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Health Care Reform Update-HHS Proposed Rules
Posted on: January 30, 2013Categories: HR & ComplianceOn January 24, 2013, the Department of Labor announced that employers will not be held to the March 1, 2013 deadline to provide all new hires and current employees with a written notice about ACA's health insurance exchanges that were required by employers effective March 1, 2013. The DOL expects that the timing for the distribution of notices will be the late summer or fall of 2013, which will coordinate with the open enrollment period for Exchanges. For more details on this announcement w ...
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Healthy Super Bowl Recipes
Posted on: January 29, 2013Categories: LiveWell 24/7According to the Calorie Control Council, Americans will consume 11.2 million pounds of potato chips while watching the Super Bowl. Resist temptation and snack wisely with these healthy versions of your favorite football foods! Guilt-Free Buffalo Wings: A skinny version of the football staple! Grill these tenders then toss with your favorite sauce. 1 pound chicken tenders salt ground black pepper 1/3 cup prepared Buffalo wing sauce 4 ribs celery, cut into sticks 4 carrot ...
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Health Care Reform Update
Posted on: January 25, 2013Categories: HR & ComplianceLatest HCR News (January 25, 2013): On January 14, 2013, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a proposed rule the would implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) relating to the exchanges. Exchanges are central to the law and will change the delivery and financial structure to those individuals and employees who will qualify for subsidies in an Exchange. For those of you who would like to see the impact of subsidies and how they would apply to diff ...
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The HPV Vaccine
Posted on: January 24, 2013Categories: LiveWell 24/7HPV vaccine is a life-saving vaccine that protects against cancer and other diseases caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Get your kids vaccinated at 11 or 12, or as soon as possible if they're already 13 or older Preteens and teens need the HPV vaccine now to prevent HPV-associated cancers later HPV is short for human papillomavirus. About 20 million people in the United States, most in their teens and early 20s, are infected with HPV. Each year in the United States, about 21,000 women are aff ...
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Seasonal Eating
Posted on: January 22, 2013Categories: LiveWell 24/7Eating seasonally means purchasing and consuming foods when they are at their peak, either in terms of harvest or flavor. Not only will your taste buds thank you, but your wallet will as well. During their season, these fruits and vegetables will be their freshest and usually cheapest in the market. For the greatest freshness, look for foods that are locally grown. To enjoy the full nourishment of food, you should make your menu a seasonal one. Here are some guidelines for each season: ...
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Why You Shouldn’t Skip Meals
Posted on: January 21, 2013Categories: LiveWell 24/7Sometimes your busy schedule leaves you with little to no time to eat, so you end up skipping meals. Then there are the people who are trying to lose weight and think skipping meals is the answer. The truth is, skipping meals does more harm than good. Below are the reason you shouldn't skip breakfast, lunch or dinner. You end up overeating Starving yourself all day or not making time to eat three meals a day or snacks in between will leave you hungry and more likely to overindulge in the evenin ...
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The 3 Most Important Fat Loss Questions
Posted on: January 16, 2013Categories: LiveWell 24/7As we enter a New Year, fat loss becomes a number one priority for many people. That’s the good news. The only problem? There’s a lot of confusion on exactly how one should go about ditching that excess flab. Here are three common – and very important – fat loss questions, along with answers that should set the record straight. Do I have to exercise to lose weight? When it comes to fat loss, regardless of the type of diet you choose, calories matter –and you need to be in a calorie def ...
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January 2013 Health Care Reform
Posted on: January 16, 2013Categories: HR & ComplianceThis month’s Health Care Reform post is about “Pay or Play”. We are focusing on Coverage for Substantially All Full-Time Employees and Dependents and Common Ownership Aggregation. The 95% “substantial compliance” rule benefits employers. Prior guidance in this area included no margin for error, so if an employer missed an employee who was full-time and not offered group health coverage, went to the exchange and received a premium subsidy, the employer would have had to pay a penalty on ...
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High Flu Activity Continues Nationwide
Posted on: January 14, 2013Categories: LiveWell 24/7One reason for the high flu activity this season may be the specific flu strains that are circulating. The most prevalent strain making the rounds this season is influenza, A (H3N2). Typically, flu seasons in which this strain dominates are more severe, and result in a higher number of hospitalizations and deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The flu season also started early this year — the first week of December instead of the usual January or Feb ...
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National Folic Acid Awareness Week
Posted on: January 10, 2013Categories: LiveWell 24/7January 6 through 12th is National Folic Acid Awareness Week. An adequate amount of folic acid is very important in the prevention of birth defects. The Facts Folic acid is a vitamin that can help prevent birth defects. Women of childbearing age need an extra 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid each day. Women can get the recommended 400 mcg of folic acid by taking a daily multivitamin or by eating fortified foods. A single serving of many breakfast cereals has the amount of folic acid that ...
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Keep Your Resolutions with a Healthy Grocery List
Posted on: January 9, 2013Categories: LiveWell 24/7With the new year, many of us make health and fitness related resolutions. If your resolution includes losing weight, a good place to start is in the grocery store. By keeping unhealthy foods in your home, you are tempting yourself to eat them. Toss out the foods that won't help you achieve your goals and replace them with foods that will. Having these nutritious foods on hand will give you great options when planning meals or reaching for a quick snack. For the Pantry: Cereal (l ...
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January is National Blood Donor Month
Posted on: January 8, 2013Categories: LiveWell 24/7Since 1970 January has been declared National Volunteer Blood Donor Month, and with good reason. Above all other times of the year, it’s the month that presents the most challenges in recruiting people to give blood. This January is no exception with the local Red Cross in an urgent need for more donors. Changing weather, busy holiday schedules, increased cold and flu symptoms and even the winter blues can keep the most dedicated blood donors from making or keeping an appointment to give. ...
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Latest on Heath Care Reform News
Posted on: January 4, 2013Categories: HR & ComplianceOn December 28th, 2012, the IRS released guidance relating to minimum essential coverage, measuring employees and potential liabilities. This guidance is consistent with prior advice but it does tie together various prior notices. This information highlights the importance of counting employees and measuring hours to determine if they are full or part-time under the provisions defined in PPACA. Employers should start counting now and avoid any confusion over their obligations as we near implemen ...
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Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail
Posted on: January 2, 2013Categories: LiveWell 24/7Wanting to change yourself and better yourself is a beautiful and inspiring thing is a great endeavor. What’s not so great is that according to the researcher Richard Wiseman 88% of all those set resolutions from half of America and probably lots of other people in the world fail. That’s 156 million failed resolutions and disappointed minds each and every year. Your brain can’t handle new year’s resolutions – here is why What we need to stick to our new year’s resolutions is wi ...
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Holiday Stress Management
Posted on: December 18, 2012Categories: LiveWell 24/7Don't let the holidays become something you dread. Instead, take steps to prevent the stress and depression that can descend during the holidays. Learn to recognize your holiday triggers, such as financial pressures or personal demands, so you can combat them before they lead to a meltdown. With a little planning and some positive thinking, you can find peace and joy during the holidays. Tips to prevent holiday stress and depression When stress is at its peak, it is sometimes difficult to stop a ...
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8 sore-throat soothers
Posted on: December 17, 2012Categories: LiveWell 24/7The flu season reaches its height in late fall and early winter, unfortunately coinciding with many holiday celebrations. Not only do cold and flu bugs become more active and circulate more easily in cold weather, viruses are mainly transmitted through coughing, sneezing, or touching germs to our mouth and nose – leaving holiday party guests especially vulnerable. We've listed 8 helpful tips at reducing throat discomfort: 1. Humidifier Try it when: Your throat feels dry. How it works: ...
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Tips to Treat Colds and Flu the ‘Natural’ Way
Posted on: December 13, 2012Categories: LiveWell 24/7With no known cure in sight for the cold or the flu,over-the-counter treatments can at best bring symptom relief or shorten the duration of those symptoms. Or you can take the natural approach. The following are some home remedies that may help you feel better along the way. No. 1: Blow Your Nose Frequently It's important to blow your nose regularly when you have a cold rather than sniffling mucus back into your sinuses. But when you blow hard, pressure can cause an earache. The best way to bl ...
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Losing Belly Fat Improves Sleep
Posted on: December 12, 2012Categories: LiveWell 24/7Do you have trouble sleeping? If you’re carrying extra pounds, especially around your belly, losing weight and some of that muffin top may help you get better ZZZs. So say researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who presented their findings at this year’s annual meeting of the American Heart Association. The Hopkins researchers recruited 77 overweight volunteers with either prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. Many reported sleep problems such as sleep apnea, daytime fatigu ...
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Balancing Calories
Posted on: December 11, 2012Categories: LiveWell 24/7There is a lot of talk about low carbohydrate diets, low fat diets, high protein diets, and every combination of the three. What these three macro-nutrients have in common is that they all contain calories. Calories are where your focus should be when managing your weight. To maintain a healthy weight for life, you need to have a caloric balance. A caloric balance means balancing the number of calories consumed with the number of calories used. Think of the caloric balanc ...
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Holiday and Christmas Tree Fire Safety
Posted on: December 10, 2012Categories: LiveWell 24/7Decorating homes and businesses is a long-standing tradition around the holiday season. Unfortunately, these same decorations may increase your chances of fire. Based on data from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), an estimated 240 home fires involving Christmas trees and another 150 home fires involving holiday lights and other decorative lighting occur each year. Together, these fires result in 21 deaths and $25.2 million in direct property ...
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