Health Care Reform School

There were all kinds of claims made when Health Care Reform (The Affordable Care Act) was signed into law in March of 2010. The world did not end, in fact, very little changed until now. Some of the reforms included into the bill went into effect on September 23, 2010:

• Preventive Health Services: Requires that new policies must cover evidence-based preventive services, including screenings and vaccinations, with no copays or deductibles.
• Maintenance of Coverage When People Get Sick: Prevents insurance companies from withdrawing coverage when a person gets sick as a way of avoiding covering the costs of enrollees’ health care needs.
• No Lifetime Limits on Insurance Coverage: Prohibits insurers from imposing lifetime limits on benefits.
• Regulation of Annual Limits on Insurance Coverage: Tightly regulates plans’ use of annual limits to ensure access to needed care in all group plans and all new individual plans.
• Coverage for Young Adults: Requires health plans that provide coverage for children to continue to make that coverage available until the child turns 26 years of age. The requirement applies to all plans in the individual market, new employer plans, and existing employer plans – unless the adult child has an offer of coverage through his or her employer.
• Appeals Process for a Denial of Coverage: Requires new plans to implement an effective internal and external appeals process for coverage determinations and claims.

These changes will have real impacts on peoples' lives. Like my son who is still in college, but would have lost insurance under my family health plan when he turns 22 this fall, or the organ transplant patient who exceeded the lifetime coverage limit of their insurance plan, or the lives that can be saved when important health screenings like mamograms, are covered without any co-pays.

If health care reform is like high school, we are only in our freshman year; things are exciting, but a little scary, we are making real progress, but we know there is still a lot of work to do before we graduate in 2014. My advice? Stay in school and participate in activities like health screenings, and wellness programs. Maybe you will get voted "Most likely to live a long and healthy life"!

Health Care Reform Info

Rain + Warm = Mosquitoes

The recent rains and the warm weather has led to an early mosquito season in some parts of the county. We have started spraying for mosquitoes and we are continuing to treat standing water to prevent mosquito eggs from reaching adulthood.

Now is the time to take precautions to protect yourself and your family from mosquito-borne illnesses such as West Nile virus (WNV).

The best way to fight mosquitoes is to eliminate breeding sites before the population gets out of control.

Empty bird baths, kid's pools, buckets, and other containers of standing water at least once per week.

Keep gutters and downspouts cleaned out.

Properly dispose of old tires and other trash that holds water.

Drain low lying areas if possible and keep ditches and tiles cleaned out.

To avoid possible infection from mosquito bites:

Avoid outdoor activities between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.

If you must be outdoors, be sure to wear long pants, long sleeve shirts, shoes and socks. Light colors are least attractive to mosquitoes.

Use insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin or lemon eucalyptus oil and follow the label directions; generally a concentration of 30 percent DEET for adults and 10 percent or less for children.

Other mosquito-transmitted diseases in Ohio include Eastern Equine encephalitis, La Crosse encephalitis and St. Louis encephalitis. People who have symptoms – including high fever, headache, muscle aches, vomiting and loss of appetite- two to 15 days after a mosquito bite should see their doctor and tell him or her about the mosquito bite.

For more information, contact the Licking County Health Department at (740) 349-6535 or visit www.lickingcohealth.org.