Maternity Insurance|Maternity Care|Postpartum Care

Surrogacy can prove to be very expensive, but is a blessing for childless couples. One's insurance for health care may not provide sufficient funds, and it is worse for those with no such insurance. The only way prospective parents can make the process a little less expensive is to have the surrogacy overseas. In other words, prospective parents have to ask a surrogate mother from another country to bear the child.

One of the best countries to look for a surrogate mother is India. Here the cost of surrogacy is much cheaper than most places. Statistics show in America surrogacy can cost around thirty to sixty thousand dollars, while in India it is no more than three thousand dollars. One can save around twenty-seven to fifty-seven thousand dollars which the parents can use to raise the baby.

Also, many women in India will be eager to be surrogate mothers owing to their poor economic status. They welcome people from overseas as it means good money for them.

In addition, there are very strict legal procedures which the overseas governments will follow which become beneficial for both the surrogate mother and the intended parents.

Other countries which are equally good are Nepal and Pakistan. Women in these countries want to improve their financial status through surrogacy.

One can do research on your own before contacting agencies abroad. Searching the yellow pages, Internet and newspapers are good resources too. One can then contact the agencies and ask them about the costs before making the final commitment. One also needs to take into account the traveling costs. Whatever the cost, it is sure to be a whole lot cheaper than surrogacy in America.

A lot of women keep asking what chances they have getting infected while playing the surrogate for a mom who is HIV positive. We know that AIDS is transported from one body to the other in many different ways. But will carrying an HIV positive mom's egg lead to the same thing? Read more...

To go to the core of this query, the first thing a woman should do is educating herself about home surrogacy. Take the instance of a government funded clinic in America. It recently came to the headlines by refusing to assist in any type of surrogacy for homosexual men couple.

Both of these two persons were carrying HIV-positive. Their whole scheme here was to fertilize an ovum off a female donor with sperms from one of those gay men and then implanting that within a 2nd female who had previously agreed to bear the pregnancy.

However, the gay couple challenged the decision of the surrogacy clinic on logical grounds. They emphasized on the point that there were hardly any research findings that documented any cases of HIV-positive sero-conversion within the recipients of the gametes off HIV-positive donors.

They also challenged the decision as they had evidence that a woman was clearly agreed for carrying the pregnancy. Still, though that clinic was offering assisted conception to both the HIV-discordant gay couples (and as same-sex couples, they denied to undergo this procedure.

Their argument was that those superseding ethical concern in such a case was to protect of the prospective surrogate mom from getting HIV infection. If it was assumed that the risk of this woman's getting an HIV infection was zero without the surrogacy contract, or implantation of that fertilized egg. However, due care was undertaken for reducing the risk of this unusual HIV transmission - this, they felt would fully eliminate the risk for that surrogate woman.

But all these arguments were turned down by the ethics committee, as it expressed clear supports to the decision of the clinic regarding not performing the process or their reasoning behind it.

As you understand how vague the situation is. And it should be also clear by now that it's tough to give a verdict on whether a surrogate mom should carry an egg from an infected woman. The decision can be only directed by your ethics. Hence different people may have different view points regarding this. Consider the case of the following women when she commented on the above mentioned case.

When she was 13, this woman found that she was born with NO UTERUS! At the age of 19, her initial sexual encounter was a horror when she came to know that the sex made her HIV positive. Just 2 years later she met her husband who happens to be a great person. This guy as well was HIV-positive. The woman found hope that she's found someone at least who she could consider her life partner.

Despite being HIV positive she found her love. Now wonders whether she can get a surrogate mom who'd want to carry her baby knowing she is HIV-positive!

As we mentioned in previous articles, infertility is defined as the inability of a couple to conceive after 12 months of unprotected sexual intercourse. It effects over 5 millions couple alone in the U. S. and many times more in the world. Because of an unawareness of treatments, only 10% seeks help from professional specialist.We have spent most of the time in this series discussing the conventional and Chinese medicine in treating fertility. I believe, it is the best time to change the subject by discussing how fruit and vegetables effects fertility

I. Definition
While fruit is defined as any fleshy material covering a seed or seeds and vegetable is defined as a herbaceous (green and leaf like in appearance or texture) plant cultivated for an edible part, as roots, stems, leaves or flowers, but in in daily language, the words "fruit" and "vegetable" are interchangeable.

II. How fruit and vegetables effects fertility
1. Load of vitamins and minerals
As we mentioned in some other articles, fruit and vegetable contain high amount of vitamins and minerals that is vital for over all health, including the reproductive organs. People eat less of above may cause nutrients deficiency, distorting the normal process of conception.

2. Low GI index
Most fruit and vegetable are low GI foods that helps to release glucose slowly into the blood stream, thereby decreasing the risks of blood sugars fluctuation, causing low sperm quality in men and distorting the menstrual cycle process in women.

3. Anti inflammation
Some food such as garlic, ginger and pepper contains high amount of antioxidants, that not only help to improve immune function in fighting against forming of irregular cells growth, but also prevent the inflammation of the pelvic region.

4. Blood flow
Garlic, ginger, onion, etc also help to improve the blood flow to the reproductive organs. By making the blood thinner, they increase the blood in transportation of nutrients and oxygen for our body cell need, including the reproductive organ, leading to decreasng the risk of low quality sperm in men and poor quality eggs in women.

5. Nervous symptoms
Some fruit and vegetable help to increase the body in fat and protein metabolism, thereby increasing the nervous cells in transmitting information between themselves and glands, thus decreasing the risk of nervous symptoms such as fatigue, stress, depression, anxiety, etc.

There are many other benefits of fruit and vegetable that we can not mention them all, but if you believe in transitional Chinese medicine, then you must choose your foods carefully without distorting the yin and yang qi in your body.

Pregnancy is a very special experience in any woman's life. It's normally believed that pregnancy is risky for women with diabetes. In this article, we will discuss a preconception planning for the woman with diabetes and we will refer to some best quality resources on managing gestational diabetes.

If you have diabetes, how you should plan for your pregnancy

a. You should first discuss with your family physician, dietician and obstetrician who is familiar with the special challenges of a diabetic pregnancy.

b. You need to manage excellent blood glucose control before conception because hyperglycemia increases the risk of a miscarriage or of birth defects in the baby.

c. Do a thorough medical check up because high and prolonged blood sugar might have impacted your eyes, kidneys and possibly other body parts. This thorough physical examination will help medical professionals to assess your body's readiness to take on the demands of pregnancy.

You have to be particular for followings:

o Diabetic retinopathy may get worsen during pregnancy for a diabetic patient. You should have a dilated eye examination before you become pregnant, and have regular check up with an ophthalmologist during the course of your pregnancy.

o Pregnant Women with hypertension need to avoid ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, or diuretics as anti-hypertensive drugs and hence need to follow her doctor's advice, dietary and exercise plan to keep her healthy.

o Kidney disease of would be mother can negatively impact the baby's growth and development. This might be critical for a pregnant lady.

o Autonomic neuropathy and peripheral neuropathy damage the internal organs, which can complicate the management of diabetes during pregnancy.

You need to aim for near-normal glucose levels

Bring down blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible -- ideally for three months before you become pregnant. Maintain this level for 1st three months because baby is rapidly developing this time. If you able to manage HbA1c level within 1% of normal, the rates of congenital deformities and spontaneous abortion are no different from those in women without diabetes.

What should be your blood glucose level?

Test your blood glucose level before meal and 70-100 mg/dl (3.9 - 5.6 mmol/l) should be your whole blood glucose reading.

Test your blood glucose level 2 hours after meals and whole blood glucose reading should be under 140 mg/dl (

Despite several efforts and considerable discussions made to introduce and effect modernization of the social security in Cameroon, this issue remains one of the few items in the current regime that has not been attended to.

Nevertheless, Cameroonians have experienced some positive change recently with the improvement of the National Social Insurance Fund (CNPS) services. Unlike the previous system of remitting retirement pensions, the payments can now be made at various offices in Cameroon and further, this can be done monthly and also via bank deposits for those who already have bank accounts. This is a positive move in contrast to the quarterly payments which thousands of people had to queue for at the main CNPS office in Yaound矇.

However, these arrangements might not be as helpful to many people because of a few hitches here and there. Most retirees who are subject to receiving pensions are unable to do so for the reasons that they cannot be able to provide all the relevant documentation required of them or could be that their employers never submitted their share of money to the relevant CNPS offices while they were in employment.

For many Cameroonians, retirement is a social security mystery. Despite social security being the main legal body that should guarantee protection to everyone against social risks such as old age, diseases and disability, it remains a working progress whose fruits are yet to be experienced by Cameroonians. A few percentage of the country's population remain as the beneficiaries of ones enjoying it according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.

A system under working progress.

As the government unveiled its financial, economic, social and cultural plans in parliament two years ago, the Prime Minister Yang Philemon acknowledged that the government was working towards maintaining the country's social peace by ensuring that everyone would benefit from social security measures which were going to be put in place. A month later, President Paul Biya confirmed the same by informing the public that the social security issue was being looked at.

The unit put in place to modernize social security in Cameroon conducted the relevant studies and has submitted the report to Mr. Philemon. The report deals with the changes that will take place during the upgrading of the CNPS and it also has recommendations on how best this whole procedure can be carried out. The report further deals with reforms that should take place in terms of management to ensure that the extension put in place will also work towards benefitting the population which is not covered as well as improving the current benefits.

In the new structure of social security in Cameroon, both public and private sectors have a role to play as social security involves the solidarity of all Cameroonians whether working or not, sick or well, fully functional or disabled.

While the private organizations include insurance companies, social micro insurance enterprises, fraternal benefit societies, the public groups include the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM), the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) and the National Fund for State Employees (CNPE)

How it works is that the CNSS takes from CNPS coverage for people who have insured themselves voluntarily while the CNPE offers coverage for civil servants and those who are in dispersed communities. Like the CNPE and CNSS, the CNAM offers four cover types to the insured; old age and disability, family, maternity and work related accidents.

This reform should modernize the social security in Cameroon and also ensure the national legislation of social insurance is in harmony with the requirements of Inter-African Conference on Social Insurance (CIPRES).

To read more News in any topics related to Cameroon, visit cameroon-report.com

There is a plan by Anthem Blue Cross, that I would recommend to almost anyone, this is the "Smart Sense Plan." The Smart Sense plan is a newer PPO plan to Blue Cross that gives you a lot of different options to choose from. The plan is great for anyone at any age and the rates are very competitive with great coverages and lower Co-Pay limits then most PPO plans.

There are 8 different ways you can get the Smart Sense Plan. There are 4 different deductibles available from $5,000 to as low as $500 deductibles. Then, you can also choice if you want to have Full Drug coverage which includes both Brand and Generic Drugs or you can put just Generic drugs on your plan which usually saves you at least $20 a month.

Before you meet your deductible with the Smart Sense Plan you can have up to 3 off visits at $30. After you reach your 3 visits you will be paying 30% of the negotiated rate for the office visits. All other services you will pay 30% after your deductible is met. Services include Hospitalization, ER, Lab Work and X-Rays.

The coverage that I feel is the most important is the CO-Pay Limit or sometimes called the Stop-Loss. The Co-Pay limit is the most you spend in one year on all medical bills, every Health Insurance Policy has one. Once you reach your CO-Pay limit Anthem Blue Cross will pay 100% of your medical bills. Your CO-Pay limit restarts each calendar year.

Your CO-Pay limit with the Anthem Blue Cross Smart Sense Plans is $2,500 plus your deductible. You typically do not see a PPO plan with a Stop-Loss as low as $3,000 on other PPO Medical Plans. You usually see them more with HMO plans, which is a huge advantage. However, it is very important to know that the Smart Sense Plan does not have maternity coverage, so if you are pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant within the next few years, this plan is not for you.   

You had a tubal ligation several years ago but now you'd like another child. Well, you can. All that's required is a procedure called a tubal reversal. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that your insurance probably won't pay for it. Fortunately, there are a few insurance plans that will. For example, Blue Cross/Blue Shield has covered some reversal procedures. However, this varies depending on where you live and your insurance plan. So, if you want the procedure, be sure to talk with your insurance company first.

If you believe your insurance will cover the procedure, some tubal reversal centers will help with the paperwork by filing it for you. Others will not even accept insurance. In this case, you will have to pay before the procedure, do the filing yourself after the surgery and then hope you can collect what you've spent.

If you're lucky, you'll have a plan that covers all or at least some parts of the procedure. But, be prepared to pay for it yourself.

What a tubal reversal costs

Depending on where you have the procedure done, it can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000. The national average cost for a tubal reversal is around $9,000.

If you have your procedure done in a hospital, the conventional way - as abdominal surgery, you will probably have to stay for several days. This is why the cost gets to be $9,000 or more. An alternative to this is to have your tubal reversal done in a clinic that specializes in these procedures where the cost might be as little as $4,995. It could take just an hour and would not require an overnight stay.

How to finance your tubal reversal

There are a number of ways to finance a tubal reversal. The most popular is probably to put it on a credit card and then pay for it over a period of time - maybe 18 or 24 months. Of course, you will have to have a large enough credit limit to accommodate that $5,000 or $10,000 charge.

A second alternative

If you can't use your credit card for tubal reversal financing, you might be able to get a personal loan. One company, OneMain Financial, advertises that it will work with you to provide a personal loan solution specific to your needs. It further states that it offers fast approval, fixed interest rates and a 14-day guarantee (you can change you mind and cancel anytime within the first 14 days). Other institutions that provide loans for tubal reversals include CapitalOne Health Care Finance, MediCredit, MedProva, Reliance Medical Finance, Care Credit and SurgeryLoans.

Other possible solutions

If you or your partner have a flexible spending account (FLEX plan) you could use money from it to pay for the procedure. A FLEX plan allows you to set aside pretax dollars into an account and use these funds to pay for medical expenses. If you are unsure as to whether you or your partner has such a plan, contact your or your partner's company's personnel department for more information. If it does offer a FLEX plan, you should be able to take money from it to finance the procedure, assuming you have set money aside in it. If you currently aren't enrolled in a FLEX plan, you should be able to sign up for it during open enrollment for benefits and start setting money aside for the following year.

Also, some of the clinics that specialize in tubal reversals offer payment plans. If you decide to go to a clinic that specializes in this procedure, be sure to ask if it offers such a plan.

Expensive but worth it

As you have learned in this article, getting a tubal reversal is not cheap. But there are alternatives in tubal reversal financing that can help you make that dream come true - to have another child.

Individual health insurance with maternity coverage has become an oxymoron in the United States. An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms such as: dark light, living dead, etc. The terms have become contradictory because of market forces: the only people willing to buy maternity coverage plan to use the benefit. Insurers respond by eliminating coverage from basic plans and creating maternity riders designed not to appeal to couples planning a pregnancy; which leaves many couples with very limited options. Fortunately, a hybrid option exists.

The costs of covering a planned normal pregnancy are quite high: $6,000 to $12,000 depending upon the type of delivery. If you have group health insurance your plan likely covers normal labor and delivery as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires group health plans to cover normal pregnancy. But there is no such law governing plans issued in the individual market, and insurers have grown wary of offering plans that cover normal delivery in this market: the only people buying coverage plan to use the benefit.

Maternity Insurance Riders

Insurers have responded to this market based dilemma by eliminating maternity coverage from base plans and introducing maternity riders. The rider structure allows them to market competitively priced plans to the majority not planning on having children, and the option to upgrade coverage for those who are. However, the population segment interested in the rider plans to generate $6,000 to $12,000 in incremental claims (and far more if complications arise). A rider priced at the mid point - $8,000 in additional annual premium would be outrageously expensive.

Long Waiting Periods

So instead they offer riders with long waiting periods and/or long deductibles. These features limit the benefit to almost zero, but do minimize the sticker shock. The insurer has found a way to offer coverage without losing money on a planned event. But the potential customers (couples planning to have children) are left scratching their heads about the value.

A long waiting period forces couples to pre pay premiums in advance of using the benefit. But many couples decide to start a family right away. Waiting twelve months BEFORE getting pregnant is just not an option for many. Waiting an additional twelve months makes matters worse if a couple is nearing the end of their age based fertility window.

Large Deductibles

Deductibles are structured in an insurers favor. Should you pay an additional $300 per month for a maternity rider with a $5,000 deductible? If you have a simple delivery the policy may cost more than you receive in benefits. But that's the idea behind insurance. It's there to cover you in case of the unexpected, not something you are planning to do.

Supplemental Insurance

Supplemental insurance sold as a voluntary employee benefit offers a hybrid solution to the maternity coverage gap. Because they are sold through employer groups, normal labor and delivery is covered. Because they are voluntary, there is no direct cost to employers to make the option available to all employees. Couples can purchase individual health insurance for basic needs, and add supplemental insurance instead of a devalued maternity rider.

For many soon-to-be parents around the world, giving birth in water is still not a top choice but there is a growing interest in this birthing method because of its many mother and child-friendly benefits.

Water birthing may have just started to gain popularity in the west, but the idea is not new. Traditionally, women in Romania have been giving birth in warm natural pools (usually in the summer) for a long time with few complications even before 1960, when Igor Tjarkovsky, a Soviet researcher and swimming teacher had scientifically pioneered the idea of giving birth in water. Tjarkovsy has facilitated the births of hundreds of babies in a warm tank of water using his method since then. Seventeen years later, Michel Ordent, a French obstetrician, started the use of the warm tub. The technique proved to be highly popular and spread rapidly. By the 1980s, more than four thousand babies in the USA had been born through water birth.

To start birthing, the mother in labor is placed in a tub with warm water. The baby is monitored by a special underwater device. The mother stays in the tub while she labors and she can choose whether to give birth while submerged or give birth outside the tub. If the baby is submerged when it is delivered, it is perfectly safe because babies do not breathe in air until they are exposed to air. An attendant quickly takes the baby out of the water and hands it to the mother. This process must always be under the supervision of trained medical personnel and should not be attempted on your own.

Despite its unconventional nature, many nurses and healthcare practitioners say that water birthing has many benefits. The mother is not overtly stressed or anxious because the water soothes her muscles and there is less pain than conventional birthing because water stimulates the body's natural pain inhibitors. The water also provides buoyancy which makes it easier for the mother to change positions and it also provides privacy for many self-conscious or first-time moms. The water also provides a less traumatizing environment for the baby because it is similar to the womb's environment and shields it from sound and light, thus preventing over stimulation at birth. Many midwives, obstetricians and birthing experts say that water birth can also minimize fetal complications.

If you choose to deliver your baby through water birthing, look for a hospital or birthing center that allows water birth and has medical personnel trained in the process. It is also recommended that you inspect the tub and the birthing equipment before you give birth, as well as their prices. Renting a tub may be an option too. If you are going to give birth at your nearest hospital, review their policies on water birth (some do not welcome it yet). Also, check on your insurance company to see if they will cover the expenses of your water birth.

Despite its many benefits, water birth is not for everyone. It cannot be performed for breeched, premature and multiple births. If you have had a risky diagnosis during your pregnancy (e.g. susceptibility to bleeding or an infection), talk to your doctor first. Having herpes, which is transferred through water, is also not ideal for water birth. If your body is quite inflexible, you may also have to resort to the conventional way.

Health reimbursement accounts (HRA) are part of a program set up by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is designed so that an employer can reimburse an employee for certain medical expenses. This helps defray the cost of medical expenses. It also helps the employer save money on taxes. Like a health savings account, funds in health reimbursement accounts can roll over from year to year. The employer decides the amount that rolls over. Unlike a health savings account, only employers can contribute funds to a health reimbursement accounts. The funds cannot come out of an employee's salary, voluntarily or involuntarily. There is no limit on the amount of funds an employer can put into an HRA.

Since the IRS sets up this program, employees need to turn in receipts with itemized descriptions of what they paid for. These receipts are for record keeping purposes. The IRS will not allow tax deductions if the purchases were not qualified medical purchases. Qualified medical purchases must be outlined to the employee before a health reimbursement account is opened. This usually comes in the form of a plan. The employer sets up the plan. The employer decides what he will and will not reimburse the employee for. The reimbursement plan can be very flexible, and cover nearly everything. It can also be limited and cover only co-pays or premiums. This is up to the employer.

There are advantages and disadvantages to health reimbursement accounts. The advantages for the employer include knowing how much of their money is going to be tax-deductible. The advantages for the employee include a bit of potential relief in regards to medical expenses. Disadvantages include possible vague dialogue or stipulations in the coverage plan. It is important to ask if a procedure is covered before going to get it done. Many people have made the mistake of getting something done, such as a lab test, only to find out later that it is not covered by their health reimbursement accounts.

You do not have to have health insurance in order to participate in a health reimbursement account. Some employers may even reimburse you the cost of your health insurance coverage from your HRA. Health reimbursement accounts can also be used in conjunction with health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. If you are self-employed, you cannot have a health reimbursement account. If your salary is high, you may have one, but your coverage may be limited. If you need assistance in locating particular coverages at a pre-determined price, we can help save 50% on health insurance.

The birth of a newborn in the family can be an occasion for unrestrained rejoice. Everyone knows that good news is just around the corner and therefore gets on to preparations to welcome the little one in to the world.

While you as an expectant mother or father would undoubtedly be overwhelmed with joy at the prospect of having a child of your own, you also need to prepare yourself for any unforeseen situations, however unlikely they may seem, to actually occur. Often, birth related complications are seen to happen with even the healthiest of women, and therefore it definitely makes adequate sense that you avail of maternity health insurance coverage.

The benefits of such a coverage are definitely plenty; apart from the obvious hospital expenses which you are invariably going to incur at the time of delivery, maternity health insurance coverage will also provide for all check-ups that you are very likely to have to undergo, prior to the delivery. It will also provide for the costs of medicines that you will have to take, in addition to lab expenses as well as fees for examinations and other tests.

While considering going in for maternity health insurance coverage, it would be wise to do so, even before you have actually begun your pregnancy; there are a lot of insurance companies that do not provide maternity health insurance coverage, once you have already begun your pregnancy, so it will be wise to go in for cover prior to that.

Having said that, there are various government and other state funded agencies that provide insurance coverage even after you have begun your pregnancy; therefore, do not make the wrong choice of not going in for maternity health insurance coverage at all, just because your pregnancy has already begun, and you are under the impression that you can no longer avail of maternity health insurance coverage.

Instead, initiate the process of dialogue with a well informed, qualified and experienced insurance broker who will give you objective information on all the policy options that you have at hand, and give you solid pointers towards the policy that will suit your requirement as well as your pocket, the best. It is vital that the benefits which you foresee from availing maternity health insurance coverage do not exceed the costs of getting the aforementioned coverage in the very first place.

Researching on the Internet would also be an excellent proposition for getting the requisite information that you require; there is no dearth of comprehensive information on all the various maternity health insurance coverage policies, as well as on the costs and benefits of each. While doing so, make sure you also look at the fine print of all these policies, as there might be various circumstances under which the specified benefits may not accrue to you. Also, do look up independent websites that offer unbiased information on maternity health insurance coverage policies as well as companies so that you are also informed about the opinion that others have on them, as well as about the experiences that others who availed similar policies, had.

Finally, once you have got your maternity health insurance coverage, it is time to sit back and wait for the little one to come into this world and bring joy to everyone around!

Before taking fertility drugs keep in mind what often happens soon afterwards: you get pregnant, have a baby, go on maternity leave, and take on expenses for raising, feeding, and clothing your child. It pays to research tax impacts of your decision, and get the right insurance plans in place. Once you are already pregnant, your window of opportunity will be closed. Pregnancy is a preexisting condition for most insurance plans.

Tax Considerations

Many couples find that their insurance does not cover many fertility drugs and other forms of treatment. The IRS tax code allows you to deduct these expenses, or at least those un-reimbursed medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. If your planned infertility drug and treatment expenses are not expected to be that high, consider using your health care flexible spending account at work instead. You will get immediate tax savings on these expenses.

Get the Right Insurance Coverage

Double check your health insurance plan to verify what is and is not covered by your plan. Most plans will not cover infertility treatments of any kind, and depending upon your state of residence you may find large maternity related deductibles or co pays, and in some cases you may need to purchase a maternity rider to insure your basic medical needs are covered.

In addition, consider purchasing supplemental insurance which will help create maternity leave income, and provide added security during your pregnancy in case of complications. But be sure your coverage begins before you begin taking any fertility medications. Pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition.

All employees health insurance are considered as additional benefits offered to the employees of a certain company. Almost all employees think it's important to secure their future devoid of any fear through choosing among a variety of health benefits. For someone to organize a business or a company, it is essential to offer employees a healthy working condition. Almost all employers provide their employees health insurance benefits for them to produce their optimum performance without any troubled ideas and fears. It is very crucial that all employers must recognize the importance of a healthy working environment, as this is usually what makes employees perform better.

Generally, employees health insurance benefits improve the total wellness and safety of company employees by providing them primary medical and insurance benefits and programs. The medical plan intended for employees are offered to them through various health programs. Included in this plan is an annual medical check up, an assurance that all employees are served with the healthiest foods and that each of the employees is working in a setting where their safety and health is not at all risked or gambled.

Also, these benefits serve as a preventive measure for the future. Under an employees health insurance coverage, every company assures that their first aid boxes are always checked for their essential contents. Each company must be able to develop and establish a well-equipped occupational program and facilities for the treatment of all types of injuries that their employees might incur during their working hours. It is stated in almost all employees health insurance programs that an employee must be attended to at once and that he must be provided with pressing attention by a local first aid trainer or by anyone who is facilitating the occupational therapy ward.

Furthermore, employees health insurance benefit offers a healthy and safe working environment. All insurance programs provided to employees will significantly produce a much safer and hygienic environment that will ultimately enhance work productivity. It contributes greatly in creating ideal job satisfaction and inspires employees to work in a safer manner, devoid of any worries or fears. Providing your employees with medical benefits at the right time during any accidents will help to prevent any premature deaths. It also considerably boosts the morale of your employees.

There are numerous medical benefits that an employee might derive from employees health insurance programs. Life Accidental Death benefits, dependent life benefits, disability benefits, and dental benefits are some of the most common health insurance benefits provided by a company to its employees. It also includes a leave or a holiday for sick employees. There are also maternity benefits that can provide an employee with 100% payment.

Short term disability insurance is a great way to create maternity leave pay, while also protecting your income in case of complications, accidents, and illnesses. Your benefit for normal delivery can greatly exceed the premium you pay when you time the start of coverage properly. Unfortunately, most women wait until it's too late to apply for coverage, and miss out on a golden opportunity. Consider your projected date of conception, the possibility of pre-term labor, and the chances of suffering an accident or illnesses.

Use Disability to Create Maternity Leave Pay

Short term disability insurance is a great way to create maternity leave income. It pays a six week benefit for your normal vaginal delivery, and an eight week benefit for your normal c-section delivery - less the elimination period. Your benefit for normal delivery can greatly exceed the premium you pay, thereby creating maternity leave income. For example, a woman earning $54,000 per year qualifies for a $3,000 per month benefit. Her benefit for a c-section delivery would be $4,100 compared to a monthly premium around $150. A pretty sweet insurance bargain for something you were planning to do anyway: have a happy healthy pregnancy and new baby!

Apply for Coverage at the Right Time

Coverage needs to begin before getting pregnant in order to qualify for the benefit for normal delivery. Most policies contain a nine month exclusion for normal delivery. Plus, pregnancy is considered a pre-existing condition. If you wait until you are already pregnant to apply for coverage you will miss out in two ways: you will not qualify for the benefit for normal delivery, and any missed work due to pregnancy complications will not be covered. Avoid missing both of these important benefits by applying for coverage before conception. Don't wait until it's too late.

Another nuance that many women overlook is the possibility of pre-term labor and delivery. As mentioned above, most policies contain an exclusion for normal delivery during the first nine months of the policy effective date. It is possible for your policy to begin before getting pregnant, but for your normal delivery to occur inside the nine month exclusion. If this happens you may miss out on your benefit. For example, you conceive during the first week after your policy becomes effective, and you deliver two weeks early. Your normal delivery just occurred inside the nine month exclusion - no maternity leave benefit. Avoid this dilemma by applying for coverage several months before your expected date of conception. Your return on premium paid will still be well into the positive range.

Remember Accidents and Illnesses

The amazing part of buying short term disability insurance to cover your pregnancy and maternity leave is that it also protects your income in case of accidents and illnesses. You could get sick or hurt at almost any time. Should this happen, you will be very happy that you applied for coverage.

So if you think you may be getting pregnant anytime soon, apply for coverage now. An accident or illness could occur to any of us at any time. Don't wait until after getting sick or hurt. Not only will you miss out on the income protection benefit, you may no longer qualify for coverage.

Every parent waits with nervous anticipation to see if his or her child will be born healthy. Today, with the advent of advanced prenatal diagnosis and testing, the wait in many cases, is over. Genetic screening now allows parents to find out before birth if their child will have certain genetic disorders.

Testing is comprised of two common tests, Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) which is performed at 11 to 12 weeks gestation, or amniocentesis performed at 15 to 19 weeks, screens for a wide range of diseases and disorders. The CVS procedure involves testing the cells from the maturing placentas. Taking a sample of the amniotic fluid that surrounds the baby and testing it is what happens with the amniocentesis procedure.

The decision to have these test is not straightforward, although the testing process is fairly clear-cut. For many, there are many pros and cons that must be weighed before making a decision. Here are a few of the most common pros and cons of prenatal screening:

Pros:

• Having foreknowledge of any problems can allow parents to prepare for caring for the child.

• Advanced early knowledge may lead the parent to terminate the pregnancy. should they choose.

• In case any emergency treatment should be needed, parents would be at an advantage by having advanced knowledge of certain disorders.

• Knowledge of any disorders prior to birth can give parents time to find specialists.

• Genetic testing may identify a problem that can be rectified before birth.

• Testing may be an advantage in that doctors may choose a delivery method that minimizes risk to the mother and infant.

Cons:

• CVS and amniocentesis carry some risk of miscarriage.

• Testing is not as precise as many parents believe them to be. Even for the problems that have been specifically tested, there is no guarantee that they don't exist.

• Tests may indicate a problem where none exist or may not detect a problem, giving false security.

• Not all diseases or disorders are covered by testing. Many diseases have numerous complex forms that cannot all be covered in a generalized test.

• The tests raise issues with limited and uncertain safeguards against insurance discrimination.

Although prenatal diagnosis and testing is routine, it is an issue that is s tricky and is a matter of debate among many members of the disability community and parents alike. It involves deeply felt beliefs toward abortion, the beginning of life, faith, fate, disability, social responsibility and quality of life issues. The decision it ultimately up to the parents even though the decision to test or not to test is not an easy one to make.

Who needs an HR person, anyway?

In a word-everyone!

At what extent should a company have a dedicated HR Department? Of course as a company grows and hires more employees, need to regulate HR functions increases dramatically. However, that does not necessarily mean they need a full office to handle the job.

Those experienced in the HR field indicate that a company ideally should have at least 20 to 50 employees before they have a dedicated HR person. Even at that point, HR remains largely a function, something that can be managed by one person.

In those cases, few employees would want to be that one person.

It is here that technology comes to the rescue, with outsourcing-or automating, as in the cases of Software-as-a-Service, HRM systems and cloud-based technology. Today, web-based programs can help with hiring, payroll, developing employee handbooks and so on. In this way, one person should be able to handle the remaining HR functions.

In business, there is a broad spectrum; no two businesses are quite alike. With SMBs in competitive markets, there could be a need for a dedicated administrator and a recruiter.

Traditionally, HR Departments are defined by tasks nobody else either is capable of doing or actually wants to do. From recruiting to onboarding, writing job descriptions to monitoring attendance, policies and benefits, there has been a need for a specialized body to support senior management to establish a structure-with the purpose of holding down administrative costs. Often the human relations authority has a title such as Administrative Manager.

If you are chosen to spearhead the HR functions, what do you need to do?

• Understand Expectations

What are the bare-bones requirements of HR? In companies of less than 15 to 20 people, the owner or most senior manager takes these duties-often listing responsibilities based on conferring with a lawyer (or group of them) and develop a job description the HR position.

• Compliance

Next, analyze any compliance issues which apply to your company. The principal subjects are: wages and work hours, COBRA (based on size), forms like I-9 and W-2, requests such as vacation and leaves-of-absence (both maternity and family), ADA, harassment and a long list of others.

Many SMBs do not think they have to have an employee handbook or approved list of policies and procedures. This is a HUGE mistake. From clarifying the company as an at-will employer, to defining perks and benefits, an established employee handbook is the best way to clarify rules and regulations. Even if a guide is in place, it must be updated regularly to remain in compliance with federal, state and local regulations, all in the best interests of the company.

Is the policy manual complete? A viable strategy is to arrange the manual by categories, like employment, disciplinary, benefits and compensation. Is there a clear delineation between the employee and company rights and obligations?

• Employee relations

Coordinate employee data-or get it together, if there is none-and set everything into logical files. The filing system, at least, should have an Employment Application/resume, a W-2 form, signed insurance forms and performance reviews. A complete file should have employment dates, dates of reviews, promotions, and changes in compensation, wages or salary.

To begin, do not be concerned that files are not computerized; that will come with a higher level of organization.

• Payroll

The biggest conflict between HR and bookkeeping is payroll-and not out of a desire to perform the task. For many, it is clear that payroll is a problem for accounting and is the most popular service to be outsourced, usually to an outside company or a bank. Even when payroll is off-site, there are many responsibilities-such as informing the service of any changes in wages or salaries, deductions to pay, and severance checks. There is a wide range of services, both in price and quality, so clearly shop around for the best deal.

Payroll services frequently offer (or at least try to sell) more than a company needs, meaning it always advisable to research.

• Benefits Administration

This vital HR function should certainly be divorced from payroll. No matter where benefits are outsourced, there will always be the need for some degree of in-house administration. Also, someone in the organization should take responsibility to answer questions about forms and insurance, provide options, and describe costs to employees.

This area is one of the greatest ways HR can keep benefit costs down, and auditing policies periodically is a smart habit, to update any increases in premiums, or decrease in benefits.

• Onboarding

One person should be responsible for onboarding and orientation. Apprise new employees of benefits and company policies, this means you will have to be the expert representative for the company.

Does the business offer a structured compensation, or is it on an individual basis? What are the job descriptions and responsibilities? Will pay be commensurate with responsibilities? How are raises handled? Is it a graduated system? Will SMBs-often less than 50 employees-have a concrete structure? It is even less clear when there are less than 15-20 employees.

First, the HR professional should be proficient in writing or authenticating job descriptions. The heart of HR is information, and it must be carefully considered.

A busy company is always in flux-with regular policy, benefits, compliance and even legal changes. These are things that are necessary to be passed on to all employees.

Major changes require formal training-sexual harassment, for example. Health insurance benefits are required to be explained to all employees affected by changes in the law. This is the most basic function of HR, as key to an organization's information cycle.

• Recruiting

For SMBs, recruiting is oftentimes an afterthought, rarely a overriding concern in smaller companies. Yes, turnover rates in stable companies can be low, some as few as a single hire a year.

However, in competitive industries, recruiting is a vital function. The process of acquiring, interviewing, selection and placement are detailed; a working knowledge of the techniques is essential. A poor hire can be extremely expensive. If recruiting is an essential function for the business, there are sources-especially HRM software and hiring services-that can do the job easily and at a much better price.

Recruiters must also be knowledgeable of company-specific benefits, policies and procedures. At its most basic, the primary purpose of recruiting is to hire the best person at a salary that satisfies both the candidate and the company.

Certainly Hr has many other responsibilities, but these are primary. For forward-thinking companies, diversity may high on a list of HR responsibilities. Unless it is the corporate culture or an issue with senior management, don't expect an emphasis on diversity. More regularly, diversity concerns appear as part of risk management.

One last thing, HR departments do not plan social functions, parties or a get together. It is better to leave those tasks to others with less to do. A formal HR professional will have too much on their plate.

It is a rarely discussed secret, known the doctors, that most medical problems resolve by themselves. In otherwise healthy patients, most medical complaints are self limited, and improve with time with or without intervention. Colds, flu, back pain, headaches, fevers, abdominal pain, and muscle pain usually resolve on their own. Blood tests, X-rays, scans, physical examination, and any treatment given often make no difference at all in the course of the problem.

This simple formula has spawned the entire HMO industry, perfected by Kaiser healthcare. If patients are forced to wait by delaying being evaluated and treated, their symptoms will resolve spontaneously. When I was a radiology resident at Stanford, there was a two week waiting list to get an Upper GI study for abdominal pain. By the time the appointment came around, up to half of the patients canceled their appointments because their symptoms were gone, and another third no longer had symptoms, but came anyway "to make sure". We rarely found anything.

Hence roadblocks to care are very effective in reducing the amount and costs of medical care. Patients get better or simply give up. Kaiser perfected this concept, and used it to dramatically cut the cost of healthcare to its clients, while pretending to use "preventive" care and "efficiency" realize their cost savings. Other HMO's have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to duplicate this strategy.

Techniques such as not answering the phone, delaying appointments, seeing nurse practitioners prior to physician visits, and making specialists hard to see, effectively filter out the self limited problems which frequently fill the schedules of many physicians.

The problem with this method is that it only works on healthy populations. If you include the truly sick, the old, preexisting conditions, the diabetic, or the chronically ill, such delays result in bad outcomes and real problems for the patients and the healthcare system. Kaiser realized this early on, and has successfully marketed to the younger, healthy populations(mainly by offering inexpensive maternity benefits). HMO's that didn't effectively screen out the bad risk patients did not fare as well. It is a joke we used to tell that Kaiser is great healthcare insurance, until you get sick.

So what does this have to do with Obamacare? Obamacare makes its assumptions based upon the Kaiser model, pretending that utilization rates and outcomes can be extrapolated to much sicker cohorts of patients. When these older, sicker, and previously excluded patients are thrown into the medical system, all bets are off. The direct result will be long delays obtaining any kind of care, with people being sicker by the time they receive care.

Uterine fibroids are noncancerous growths of the uterus that develop from the tissue of the uterus. A single cell will repeatedly reproduce and over time it will create a firm, rubbery mass. Fibroids usually appear during a woman's childbearing years and though they don't usually interfere with conception and pregnancy, there is a slightly higher risk of problems if you are pregnant.

Some of the problems that can occur during pregnancy are:

• miscarriage


• premature labor


• premature delivery


• abnormal fetal position


• separation of the placenta from the uterine wall

These pregnancy risks quite often keep women from trying to have a baby for fear of complications. This doesn't have to be. Your uterine fibroids should not scare you away from having a baby.

There are several treatment options available today including medications and surgery. If you are wanting to become pregnant, medications may have side effects and many women don't want surgery because of the risks and expense. For women that don't even have insurance, surgery is completely out of the question.

If you feel the same way, then there is a treatment option that is perfect for you. Natural treatments are being used more frequently now because they do actually work. The best part is that there are no side effects like you can get from medications and no surgery risks. Natural remedies can also help you get pregnant if you are having trouble conceiving.

If you have uterine fibroids and are serious about wanting to become pregnant, then you owe it to yourself and your baby to treat them in the healthiest, safest and most natural way possible.

Once Upon a Time...

There was a time when many organizations and managers believed that if an employee was not 100% healthy and fit, they should not be in the workplace.

These managers and their organizations required an ill or injured employee to remain off work until they fully recovered. Some employers offered short term and long term disability benefits plans to provide a level of income replacement to the ill or injured worker while they were absent. This sort of thinking contributed to a mindset amongst employees that if they became ill or injured the best thing to do was to stay away from the workplace until they fully recovered.

Some Changes...

Along came an awareness of Human Rights legislation and requirements to ensure that employment systems did not discriminate against individuals based upon a number of prohibited characteristics, including disability. The legislative framework required employers to take measures to reasonably accommodate those with disabling conditions.

Those organizations and their managers who believed that ill or injured employees should not be in the workplace, and their employees who believed they should stay away from the workplace until they were fully recovered, were both in for a surprise!

The legislative framework changed. Employers could no longer ignore their duty to accommodate the genuine limitations and restrictions of employees in the workplace. Employees would no longer remain away from the workplace simply because of an illness or injury.

We also started to learn that perhaps an ill or injured employee could actually recover safely and more quickly if they returned to the workplace performing altered or adjusted duties, sometimes referred to as "light duties." Organizations realized that absenteeism is very expensive and that the costs of maintaining short term and long term disability programs can be significant.

A Different Mindset

Leading employers provide not only short term and long term disability benefits, but they also coordinate effective return to work programs. The purpose of these programs is to return an ill or injured employee to the workplace to meaningful duties as soon as possible while respecting the bona fide limitations and restrictions of the employee.

This approach requires a shift in focus. Both employers and employees now focus on identifying the limitations and restrictions of the employee and not upon the particular diagnosis of illness or injury. Once identified, the employer is challenged to find duties that align with the employee's restrictions and limitations. This approach also requires that employees may need to be assigned different duties or that they may need to gradually return to their workplace duties. In short, the focus shifts from "disability" to "ability."

Workplace Implications

To ensure equitable and consistent management of this complex area, a return to work policy should be developed including the following elements:

• Employer Commitment - to return ill or injured employees to meaningful duties in the workplace at the earliest safe opportunity, based upon the individual's capabilities while accommodating their personal limitations and restrictions.


• Manager and Supervisor Responsibilities - to fully cooperate with and support efforts to accommodate employees with bona fide limitations and restrictions.


• To ensure employees are assigned work and only perform duties, that is in accordance with their identified limitations and restrictions.


• Employee responsibilities - to fully participate and cooperate with Return to Work initiatives such as obtaining and providing documentation from their treating physician identifying their bona fide limitations and restrictions.


• Work within the limitations and restrictions identified.

We all seek to avoid Illness and injuries, but they do occur. Employers and employees can effectively cope with those that occur through effective return to work programs.

As we mentioned in previous articles, infertility is defined as inability of a couple to conceive after 12 months of unprotected sexual intercourse. It affects over 5 million couples alone in the U. S. and many times more in the world. Because of unawareness of treatments, only 10% seeks help from professional specialist. Nutritional supplements play an important in treating all kinds of disease, in this article, we will discuss how vitamin E effects fertility.

1. Antioxidant
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, it helps to improve the immune system in regulating the cell duplication and minimize the risk of cell oxidation. Deficiency of vitamin E may increase the risk of irregular cell growth, leading to fibroids, endometrial adhesion and implants as well as tumor in the reproductive organ in women and increasing the risk of oxidative sperm in men.

2. Hormone production
It also plays an vital role in balancing the production of sex hormones by regulating the function of glands. Deficiency of vitamin E causes decreasing of testosterone, leading to lower sperm count that interferes with fertility.

3. Egg quality
Researcher found that deficiency of vitamin E causes poor egg quality, resulting in increasing the risk of birth defect and miscarriage.

4. Sexual lubrication
It is said that vitamin E helps to increase the production of lubrication in the vagina, thereby decreasing the pain caused by penis penetration during sexual intercourse, resulting in increasing the chance of fertility for some women.

5. Blood flow
It is said that vitamin E also helps to improve the heart function in providing nutrients and oxygen for our body cells and regulating the blood flow to the body, resulting in lessening the risk of blood stagnation in the abdomen, thus increasing the chance of fertility.