My Blog

Here's an interesting article I found about Rickets..

Rickets is a disorder that affects children, causing poor development of the bones in the skeleton. It is usually caused by an extreme and prolonged vitamin D deficiency.

The term rickets comes from the Old English word “wrickken”, meaning to twist or bend. Rickets was common during Victorian times, but nowadays the condition is rare. Rickets in adults is known as osteomalacia or soft bones.  The rest of the article can be found here.

Real reform

I understand why health insurance companies are fighting hard against any real health care reform in our country. The fundamental purpose of a health insurance company is to make a profit. Is it any wonder that they deny care and coverage, rescind coverage and charge exorbitant premiums? They don't want to see any major reform, such as a single payer system, which would put them out of the picture.

What makes me wonder is why citizens aren't en masse demanding real reform. We don't seem to understand that we are pawns of the insurance companies in this profit-driven health care system. People worry that they won't have a choice in providers. Do we really have that choice now? How many of us have insurance that will only cover services provided by the insurance company's “preferred providers”? People worry that care will be rationed. Health care is already rationed based on job status, income level and even health status. How many of us have lost a job and therefore lost the insurance that went with that job. When we go searching for independent insurance coverage, we discover that there is nothing affordable. And if you have a “pre-existing condition” most insurance companies won't cover you, even if you can afford the premiums.

There is an answer to all of this: a single payer, not-for-profit system. For the first time ever, single payer legislation will be debated and voted on by Congress. However, most of us have not heard about this because insurance companies have a lot of pull in Washington.

Under a single-payer system, everybody would be covered, regardless of income, job status, age or health status. You could go to any doctor you wanted without worrying about co-payments, deductibles or premiums. All health related services are covered, including doctor visits, hospital stays, prescription drugs, long-term care, dental care, and mental health care.

The U.S. is the only advanced country in the world that does not have universal health care. The pay for the CEO of United Health Group in 2005 was $122.7 million. His salary that year could currently insure 34,000 people. That just makes me sick. I'd much rather have my hard earned money going towards providing access to health care for all people than going towards making huge profits for some CEO.

Article by: Brian Barrier ~ Med South Health Plans

We all know that the economy has almost totally tanked. If you have money and are investing it, you probably think the economy is making a comeback. I hate to let you in on a little secret, but you better get ready for a serious plunge. Now, I'm not a negative person by any stretch of the imagination. But I do feel like I am responsible to let my fellow insurance agents know when something big is going to happen in the marketplace. Take your money and run!! The market is going to make another steep downturn soon and people that stay in the stockmarket are really going to suffer. The good news is that there has always been opportunity when this kind of thing happens. What I am suggesting to you is that you should create yourself an online sales center for insurance. It doesn't matter if you're selling health insurance, life insurance, annuities, med supp or any other kind of insurance. You can set yourself up now to really prosper over the next year or so. How? Well, let me just tell you. First of all you need to become appointed with insurance companies that offer online applications. If you take the time to learn internet selling now, then you can beat the rush of agents that will eventually be forced into this arena. By the time they get there, you'll be so far ahead of the game that you can always stay on top. At Med South Health and Life, we are currently implementing a system which allows agents to sell health insurance totally online. A real-time internet lead comes in, our computerized, automated phone dialer system calls the number instantly, and BAM! We get the customer before any of the other agents have a chance. You can also team up with companies that give you an affiliate link so you can put that on your own website and promote it. That's a great way to build a 24 hour cash machine! If you'd like to see an example, just go to www.healthinsurancemall.net. That's the site that we promote which allows consumers to compare plans from multiple carriers, get quotes and even apply for coverage online instantly! It's really very simple to do, you just need a little start-up cash to promote the site. If you are interested in getting a high commission contract with any of our carriers, go to www.medsouthagents.com and click the contact us page. If you would like to see other examples of sites you can go to www.affordablehealthinsurancequotes.us , www.brianbarrier.com , www.healthassurancenetwork.com or www.assurancenetwork.net. There are many ways for you to prosper during these tough times if you are willing to put in a little time setting up a few very simple websites and spend a little bit of money. Don't worry, if you can't figure it all out, feel free to contact me and I'll be glad to help. Don't wait until it's too late. Get your business in high gear today so you'll be prepared for tomorrow.

The conservative right in Congress and in the mainstream are attacking the health care reform packages put forward by the President and Democratic Leadership as an enhancement for illegal immigrants. Furthermore the conservatives believe that any public option would attrack even more illegal immigration. This is absolutely false and could be further from the truth; it is only an attempt to circumvent real health care reform.

What is now occurring involves a real debate on illegal immigration and the lack of attention to this important issue. Health Care Reform is now making the Administration and Congress address this important issue and how illegal immigration deals with the health care reform debate. Congress, along with the current and prior Presidents, have not been forceful to create a true immigration reform package to end illegal immigration and put all illegal immigrants either on the books or out of the country. We cannot move forward on any true reform with health care or immigration unless both issues are addressed.

All we have to look at an example of how to deal with the immigration issue is in Canada. In Canada they have universal health coverage, a large immigration program, and very few undocumented workers. In Canada, they do not tolerate illegal immigration because of the cost to the government guaranteed medical care. The Canadian immigration system is more difficult than the U.S. system and thereby is the gate keeper also for the Canadian health care system. Per an immigration report in 2003 from the Canadian government, the estimated number of undocumented people living in Canada is somewhere between 100,000 to 200,000, compared to 20 million in the U.S. When compared to United States, illegal immigration to Canada is less.

In the current health care reform legislation that is coming from the Democrats in Congress, it states, “No Federal Payment for Undocumented Aliens.” Furthermore, it requires all Americans to have coverage, while denying subsidies to illegal immigrants, whatever their income. This means illegal immigrants would have to obtain health insurance and pay full cost for it. However the Republicans in Congress and the conservative media are attempting to use scare tactics towards the public in creating histaria concerning illegal immigrants getting free health care. Of course our current school system allows illegal immigrants to receive services however Medicaid, Medicare, and other public programs have systems in place denying services to illegal immigrants.

What is needed in American today is real health care reform, along with a common sense approach to the issue of illegal immigration. We cannot continue to function and create real reforms in this country until the issue of illegal immigration is addressed. We need a solution to the immigration problem and to secure our borders.