out whether you are eligible, log into the ObamaCare website www.healthcare.gov. After answering several questions, you will be able to see your options. Each state has different insurance companies offering plans in that state.

Are you planning on staying on your parents health insurance plan while in college? I’d love to hear from you!

MyHealthSpin helps you Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

Check out how more information on insurance in our new book, Easy Healthcare: Choose Your Health Insurance.

The post Going Off to College: Parents’ Insurance or ObamaCare? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Surprisingly, no. Most hospitals report that ER visits are on the rise. Three quarters of ER doctors report that since ObamaCare has been in effect the ER is seeing more patients than ever before.

There are a lot of different answers.

1. People have insurance but there are not enough primary care doctors to see them.
2. ObamaCare expanded Medicaid and many primary care doctors won’t accept Medicaid due to its low reimbursement.
3. The newly insured cannot take off work to see a primary care doctor or lack transportation or child care. (Source: USA Today Article)

All of these factors make the ER often the best or only option.

Should you use the ER for your healthcare? Not if you can avoid it.

1. Call your insurance company and ask for a recommendation to a primary care physician. If you have a Medicaid HMO, a primary care physician will be assigned to you.
2. Schedule your first appointment when you are not sick. It is important to establish a relationship with your doctor BEFORE you are so sick that you get referred to the ER.
3. Pick a doctor who has late night or weekend hours if you can’t miss work during the week. Many physicians are now offering more convenient appointment times.
4. Be proactive and take responsibility for your healthcare. It’s the only way to stay healthy and avoid expensive ER visits.

Have you ever gone to the ER and wished later that you had not? I’d love to hear from you!

MyHealthSpin helps you Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

Check out how more information on insurance in our new book, Easy Healthcare: Choose Your Health Insurance.

The post Has ObamaCare Slowed ER Visits? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

Being a mom often times means taking care of others before yourself

1. Maintaining a healthy diet
2. Engaging in physical activity
3. Getting enough sleep
4. Finding ways to reduce stress
5. And sharing your medical history with your friends and family

Making sure your personal and family health history is often times forgotten, but can be very important in the event of an emergency. What you need is a Medical Life List! In a nutshell, your Medical Life List is your own personal medical record created by you and updated by you.

You can find the template of the Medical Life List in MyHealthSpin’s free eBook, Easy Healthcare Guide: What You Need First.

So the question is…how will you celebrate Mom this Mother’s Day?

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Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

The post Celebrate Mother’s Day The HealthSpin Way appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

I hope this post helps you Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

Check out how more information on how to choose insurance in our new book,Easy Healthcare: Choose Your Health Insurance.

Available for download NOW!

The post 3 Easy Steps To Choosing A Health Insurance Plan appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

The short answer is “yes – it’s likely.”

My daughter, who just started a new job, got a notice from her employer that she was one of the 80 million people who had their health information hacked in February of this year.  She was understandably very concerned.

So what should you do when you become aware  that your information is hacked?

1. If you notice something suspicious, notify your healthcare provider or insurance company immediately.
2. If your healthcare provider or insurance company tells you your information has been compromised, it’s likely that they will provide you with identity theft coverage.  If not, ask for it.
3. Monitor your financial information and immediately report any strange charges.

In the case of the Anthem BCBS breach, BCBS provided 2 years of identity theft repair assistance, credit monitoring, and identity theft insurance to all the people affected by the breach.

One of the areas to pay attention to is your tax returns.  For some of the BCBS customers who were hacked,  the hackers filed fraudulent tax returns using the stolen information.  When the person went to file their taxes, they were informed that they had already filed and received a refund.

Tell us whether you are concerned about hacking of your health information. We’d love to hear from you!

For more information about your health insurance, see HealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Choosing Your Health Insurance.

For more information about your health privacy, see HealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare:  Healthcare Privacy.

We hope we’re helping you “Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

The post Is Your Health Information Being Hacked? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

P.S.–Please remember that ObamaCare has added an extra enrollment period that 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 Does Your Healthcare Provider “Accept Or “Participate In” Your Health Insurance Plan? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

P.S.–Please remember that ObamaCare has added an extra enrollment period that 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 So You’re Signing Up For ObamaCare…What Is Covered? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

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 Want To Make Your Loved One’s Room Feel Like Home? appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

This decision varies depending on the circumstances.

1. Is the maintenance of the independent living home becoming too much to handle?
2. Are there transportation problems getting to the doctor, the grocery store, and friends?
3. Are there safety concerns about stairs or potential falls?

For my Dad, he was very healthy and independent.  He had no expectation that he would ever need to live in an assisted living home.  Then he began to have unexplainable falls.  We took him to the doctor and surgery was required immediately.  After the surgery, he needed a place to live with very good care and assistance.  He simply couldn’t live in his former home with the bedrooms upstairs and no help.

We talked about the options openly.  Should we have someone live with him?  Should we move him to apartment which could be shared with another senior that would provide company and sharing expenses for extra help with cooking, cleaning, medications and transportation?

It was a difficult decision as he was a very strong independent man who had spent his life as a Methodist minister caring for everyone around him.  He did not like the idea of admitting that he was the one who now needed care.  However, we looked at the options and decided an assisted living home near my house and office would be the best choice for now.  We did not decide it would be the choice forever.  We kept our other options open.

We quickly learned that there was no perfect option, however, we knew we needed some help.

In order to make the transition smoother, we brought some of his precious items from home.  A quilt for the wall from the church, many family photos and his precious desk which made it seem more like home.  He had always been athletic and loved the outdoors and the birds.  We made sure he went outside as often as possible.

The other most important help with the transition was keeping his car at the assisted living home.  My dad LOVED cars!  Even though he could not drive, he knew his car was there.  We had a fabulous “helper” who would come during the week and take him to doctor’s appointments, breakfast, church in his car.  It made him feel like he still had those things he loved and control of his daily life.

For more information about what my Dad and I learned, see HealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: Choosing an Assisted Living Facility.

Helping you “Spin Your Healthcare Your Way!

The post How to Move to Assisted Living with Ease appeared first on MyHealthSpin.

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.

The post 3 Key Questions To Ask Your Assisted Living About Mealtime appeared first on MyHealthSpin.