Bring It On-Line: God of Wrath
I know my time is drawing near. Instead of wasting Medicare money or my savings, I #39;d just like to be called home and save the health care system the limited ...

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Bring It On-Line: God of Wrath - Video

Standard Poor #39;s U.S. Consumer, Retail, And Health Care Weekly Review (Feb. 3)
In this segment of U.S. Consumer, Retail, and Health Care Weekly, Standard Poor #39;s Director Rick Joy reviews the recent rating actions we took on Sotheby #39;s,...

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Standard & Poor's U.S. Consumer, Retail, And Health Care Weekly Review (Feb. 3) - Video

My Cat Has a White Nose Gums; What Does This Show? : Cat Health Care Behavior
Subscribe Now: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=Expertvillage Watch More: http://www.youtube.com/Expertvillage If your cat has a white nos...

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My Cat Has a White Nose & Gums; What Does This Show? : Cat Health Care & Behavior - Video

(NAPSI)The health of your wealth may depend on how well you understand the Affordable Care Act and the changes it creates for federal taxes.

New Rules

Whether these changes affect you is largely a matter of your households gross income minus certain deductionsyour adjusted gross income (AGI)and whether you have health insurance.

While most Americans will see little to no change when filing taxes due April 15, 2014, the experts at TaxACT point out that higher income taxpayers are more likely to be affected, particularly those with investment income.

Anyone whose modified AGI is $200,000 or more ($250,000 if filing jointly or $125,000 if married filing separately) will pay an additional 3.8 percent tax on 2013 investment income, including interest, dividends, capital gains, and rental and royalty income. Itll be added to tax already paid on investment income. For example, if you pay 20 percent tax on a long-term capital gain, your total tax on the gain will be 23.8 percent.

Fortunately, you can reduce your investment income by expenses that can be allocated to it, such as investment interest expense, advisory and brokerage fees, and rental and royalty expenses. You can also reduce it by state and local income taxes that can be allocated to investment income items.

If you pay the additional net investment income tax, you may also pay an additional 0.9 percent Medicare tax on wages and compensation in excess of $200,000. Since the tax is automatically withheld from employee wages, you simply report the amount in Boxes 5 and 6 of your Form W-2 on your tax return. The tax is calculated using figures on Schedule SE for business owners and the self-employed.

If you deduct unreimbursed medical expenses, the threshold has increased to 10 percent of your AGI. For example, if your 2013 adjusted gross income is $50,000, you can deduct only unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed $5,000. The threshold remains at 7.5 percent for taxpayers age 65 or older.

Let affordable, do-it-yourself tax software navigate these tax law changes for you, suggests TaxACTs Jessi Dolmage.

The programs ask easy questions to help minimize your tax liability and maximize your deductions and credits.

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Health Care Reform And Your Taxes

Niagara This Week - Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS Outside of a proposed new hospital for Niagara Falls, health care has taken a back seat to issues such as job creation during the current byelection campaign, health care activists say.

"The health care issue in Niagara is one of the most pressing issues that we have in our region, " said Niagara Health Coalition chair Sue Hotte. "We do have some of the worst health care going in Ontario. Some of the implications of plan are far reaching and will impact many communities, not only within the riding (Niagara Falls, Fort Erie and Niagara-on-the-Lake, but also in Port Colborne and Welland."

They want that to change.

"We've never actually had situation when both the Liberal and the Conservative candidates refused to attend an all-candidates debate on health care," said Natalie Mehra, executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition, who joined Hotte and Ontario Public Service Employees Union regional board member Lucy Morton at the news conference at Niagara Falls City Hall on Monday.

"Whether you support the one hospital replacing five hospitals closing five hospitals and replacing it with one the public has a right to hear that debate. We think it's profoundly undemocratic that these candidates will not sit down and have a proper health care debate in this election."

"Niagara has from the beginning of the (Niagara Health System Hospital Improvement Plan) proposal, have seen among the worst hospital cuts in all Ontario. "Well over 100 hospital beds have been closed down here and well over 200 nurses and staff positions in the hospital have been cut already."

She said the current proposal to close five hospitals and replace them with a new south Niagara hospital in Niagara Falls comes without any guarantees to service levels.

"This is not in keeping with the history of health planning in Ontario," she said. "Formerly, when health care restructuring was proposed, it was actually clear how many hospital beds were proposed, the size of the hospital that was proposed, the services that would be in the hospital, etc. None of that has been made clear for Niagara."

Alan Sakach, a spokesman for Maves campaign, said Maves wants to take part in as many debates as possible.

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Lack of health care debate 'undemocratic', activists say

Technology is booming in the health care field, and physicians are just now starting to explore the possibilities, and benefits, of e-visits with patients.

A pilot program launched in January within Mercy Health includes six physicians across two practices (Mercy Health Internists of Fairfield and Mercy Health Wyoming Primary Care). The physicians are offering their patients electronic visits, said Nanette Bentley, network spokeswoman.

About 50 patients have taken advantage of the offer so far, Bentley said.

Universally, the patients love the electronic visits, Bentley said.

A patient starts an e-visit by first completing an online survey specific to certain conditions, such as sore throat or headache. The survey answers are sent to the provider who responds within 24 hours with the appropriate next steps, including diagnosis and prescription, according to Mercy Health.

Bentley said the network plans to introduce electronic visits to more physician practices this year, but no firm numbers are available yet.

Benefits to patients include being able to stay at home or work and not disrupt the day with a physician office visit, Bentley said. Benefits to physicians include the ability to treat more patients in day at their convenience.

Nicole Hatten of Hamilton said she recently learned about the concept of e-visits from her insurance company. She said technology has certainly influenced the way patients can get care.

You can do it through the computer, thats crazy, Hatten said. I would rather go see my doctor in person.

Dr. Walter Reiling, chief medical informatics officer for Premier Health, said as technology and health care continue to converge so will the ability to interact with physicians in a flexible manner.

Original post:

More health care providers moving to e-visits

February 04, 2014

What happens when inclement weather keeps home health care professionals from reaching clients' homes?

Shaun Mullen became worried when the home health care professional serving his elderly neighbor wasn't able to get to the Stroud Township house Monday because the road was unplowed.

"As of 2 p.m., we still hadn't seen any trucks come by to plow or treat our road," Mullen said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has 36 trucks plowing and treating 520 miles of state-owned roads in Monroe County, including Poplar Valley Road West, said Bob Mudrick, PennDOT's Monroe County maintenance manager.

"We started on the roads between 2 and 3 a.m. (Monday) and are working in 12-hour shifts until all roads are clear," said Mudrick. "Our primary concern in that area is keeping those two major roads clear so that people can get to Interstate 80. The secondary roads are just that secondary. We get to them when we can, which usually is after the snow stops and we no longer have to worry about keeping the primary roads clear."

Meanwhile, what about residents, like Mullen's elderly neighbor, who rely on home health care professionals to visit?

"Monroe County has a certain percentage of residents who require a higher level of home health care," said Patty Fretz, director of the Monroe County Area Agency on Aging. "They absolutely must have a professional visit them every day, as opposed to other residents who require less care and can go a day or more without a visit."

The Agency on Aging has a medical assistance waiver program for higher-care dependent residents who qualify to live in but cannot afford nursing homes or choose to stay in their own homes, said Fretz.

The program requires these residents to have backup plans in place on days when home health care professionals cannot visit due to inclement weather or other reasons. A backup plan involves having a family member, neighbor or friend provide care for that day.

Read more here:

The homebound and the snowbound: Health care workers call on contingency plans