Frequent Headaches & Feeling Tired

Frequent headaches and feeling tired can be caused by a variety of common conditions. Some of the common conditions that can cause frequent headaches and feeling tired include dehydration, hypoglycemia--low blood sugar--and chronic fatigue syndrome. 

Pizza has a bad reputation, read on

Pizza has a bad reputation in the health industry because it is considered as the easy snack that we can grab all the time, especially at nights. But let’s be honest for a second; any meal consumed at night is not healthy. Plus, pizza is life, and we are here to prove that it is healthy for us!

According to Health Sciences Institutes in Baltimore, pizzas in Italy are completely different than the ones we make in the United States. Our pizzas have a thinner crust which means less empty calories.

In addition to that, both pizzas have a secret ingredient that helps our bodies fight diseases. Which means, my friend, that it is time to walk around guilt-free after binge eating it all night (maybe a little guilty, though!).

Gluten-free Diets

Recently, the United States has witnessed a new trend in its stores and restaurants: Gluten-free foods.

If you paid enough attention while walking down the streets, you will be overwhelmed with the big amount of the gluten-free fast food, cookies, drinks, and recipes getting rubbed on your face.

Gluten-free foods are the meals that don’t contain a specific protein that can be found in wheat, barley, and rye. It is very beneficial for people who suffer from celiac disease or have any sensitivity to wheat protein. Other than that, gluten-free diets can be very harmful.

Cutting foods out of your diet without consulting your nutritionist is very unhealthy. Plus, just because something is on the trends list doesn’t necessarily mean that it is a good choice.

The Affordable Care Act Remains

The Affordable Care Act Remains

After much debate in Washington D.C. last year, the Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land though there was one important change you should understand. In the federal tax bill that was passed by Congress in late 2017, the penalty requiring individuals to have a Qualified Health Plan or pay a penalty was repealed, starting in 2019. This is the only part of the law that was repealed and for 2018, the tax penalty for not having health insurance remains the law. The rest of the law, including financial assistance in the form of tax credits, remains in place.

Health Insurance Costs Definitions

Health Insurance Costs

For many of us, the words describing the costs of healthcare coverage are new and sometimes confusing. But understanding them is important in making decisions and controlling your cost. Here are a few you want to understand: Premium — Think of this as your monthly bill – the amount you must pay the health insurance company, on-time each month, or you may lose coverage. You pay this even if you don’t use healthcare services that month. Deductible — Generally, the amount you spend on covered healthcare services and prescriptions out of pocket before your health insurance company starts to pay a percentage of your bills. Health plans vary on what they count towards the deductible. Plans with lower premiums tend to have higher deductibles. Copay (or copayments) — A fixed amount ($10, for example) you owe for a prescription or medical visit that is covered under your health plan, usually paid when you receive the service. For most plans, the copay phase of cost-sharing starts right away; the exception is Health Savings Account (HSA) plans for which you have to meet the deductible first. Coinsurance — A percentage of costs for a covered healthcare service or medication you pay (30%, for example) AFTER you’ve met your deductible. Let’s say you’ve met your deductible: You pay 30% of a $100 service which is $30. The insurance company pays the rest (70%). The percentage amount varies depending on the level of plan. Out-of-Pocket Maximum —The most you’d ever have to pay for covered services and prescriptions in a plan year. After you spend this amount on deductibles, copays and coinsurance, your health insurance company pays 100% of the costs of covered benefits. Your monthly premium or anything you spend for services your plan doesn’t cover (out-of-network) do not count toward this limit. For more information, review your Summary of Benefit Coverage. This can be found by going to your on-line account, then Plan Documents and then Summary of Benefits.

Medicare Doughnut Hole Will Close in 2019

Medicare Part D beneficiaries who have high prescription drug expenses currently have to pay more once the total cost of their medicines reaches a certain threshold.

Medicare beneficiaries with high annual prescription drug costs will get some relief a year earlier than expected as a result of the budget deal President Trump signed early Friday.

Part D beneficiaries who have high prescription drug expenses currently have to pay more once the total cost of their medicines reaches a certain threshold. That’s due to a quirky aspect of Part D called the coverage gap, also known as the "doughnut hole."

The doughnut hole has been narrowing each year since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010. The gap was scheduled to close in 2020, when beneficiaries would be expected to pay 25 percent of the cost of all their prescriptions while they were in the gap.

Under Friday’s budget deal, the doughnut hole will now close next year. Beginning in 2019, Part D enrollees will pay 25 percent of the cost of all their prescription drugs from the time they enter the gap until they reach catastrophic coverage. 

For 2018, the threshold for entering the doughnut hole remains at $3,750 worth of drug costs. Once a Medicare enrollee passes that limit, he or she is in the coverage gap and will have to pay 35 percent of the cost of brand-name drugs and 44 percent of generics. They will continue to pay those costs until their out-of-pocket spending reaches $5,000. Once they hit that limit, they’ll no longer be in the doughnut hole and will pay no more than 5 percent of their drug costs for the rest of the year.

Congress made the early close of the doughnut hole possible by requiring certain pharmaceutical manufacturers to pay more of the costs for enrollees who are in the coverage gap. Currently, brand-name drugmakers pay 50 percent of enrollees’ brand name drug costs while they are in the coverage gap. Under Friday’s budget law, they will now pay 70 percent.

By Dena Bunis

Do Not Touch these 8 Things at the Restaurant

More than 60% of people eat out at least once a week in the US! Of course, we all love eating out every now and then, but many of us fail to see the very nasty dark side of restaurants.

In fact, a large number of restaurants are far from being the cleanest places you can eat at. In other words, you can easily end up sick because of a nice dinner out.

Although not life-threatening, a restaurant can get you infected with awful germs through many different ways.