health insurance plans

With health costs in a never-ending upward spiral – in spite of the still mysterious provisions of the “Obamacare” legislation that was recently signed into law – add that to the concerns about the safety of prescription medications, and it’s easy to understand why many Americans are turning to holistic medicine to help them achieve and maintain good health.

With that being said, most Americans still wonder “Just what is holistic health?”

According to the American Holistic Health Association, holistic health is actually your approach to life. Rather than focusing on specific illnesses or parts of the body, this approach considers the whole person and how they interact with their environment.

Recognizing that the individual as a whole is made up of interdependent parts, which are the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual – holistic health emphasizes the connection of the mind, body and spirit.

It believes when all three of these elements are functioning at their peak, the host will reap healthy benefits from the proper maintenance of the holistic equilibrium.

The earth is made up of systems such as air, land, water, plants and animals. If life is to be sustained they cannot be separated, for what is happening to one is also felt by all of the other systems.

Likewise, Holistic health is also based on the conceptual law of nature – that a whole is made up of independent parts.

Holistic health is also an ongoing process. As a lifestyle, it includes a personal commitment to keep moving toward the right end of the wellness continuum with the belief that no matter what their current state of health – people can continue to improve their levels of well-being.

Another hallmark of the holistic healthy living philosophy is the belief that people must accept responsibility for their own level of well-being that stems from the everyday choices they make that can affect their health for the better – or for the worse.

To reinforce that point, holistic advocates point to a recently released US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that concluded everyday lifestyle choices were among the most important key factors influencing an individual’s state of health.

The key factors influencing a person’s health scored as follows:

Everyday Lifestyle Choices 53%
Environment 19%
Heredity 18%
Medical Care Quality 10%

As evidenced in these findings, the personal decisions people make about lifestyle is by far the largest factor in determining their potential level of wellness.

Again, holistic health is based on the premise that illnesses and premature death can be traced back to lifestyle choices.

There are the well-known dangers connected with drugs, alcohol, nicotine and unprotected sexual activity, as well as excess sugar intake, caffeine consumption patterns, even something as seemingly insignificant as having a negative attitude!

When you combine these hazards with insufficient exercise, overeating and low self-esteem, they gradually accumulate harmful effects.

With time they can diminish the quality of “the environment within” a human being and can also set the stage for illness to take hold.

Quality of life is actually determined by a vast number of seemingly small choices that are made on a daily basis, yet over time these can accumulate and make a decisive difference in one’s health.

As a general overview, holistic health focuses on reaching higher levels of wellness.

After all, people are motivated by how good it feels to have lots of energy and enthusiasm for life!

In the current health scene, more and more physicians are using the holistic approach to health and healing with their patients. Holistic physicians embrace a variety of safe, effective options in the diagnosis and treatment of their patients, including:

• Education for lifestyle changes and self-care
• Complementary alternatives
• Conventional drugs and surgery

People who practice holistic health in their own lives may have fewer chronic illnesses or major health problems.

However, if conventional medical care is required for an accident or illness, a medical doctor who follows the principles of holistic medicine may provide important reassurance to the dedicated holistic-oriented individual.

Most people find holistic health principles easy to practice once the proper habits are formed.

Is holistic health for you?

Only you can answer that question. No matter what the answer is for now, it’s still probably a good idea to keep up your research on the topic – while realizing that the uncertain future of the US health care system now demands we all make a greater effort than ever to maintain our health on our own terms.

The search for affordable health insurance in Washington should involve a rather thorough search. You are kidding yourself if you believe that quality medical insurance at an affordable price is simply going to fall in your lap. Luckily, though, the search is not as difficult as you might imagine. There are many options available to suit most any set of circumstances.

Affordable Health Insurance in Washington: Options

As you shop for affordable Washington medical insurance, you will find you are inundated with options. There are numerous medical insurance companies across the state in which you can consider. Comparing these companies and their rates will help you to find the most affordable option for you. If you are having issues with income restrictions and/or medical conditions, you should look into options offered by the state. These options were developed to offer affordable health care coverage to as many residents of Washington State as possible.

Affordable Health Insurance in Washington: Washington Health Plan

Begun in 1993, the Washington Health Plan has as its goal to offer affordable health care coverage to Washington residents by providing an alternative to private health insurance. The plan offers a choice between either $75,000 or $100,000 worth of yearly health care coverage. You choose the coverage and pay the discounted premiums associated with that coverage. Choice is the name of the game with this program, so you can choose your own physician, and you can get coverage for maternity, chronic illness, preventative care, prescription drugs, hospital and ER care, as well as imaging and lab work. All residents of Washington State are eligible as long as you are not enrolled in another state-sponsored health care program or currently institutionalized.

Affordable Health Insurance in Washington: Washington Basic Health

Washington Basic Health offers an affordable, low-cost option for health care coverage to the residents of Washington State. Qualifications include:

Within 0 to 200 percent of federal poverty income guidelines
Ineligible for Medicare
Not getting benefits from Washington Medicaid
Not in an institution at the time of enrollment
Not enrolled in an educational institution
Not be on a student visa
Not enrolled in the Washington Health Plan
At times, the Washington Basic Health Plan has a waiting list. If that is the case, you will be placed on the list in the order in which you attempted enrollment. However, it is possible to by-pass the list if you meet any of the below criteria.

Certain maternity applicants
Foster parents
Health Coverage Tax Credit recipients
If you have been a member before and recently lost Medicaid coverage
Personal care worker
Recently serving Washington National Guard Reserves
Tribal sponsored accounts
Affordable Health Insurance in Washington: Finding the Right Option

No matter where you stand as far as health or income, your first step is to weigh all options available. To do this, you must first gather online rate quotes to compare rates and health insurance plans. While doing this, you may find that you do not qualify for private health care coverage or that insurance may be too expensive for your budget. If this is the case, then you can move on to the state-sponsored options mentioned above or seek out coverage through the federal high risk pool. Either way, the road to affordable health insurance in Washington begins with rate quotes to assess the situation.

Adjust Your Deductible

The two main component of a health insurance plan are the premium and costs you pay for health care via your co-pay, co-insurance and deductible. The more you agree to pay for your health care, the less your monthly premium will be. Insurance companies know that when people have a financial stake in their own health care bills they tend to be more judicious in their use of medical services. Agreeing to pay a higher deductible, or rate of co-insurance, will result in lower monthly premiums. Sometimes these reductions can be quite significant and if saved will cover most if not all of the cost of the higher deductible.

This approach is less effective for people who use a lot of health care services every year, racking up large bills. However, for people who are generally health and don’t use a lot of health care, they can realize dramatic savings using a high deductible health plan. Plans with high premiums are guaranteed to cost you a lot of money even if you don’t go to the doctor. Plans with high deductibles will only cost you a lot if you actually use medical services.

Use Tax Advantages

There are a few ways to reduce your health insurance costs using the income tax system. The first and most common way is to use a health savings account otherwise known as an HSA. An HSA is a special banking account you are allowed to put pretax money in to spend on health care costs. The money you put into your health savings account does not get taxed as regular income. Depending on the tax bracket you are in, this can be a significant discount on health care costs. Many health care plans do not cover things like maternity, dental services and eye care. However, these services can be paid for out of an HSA.

To be eligible for an HSA, you must have a high deductible health insurance plan that meets the IRS requirements for health savings accounts. Generally you have to carry a high deductible and the plan has to have limits on total out of pocket cots.

If you are facing large health care bills, you may be able to deduct them from your income tax. You are allowed to deduct any medical expenses above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. There are a wide variety of services that can be included in this amount, even a mileage deduction for transportation to and from the hospital. Make sure to consult a tax advisor if you choose to go this route.

Use your free Preventive Care

All health insurance plans are now required to provide free preventive care, so make sure you use it. Routine checkups and some testing is free for adults. Well baby visits and immunizations are free for children. These are significant benefits so make sure you are taking full advantage of them.

Shop Around

One of the reasons health care has become so expensive is there is little price competition. Don’t be afraid to ask what a doctor charges, especially for planned or expected health care. Some hospitals can be very competitive on price for services like labor and delivery, while others can be quite expensive. Don’t assume health care costs the same everywhere, it certainly does not.

Emergency rooms are especially to be avoided if you are looking to reduce your health care costs. They should only be used for true emergencies. For non life threatening medical issues like ear infections or even a cut requiring stitches, consider using an urgent care or local clinic. The costs of services at these locations can be a tenth of what an emergency room will charge.

Stay Healthy

This may sound like tired advice, but staying out of the hospital is the best way to reduce your costs. Try putting everyday activities in terms of what they may cost you in the long run. Sitting on the couch with a big bowl of ice cream is much more expensive than a nice walk outside. If living a long life isn’t enough motivation to be healthy now, consider that your unhealthy lifestyle will cost you a lot of money in health care costs.

In 2021, due to lockdowns and mandates, more people than ever before began to look for ways to earn money working from home. In particular, many looked at blogging as an online business. The problem though, was that many of them didn’t really know how to make money from a blog. So just how can it be done?

Keep reading and I’ll go through 3 steps that you need to take to become an online blogger.

First, you need to find the right niche to work in. You need to find a “hungry market,” people who are looking for information to read and looking for products to buy.

It also needs to be a niche that you’re interested in because you’ll be writing a lot of blog posts about it.

Once you know what you’ll be blogging about, you then need to create a blog. This is simple to do using all the blogging software available. You can even set up a blog for free through platforms such as Google’s own Blogger service. Blogger has been around for years and is used by many successful bloggers, including me.

Once you’ve set up your blog, fill it with useful content, products to sell, and onsite advertising for extra income. Some bloggers earn thousands this way, selling products online as affiliates, and earning money through PPC advertising.

Once you get enough pages set up, it’s time to market your blog to get as many visitors as possible. And if you have an email subscription box on your blog, you can stay in touch with all those who sign up.

Marketing can be paid for, or can be done for free through social media and article directories. When you’re first starting out, it’s better to use free marketing, although you can go ahead and pay for it if you want to and if you already have the funds. Personally, I’ve never paid for online advertising for any of my website and blogs. Perhaps I’m leaving money on the proverbial table by marketing this way, but my online success over the years has been good without it.

And that’s the 3 steps you need to take. Choose your niche, set up a blog, join an affiliate network to find products to promote, and market your blog in as many places as you can to get thousands visitors. Just make sure you’re marketing in the right places to get the right kind of visitors.

So what are you waiting for?

Get your own money-making blog set up and running today.

Although, we hear, a lot of opinions, about, interest rates, and their trends, and impacts, very few people seem to understand, the significance, and importance/ relevance, of these rates, in several areas of our lives! After, many decades of involvement, in political campaigns, leadership, leadership training/ planning, real estate, financial sales and consulting, etc, I strongly believed, one benefits, by understanding, more about these, and how they affect, many things, in our lives! Whether, related to personal, organizational, and/ or, public finance/ spending, home ownership and related costs, credit – related issues, business matters, stock and bond pricing, etc, interest rates, truly, significantly, matter! With, that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, 5 of these areas, and how the cost – of – money, makes a significant difference.

1. Bond prices and interest rates: The price of a bond, generally, is inversely – related to interest rates! When these rates go down, prices, rise, and when they go up, the inverse occurs! Bonds have, what is known, as, a par – value, which is the price, paid, at the end of the term. Markets usually set these at 100, which represents $1,000 per bond, at maturity. However, during the period, the pricing can rise or fall, which impacts, liquidity – related issues!

2. Mortgage rates: For the last few years, we have been witnessing and experiencing, record – low, mortgage interest rates, which have helped the overall, real estate/ housing market, especially, in terms of, pricing increases! In most areas of this country, we are seeing, home prices, at their highest levels, ever, by a significant, dramatic amount! When this rate, is low, a home buyer is able to buy, more – house – for – his – bucks, because, his monthly payments, are so low! Consider, however, what might be the potential ramifications, and impacts, when these rates, will, inevitably, rise?

3. Consumer credit: Low costs of borrowing, help the automobile industry, in terms of consumer financing, etc! Although, not as much as other vehicles, rates on credit card debt, are lower, and there are often, shorter – term, promotions, offering deals! However, since, most of these are variable, and based, on some index, etc, what happens, when there is an increase, in this?

4. Business borrowing: Another area affected, is business cost of borrowing! Presently, they have had access, to relatively, cheap – money, which helps in reducing the costs of borrowing, overall operations, purchasing inventory, etc. But, what happens, when this, ticks – up?

5. Impacts on stock market prices: For some time, because bonds have paid so little, in terms of dividends, etc, many have considered, the stock market, the only game, in – town! In addition, many corporations, have seemed, better – off, than they probably are, and we have witnessed, a higher, ratio of prices to profits, than in the past! How long will this last? How high can it go?

Many factors impact these issues, especially: actual and/ or, perceived inflation; consumer confidence; politics/ government actions/ the Federal Reserve, etc. The more you know, and understand, hopefully, the better – prepared, you will be!