Cinergy Health & Life blog

Cinergy & New York State

“Cinergy Health is actively coordinating with various states’ insurance departments to establish standards of practice to ensure consumers are fully informed before deciding to purchase a mini-med policy. Cinergy Health offers limited benefit health insurance, sometimes called mini-med plans. These plans offer reduced coverage for outpatient and inpatient health services for a lower premium than major medical plans typically charge, and are the right alternative for some consumers who don’t have or can’t qualify for other traditional insurance options.

In today’s radically changing health insurance industry, consumers, doctors and many others (including many of the politicians signing the bills) are confused about how the gradual implementation of healthcare reform affects the health insurance industry.  Many are in fact unaware that the full roll-out of healthcare reform won’t be evident until 2014, and consumers and small businesses alike continue to need to explore affordable health insurance options.  

Some standards adhered to by Cinergy to ensure consumer comprehension include:

• Advertising which clearly conveys the limits of a mini-med plan as compared to a major medical plan and specifically identifying the insurance companies that underwrite the insurance;
• Ensuring agents follow detailed scripts when talking with customers and through easy to read member materials that illustrate  benefits and limitations;
• Establishing strong quality control measures;
• Enhancing agent training programs;
• Detailing the description of costs so customers know exactly what monthly fees pay for.

Cinergy is attempting to raise the bar for other agencies focusing on limited benefit health insurance to follow suit and begin providing more disclosures up-front to avoid confusion among consumers in an already confusing landscape of health insurance.

We remain committed to providing all of our consumers with quality, affordable health insurance. During these turbulent times for American healthcare, we remain committed to working with providers, consumers and the government to find effective solutions for American consumers. “

(Source: prnewswire.com)

Intuitive Eating for Better Health!

Geneen Roth, offer of many books about eating, body image, women and more, offers seven specific guidelines about intuitive eating.  Certainly, as your health care provider such as Cinergy Health can tell you, it’s very important to eat well and to reduce weight.  Ms. Roth’s ideas offer one way to begin to do so, it they work for you.

Her seven principles for eating well include eating when you are hungry, eating sitting down in a calm environment, and eating without distractions.  In addition, eat what your body wants and eat until you are satisfied.  Finally, eat with enjoyment and gusto and do so with the intention of being in full view of others.

DC Pushes Female Condoms to Fight HIV

According to the AP, Community groups are handing out 500,000 of female condoms, which are flexible pouches that are wider than male condoms but similar in length.  The condoms are being handed out in beauty salons, barber shops, churches and restaurants.  D.C. isn’t the only city to hand out female condoms - New York City did this in the past.  In fact, New York City gave away 930,000 female condoms last year.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved female condoms in 1993, though they have never been widely available in the U.S.  The D.C. Health Department came out with the outreach plan.  A 2009 study found about 3 percent of the city’s population over the age of 12 has HIV or AIDS.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers anything over 1 percent of residents affected as a Severe Epidemic.

How to Survive the Heat

At Cinergy Health, we’re experiencing the heat of Summer too.  It’s not even August and some parts of the United States are sweltering!  So here are some tips on how you can avoid the heat.  Let us know how you’re avoiding the heat.

Make sure you are dressing in light and loose clothing.  Natural fabrics are cooler than synthetics, so put on that linen and cotton free flowing dress!  Wear a hat that will keep the sun off your face.  Let’s not over-dress either, the less you wear the more your skin can breathe - so let it!

Stay inside during the hot sunny portion of the day with the air conditioner cranked up, but if you have to go outside make sure you wear sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher.  Also, drink plenty of water but please avoid alcohol and caffeine.  Eat light, nutritious and non-fatty meals.  

Please see a doctor if you are having cramps, experience clammy skin, or you have a sudden loss of normal physical ability - such as walking, standing up, or vision.

Health Tips on Heart Disease

Heart disease is one of the most important health issues for American’s. On February 14th, 2010 in Get Healthy Magazine - Cinergy Health offered prevention tips along with ideas on how to reduce heart disease risks.  The simple tip of taking in more Vitamin D in your diet will work wonders.  Vitamin D helps maintain the structural integrity of the heart and supports its pumping ability.

Exercise as much as possible, while avoiding ‘bad fats’ like hydrogenated and saturated oils.  If you can do both of these things and reduce your belly fat - you’ll be off to a great start.  But, you must eat better!

Take sugars out of your diet.  The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar daily for women (9 for men.)  Replace sugary foods with a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and grains.  

You’ll also want to cut stress out of your life.  Stress inhibits all forms of wellness too.  One last tip - stop smoking!  Smoking increases your blood pressure, decreases exercise tolerance and increases your risk of abnormal blood clots.

Health Care Concern for College Graduates

Reality will set in for some graduates when their parents’ plan or student insurance coverage expires, if it hasn’t already. Whether these current students are busy studying sociology or calculus, they need to make time to read up on their health insurance options before they suddenly find themselves uninsured.

“Thirty percent of people ages 19 through 29 are uninsured,” said Steve Trattner, president of Cinergy Health, in his article “Congratulations on Your College Graduation – Now Get Health Insurance.”

“Instead of being smart about the frailty of life, this age group tends to believe they’re invincible or simply do not recognize the necessity of health insurance, especially as we confront seemingly ever-rising health care costs,” Trattner continues in the article.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen agrees with Trattner’s viewpoint in her article, “What’s a Recent College Graduate to do about Health Insurance?” Cohen acknowledges that some students are trying to find health insurance, but “others, dubbed the ‘young invincibles’ think they don’t need it since they’re young and healthy.” Cohen makes the point that all it takes is “a car accident, a cancer diagnosis” to put a 20-something college grad in “real trouble.”

To save themselves the pain and hassle of acquiring medical debt on top of already-looming college loan debt, students should check out their options now.
Insurance laws vary by state. As of Jan. 1, 2009, Connecticut law states that “Every individual health insurance policy providing coverage of the type specified in [certain] subdivisions… shall provide that coverage of a child shall terminate no earlier than the policy anniversary date on or after whichever of the following occurs first, the date on which the child: Marries; ceases to be a resident of the state; becomes covered under a group health plan through the dependent’s own employment; or attains the age of twenty-six.” This law does not apply to all insurance plans.

In “What’s a Recent College Graduate to do about Health Insurance?” Cohen suggests looking into the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). According to the U.S. Department of Labor Web site, COBRA “gives workers and their families who lose their health benefits the right to choose to continue group health benefits provided by their group health plan for limited periods of time under certain circumstances.”

COBRA is not a free option. The Web site explains that “Qualified individuals may be required to pay the entire premium for coverage up to 102 percent of the cost of the plan.”

Cinergy Health Tips

Cinergy Health is here to help people maintain as healthy a family as possible. As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This adage couldn’t be truer than when it comes to good dental hygiene and proper oral care.

Good dental habits, like all habits, are best begun at a young age. So here are a few tips to getting your little ones to care for their dental health, so that their dental check-ups are positive experiences, and that they have strong, healthy teeth for many, many years to come.

One of the keys to good oral hygiene is regular, proper teeth brushing sessions. But our children are notoriously prone to not wanting to brush for any length of time longer than the amount of time it takes to put the toothpaste on the brush. Here are a few tips to getting those impatient young ones to go the distance when it comes to brushing.

1. Use music to maintain interest. Play your child’s favorite song while he is brushing. He will have fun brushing to the rhythm of the song, and will continue until the song is done, having a great time all the while.

2. Use a kitchen timer to create a contest-like feeling. Kids love to compete. Set the timer for three minutes, and tell your child she wins if she can continue brushing until after the timer rings. If the timer is not enough of an incentive, a parent or older sibling can join in the fun.

3. The best way to teach is by setting an example. Show your children how you brush your own teeth. If you are not sure yourself of the proper way to brush, check on-line for explanations and videos of how to best brush your teeth. Sharing this information with your children and implementing it yourself will work better than any lecture you could give.

4. Maybe your child doesn’t like how the family toothpaste tastes. Try another type that your child might like better. If the taste is really great, you might even see your child running to the bathroom to brush at least twice a day.

Cinergy Health is happy to recommend some helpful hints to keep you and your children’s smiles brighter, and your dental health as good as possible.

Cinergy Health Vaccination Recommendations

Yearly vaccinations aren’t just for kids any more. You probably heard a lot about a seasonal or H1N1 flu shot last fall, but you should know that a battery of other adult vaccinations might also become part of your health care routine. Pneumonia and shingles vaccines are preventive-care essentials for older adults, and meningitis and tetanus shots are now college rites of passage. Even the vaccines of childhood—measles, mumps and rubella, and whooping cough—are recommended for adults who missed out in their younger years.

Adult vaccinations should be part of all preventive care, but they are especially critical for people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, since flu and other illnesses can make routine medications less effective, throw off health goals such as stable blood sugar, and reduce a person’s ability to care for herself. For America’s growing population of older adults, vaccinations may head off potentially deadly disease complications—a bout of influenza leading to a trip to the hospital for pneumonia, for example.

Vaccinations can also be a good way to establish your medical home with a primary care provider, as a non-critical visit where you can discuss other preventive health goals and maybe ask questions about minor symptoms in a less urgent setting. But for adults without a regular doctor, immunizations are one of the few preventive care tools widely available through public clinics, drugstores and community vaccination drives.

Continue reading the article. (The Medical News - May 19th, 2010)

Cinergy Health Recommends Adults Check Vaccination History

From Health Behavior News Service, May 18th, 2010 - Adult vaccinations are incredibly important.  All medical professionals will suggest contacting your primary care physician to check your medical records.  Remember, you should always have your medical history transferred to one location.

One vaccination recommended for all adults is the tetanus shot, which should be given every ten years. Cinergy Health recommends more frequent tetanus shots for her patients who rock-climb or enjoy other sports where skin-penetrating injuries are common. 

Annual pneumonia vaccinations are important for those 65 and older, along with people who have underlying heart, lung or immune disorders. For adults over 60, Cinergy Health recommends a shingles vaccine. Shingles is caused by a reactivated chicken pox virus, and can be “devastatingly painful,” Cinergy says. “It’s never very hard to talk someone into getting a shot for shingles, if they know someone who has had the disease.”

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which provides guidance on vaccination for children and adults in the United States, publishes a regular update on adult immunization schedules and doses. Are you covered? Check out the latest recommendations, including special information for international travelers from the CDC.

Cinergy Health & Kitchen Safety

While the kitchen is the center of many homes, and the location where family members hang out, congregate and prepare meals together, it can also be a dangerous location.  Here are some tips offered through Cinergy Health to make sure that your kitchen is as safe as possible.

Reduce the risk of bacteria developing in your food by keeping your refrigerator at 40 degrees or less.  Stay away from the risk of salmonella by using pasteurized eggs in recipes that call for raw eggs.

Don’t thaw or marinate your meat on the counter; rather do so in the refrigerator.  And, make sure to throw away used marinade since it might contain bacteria from the raw juices.  Let your hand-washed dishes air dry so that you don’t expose your dishes to germs on your towels.

If you have a pan that catches fire, don’t move it from its location.  Extinguish the fire where it is so that you don’t risk spreading the fire as you move the pan or object. Finally, don’t use water on a grease fire.  Rather, place a lid over it or use baking soda to extinguish it.