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Although people can no longer purchase over-the-counter medication using their healthcare FSA money, there are still plenty of medical expenses that they can spend it on. The following are a few of the things that one can purchase using their pre-tax healthcare FSA money on: Home medical equipment: This includes items such as crutches, bandages, first-aid kits, blood-pressure monitors, thermometers and even inhalers. For items such as these, their FSA eligibility should be noted at the bottom of the receipts. Insurance co-pays and exams: This includes vision exams. Dental work: This includes full dental checkups, fillings, extractions, teeth-cleaning appointments and braces. However, teeth whitening is not covered. Glasses: This includes prescription glasses, sunglasses and reading glasses. Alternative treatments: This includes chiropractic sessions or acupuncture sessions. This depends on the type of FSA plan the patient has. Prescription medication: FSA money can be used to replace expired medication. However,  even though FSA money can no longer be used to pay for over-the-counter medications, there is a way to get around this — one can have their doctor write a prescription for an over-the-counter medication. In this case, the patient can use their FSA money. Medical mileage reimbursements: This means people can use their FSA money to cover the cost of traveling to a medical appointment, whether by car or public transportation. Parking fees and tolls are included in this as well. These are a few medical expenses that California residents can spend their healthcare FSA money on. However, it should be noted that those who have an FSA as well as a Health Savings Account can only use their FSA for dental and vision expenses. To keep up-to-date on health insurance news, visit us at the Benefits Store today.

What Is Listeria? Listeria is a foodborne pathogen that is not as common as E. coli or salmonella, but that is more lethal than either. A healthy immune system should be able to withstand an infection caused by Listeria, but once the bug enters into the bloodstream it can cause listeriosis. Listeriosis kills 20 percent of its victims. People with weaker immune systems — such as older adults, newborns and pregnant women — are more at risk of infection. Adults over the age of 65 are four times as likely to get listeria than the common population, while pregnant women are ten times as likely. Although they may not develop listeriosis themselves, it can threaten their babies. Symptoms include fever, confusion, loss of balance, convulsions and stiff neck. The Current Listeria Outbreak According to the CDC, there have been eight people affected so far. Six have contracted listeria in California as well as one each in Maryland and Washington. Both patients in Maryland and Washington died, although it was determined that listeria was not their ultimate cause of death.The CDC has stated that the frozen vegetables produced by CRF Frozen Foods are the most likely source for the listeria. What to Do Consumers should inspect the vegetable packages in their freezer and check the UPC codes along with the “best by” dates against the FDA’s list. If there is a match, the package should either be disposed of or taken back to the store for a refund. Although listeria can be killed if the vegetables are properly cooked, they would need to reach at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit — and it’s not worth the risk. Be aware of the recent listeria problem and visit us at the Benefits Store for more updates on important health information.

The Benefits of Walking Generally speaking, adults of all ages should get at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity every week in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Walking happens to be one of the easiest ways to meet this benchmark. Walking can be done at one’s own pace, causes little stress on the body and requires no additional equipment. This makes the health benefits of walking a dog all the more obvious. Recent studies have even shown that dog walking is one of the most effective ways for seniors to stay active and fit. The study used data gathered from roughly 20,000 Americans over 50 years of age for a period of two years. This data revealed evidence for the association between dog walking and physical health. Dog Ownership Benefits Health Research revealed that dog walking was not only linked to a lower BMI (body mass index), but that it was also linked to fewer doctor visits and more frequent exercise. Additional benefits of dog walking included an increase in social benefits and the reduction in limitations of daily living activities. It’s not just that walking a dog allows for exercise, it’s that older adults are more likely to get out and walk more often if they have the obligation of a dog. The companionship that a dog offers provides more incentive as well — they want to spend more time with their dogs and therefore go on walks as a leisure-time activity and not just as a way to exercise or to take their dog to the bathroom. Senior citizens can not only benefit from the companionship of a dog, but can also improve their physical health through the simple act of dog walking. For more up-to-date, health-related news, visit us at the Benefits Store today.

Toxins Most people who are in the process of cleansing their bodies of toxins with a juice cleanse actually have no idea what they are trying to get rid of. The term “toxins” might as well just be “bad stuff.” Everyone is exposed to toxins on a daily basis, that’s for sure. Common toxins include pesticides, alcohol and even acetaminophen, one of the active ingredients in Tylenol. But the thing is, the body is built to handle these toxins naturally — it typically doesn’t need the assistance of juice. The kidneys and liver are organs designed to remove toxins from the bloodstream and to process them into feces and urine for removal. According to medical experts, there is no good scientific evidence that a juice cleanse can aid this process. So Is It Worth It? However, that doesn’t mean that there’s no benefit whatsoever to a juice cleanse. The juices used in a juice cleanse, which often consist of vitamin and antioxidant-rich vegetables, can be extremely beneficial in a number of ways. They provide the body with nutrients that can help improve its health, they can be an effective way to help lose weight and they can get people to pay more attention to their diet by eating healthier. Juice cleansing can be extremely beneficial to the health of one’s body, but there’s a common misconception that it helps remove toxins from the body — it doesn’t. To keep up to date with all newest health-related fads and health insurance information, be sure to visit us at the Benefits Store today.

New Kaiser Permanente Santa Cruz Locations Kaiser Permanente will be providing both commercial health insurance and Covered California coverage to residents of Santa Cruz. They will open their medical buildings in three different parts of Santa Cruz: At the Crossroads Center in Watsonville At the Granite Creek Business Center in Scotts Valley In downtown Santa Cruz. The properties are currently being renovated in order to create a convenient, inviting and integrated medical environment that is up to Kaiser Permanente’s high standards. All three locations will provide primary care in addition to facilitating telemedicine visits. The Kaiser Permanente medical centers located in Scotts Valley and Watsonville will also provide radiology services, pharmacy services, laboratory services and a number of other specialty services. The Watsonville Community Hospital has been selected to provide local hospital services and inpatient care. Kaiser Permanente members will also have access to these services at the provider’s medical centers in Santa Clara and San Jose. Reasons for Expansion According to the press release that was published by Kaiser Permanente, their expansion to Santa Cruz was based on the needs of both the community as well as its existing members. The new Santa Cruz locations will be a huge benefit to the 5,800 residents who are already members of Kaiser Permanente and who work in the existing service areas, not to mention the 500-some Kaiser Permanente employees who are already living in the Santa Cruz area. Kaiser Permanente first expressed interest in expanding to Santa Cruz back in 2012 when they obtained the naming rights for the local basketball arena. As of now, they have over 10 million members in eight different states as well as the District of Columbia. Residents with Covered California insurance should keep their eyes open for the new Kaiser Permanente locations in Santa Cruz. Here at the Benefits Store, we strive to keep residents up-to-date with all the latest health news. Image courtesy of Ken Wolter / Shutterstock.com.

A Glitch in the Covered California System This transfer has occurred without the knowledge or the consent of those whose Covered California health plans were dropped once they were transferred to Medi-Cal. This is a serious issue, since a pregnant woman could end up missing out on prenatal care because they no longer have proper health insurance coverage. According to Covered California, all of this was caused by a computer glitch, which although identified, won’t be fixed until September. Because of this glitch, those who are currently insured through Covered California and are pregnant should not report their pregnancies to Covered California. First of all, it’s not even a requirement to report pregnancies, so there’s no reason to do it in the first place. Secondly, by reporting their pregnancy, they could risk having their coverage dropped due to the glitch. Similar Issues With HealthCare.gov A similar issue has been reported with HealthCare.gov, the federal health insurance exchange. The glitch has caused computer systems to immediately transition women to Medicaid after reporting their pregnancies. The Source of the Issue Consumers are typically placed in either Medi-Cal or Covered California, depending on their income level. They don’t have a choice between the two — but the rules are different for pregnant women whose household income falls between roughly $22,100 to $34,100 for a family of two. Pregnant women that fall in this income bracket are automatically placed in Medi-Cal, but they technically get to choose, even though they aren’t informed about this option. Women with health insurance through Covered California should avoid reporting their pregnancies at this time. To stay up to date with important health insurance related news, be sure to visit us at The Benefits Store today.

Back in 2010, Amanda’s parents Pam and Doug were informed that their daughter was being held at a psychiatric crisis center. Amanda had attempted to throw herself in front of a moving car while attending college. Her parents were told that she had fallen into a state of psychosis—she was selling off her belongings and falling under the belief that she was being followed by cameras. It wasn’t until then that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Amanda exhibited signs of her mental illness as far back as middle school. She would experience extreme mood swings and would often get into huge arguments with her parents. Pam realized her daughter needed help and went to their family doctor. Their doctor provided a list of nearby therapists. Unfortunately, the list was not only out of date, but therapy was extremely expensive. They couldn’t afford the number of sessions she needed, even though she was diagnosed with depression. After being held in the psychiatric crisis center, Amanda was moved to a hospital, which focused on treating her medically. The family were worried about expenses. Fortunately, a federal law was passed in 2008 that required mental illness to be covered without limitations. Mental illness affects millions of people, and it’s important that a correct diagnosis is given in order to get proper treatment. For legal advice and protection in regards to receiving such treatments, consider the LegalShield plan at the Benefits Store.

O’Grey was suffering from Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. He also weighed 320 pounds and was spending over $1,000 a month on medication to treat his conditions. In 2010, he was in such bad physical shape that his doctor told him that he was likely to die within five years—he was 51 at the time. So he scheduled an appointment with a naturopathic doctor in the hopes of losing weight. The doctor told him to get a shelter dog. O’Grey took his doctor’s advice and adopted an overweight, middle-aged dog—he wanted a dog that was like him. The dog, named Peety, needed to be walked on a daily basis. O’Grey began taking Peety on half-hour walks on a daily basis, while also adjusting his diet to a plant-based diet. Over just a single year, he lost 140 pounds and Peety lost 25 pounds. While the diet was an important factor in losing so much weight, so was the exercise that he was getting. More importantly, having a dog gave him an excuse to exercise—and it kept him from backsliding into unhealthy ways. It’s easy to stop going to a gym—but it’s hard to stop walking one’s dog. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, O’Grey’s story isn’t an outlier. They have stated that having a pet can help the owner to not only decrease feelings of loneliness, but also to decrease high cholesterol, high blood pressure and triglycerides. Not to mention that adopting a pet from a shelter benefits the pet as well!  Here at The Benefits Store, we strive to keep Californians up-to-date with all the latest medical news.

Diabetes Statistics UCLA researchers had access to the health data of over 6,400 people from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey as well as the health data from another 40,000 people that was provided by the California Health Interview Survey. Research revealed that around 33 percent of all Californians between the ages of 18 and 39 had the elevated blood glucose levels that are characteristic of prediabetes. Prediabetes results in a much higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, which is an endocrine disease in which the body can’t properly use insulin— it’s more often seen in older adults. Diabetes Prevention One of the problems with prediabetes is that experts are still divided as to how often prediabetes actually develops into full-blown diabetes. Many medical experts believe that medicalizing large populations based on specific health indicators is a mistake. Either way, public health advocates are trying to increase awareness of the condition in an attempt to improve access to medical screenings as well as encourage lifestyle changes to prevent the disease. Unfortunately, California spends less on diabetes prevention than any other state—and according to a 2015 state auditor’s report, it relies on federal grants instead of state money for its programs. However, a bill was recently introduced that would require the Department of Public Health to improve its reporting on the effect of diabetes on the state as well as its efforts to prevent diabetes. Diabetes is a serious concern for California residents. Keep up to date with the latest health news in California by visiting us at The Benefits Store.

The NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) has reported that anxiety disorders, which include everything from social anxiety disorder to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), affect roughly 18.1 percent of the American population. Recent research performed by Bita Moghaddam and a team of colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania’s Department of Neuroscience has revealed that anxiety doesn’t just affect individuals emotionally, but can also impact decision-making, which in turn can negatively affect everyday life. These results were recently published in The Journal of Neuroscience. Moghaddam and her team analyzed the brain cells in the prefrontal cortex of two different groups of rats as they performed decision-making tasks. The decision made by the rats affected whether they would receive a reward. One of the groups of rats was given a low dosage of an anxiety-inducing drug, while the other group was given a placebo injection. It was revealed that the anxiety-induced rats made many more mistakes in their decision-making than the non-anxious rats. It’s important to note that the choices the rats had in the decision-making process involved information that allowed for a logical choice to be made in order to receive the reward. The research revealed that the decision-making mistakes were caused by the effect that anxiety has on the neurons that have the specific task of making choices. Basically, anxiety does not over-engage brain circuits like it was originally believed— instead, it disengages brain cells in a specialized manner. Here at The Benefits Store, we make sure that California residents are kept up to date with all health related news.

What is Cystic Fibrosis? Cystic fibrosis is a condition that causes mucus to build up in the lungs and pancreas as well as in other organs. This leads to frequent lung infections and often results in the need for lifetime treatment. Cystic fibrosis affects one in every 3,900 American babies, and the average lifespan of someone living with cystic fibrosis is 37. Screening For Cystic Fibrosis Newborns are screened for cystic fibrosis in every state, but screenings aren’t always accurate, which means that missed cases do occur. A baby that is misdiagnosed as not having cystic fibrosis won’t be treated, which means that the baby is at risk of dying because they weren’t properly diagnosed. According to researchers, the new method of screening for cystic fibrosis will not only be more efficient, but also more cost-effective. There’s also a chance that this new method will help improve screening for non-white babies, who are typically much more difficult to diagnose. The disease is caused by a defect in the CFTR gene. The CFTR gene is what regulates the movement of water and salt from the cells of the body. Current genetic screens in the state of California look for 40 of the most common CFTR gene mutations in newborns, but there are at least 2,000 known mutations that could result in the development of cystic fibrosis. The new screening method looks at the entire CFTR gene instead of just selected mutations. The test can be done by using a small amount of blood drawn from the newborn heel stick test that is already used for other disease screenings, thereby helping to reduce testing times and costs. New screening methods could help cut down on missed cases of cystic fibrosis. Visit us at the Benefits Store today for more health news and for health insurance advice.

Bentonite Me Baby Could Cause Lead Poisoning Bentonite Me Baby is a cosmetic clay that is sold online as well as at major retail outlets throughout the country, including Amazon.com and Target. According to the producer of Bentonite Me Baby, Alikay Naturals, the cosmetic clay is supposed to purify and clarify skin and hair. It is produced from aged volcanic ash and is supposed to be applied to the face once a week and to the hair no more than twice a month. Tests done by the FDA revealed that the clay contained high levels of lead. As a result, the FDA warns consumers against using the product. Lead poisoning can cause damage to the central nervous system, the immune system and the kidneys. Children that are exposed to lead poisoning may suffer from behavioral and thinking problems. The FDA was warned of the potential high level of lead in the cosmetic clay by the Minnesota Department of Health. So far, there have been no cases of lead poisoning involving the clay. Contacting a Poison Control Center There are 55 poison control centers located around the country, all of which are supported by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. Anyone who is worried about having used the Bentonite Me Baby cosmetic clay can call a poison center at 1-800-222-1222 for free and confidential medical advice. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is a great resource for obtaining information about poisoning and can also help reduce costly hospital visits by providing in-home treatment advice. Here at the Benefits Store, we strive to provide California residents with up-to-date news and information that could affect their health in addition to professional health insurance advice.