It is unfortunate that the loss of your job almost always coincides with the loss of your health insurance. At a time when you are already dealing with stress and frustration, life adds the loss of health insurance to the situation. What are your options when your employer no longer subsidizes your health insurance plan? Where do you and your family turn when you have lost your income and now find that you have also lost your health insurance coverage?

There are a few options available but there are no absolute solutions. Cost plays a large part in the choices available at a time when you have just lost your income. If your spouse has a job and is eligible for coverage at his/her employer, this might be the ideal option for your family. Some employers do not offer family coverage, but this option should definitely be investigated. Recent unemployment is a valid reason for starting a policy outside of the normal enrollment period, so this is on your side.

Any employer who has at least 20 employees must offer COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) as an alternative insurance plan. This insurance is offered for a term of up to 18 months and will cover you and your family members. The problem is that it is very expensive. Employers are permitted to charge up to 102% of the current premium. You may not have realized that you were only contributing a very small portion of your health insurance premium while employed. This will all change now.

Investigate insurance coverage through trade groups, alumni associations, AARP for people over 50. There are many groups who would welcome you and your family as participants. Compare costs and choose what is most cost effective for you.

Workers who are 65 or over would be eligible for Medicare coverage. In the majority of situations they are already receiving hospital coverage. When losing their employee coverage, they are eligible for a special enrollment period to sign up for Part B and Part D coverage without incurring any financial penalty.

It is an extremely sad statement that almost 50% of American workers in the private sector do not receive even one paid sick day a year. The majority of these people are low –wage employees and can certainly not afford to take a day off without pay no matter how ill they might feel.

The government is currently considering legislation to force companies to provide sick day coverage for their employees. Americans strongly support this new requirement but, as would be expected, businesses say they cannot afford the cost and that this benefit would force them to cut wages or reduce health benefits to compensate for the funds needed.

Apparently, businesses are looking at paid sick days as an expense rather than a necessity. Are they not realizing that it is counterproductive to have a sick person coming to work? They will not be performing their job to the best of their abilities. Meanwhile, they will be spreading illness to all of their co-workers. Soon many more workers will be spreading this disease around the building and serious health issues could eventually develop. Co-workers will be visiting their doctors and this will eventually result in increased health insurance premiums. When examining the big picture, it seems that it would almost be a savings for companies to offer paid sick leave to their employees. It is to everyone’s benefit to leave the illness at home and return to work in good health and physically capable of performing your job.

Yes, the politicians are constantly saying that they are going to address the existing health crisis in this country and will make sure that all citizens have health insurance coverage. Listen to them on the campaign trail but, remember, once they are in office, they discover that their plan doesn’t work. This has happened repeatedly and the end result is that this crisis is becoming worse each year and does not appear to be any closer to a solution.

The individual stories are so sad that it embarrasses me to think our government has allowed things to go this far. I just read about a man in Los Angeles who was a diabetic. He knew that he was about to be laid off from his job and would lose his health insurance plans. He actually made the decision to have his foot amputated before losing his health insurance benefits. Another true life story tells of a woman without health insurance who was suffering from abdominal plans. It took her a year to locate a physician willing to see an uninsured patient. This poor woman died of ovarian cancer at a young age.

These two individuals, along with others, will be the center of a television documentary entitled “Critical Condition” which will be shown on PBS on September 30th. I hope everyone will make an effort to watch this show so that we will all be more aware of the crisis our citizen’s are facing daily. It is imperative that we remember these people when we are asked to vote. We must demand health insurance for everyone. Tune into this show and see an actual “Reality” show.

Everyone is becoming aware of identity theft as a recurring crime that is affecting a large portion of our population. Seniors are particularly sensitive to this new criminal activity and are trying to do everything they can to protect their information. They have discovered a weakness in our system and have been requesting assistance from the government in remedying the situation.

Apparently, all Medicare Cards display the social security number of the recipient. To make matters worse, every person with Medicare coverage has been requested to carry this card on their person. This is leaving seniors vulnerable to minor thefts in which their personal information will be readily available to every petty crook. Instead of having an account number specifically assigned to Medicare, they are being required to expose their social security number to numerous people who could easily copy it. Seniors are feeling very uncomfortable with this situation and have requested that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services fix this system. The Centers have taken the position that there is no problem as they have not been advised of one case of identity theft that could be traced back to a Medicare card. They say costs of changing the system would run about $500 million dollars and it would take five years to implement.

The Senate Finance Committee is supporting a revamp of the current system to eliminate this problem. It is near impossible to believe that, while we are all purchasing shredders and carefully watching over all forms of our identity, our seniors are being forced to carry their social security numbers on their person and required to present it to numerous employees so that they can obtain the benefits they so desperately need.

There are everyday opportunities to practice good health for you and your family. It only takes a little effort and can result in all of you leading happier and healthier lives. It is worth taking advantage of some of these ideas as the benefits far outweigh the time involved. Not only will you feel better but your family health insurance could possible qualify for a discount based on your healthy habits. Some health insurance companies send out surveys and reward their healthy customers with better rates. Others send promotional pens or promotional mugs with “good health reminders” to keep you aware of diet, etc.

Consider playing board games with your children, especially just before their return to school after summer vacation. The memorization part of these games will actually stimulate their brains and help to prepare them for school lessons. This can well result in better grades, as these games will increase reasoning and problem-solving skills. In addition to the learning benefit, it is always a good idea to participate in group activities with your family.

Although everyone becomes increasingly busy at this time of year, it is very important that time be set aside for family meals together. Statistics have proven that teens, especially, benefit from meals together at least five times per week, as they will be less likely to turn to drugs or alcohol and, in general, will attain better grades in school. Dining together is beneficial to the whole family as it gives you time to enjoy one another and share in the events of everyone’s day.

For years medical science has been telling us to stay out of the sun and not expose ourselves to the damage it can cause. We may have been listening too carefully to some of this advice. It is now suggested that a brief period in the sun (approximately 10 to 15 minutes daily) can have positive effects on your health.

Everyone needs to take time each day for relaxation. A good example of this might be a 20 minute session of meditation. This has been found to reduce stress, strengthen your immune system and frequently will also increase your energy level. Claims have also been made that it can reduce anger and depression.

Everyone is searching for the fountain of youth but, in reality, we may actually have the secret to holding off aging temporarily, through aerobic exercises. Maintaining an aerobic exercise program throughout the years and combining this with other healthy habits, is believed to slow the biological aging process. This occurs because aerobics help increase metabolism and prevents the decrease that normally occurs in middle age.