Trump’s negotiation tactics Trump recently threatened to stop payments for the ACA’s cost-sharing reductions in an attempt to get Democrats to negotiate a healthcare law replacement. Such tactics could end up disrupting the insurance markets, not to mention could cause people to lose coverage. Around 60 percent of the American public disapproves of these tactics. Roughly 82 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of Democrats disapprove, while 67 percent of Republicans approve. The ACA’s favorability Around 48 percent of Americans view the ACA as favorable compared to the 42 percent that view it unfavorably. However, 51 percent of the public still want a plan to repeal and replace the ACA. Healthcare priorities Repealing and replacing the ACA is not the number-one priority for most Americans. Instead, priorities include lowering healthcare costs and lowering prescription drug costs. However, 25 percent of Republicans believe that repealing the ACA should be the top priority. The future of the ACA Following the initial failure to repeal and replace the ACA, around 74 percent of Americans believe that the current administration should do what they can to make the current ACA law work. Around 64 percent believe that Trump and the Republicans are responsible for any problems that occur with the ACA from here on out. Healthcare funding Few Americans want to see healthcare funding cut as lawmakers negotiate the current federal budget. Only 21 percent of Americans want to reduce spending for reproductive health services for lower-income women and 24 percent believe Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood for non-abortion services should cease. These are some of the key findings of the Kaiser health tracking poll. For all ACA-related news, be sure to keep visiting The Benefits Store.

Millions of surgeries are performed to replace worn-out knees and hips each year, and experts believe such operations will only increase substantially over the next couple of decades. To ensure that the surgery is a success, it’s recommended that patients spend time recovering at home directly following the operation. Recovering at Home Following Joint Surgery The majority of patients who undergo some sort of knee or hip surgery tend to recover without any type of complication if they go directly home following the operation instead of spending time at a rehab facility. This should come as good news for those about to go into surgery since recovering at home is a lot less expensive than recovering in a rehab facility. Many patients are sent to rehab facilities after undergoing replacement on both hips or knees or who have serious underlying health conditions. While some of these patients may benefit from inpatient rehabilitation, a new recovery study reveals that patients who go directly home instead can recover just as well – if not better. The study showed that patients who perform exercise recovery programs from the comfort of their own home recover just as well as those that spend ten days in a rehab facility. The study consisted of 252 patients, 81 of whom underwent knee replacement surgery and received ten days of inpatient rehab followed by a home-based recovery program lasting eight weeks. 84 patients performed all their rehab at home, while 87 patients acted as a nonrandomized observation group that performed only home-based rehab. Six months after the operation, the study found that there was no difference in recovery between patients that got inpatient rehab and those that recovered at home. Patients undergoing knee or hip replacement surgery can recover at home just as well as at an inpatient rehab facility. For more health-related news, visit The Benefits Store today.

The study was the very first hepatocellular carcinoma study of a liver-directed therapy against systemic chemotherapy. The results of the trial were showcased this year at the International Liver Congress in Amsterdam, Netherlands. According to the leading investigator of the trial, Professor Valerie Vilgrain, sorafenib has been the go-to treatment for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. She stated that even though the treatment has been proven effective at extending patients’ survival compared to a placebo, the treatment also resulted in side effects that diminished their quality of life. The way that selective internal radiation therapy works is that it delivers internal radiation directly to the liver tumors through the hepatic artery. This form of treatment only requires two total treatments, whereas sorafenib is provided via a tablet that’s taken twice a day. Until now, sorafenib was the only treatment available for advanced liver cancer. Over the course of the trial, the liver cancer patients/subjects’ quality of life was measured every three months using a questionnaire. The results clearly showed that patients treated with selective internal radiation therapy had a substantially better quality of life than patients that were being treated with sorafenib. These patients were also more likely to maintain their health status over time. Although certain treatments can extend the life of individuals suffering from serious diseases, such as liver cancer, diminishing the quality of life in order to extend it isn’t a fair tradeoff. It’s why researchers are hopeful that selective internal radiation therapy can become an effective alternative to sorafenib for liver cancer patients. New medical advancements are being made every day to improve people’s lives. To keep up-to-date with such medical advancements, visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Staying positive reduces stress – People who are positive tend to be less stressed out. Stress can have a negative impact on one’s immune system and energy levels, which can affect the overall health of a person, reducing the risk of depression. Staying positive reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease – Several studies have shown that people with more optimism are at a lower risk of heart disease or failure than those who are pessimistic. Staying positive is linked to lower cholesterol levels – A study performed by the Harvard School of Public Health revealed participants who scored as being optimistic on their test tended to have higher levels of good cholesterol. Staying positive makes it easier to cope – People who are have a positive outlook on life have a stronger ability to cope with a worse turn in luck – such as developing a disease. By being able to cope with an illness better, it will have less of a negative impact on their life. Staying positive allows the enjoyment of life – Being positive won’t cure certain diseases, but it can give the person the ability to enjoy their life as they are living it – even while they are sick. Imagine having been negative for ten years while ill, only to have the illness disappear! That’s ten years of one’s life that was spent in misery when it could have been enjoyed. These are just five reasons why a positive outlook on life is so important to one’s health. For all the latest health-related news and advice, be sure to stay up to date with The Benefits Store.

The Importance of Healthcare American healthcare is more important than it’s ever been. In 2012, the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine), announced the current generation of children and young adults here in the U.S. would be the first generation to experience fewer healthy years of life as well as shorter life spans than their parents. In 2015, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), reported that the average American life expectancy went down for the first time in over 20 years. These recent discoveries on the state of American health are worrisome, to say the least. In order to ensure the U.S. moves in the right direction to help improve the health of Americans, there are three things that must be done: Americans will need better access to health insurance – Although the Affordable Care Act managed to help insure an additional 20 million Americans, there are currently still 28 million people who are uninsured as of 2015. The country has to invest more in health and prevention – Around 75 percent of healthcare costs are related to conditions that are preventable, including tobacco use and obesity. Investments in prevention can help lower these costs as well as save lives. Health disparities among various demographics must be addressed – There are health inequalities that are related to income and access to coverage across different demographics. For example, Hispanics are 65 percent more likely to develop diabetes than white Americans. To help American healthcare head the right direction, tell Congress to continue to support the Affordable Care Act and to authorize Medicaid expansion. To stay up-to-date with all of the latest healthcare related news, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Uber’s Accident Although Uber has halted its self-driving vehicle program, it has not terminated it. It is merely temporarily suspended while they investigate the accident that occurred in Arizona. Uber has also decided to temporarily suspend its Pittsburgh operations as well. Even though Uber has taken their self-driving cars off the road for now, the accident that occurred was not the fault of the autonomous Uber vehicle. The fault of the accident lies with another car, the driver of which failed to yield for Uber’s vehicle. The collision resulted in the Uber car ending up on its side, while the other car experienced several dents and smashed windows. Nobody was injured in the accident. Uber’s Self-Driving Cars Uber first began testing their self-driving cars last year in Pittsburgh before expanding the program to Arizona. They attempted to test them in San Francisco as well, but were banned from the streets by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Uber’s program has not been without controversy. Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo sued Uber, claiming that they stole designs for their Lidar, an important component of their own driverless cars that they are also testing in Arizona. Uber has denied the charges. Waymo has tested their driverless cars for over two million miles on public roads. There were only a few minor incidents, all of which were caused by other cars rear-ending Waymo’s driverless vehicles in busier areas of the state. Although Uber is trying to stay at the forefront of the industry by implementing new technological advancements, they continue to court controversy in numerous areas, from their self-driving cars to various other scandals involving the evasion of government regulations and enforcements. Keep up-to-date on all the latest news that could affect you at The Benefits Store.

Insurers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Many insurers offer some of the best customer service around. They realize that accidents happen at all hours, which is why they generally have customer service representatives to talk to no matter what time it is or what day. Insurers want people to save money. Many insurers offer free tools to help people save money. For example, some car insurance companies have apps that monitor drivers and reward safe behavior with discounts and other perks. Insurers want people to be safe. Insurers will often provide discounts on insurance premiums as an incentive for people to invest in safety. For example, installing a security system can help lower homeowner’s insurance premiums. Many insurers assist people with New Year’s Resolutions. Insurers will often provide resources for common resolutions, whether it’s to quit smoking or to lose weight. Insurers understand that nobody’s perfect. The mistakes that people make often result in the need to collect on insurance. For example, people have been known to leave the burner on in the kitchen, resulting in a fire, or to back up into a parked car, resulting in the need for repairs. Insurers understand that mistakes such as these happen, which is why they help pay for them. These are just a few reasons why people should embrace insurance as something to love, not to look down upon. For more information about health insurance or to keep up to date with all health insurance-related news, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today.

The report published by the Fraud Watch Network made use of data gathered from 200 victims of investment fraud along with 800 interviews with general members of the investing public. One of the network’s lead researchers has stated that even people that have little experience with investing tend to invest their money on their own because technology makes it easier to do so. However, technology also makes it easier for scam artists to reach victims in a number of different ways and to trick them. According to the report, the majority of fraud victims are 70 or older. These victims were also labeled as “risk takers,” due to the fact that they have stated they are willing to take chances on riskier investments as long as there is a chance of it paying off. Half of these fraud victims also believed that the most profitable returns come from unregulated investments. Additionally, many of these victims reported that they make at least five investments a year and have received targeted phone calls and emails from brokers. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, upwards of 17 percent of Americans aged 65 and older report being the victim of fraud. It’s estimated that billions of dollars have been lost every year due to fraud. One of the reasons older people are more vulnerable to fraud is potentially mild cognitive impairment, which has been linked as a precursor to dementia. March is Consumer Protection Month, making it the perfect time to spread awareness on preventing fraud, especially when it comes to more elderly investors. Consumers of all ages are urged to deal only with regulated brokers and investments for this reason. For more financial news and advice, visit The Benefits Store today.

The 2016 tax season has seen a large increase in phishing and malware incidents, something that the IRS has been very public about battling. In fact, they’ve issued a number of warnings over the past few months concerning W-2 scams that are targeting school districts, corporations, and more. The scam has resulted in the large-scale theft of sensitive information that can be used to commit all kinds of criminal activities, including the filing of fraudulent tax returns. The IRS released a report on phishing trends and intelligence at the beginning of this year that revealed that the number of phishing sites identified in January eclipsed all of the phishing attempts the IRS had identified over the course of the previous year together. In fact, the IRS has identified a number of new and evolved phishing schemes created to confuse taxpayers during the upcoming filing season. Numerous email schemes have targeted payroll professionals, tax professionals, schools, HR personnel, and even just the average taxpayer. Although phishing is the biggest problem the IRS has encountered this year, it’s only one of the scams on their Dirty Dozen list. The following are the scams that made the list this year: Phishing Identity theft Phone scams Return preparation fraud Fake charities Excessive claims for business credits Inflated refund claims Abusive tax shelters Claiming credits by falsifying income Falsely padding deductions on tax returns Offshore tax avoidance Frivolous tax arguments These are the scams that everyone should be made aware of, especially now that it’s March, which is Consumer Protection Month. Visit us at The Benefits Store for more news today. #IRSDirtyDozen

The main question as to whether California will keep Obamacare is how much it will cost its residents and how many people will be covered. According to a senior economist at the RAND Corporation, the main issue is the federal in-flow of dollars. Around $22 billion in federal funds is provided to California every year for Obamacare, over $17 billion of which is used to add millions of low-income adults without insurance to Medi-Cal, which is California’s health program for the poor and disabled. The rest of those federal funds is given to subsidies that help lower the costs of healthcare plans for the majority of the 1.3 million residents who purchase their health insurance via California’s health exchange. The GOP’s proposal to allow states to keep Obamacare comes with a price – states will receive five percent less in federal funds. To fill that gap, California would need to make a state investment. This five percent reduction would result in higher costs for consumers unless California residents would be willing to pay higher taxes. Some experts believe that keeping Obamacare will be worth the cost as this way insurance in California will continue to include a ban on lifetime and annual limits, prevent discrimination against pre-existing conditions, and continue providing anyone under the age of 26 with coverage. One GOP proposed plan may allow California to keep Obamacare, but it would come at a higher cost. For more health-related news, visit us at The Benefits Store.

Gut Microbiota Gut microbiota is a collection of microorganisms that live within the human body. Everybody has tens of millions of microbes living within their guts. These gut microbiomes are extremely important to one’s health due to the fact that they assist the digestion process in addition to helping produce some vitamins. Research has previously indicated that microbiome composition can actually influence the development of certain diseases, including everything from irritable bowel syndrome to obesity. It’s only recently that research revealed that gut microbiota could be linked to autism. ASD Research and Trial The research focusing on the link between gut microbiota and autism was performed via the collaboration of the University of Minnesota, Ohio State University, and Arizona State University. A clinical trial was conducted in which 18 participants were studied. These participants were all aged between seven and 16 and were all diagnosed with ASD. The study took place over a 10-week period in which participants were provided with antibiotics, bowel cleansing, as well as extended fecal microbiota transplants. Fecal microbiota transplants are a type of treatment that are used for Clostridium difficile infections. The treatment involves the collection of fecal matter from the stool of a healthy donor, which is then transplanted into the colon of the patient. Researchers used a donor microbiome that consisted of a thousand different species of gut bacteria. The trial ended with promising results. Participants showed an 80 percent reduction of gastrointestinal symptoms that had been associated with ASD. They also exhibited substantial improvements in their behavioral ASD symptoms. Researchers are working hard to find an effective treatment for ASD and may have discovered a link between gut microbiota and ASD that could improve current treatments of the disorder. To keep up with all the latest news in regards to health-related matters, visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Working Out on the Weekends Researchers recently performed a nine-year study focusing on weekend warriors – those who do all of their exercise over the course of the weekend. They found that if these weekend warriors met certain physical activity guidelines (2.5 hours of moderate intensity physical activity or an hour and 15 minutes of vigorous physical activity) over a two-day period, they were less likely to die during the study period than those that did not exercise at all. In fact, subjects that only worked out during the weekends but did not meet those physical activity guidelines were still more likely to die an early death than those that didn’t exercise at all. The researchers published their results in the AMA Internal Medicine journal, concluding that even less frequent amounts of physical activity could still have a big impact on one’s health. Even one or two workout sessions a week could lower mortality risks. The subjects used in the study included more than 63,000 people that were 40 and older. They all lived in England and Scotland. Of the subjects, 2,300 were weekend warriors, 14,200 exercised a little on the weekends, and 40,000 didn’t exercise at all. Around 7,000 exercised at least three times a week. Over the course of the study, 8,800 subjects died, the largest percentage of which died from cardiovascular disease. Weekend warriors were 30 percent less likely to die during the study, and 40 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease. Exercising can have a beneficial effect on one’s health even if it’s only done a few times a week. Stay current with The Benefits Store for more news concerning the health and medical industry. #WeekendWarriors