Category Archives: Insurance / Medical Services

By Suzanne Smith

With so much uncertainty about the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers may be in a holding pattern with respect to their health insurance plan design. And, this is understandable.

While waiting to see what healthcare changes are coming under President Trump’s administration, employers will generally want to maintain the status quo.

But, with the increasing costs of health insurance premiums, co-pays, and deductibles as well as the increase in the cost of prescription drugs, employers may be wondering what they can do to help employees with their healthcare circumstances.

One strategy that many employers are considering is a workplace wellness program. The theory is that if a wellness program helps employees improve their health, then the wellness program may help employees control their health care spending.

A workplace wellness program is a plan designed to promote health or prevent disease. Generally, the wellness program will be incorporated into your employer group medical plan and offered to the medical plan participants or integrated into your employee assistance program (EAP) and offered to all employees.

Many wellness programs offer some kind of reward to encourage employees to participate or achieve a particular health goal. However, a reward system is not a required component of a wellness program, and many programs do not offer any reward whatsoever.

By Brian M. Johnson, CLTC, MBA

Do you own a life insurance policy? Do you own the old life insurance or the new life insurance? Don’t know the difference?  Let me help.

Traditionally, life insurance, whether it’s term or whole life, benefits only the beneficiaries of the policy, meaning you probably met your maker. No one wants to think about it, but we buy life insurance to protect our families, our businesses or to leave a legacy. However, other risks are far more likely to happen than an untimely death.

What if we live too long? What happens if we develop a sickness or become disabled? What if my needs simply change?

Consumers and advisors need to know about the new life insurance policies that allow you to use the death benefit while you’re alive.  If the insured person is diagnosed with cancer, suffers a heart attack, stroke, etc., the critical illness rider on a new life insurance policy allows the insured to accelerate a portion of the death benefit to use for medical expenses or to offset lost income.

If the insured requires long-term care, whether at home or in a facility, the chronic illness rider allows the insured to use 100 percent of the death benefit to pay for the services he/she needs.

If the insured’s needs change over or time or he/she determines that the coverage is no longer needed, the return of premium rider allows the insured to take a portion or 100 percent of the premiums paid as a refund.

If you currently own a whole, universal or variable life insurance policy, the accumulated cash values in that policy may be exchanged (using section 1035 of the tax-code) tax-free to fund a new policy with these valuable, new riders that provide living benefits. These riders are available on both term and whole life insurance policies, meaning this additional layer of protection won’t necessarily increase your premium. 

By Jill Nagy

“Sitting is the new smoking,” said Alison Synakowski, manager of the Malta and Saratoga Springs offices of Sports Physical Therapy in Motion.

She and several colleagues find that many of the work-related problems that send people to a physical therapist are the result of too much sitting and improper sitting.

Synakowski advocated “active sitting,” putting things you frequently use in places where you have to reach for them. She also urged people to get up and walk around at least once an hour, a prescription that is also favored by other area physical therapists.

“Our bodies are not built for sitting. They are built for standing and moving around,” said James Markwica, owner of La Marco Physical Therapy PC in Saratoga Springs.

He estimated that between one-fifth and one-quarter of his practice involves lower back, neck and other pains resulting from poor and/or excessive sitting. He helps clients work on their posture and strengthen their core muscles.

Wesley Health Care Center, a component of the Wesley Community, is the recipient of a $14,000 grant from the Arnold Cogswell Health Care Fund of the Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region.

The grant, which is designed to serve Wesley Health Care Center’s long-term care residents, supports the purchase of multiple EKG machines and stands, two mechanical insufflation-exsufflation machines and an AED device.

Wesley officials said the new equipment will assist the clinical care teams at Wesley Health Care Center in providing the highest quality of care to their residents.

“This new equipment is a wonderful addition to Wesley Health Care Center, and will further enable us to provide compassionate, quality care to our long-term residents,” said Brian Nealon, Wesley CEO. “We thank the Arnold Cogswell Health Care Fund of The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region for its contribution. It is an honor to be recognized by an organization which shares our commitment to enriching the lives of seniors.”

Audrey Mangini, owner of Bloom, A Movement Studio, offers a number of different classes at her 153 Regent St. studio to meet the needs of a diverse population.©2016 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Maureen Werther

Audrey Mangini, owner of Bloom, A Movement Studio, is someone who doesn’t like to be told “no.”

Mangini has been dancing since the age of two and she played soccer throughout her school career. When she suffered a knee injury requiring surgery at age 18, she was told that she would never be able to run again.

Within two months of the surgery, Mangini proved her doctors wrong. During that time, she also began taking Zumba classes to aid in her therapy and recuperation. She loved the classes and became an avid student.

When her father said, “You’re so good at this, why not just teach it yourself,” Mangini followed his advice and, within a few months, she became a certified Zumba instructor. But, she took her love of movement, dance, and fitness even further.

Bloom originally opened in 2005, under different ownership, at the Regent Street Arts Studio, 153 Regent St. in Saratoga Springs. The building has a long history as home to dance studios, and Mangini fondly remembered taking classes there as a young child.

By Jennifer Farnsworth

Diana Miller of Stillwater has always envisioned herself on the front lines, advocating for quality health care.

Since the passing of the state Modernization Act, permitting nurse practitioners to work independently, she has been able to turn her vision into a practice. She recently opened a practice that allows her to provide the care she feels so passionately about.

Capital Region NP Consulting in Family Health focuses on providing patient assessments for Medicare Advantage patients and in the comfort of their own home.

Medicare Advantage plans, sometimes called Part C or MA plans, are offered by private companies approved by Medicare. People that join a Medicare Advantage plan still have Medicare. They get their Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) and Medicare Part B (medical insurance) coverage from the Medicare Advantage Plan and not original Medicare.

Miller said the focus area is to provide patient assessments for Medicare Advantage, in order to allow those 55-plus to age healthy in the home, with the objective to measure the appropriate care levels when there are requirements necessitating transition care management.

The state Modernization Act, having taken effect Jan. 1, 2015, is now resonating throughout New York State, with the greatest impact felt in rural areas like northern Saratoga and Warren counties. The legislation eliminated the requirement for experienced NPs to have a written practice agreement with physicians.