Breast cancer is a malignant (cancerous) tumor that starts from cells of the breast. The disease occurs mostly in women, but men can get breast cancer as well. The information referenced in this post only pertains to breast cancer in women.   A woman’s breast is made up of glands that make breast milk (lobules), ducts (small tubes that connect lobules to the nipple), fatty and connective tissue, blood vessels, and lymph (pronounced limf) vessels. Most breast cancers begin in the ducts (ductal carcinoma), some begin in the lobules (lobular carcinoma), and the rest in other tissues.

Lymph vessels are like veins, except that they carry lymph fluid instead of blood. Lymph is a clear fluid that contains immune system cells and waste products. Lymph vessels lead to small, bean-shaped collections of tissue called lymph nodes. Most lymph vessels of the breast lead to lymph nodes under the arm. These are called axillary (AX-uh-lair-ee) nodes. If breast cancer cells reach the underarm lymph nodes and continue to grow, they cause the nodes to swell. Once cancer cells have reached these nodes they are more likely to spread to other organs of the body. (more…)

EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES!  This is the one recommendation you will find in almost every diet, every fitness book and every guide to improved nutrition. The American Cancer Society, The American Heart Association, The World Health Organization, Department of Agriculture and the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention agree this is sound advise. There is strong evidence that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods may reduce the risk of cancer. Healthcare professionals agree that most patients would be healthier if they consumed more raw, fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. Eating raw fruits and veggies helps build stronger bodies that stay healthier and are better able to fight disease.  Most of us do not eat enough raw fruits and veggies.

For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents.  Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC).  You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health.  Call us for details.

How do health insurance deductibles and out-of-pocket amounts work?

A deductible is the amount you must pay before the insurance company begins to pay any policy benefits. This is usually an annual amount per insured person, per calendar year.  Although typically there will be a maximum amount of deductibles you will have to pay per family in any given year.  For example, if your “per person” deductible is $500, and you have five people in your family covered under your health insurance, the maximum “family” deductible is usually three times the individual deductible or $1500.00 in this example.  Once three individuals have paid the $500 deductible, no more deductibles will apply to any member of the family for the remainder of the year.  (more…)

Obesity

The good news for those struck with puppy love – or any other pet connection — is that regular interaction with an animal will improve your health and reduce your medical bills.

Pet owners gain health benefits and visit the doctor 10 per cent less than those without pets. The health benefits dipped for those owners whose pets died during the survey and increased for those who acquired a pet.

People with pets are most often better off than people without them. When a pet dies people’s health can decrease; when they get a pet for the first time their health can improve—and it appears that it didn’t matter what sort of pet it was, from horses to goldfish or dogs and cats.  One would assume it would mainly be dogs who offered a health benefit because of the exercise that often comes with them, but it appears it has more to do with companionship.

An animal can also act as prevention against illness.  It also noted that pet owners visit the doctor less often, have lower blood pressure, experience less sleeping difficulties and are in better health than non-pet owners.

To own and care for a pet, particularly a dog, is to enjoy better physical and mental health.  Dog owners, compared to non-owners, are more physically active and report greater satisfaction with their physical fitness. They visit the doctor less often. Fewer take medication for high blood pressure, sleeping difficulties, high cholesterol or a heart problem.

HOW PETS KEEP YOU HEALTHY

Stroking a pet helps us relax and spending time with a pet can have a soothing effect as our heartbeats slow and blood pressure reduces. For people with high blood pressure having a pet is as beneficial to the condition as reducing salt or alcohol intake.

Pets can reduce the impact of grief. If you have a pet you’re more likely to recover from a heart attack than non-pet owners because of the blood-pressure reducing benefits of pet ownership and the extra companionship for those who live alone. Children with pets are often more self-reliant, more sociable and less selfish than those without a companion animal.

TEACHING RESPONSIBILITY
Pets teach children important lessons about responsibility and caring for another life. Many hospitals use pets as therapy for hospitalised children. Pets are loyal companions who can make people feel loved and needed. Pets can spark social interactions; if you’re walking a dog in the park it can be a good icebreaker.

Make your pet a part of your family.  Only bring a new pet into your home if you have the time, patience, finances and love to provide for that special addition.

For information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents.  Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC).  You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health.  Call us for details.

HIPAA: A Federal law passed in 1996 that allows persons to qualify immediately for comparable health insurance coverage when they change their employment or relationships. It also creates the authority to mandate the use of standards for the electronic exchange of health care data; to specify what medical and administrative code sets should be used within those standards; to require the use of national identification systems for health care patients, providers, payers (or plans), and employers (or sponsors); and to specify the types of measures required to protect the security and privacy of personally identifiable health care. Full name is “The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.”

For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents.  Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC).  You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health.  Call us for details.

Maternity Coverage

BCBSNC offers an optional maternity rider to females (policy holder or spouse) ages 18 and over who are not pregnant when they apply for coverage. If you elect not to purchase the maternity rider when you first apply, you can add at the following times so long as you are not pregnant at the time: (more…)

Credit for Prior Coverage: This is something that may or may not apply when you switch employers or insurance plans. A pre-existing condition waiting period met under while you were under an employer’s (qualifying) coverage can be honored by your new plan, if any interruption in the coverage between the two plans meets state guidelines.  Letters of creditable coverage are sent from previous insurance companies to the previously insured.  Newly enrolled customers for BCBSNC can fax their letters of creditable coverage to 919-765-7149.

For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents.  Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC).  You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health.  Call us for details.

Network: A group of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers contracted to provide services to insurance companies customers for less than their usual fees. Provider networks can cover a large geographic market or a wide range of health care services. Insured individuals typically pay less for using a network provider.

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Explanation of Benefits: The insurance company’s written explanation to a claim, showing what they paid and what the client must pay. Sometimes accompanied by a benefits check.

COBRA: Federal legislation that lets you, if you work for an insured employer group of 20 or more employees, continue to purchase health insurance for up to 18 months if you lose your job or your coverage is otherwise terminated. For more information, visit the Department of Labor.

Waiting Period

This is the time one would have to wait until certain health insurance coverages are available.

Lifetime Maximum

This is the most amount of money the health insurance policy will pay for the entire life. Pay attention to individual lifetime maximums and family lifetime maximums as they can be different.

For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents.  Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC).  You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health.  Call us for details.

Health Care Costs

Health Insurance Basics:
How Health Insurance Works

Health insurance companies use historical data and analysis to help predict the medical expenses for any given group of individuals (usually a company’s employees). The premiums they charge are based on the amount of claims they’ve paid in the past and what they expect future claims to cost. When insurers pay out more in claims than they receive in premiums and when future services are predicted to cost more, premiums go up. (more…)

Pre-Existing Conditions

A pre-existing condition is a medical condition diagnosed or treated before joining a new plan. In the past, health care given for a pre-existing condition often has not been covered for someone who joins a new plan until after a waiting period.

Under the law, most of which goes into effect on July 1, 1997, a pre-existing condition will be covered without a waiting period when you join a new group plan if you have been insured the previous 12 months. This means that if you remain insured for 12 months or more, you will be able to go from one job to another, and your pre-existing condition will be covered. without additional waiting periods. even if you have a chronic illness.If you have a pre-existing condition and have not been insured the previous 12 months before joining a new plan, the longest you will have to wait before you are covered for that condition is 12 months.

To find out how this new law affects you, check with either your employer benefits office or your health plan.

For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents.  Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC).  You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health.  Call us for details.