Economy Causes Lapse in Insurance....

Losing your job can be a very scary experience especially if you or a close member of your family has a chronic illness.

What should you do immediately after finding you will have a lapse in insurance coverage?

Termination Date: once you receive the notice that your health insurance has been cancelled it is important to look for the exact date of termination. Call the carrier and explain your situation. Typically if a bleeding episode or other accident happens you should be covered as long as the event happened within the period of coverage.

COBRA: The second item that you need to address is weather or not your former employer offers a COBRA program. COBRA gives a former employee the right to coverage for up to 18 months after the date of termination.

Who Can Help?

Hemophilia Treatment Center: There are many ways in which your local HTC can help. The staff is trained and very knowledgeable with working with the insurance companies. Also, be sure to ask about any financial assistance programs that they may have.

Speak to your specialty pharmacy or Manufacturer: When there is a lapse in coverage there may be some provisions that your manufacturer or specialty pharmacy can make to help you until you receive coverage from your new insurance company.

Educate Yourself: Research your options. Find what programs and laws are specifically related to patients with a chronic illness. Follow any legislation that is directly related to your condition.

Get the Support You Need: Most local chapters will have specialists on hand who will be able to offer guidance and support.

**Newlife works with many clients who are facing or have faced insurance issues in the past. Please contact us at 877-707-LIFE or visit our website to speak with one of our insurance specialists.

Specialized Nutrition Program

What is the ChronoMed Program?

The ChronoMed Program is designed to replenish the nutrients in your body that are many times drained from treatment for chronic illness. This is not a one size fits all solution. Each program is individually designed based upon your body’s needs. ChronoMed is part of the treatment plan that we offer to every one of our clients.

Custom Nutrition Program

· Vitamin programs custom tailored to your chronic illness needs

· 25% less expensive than comparable products sold at retail

· Ingredients and dosages backed by thousands of scientific studies

New Initiatives

NewLife Home Care has always taken a very holistic approach to client care. Unfortunately many treatment methods for clients facing a chronic illness can break down the essential nutrients your body needs to survive. NewLife has signed on as a premier provider of ChronoMed’s new nutritional assessment and vitamin program. With ChronoMed you will receive a nutritional program that is tailored to meet your unique needs. Bleeding disorder treatments can cause many side effects such as fluid retention, increased blood pressure, headaches, as well as joint and muscle pain. Unfortunately there has been no way to treat these symptoms, until now.

Newlife is anxious to get both our current clients and interested parties signed up for their free customized nutrition assessment. Call Dawn today at 877-707-LIFE to start your free assessment.

The Lifetime Cap Debate: What does it mean for you?

On February 22nd President Obama proposed a new health-care plan that would remove the lifetime caps on coverage so that people facing a chronic illness would be able to ensure their medical bills were covered.

To a reasonably healthy family a cap of $500,000 or $1 Million dollars seems like an amount that they will never reach in their lifetime. As someone that is familiar with the bleeding disorder community you realize how small that number really is.

Chief Policy Officer for the Ohio Department of Insurance Doug Anderson states that there are no safety nets in the private market for people who reach lifetime caps. He also touches on the hardships many middle class families who have someone with a serious health issue face. It can truly be catastrophic.

Do you know what profits the insurance companies made last year?

The 5 largest made profits of $12.2 billion, which is 56% more than in 2008. In order to make $12.2 billion dollars the insurers covered 2.7 million few people than the year before.

Take Action NOW! Visit the National Hemophilia Foundation to join the fight to help eliminate lifetime caps.

TO learn more about the debate on healthcare reform visit Insurancenews.net.

For any additional questions please call NewLife Home Care at 877-707-LIFE or visit our website.

Protect Yourself: What precautions should be taken?

What precautions should be taken?

· Avoid taking aspirin and nonsteroidal anti- inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

· Get vaccinated (including infants) with the hepatitis B vaccine.

· Administer factor VIII or IX on a regular basis, to help prevent bleeding and joint damage.

· Avoid circumcising male infants of women known to be carriers until the baby has been tested for hemophilia.

· Carry information at all times identifying the person as someone with hemophilia.

What should be avoided?

You should avoid vitamin E and fish oil supplements if you have hemophilia, as they seem to increase bleeding time by keeping platelets from clumping. Vitamin K plays a role in normal clotting and may be useful either from dietary sources or in supplement form, but research is needed in this area. Do not take vitamin K supplements without first talking to your doctor.

· Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

· Garlic (Allium sativum)

· Ginger (Zingiber officinale)

· Ginseng (Panax spp.)

· Horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)

· Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

· White Willow (Salix alba)

Newlife Home Care has many tools and resources to help our clients maintain health diet and exercise. Please contact us today at 877-707-LIFE or visit our website for any information regarding proper diet and exercise. We will work with you to create many customized programs to meet your specific needs.

Stay Healthy With Regular Exercise!

Regular exercise can build strong muscles and help prevent joint problems. People with hemophilia can exercise safely, although they should avoid contact sports. Physical therapy may also play an important role in reducing joint problems caused by repeated bleeding in those areas. Your physical therapist may recommend the following exercises:

· Stretching

· Movement exercises

· Resistance training (such as weight lifting)

You should also work with your primary care physician and specialists to create a program that works the best for your needs.

Activity typically recommended for hemophilia clients:

• · Bicycling
• · Fishing
• · Frisbee
• · Elliptical machines
• · Swimming
• · Archery
• · Golf
• · Hiking
• · Snorkeling
• · Stationary Bicycle
• · Walking
• · Yoga

Visit The World Federation of Hemophilia for a detailed exercise program.

Also please visit our site NewLife Home Care or contact us at 877-707-LIFE for additional information.

FDA Warning: Maalox Antacid and Bleeding Disorders

The FDA has recently discovered several mix ups in two popular antacids provided by Maalox.

Maalox Advanced Regular Strength and Maalox Advanced Maximum Strength are antacids containing aluminum hydroxide and magnesium hydroxide, which neutralize acid in the stomach. Maalox Total Relief is an upset stomach reliever and anti-diarrhea medicine whose principal ingredient is bismuth subsalicylate, which is related to aspirin.

Like aspirin, it can cause stomach bleeding. It should not be used by individuals with a history of gastrointestinal ulcer disease or a bleeding disorder, nor by children or teens recovering from a viral infection. It is also counter-indicated for patients taking oral anti-diabetic drugs, blood-thinning drugs and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

To read the article in its entirety please click the following link: LA Times Blog Or visit our website for additional information.

Proper Nutrition and Exercise: How important is it?

What effect does proper nutrition and exercise have on people with bleeding disorders? What should be consumed and what should be avoided?

The life of a person with a chronic illness can many times be consumed with the things that you can’t do, can’t eat, and can’t accomplish...

What are the things that you CAN do to enjoy a happy healthy life?

There are many basic things that a person with a bleeding disorder can do to stay healthy. This could include:

• exercise
• preventative care
• physical therapy

Both Physical Therapy and regular exercise will improve your flexibility and muscle strength. This is especially important if you have a bleeding disorder because of joint bleeds. Strong muscles around the joints can help prevent and increase recovery time from joint bleeds.

Proper nutrition also plays a very important roll in management of a chronic illness. This accompanied with current immunizations and safety will help to ensure that you can lead a happy healthy lifestyle.

What if you have a child with a bleeding disorder?

The same basic steps outlined above also apply to children, except that a parent or other caregiver performs daily care activities. During childhood, a child with hemophilia will need to be taught about his or her disease and its management. Gradually, the child may be able to take on some of the self-care needed to address his or her hemophilia.

Call us today at 877-707-LIFE or visit our website at www.newlifehomecare.com for more helpful tips for staying healthy!

Let Your Voice Be Heard!

NewLife has a long history of fighting for the rights of our clients. We have fought and won many court cases on behalf of our clients. The subject of these cases include:

• Patient Discrimination
• HIPAA violation
• Breach of contract

Help Fight The Fight!!!

There are currently many advocacy issues facing the bleeding disorder community. Want to know how you can join on both a community and national level?

Current Legislative Issues: (national level)

• Lifetime insurance caps: Ask your representative to eliminate lifetime caps!!!

• The Advisory Board and Standards of Care/Access Campaigns

Advocacy Resources:

• Six Simple Steps for Effective Grassroots Advocacy

• How a Bill Becomes a Law

• Lobbying Do's and Don'ts

Newlife Home Care and the individuals that work there have spent countless hours fighting for the rights of their clients. Don’t hesitate to call today and see how you can get involved, 877-707-LIFE.

We'd Like To Hear From You!

A new year means new years resolutions. What are your resolutions for 2010?

As a company we have our own set of resolutions:

• Expand our advocacy reach to a more national level.
• Sponsor more members of the community to attend industry events.

Please don't hesitate to contact us at 877-707-LIFE if you can think of any other items we should add to our list!