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The Road to a Healthy Lifestyle

May 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

01310737874_yoga-for-health2.jpgA healthy lifestyle is a broad term covering several areas of life. Many people want to live healthily, but do not know where to start.
A healthy lifestyle pattern occurs primarily in mind and only then can move into action. In order to be mentally mature. Mentally mature, so we can properly weigh what is more worthwhile – now live unhealthy, damaging your body having a lot of severe chronic diseases in old age, or taking care of themselves and prolong life.
A healthy lifestyle begins with the exchange of attitude!   Healthy mind – healthy body start.
The first step – sit down and think about how you are living now and how would improve your life if you start to live healthy?
Do nothing, just think – you can imagine.
Think not only about the here-and-now surrounding routine, but also about the future – close and far,here-and-now and in old age, children, grandchildren, great-grandson. As all you may need a healthy in older age!
From thought to action !

When to start living healthy? From tomorrow, the next month,from Christmas, New Year, Easter? Major changes to the moral preparation is required, but is a distant date is right?
Time is running constantly, and each moment spent not returns! Why not to start a healthy lifestyle now-from this minute?
How to change your lifestyle?
Lifestyle should be changed slowly.
Imagine that you eat more fat this evening with a beer or a steak with wine, but tomorrow you will eat vegetables for breakfast, for lunch – cereal – for dinner vegetables again. Or, in the last year you was lying and watched TV, but tomorrow you will run 10 km or otherwise you will punish yourself  for overweight. Such a drastic change is the high stress to the body.
On the other hand many of these drastic changes never successful…

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Green Tea and its amazing health qualities

May 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

f_11310574137_head.jpgThe Chinese have known about Green tea as a powerful medication for at least 4000 years. According to legend, tea was discovered by a Chinese emperor called Shen Nung. Some tea leaves accidentally fell into boiling water, and he tried it and found it invigorating. Green tea became part of the Chinese diet and many important health benefits were attributed to it. Now recent medical studies in both asia and the west are providing a scientific basis for the claim that drinking green tea has very significant health benefits.

Green tea, like black tea is made from the leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis. The difference between the three main types of tea is the way that they are produced. Green tea is unfermented tea meaning that the leaves used for green tea are steamed soon after been plucked in order to prevent the oxidation of the leaves. In this way the leaves remain green and the active substances within the leaves retain their qualities. Black teas on the other hand are made from fermented leaves and as a result have less nutritional and enzyme content as the green tea. Thus green and black teas have different chemical properties.

Modern science has in recent times been able to demonstrate that green tea is beneficial to one’s health and this is mainly due to the fact that tea contains high levels of antioxidants called polyphenols or flavonoids. The antioxidant activity of tea has been compared to that of fruit and vegetables in a number of studies. One study concluded that consuming three cups of tea a day produced a similar amount of antioxidants as eating six apples. Antioxidants help your body fight against free radicals which cause damage to cells and tisuues in your body.

While all tea is healthy to drink, it is green tea that contains the highest level of flavonoids. Recent medical studies suggest green tea to be beneficial in many areas including the following:

-Digestive and respiratory health.

-Lowers cholesterol levels

-Boosts your immune system

-Reduces high blood pressure

-Arthritis – anti-inflammatory effect.

-Oral hygiene – due to antibacterial properties.

-Skin conditions such as acne

-Lowers blood sugar

Weight loss is another area that is attracting huge attention. Recently published research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that an extract from green tea may speed up fat oxidation. A study was conducted of ten healthy men over a period of 6 weeks. It was discovered that those men who were given green tea extract burned more calories per day than those who were not given the extract. Much more research needs to be conducted in this area but the signs are certainly very encouraging.

Anyone for tea

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Healthy Recipes for Kids Review-Legit or scam

May 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

11310573961_healthycookingandrecipes.jpgBecoming a accountable mom, I usually attempt to give my child a really nutritious diet plan. A properly balanced diet plan is quite a lot required for your expanding kids. But all of us understand that it is truly tough to obtain your youngster consume healthy foods when you can find so a lot of “other” possibilities offered to them.

Healthy recipes for kids ought to be fast, flavorful and nutritious. Inside the offered post, you might uncover some recipes which are not merely kid-friendly but in addition saves your valuable time inside the kitchen area. Often attempt to pick the meal during which your kids may also support in cooking. Typically the kid really feel pride within their function once they invest time within the kitchen area assisting to create the dishes.

Yummy Carrot Soup: getting a stunning orange shade as well as a clean fruity taste, the soup might be ready by boiling the carrots, cloves, garlic together with some orange juice and lemon juice.

Amazing French Toast: this might be the excellent breakfast for your youngster. Aside from incorporating milk and sugar, it is possible to include flavorful cinnamon for a much more enriched style. Don’t forget to leading the dish with sugar, butter or any fruit of the child’s option.

Enjoyable Fruit Kabobs: this will be the very best method to foster your kids with a lot of fruits like apple, banana, grapes, pineapple as well as coconut. Fruit kabobs are enjoyable for events or picnics. Whilst choosing the optimum variety of fruits, it is possible to display your creativeness and as these kinds of experiment together with your preferred mixtures. Constantly make use of the fruits which are clean and firm although not over-riped.

Scrumptious Oatmeal: consuming a bowl of oatmeal each early morning will be the very best approach to start your day off correct. But often your child may well refuse to consume oats as a result of its bland style. So the remedy is quite straightforward…you are able to improve the style by mixing some fruits such as blueberries towards the oatmeal. Or you are able to include stevia powder for the oatmeal. It is going to sweeten up the style.

Little Pizzas: who will deny consuming pizza..? Pizza can flip out to become a fatty foods but in the event you choose the elements as per diet plan program, then there’s no hurt in serving 1 little pizza for your kid daily. For toppings, you’ll be able to select green pepper, chopped onion, chopped tomato and mushrooms. No one likes to compromise once the issue of flavor arrives. As opposed to regular cheese, it is possible to use decreased mozzarella cheese. The flavor will stay the very same.

Therefore, becoming just a little inventive, it is possible to feed your kids with some healthy food items. In the exact same time you are able to speak along with your kids regarding the advantages of healthy consuming as well as make them comprehend how crucial their wellness is.

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Colon Healthy Recipes And Foods

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

01310573961_101recipebook.jpgHaving a healthy colon is the key to long term health and finding good colon healthy recipes is one way to help keep your body healthy. While it might be difficult to actually locate recipes that are labeled to be healthy for the colon, you can learn to recognize them by the ingredients that they contain- namely fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, a healthy recipe will contain little or no white flour and white sugar. Perhaps the best recipe for colon health, however is to include lots of fruits and vegetables in your meals as described below.

The large intestine or colon is where the results of the entire digestive process gather up to leave the body. Due to poor eating habits, most people have an unhealthy colon resulting in constipation. If your colon is not in tip top shape, food can get trapped in the lining and start to rot. It can also become hardened in there and can even be trapped in your colon for years!

Of course, food plays a big role in the health of your colon. There are many arguments for the pros and cons of a vegan diet, however when it comes to colon health, a vegetarian way of eating has many benefits.

Animal foods are hard to digest where plant foods are quite easy to digest. So, colon healthy recipes will include little or no animal foods and be based mainly on whole grains, fruits and vegetables. In addition to good colon health, using recipes made with these foods will have a pronounced effect on your overall health in general.

Vegetables and fruits are very colon friendly and can be processed or digested quite easily by the body. They contain a variety of vitamins and minerals as well as enzymes and fiber- all things that are essential to good health. Fiber, in particular, is good for your colon health as it adds bulk which helps to pass the food along the digestive tract.

One simple and easy breakfast recipe could be a fruit salad with oatmeal (not the packaged or instant stuff). Natural fruit juice can be quite healthy too although it does not have fiber and drinking a lot of water will help with the digestive process.

Always try to include a salad for lunch with lots of dark leafy greens. Stay away from the iceburg and try to include romaine lettuce and spinach as these have more vitamins. Broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and kale are great additions to any salad. Don’t forget the olives and artichokes for a little zest. Instead of bottled dressing which is probably loaded with sugar, try olive oil and vinegar- you might even mix in some fresh herbs and create your own salad dressing recipe!

For snacks, stay away from anything that comes in a package and go for raw nuts, fruit, veggies or even a nice fruit smoothie- made with real fresh fruit, of course! If you need something crunchy try spreading all natural peanut butter on celery (this can also help to satisfy any cravings for sweets).

Colon healthy recipes for dinner follow the same common sense rules. Try cutting down on the red meat and eating fresh fish along with a salad and perhaps some steamed broccoli, zucchini and carrots. If you need something more substantial try adding brown rice, corn on the cob or potatoes.

Just like with any other aspect of your health, eating nutritious healthy foods is a sure fire way to keep your colon, and your whole body, in good health.

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Heart Diseases: New Guidelines for Detection and Treatment of Arterial Disease

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

f_01310574137_men-track-meet.jpgThe American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association launched different guidelines related to peripheral arterial disease in order to help doctors and all healthcare professionals to treat in a better way this common condition. According to statistics, more than 12 million people suffer from Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) in the United States.

PAD is a really serious illness, since it can cause amputation of the extremities, rupture of an aortic aneurysm, severe hypertension, kidney failure, but also heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular death.

It is a disease in which arteries supply blood to the arteries outside the heart, to parts such as legs, feet, kidneys, and intestines. This arterial disease can cause damages to physical health of people, by diminishing for instance their ability to walk.

According to experts, the new guidelines supply a succinct diagnostic and treatment guidebook for patients suffering from PAD and for physicians, doctors’ assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses who are now offering care to treat them.

“A key source of the power of these recommendations is that they are so broad-based in their origin from every vascular specialty, as they attempt to reach a broad-based audience of clinicians. Everyone can use these Guidelines and a large segment of the public can benefit from them,- said Alan T. Hirsch, chairman of the writing committee.

Some highlights of the guidelines include recommended questions and observations that can uncover hidden signs of peripheral arterial disease; recommendations on when an aneurysm should be treated with surgery or catheter-based therapy, as well as when “watchful waiting- is the best way; among other things.

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Healthy Recipes With 4 Easy Steps

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

21310573964_vegetable-and-tofu-stir-fry.jpgFor many people, making healthy recipes seems too difficult and time consuming…

But with some advance planning and some basic knowledge of nutrition, it is easy to create a week’s worth of healthy meals that you and your family will love. The key to creating delicious and healthy meals for the family is planning …and lot’s of it!

Planning ahead of time an entire week of healthy recipe meals is the best way to create dishes you can be proud of, while keeping cost and time commitment to a minimum.  So below are amazing tips you can use to make healthy meals all the time.

Healthy Recipe Tip #1:

Using convenient appliances such as slow cookers and microwaves can be a huge time saver when planning and preparing meals.  There are many delicious and healthy recipes that can be started in the morning and left to cook all day in a crock pot or slow cooker.  These are great choices for working families.

In addition, making the meals ahead of time on the weekend and heating them in the microwave is a great way to stretch both your food and your time.  There are many microwavable healthy meals you can make at home, and single serving microwave safe containers allow every member of the family to eat on their own schedule.

When planning the meals for the week, it is a good idea to create a chart listing each day’s menu and each days’ schedule. Here’s a smart tip…plan the quickest and easiest to prepare meals for the busiest days of the week.

Healthy Recipe Tip #2:

Get your family involved in creating the week’s meal plan by asking for their input and noting everyone’s favorite foods. It is still very important to eat healthy meals, so that (of course) does not mean eating pizza every night or having ice cream for dinner.  But involving your spouse and children in healthy recipe planning, you’ll help to increase their interest in healthy eating right away.

It is also a good idea to get your entire family involved in the preparation of the meals.  Even children too young to cook can help out by setting out the dishes, chopping vegetables, clearing the table and washing the dishes.

Healthy Recipe Tip #3:

Cooking large quantities of healthy food recipes – and freezing the leftovers – is a easy way to save time.  Cooking large amounts of stews, soups, pasta, chili and casseroles can be a huge time saver.  Making double and even triple batches of these staple foods, and freezing the leftovers for later use, is a great way to save both time and money.

When freezing leftovers, however, it is important to label the containers carefully, using freezer tape and a permanent marker.  Try to keep the oldest foods near the top to avoid having to throw away expired items.

Stocking up on meats when they are on sale is another great way to use that valuable freezer space.  Stocking up on such easily frozen foods as chicken, turkey, ground beef, steaks, roasts and chops is a great way to make your food dollar stretch as far as possible while still allowing you and your family to enjoy delicious healthy meals every day.

Healthy Recipe Tip #4:

Keeping a well stocked pantry is as important as keeping a well stocked freezer.  Stocking the pantry with a good supply of staple items like canned vegetables, canned fruits, soup stocks and the like will make healthy recipe preparation much faster and easier.

Stocking the pantry can save you money as well as time.  Grocery stores are always running sales, and these sales are a great time to stock up.  Buying several cases of canned vegetables when they are on sale, for instance can save lots of money and provide the basic ingredients for many nutritious, easy to prepare meals.

Examples of great staples to stock up on include whole grain cereals, pastas, tomato sauce, baked beans, canned salmon, tuna and whole grain breads.  It is easy to combine these staples into many great meals on a moment’s notice.
healthy recipe

I hope you found these healthy recipe tips easy as pie!

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Living A Healthy Lifestyle…slowly And Easy To Accomplish

May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

21310737625_meditation.jpgThese days there is a lot of talk about living a healthy lifestyle. Let us see what a healthy lifestyle means. For the most part a person who lives a healthy lifestyle does not smoke, eats a healthy diet, exercises, and maintains a healthy weight.
All of these may sound easy and the big deal is that it is easy. It requires that one make lifestyle choices. The key is to make changes slowly so it does not shock your system and your body will be able to handle the changes. In this way, your body will be able to accept and create a new habit. Small changes like drinking another glass of water or adding a few more steps to your routine, and even starting to add fruits to your cereal are just a few of the possible changes you can make. The problem we tend to have here in America is that we are too sediment. Exercise is required as a part of healthy lifestyles. Many people seem to think that exercise has to be a certain amount of vigorous action.
However, the truth is that any movement is movement and it will help. Any activity will help even if it is as simple an activity as gardening. Any moderate activity will be a big help. Doing your regular chores, cleaning house, and maintaining the yard are a few examples. Just adding a little activity to your daily life will do some of the following for you. You can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. It will reduce stress and enhance self-esteem. Exercise can improve memory for older folks. Even the small amount of activity will improve your life in many ways. A small change and moderate weight loss will derive many health benefits in your life. Just 10% weight loss from obese patients will reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and increase longevity according to a health study.

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Health Insurance Reforms Easy To Insure Me Health Insurance Quotes

May 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

11310573431_nc-health-insurance.jpgPresident Obama’s Health Insurance Bill

President Obama Releases New Health Care Proposal in Time for Health Summit: On Monday February 22, 2010, White House officials unveiled a new health insurance reform overhaul that builds on the Senate version passed last Christmas Eve, with some changes aimed at pleasing House Democrats who had concerns with the Senate bill. The President’s proposal does not include the public option, despite the hopes of Senate Democrats, due to White House concerns that the provision will hinder passage in the Senate. President Obama ignored requests by Republicans to scratch the Democratic plan and start over. As such, Republican leaders questioned Democratic motives and labeled the bill as a massive government takeover of America’s health care system.

Republicans Insist House Democrats Don’t Have the Votes to Pass Legislation: Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) announced on Wednesday that Democrats don’t have the necessary votes to pass the President’s proposal in the House because of three new House vacancies and lagging support among some moderate Democrats. At issue for some Democrats are weaker abortion provisions in the President’s proposal as well as the ongoing controversy over passing a bill by a simple majority, a process known as reconciliation.

Health Care Summit Preview

On Thursday, the President’s Health Care Summit began at 10:00 a.m. with opening comments from the President, followed by remarks from both Republicans and Democrats. The discussion centered on four themes: controlling health care costs, overhauling the insurance market, reducing the deficit and expanding insurance coverage. Prior to Thursday, several top Republicans and some Democrats stated that expectations were extremely low for the Summit’s success.

House Republicans arrived armed with their own version of a health care bill that encourages small businesses to join together to buy insurance, gives federal money to states to run high-risk pools for those unable to obtain private insurance and limits damages in medical malpractice lawsuits. The Republican plan would cost $61 billion and cover three million people over ten years. In contrast, President Obama contends his plan would cost $950 billion and cover 30 million people over the same time period. However, officials at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) indicated they would not be able to officially score the President’s proposal with just a summary – that legislative language is needed.

Note: A full summary of the results from the Health Care Summit will be included in next week’s newsletter

Additional Activities

WellPoint Executives Defend Premium Increases: On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing to examine the proposed health insurance premium increases by Anthem Blue Cross in California. Anthem, a WellPoint subsidiary, recently informed subscribers in California that premiums for individual insurance policies would be raised an average of 25 percent, with some rates going up as much as 39 percent. Angela Braly, president of WellPoint , said the premium increases were justified by soaring medical costs, and that pending legislation could make the problem worse, driving up costs further for young, healthy people.

“Raising our premiums was not something we wanted to do,” Ms. Braly said . “But we believe this was the most prudent choice, given the rising cost of care and the problems caused by many younger and healthier policyholders dropping or reducing their coverage during tough economic times. By law, premiums must be reasonable in relationship to benefits provided, which means they need to reflect the known and anticipated costs they will cover.”

In Sacramento , Leslie Margolin, president of Anthem Blue Cross in California, also testified before lawmakers, joined by vice president and general manager James Oatman. The focus of that hearing was also the proposed premium increase for California members in the individual market, with company executives pointing to the current economic climate and rising health care costs as reasons for the rate hikes.

U.S. House of Representatives Repeals Antitrust Exemption from Health Insurance Companies: On Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted 406-19 in favor of repealing a 65-year-old antitrust exemption from health insurance companies. Democrats said the repeal would lead to increased scrutiny of the industry. Yet, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said last year that repealing the exemption would not significantly reduce premiums because states already investigate health insurance companies.

In addition, industry executives pointed out that legislation could further hinder competition and the ability to share information to improve health care quality. “Health insurance is one of the most regulated industries in America at both the federal and the state levels,” said Karen Ignani, president and chief executive of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). “The real focus should be on addressing the rising cost of medical care, which is putting an unsustainable burden on families, employers and the federal budget,” she said.

Public Opinion

Polling Suggest Health Care Reform is Still Key to Economic Recovery: Recent polling on health care reform shows mixed reaction among the public over the proposed legislation. According to a recent CNN poll, 48 percent of those questioned said lawmakers should work on an entirely new bill and 25 percent felt that Congress should stop work on health care reform altogether.

According to the monthly poll from the nonpartisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 75 percent of Americans still think it’s important that Obama include health care reform in addressing the nation’s economic crisis, while many still harbor doubts about the legislation.

When asked how health care legislation relates to their economic situation:

* Nearly 31 percent said they thought the Democratic bills would make their personal financial situation worse, compared with 10 percent who said it would improve their family budgets.
* Forty-two percent said the nation’s fiscal condition would suffer because of the legislation, compared with 26 percent who said it would get better.
* Americans were divided on whether the Democrats’ approach would improve overall access to health care around the country, with 35 percent saying it would and nearly that many disagreeing.

Health Insurance Coverage Varies Widely Based on Age: Coming just before the President’s Summit on Health Care Reform, a newly released Gallup Poll reinforces the wide degree of variability in health insurance coverage across U.S. population segments, especially when it comes to age. Eighty-four percent of 18-year-olds have health insurance, most likely because they are still covered under their parents’ policies. By age 22, health insurance coverage reaches its lowest point, with just 66 percent maintaining coverage. From age 22 on, the percentage of Americans with health insurance begins to climb, albeit slowly, reaching the 95 percent level at age 65 when Medicare becomes an option.

Looking Ahead

Legislators need to determine next steps for health care legislation coming out of the President’s Health Care Reform Summit. On Wednesday, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius invited executives from the top five insurance companies to meet at HHS to discuss their companies’ insurance premiums.

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Healthy Living – How to Have a Healthy Lifestyle

May 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

11310737874_yoga-for-health4.jpgToday is a year of wellness industry, many people are very curious regarding their health. For all we know health is wealth. Sickness is very rampant. It doesn’t matter how rich we are if we don’t have good health, richness is nothing.
Now a days we are facing a lot of problems such as employment, children and marriage, which lead us to stress. Stress will lead us to sickness and that is not good to our health. Stress is all around us. We should not let the stress overcome us but rather we should cope up with stress.
If we have problem, most of us do smoking and drinking even forget to eat our meal. This is not healthy. Problems are normal. We should not forget to maintain a healthy lifestyle even though we have problems. If we do, we are facing a big problem.
In order to have a healthy lifestyle, let’s quit smoking. Smoking and drinking too much alcohol is dangerous to our health. Let us change our diet whether we are fat or thin, we need to eat right food to our body. We should drink a lot of water 6 to 8 glasses a day, eat a lot of vegetables and fruits it make us healthy and protect us from diseases. What we eat determines how healthy we are. Let us monitor that our blood pressure and cholesterol level is acceptable. We should take good care of our teeth because it makes our body healthy. We should take a good rest and sleep well at a right time for it makes us look good. We should do walking as a sort of exercise if we don’t like to go to gym, it makes our body in good shape. Once we maintain our healthy life style we will look and feel great.
Taking up vitamins and other supplement s are also advisable. It helps our body to maintain the vitamins and nutrients we need. Don’t spend too much money for junk foods, meat and other foods that has high cholesterol content for that is not healthy to our body.
To maintain a healthy lifestyle, let us change our bad habits and eat more fruits and vegetables, and do exercise. Instead giving more time in playing PS3 and other computer games, why not try to play outdoor game such as basketball and badminton. It is a sort of exercise and aside from that we will meet new friends. We maintain a healthy lifestyle and healthy relationship to others.
 

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Individual Health Insurance Reform Future Proceedings Easy To Insure Me

May 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

01310573432_healthins-1.jpgMARCH 26, 2010

This Week in Health Care Reform     

Health care reform legislation passed the House this week on a party-line vote. Late Sunday night, House Democrats approved the Senate health care reform package, sending the legislation to President Obama for his signature. On Tuesday, President Obama signed the underlying bill into law, yet the House has yet to finalize the package of “fixes” that will alter the final implications of the legislation.

Health Care Reform Negotiations

House Democrats Pass Health Care Reform Package: The House of Representatives approved the Senate health care reform bill Sunday night by a vote of 219 to 212. The vote marks the climactic finale to a year-long debate over health care reform. In the final vote, 34 Democrats joined all House Republicans in voting against the measure. Shortly thereafter, the House also passed a package of “fixes,” by a vote of 220-211, that was sent directly to the Senate for its approval through reconciliation. On Tuesday, President Obama signed into law the Senate health care reform bill, called the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.”

Republicans Force Senate to Send the Reconciliation Bill Back to the House: Shortly after the President signed the Senate bill into law, Senators began deliberations on the reconciliation bill. Reconciliation protocol restricts Senators to 20 hours of debate on the measure, but it does not limit the number of amendments that can be filed. In an expression of opposition to the bill, Republicans filed 29 amendments to the reconciliation package.

After 10 hours of continuous debate, Republicans were successful in eliminating two provisions related to college financial aid in the non-health care portion of the bill. The Senate parliamentarian ruled early Thursday morning that those two provisions violated the chamber’s rules, sending the legislation back to the House for a new vote. As a result, on Thursday afternoon, the Senate voted on the reconciliation bill without those two provisions and sent the bill  back to the House for a vote on final passage. The House vote will likely come Thursday evening.

What Does This Health Care Reform Legislation Mean: While the health care reform bill extends insurance coverage to 32 million more Americans by 2019, the legislation has other far-reaching implications that will be phased in sooner, during a multi-year implementation period.

Several features of the new health care overhaul bill that would take effect in 2010 under the measure passed Sunday include:

* New product requirements beginning 6 months after enactment, including:
o Coverage for dependents up to age 26
o No lifetime maximum benefit limits
o And no cost sharing on preventive care for certain policyholders
* Temporary federal high risk pools;
* Tax credits for small employers; and
* Prohibition on pre-existing condition exclusions for children (beginning 6 months after enactment).

Most Americans will have until 2014 to purchase insurance or pay a penalty. Other elements of the bill that will not take effect until at least 2014 include insurance marketplaces called “exchanges”; rules requiring insurers to accept all applicants regardless of pre-existing conditions, and an expansion of state Medicaid programs.

A number of experts question whether health care reform will really drive down insurance premiums. America’s Health Insurance Plans ( AHIP), the trade group representing health insurers, outlines a series of concerns related to the legislation including a lack of provisions that address underlying health care costs, improve quality of care or ensure a stable risk pool. In addition, AHIP expressed concerns regarding new taxes on health coverage, which will likely increase premiums.

Additional Activities

Obama’s Executive Order on Abortion Funding: On Sunday afternoon, prior to the final House vote on health care reform, President Obama agreed to issue an Executive Order that would uphold the ban on federal funding for abortion . In so doing, he secured about a half-dozen votes from anti-abortion Democrats, led by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), who previously opposed the legislation. On Wednesday, President Obama signed the Executive Order banning the government from spending federal money to pay for abortions through plans offered on the insurance exchanges created under the measure.

States Filing Lawsuit to Fight Provision of Health Care Reform Bill: In response to the new health care reform legislation, states across the country have filed lawsuits asking the courts to declare the law unconstitutional and to bar its enforcement. On Monday,Attorneys General in 13 states, led by Florida, filed a joint lawsuit claiming that the new health care reforms violate state government rights in the U.S. Constitution and will force massive new spending on hard-pressed state governments. Joining Florida in the suit are Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington.

At the same time, the Attorney General in Virginia filed a separate suit contending that Congress has exceeded its power in mandating that people buy health insurance. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli argues that the new law’s requirement clashes with Virginia law that exempts citizens from federal fines imposed for not having health insurance.

Senate Voting to Extend COBRA Until May 5:  Senate Democrats plan another short-term extension of unemployment aid this week, setting up a face-off with Republicans, who are vowing to fight the extension if the $10 billion cost isn’t offset with spending cuts. The bill, currently set to expire on April 5, would extend a series of emergency programs – including funding for unemployment insurance benefits and COBRA health coverage for the jobless  – and would hold off a deep cut in reimbursement rates for doctors who serve Medicare patients. The long-term extension has already passed in both the House and Senate, but the two measures are not expected to be reconciled and sent to the President’s desk until after the Easter recess.

President Obama Heads to Iowa to Speak on Health Care: President Obama headed to Iowa on Thursday to increase support for his health care legislation. This was President Obama’sfirst trip out ofWashington since signing health care reform legislation earlier this week. He spoke at the University of Iowa, in the city where he first announced his health care proposal during the Presidential campaign.

Public Opinion

Most Americans Want Republicans to Fight Health Care Reform Bill: In a recent CBS News poll, 62 percent of Americans said they want congressional Republicans to continue challenging the bill, while 33 percent said they should not. Disapproval of the bill has remained steady, with 46 percent saying they disapprove, including 32 percent who “strongly” disapprove. A majority of Americans continue to say that they find the bill to be confusing and do not understand what it means for them or their family.

American’s Split on Health Care Reform Passage: In a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, 42 percent of Americans said they were angry or disappointed with the recent passage of health care reform legislation. When asked to reveal party affiliation, 79 percent identified themselves as Republicans.

Polling Shows Support for State Lawsuits Against Government: National polling reveals significant opposition to the individual mandate. In a newly released Rasmussen report , 53 percent of those polled oppose the new mandate requiring every American to buy or obtain health insurance. Further, 49 percent of voters are in favor of their state suing the federal government to fight the mandate. Fifty-one percent say individual states should have the right to opt out of the health care plan entirely.

Looking Ahead

After this week’s final health care reform vote, President Obama plans to travel the country in the next few months to discuss the new law. Republicans have begun their own discussions of the law, with an eye towards the November elections.

Author Resource. Easy To Insure ME http://www.easytoinsureme.com

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