i hate medicare advantage plans especially humana

here we go again, Humana being picky picky picky about paying our claims.

Procedure code 99497 pays for up to 30 minutes of discussion and completion of the Advance Care document.

If the document is in the patient's record, it's pretty obvious that SOME time was spent. It's also obvious that it was less than 30 minutes due to the procedure code used.

The fact that Humana is applying this rule so stringently is discouraging us from offering this service to our Humana patients. 

Do you think a patient likes knowing a provider is timing their visit? Do you really think this leads to trust in a provider when a patient feels like they're taking up too much of the provider's time?

Wouldn't it be nice FOR A CHANGE that Humana respect our ability to give our patients the best care we can? Or is it down to minutes and seconds. Look, we could spend 29 minutes on the ACP and do a horrible job of it. And they'd pay us for it. So this is ridiculous.

CMS suggests that if an ACP takes less than 16 minutes, the provider should bill an E/M code instead. The problem with this is, the CPT for the ACP won't show that it was done and Humana will dock us for not doing them.

We are begging our patients to enroll in Medicare and get out of the for-profit insurance market. This is what happens when an insurer is worried about their CEO being able to afford a new yacht. I've never had an ACP denied because time wasn't documented by CMS. Documenting time does not contribute to a patient's wellness. 

Apparently Humana cares more about a ticking clock than they do knowing a patient is getting good care. It's that simple.

i am not crazy

 but i will be soon. Trying to get specific information for a payer can be extremely frustrating. For example, I need to send a corrected claim to Maryland Physicians Care.... just two little characters need to be deleted from the claim. According to the Claims Submission Instructions, I should use the Claim Resubmission Form. I have their Appeal form, but it specifically says not to use that form for resubmissions. Does it tell me how to submit a corrected claim? No, it does not. 

This gives me the distinct impression that Maryland Physicians Care doesn't care about my claim correction. They're just as happy - probably extremely so -- not to pay this claim.

I have done a search on their website. I have done a google search "Claim resubmission form Maryland physicians Care." The only form found is the Appeals form.

This is maddening and makes me want to throw something. And it's so typical. 

a peeve

 We accept so many different insurances, particularly when it comes to Medicare supplemental plans. Most Medicare patients have one. We get paid for visits first by Medicare, and then the claim goes on to the supplemental plan for payment. The payments are typically around $26.60, $22.18 -- not very much. Most of our payments come automatically, deposited to our bank account. So every month when it's time to reconcile the account, I go through and make sure all the deposits are in our system. Often I'll find one of these smaller payments missing. I'll find it, post it, and then apply it to the appropriate patient visits. Many of these come into our Practice Management system automatically also, which is nice. But now and then, it could take me literally hours to find one of these small payments. 

For example, here's what I see on my bank statement:

HCCLAIMPMT ABC PLATINUM                        26.60 

            

ABC Platinum isn't an insurer I've seen before. The amount shown, $26.60 isn't entered yet in my practice management software. So i have to go looking for it. There are about 8 "Payment sites" that various insurers use to upload their Explanation of benefits to accompany any payments they've made so we can download and apply each payment to the appropriate patient. In this case I go to one of those payment sites and find the payment. I usually know which one to use based on the name on the statement. However, after looking on each payment site, I haven't found it.

So today I've wasted about an hour trying to find it. I looked at each site, and after not finding it, I looked up the insurer online and called the phone number on the website. Of course, it's Friday and they close at 1:00. So I'm stuck with a meager $26.60 that I can't account for. It's no longer worth $26.60 to find it, but i have to so the patient's account will be up-to-date.

When I am Queen of the World, here's how this will happen instead:

All insurance payments will be held on ONE PAYMENT SITE. No matter the amount, $1 to $1M. No matter the insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield or some podunky insurance like "ABC Platinum."

Long live the Queen.

It is time to start blogging again.

If I don't start blogging, I'm going to end up at the Humana headquarters and get arrested.

We love our patients. We really do. We do all kinds of things other practices don't. Our patients will never wait more than 15 minutes in the waiting room. We always see sick patients on the same day they call. We demand our diagnostic offices get our patients same-day tests if we feel the matter is urgent. Our staff stays on the phone for hours trying to get preauthorizations. We visit patients at home. We give people who really can't afford their healthcare a  break when we can.We save medical samples for those who need them. Birthday cakes for our elderly patients.....and I think they love us too.

That's why it's so hard when an insurer - a company we PAY to take care of us - is so ridiculous, so obsessed with denying claims whenever possible.

We have been doing depression screenings for years and not billed for them. Now our office is looking at incentive programs, and things we haven't been billing for and should've been. One of those is the depression screening, a simple question and answer form to assess a patient's mental and emotional well being. The other screening is alcohol screening to make sure patients aren't abusing alcohol. Medicare is paying providers to screen for these two things at about $18 each. It doesn't sound like a lot, but when you have 800 patients over 65,  you're talking about $30,000. That would be a nice bonus for our staff. The nice thing is, when done with a regular office visit, there is no co-pay for the patient.

We started billing for the screenings in December. Medicare has paid them without a hitch. However, Humana, a large Medicare Advantage insurer, has not paid.

I needed to find out why; was it a coding issue? or what? Usually MA plans do things pretty much the way Medicare does, although they are permitted to have different rules.

I started out by calling the provider service line on the back of a patient's card. I was on hold for 45 minutes, and when answered, was told that I was talking to the Benefits department, not the Claims (there was no prompt for "Claims" on the phone message). I was told I'd be transferred to Claims; I sat on hold again for another 30 minutes, and was told - guess what! I was still in the Benefits department. I was a bit fed up by this time as you  might imagine. I sat on hold for another 20 minutes, and got a representative who supposedly could help me.

She hemmed and hawed a bit, rattled on about the services being "bundled," something about "place of service," blah blah blah, and then said that I'd have to send in medical records for every patient who was having a screening billed.

I was stunned. What? I've never heard of this. This is a screening; it doesn't depend on medical necessity or anything else. It's something our insurers supposedly want us to do, and will give us "points" for doing, and possibly take away points for not doing. Why would Humana put this obstacle in our way, one that's so ridiculous and unnecessary?

I don't know. I've written an email to my Provider rep, as well as the board of directors for Humana. Maybe I'll actually get an answer. Not holding my  breath.

Scleroderma Sucks!

Our friend Tori Anderson is one in a million. She has a beautiful voice that echoes the beautiful person that she is. We've enjoyed her musical journey with Possum Holler for many years. She's gorgeous and talented. Unfortunately, she is also 1 in 300,000 of people who have been diagnosed with Scleroderma. This disease has no known cause, and no known cure.

We've walked with Tori for the past two years in her Walk With Tori, and we'll be doing it again this year, on September 8th at Doub's Woods Park in Hagerstown. The past two walks have generated $78,000 towards research at The Scleroderma Center at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. It's been so inspiring seeing the hundreds of people who turn out for this event, including Dr. Thomas Medsger and members of his research team at UPMC.

Please join us this year. Walk, donate money, donate a silent auction item. Get a team together and walk together. Bring your checkbook -- you'll be amazed at the wide variety of quality silent auction items that grace the tables.

For more information, you can email tori@wayz.com or walkwithtori@yahoo.com, or you can call Tori at 717-597-9200. Mail donations to PO Box 327, Hancock MD 21750; checks should be made out to "Walk with Tori." Join the Facebook page for breaking information, or to network with other walkers.
See you there!

Our staff is AWESOME!

Yesterday was a challenging day at our Hancock office. Dr Hahn needed to take the day off to attend to some business and I was working at home (not that my presence would've made any difference!) What happened yesterday in his absence made me so proud of our staff for going WAY over and beyond the call of duty yesterday. I can't divulge too many details here in order to honor patient privacy, but trust me: amazing staff+technology+ compassion saved at least 2 lives yesterday. Amber Morrow is an amazing Nurse Practitioner with maturity and knowledge well above the norm, let alone one of her relatively young age. Lindy, as always, was the voice of calm and the mind of reason. We really need to think of a new name for what it is that she does, as she continues to raise the bar. The title "Medical Assistant" just doesn't do her skills, knowledge, and high standards justice. And thanks to Tonya for doing her part in holding down the fort. It's nice to know that Dr. Hahn can take a day off and have a staff that he can depend on, and THEN some. Way to go, everyone! 

This week's menu - Focus: No meat!

As I mentioned in our recent Facebook post, we were inspired this week to revisit our almost-meatless days by our Nurse Practitioner Amber Morrow. We all had dinner at Tari's last night, where they usually have a nice selection of meatless dinners, and she and Willa (our 18-year old) both chose one of those. I got the beef tips, but theirs actually looked tastier (although the beef tips were very good...) When our family moved to Berkeley Springs 13 years ago, we were strict vegetarians. However, after about 3 years of living here, where being vegetarian meant you had to pick the bacon out of the green beans, or deal with the fact that your black bean soup had lard in it, combined with fact that our favorite hangout, The Troubadour Lounge, was purported to have the best steak in the universe (and it does), we were eating meat fairly regularly. So this week we're going to try toning down the meat, and increasing the veggies. You don't have to be a nutritionist to know that more vegetables and less meat is better for your health: the vegetables on your plate should take up at least 1/2 the space, with the other half divided equally between lean protein and whole grains. Here is this week's menu, with links to the recipes.

I found most of these recipes on two of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen and Serious Eats. If you're ever feeling bored with menu planning, I challenge you to spend 15 minutes on either one of these blogs and not be drooling with anticipation, inspiration, and a shopping list in hand.

Chana masala

Indian spiced cauliflower and potatoes

Jasmine basmati rice (you can buy this at Martin's grocery store, or any grocery store with a good selection)

Store-bought naan bread (even our poor old Food Lion usually carries this)

Huevos rancheros

Herbed green beans (really, just steamed green beans with some garlic- and rosemary infused olive oil dressing)

Pasta with garlic and broccoli 

This is easy: 

1. Start your pasta water boiling; steam 1 large clump of broccoli per person until bright green but not limp 
2. In a large saute pan, saute about 3-4 cloves (or more if you like) of very very thinly sliced FRESH garlic -- not that junk in a jar -- in about 4 tablespoons of good olive oil. Shake in a little dried chili pepper
3. Cook the pasta
4. Toss the cooked broccoli with the sauteed garlic until coated. Add more olive oil if desired, and salt and pepper to taste. If you like parmesan cheese, sprinkle on some freshly grated cheese. Serve with some good French or Italian bread.

Vidalia onion soup with croutons

Green salad

Pan fried tofu with dark sweet sesame sauce

Asparagus sautéed in (purchased) black bean sauce

Either rice or udon noodles

You'll notice that none of these recipes are American. Sadly, there is not a lot of traditional American food that's vegetarian. In Asian countries, meat is often more of a condiment. In India, beef is forbidden to the Hindus, and other meat can be scarce. Anyway, it's fun to cook with different ingredients, and combine old ones in interesting new ways. If you're stuck in a food rut, try some of these!

Finally, a post from your blogger

Indian food -- from my kitchen!

Well, it's been quite awhile, hasn't it! Let's just say.... I've been busy. Thank my daughter, Willa Hahn, for inspring this next post. She's going to be competing for Miss Eastern Panhandle in a few weeks, after finishing as runner up in the Miss Berkeley County pageant a few weeks ago. Each contestant is expected to have a platform; hers is "Healthy West Virginia." One problem she contemplates in creating a program is one we at the practice hear often: It takes too long to make healthy meals, and it's so easy to grab a meal at McDonalds, or buy a frozen meal. OK, that's not terrible once in awhile. But not every day. Our obesity problem in West Virginia is not going to be solved at the drive-up window of a fast-food restaurant, sorry!

So what's a busy family to do? I have the luxury of working flexible hours, so I often come home a few hours before my family to get household chores done, including cooking a healthy meal. We eat a home-cooked meal almost every night. But this "luxury" wasn't always the case. There were the days when we both had full-time jobs, visiting the gym after work almost every day, along with everything else. But we still ate at home almost every night. To top it off, we were fairly strict vegetarians at the time. I relied on  books like Meatless Dishes in Twenty Minutes or Less, a great little paperback that I believe is still in print. There are tons of other books and websites dedicated to making your mealtime less stressful. Here are a few:

• Eating Well Quick and Healthy Dinner Recipes and Menus
• Serious Eats 25 Quick Dinner Recipes Besides these dinner suggestions, this is a real foodies' paradise. It links to recipes, yes; but you can also read other foodies' blogs, restaurant reviews, and watch instructional videos on cooking techniques. Want to obsess about the best hard cider, or ask a question about the best way to poach an egg? This is the place.
• Cooking Light, one of the more popular magazines in our office judging by the dog-eared pages, always features quick, easy, healthy recipes. I love the slideshows with pictures of the food. Right now they're featuring an article on 100 ways to cook Salmon!

Some of these sites allow you to save favorite recipes, and even create a shopping list from those recipes. Many of them also have smartphone applications so you can look up recipes on the go. I use Epicurious.com's app quite often.

You'll see that the quick meals featured usually use some convenience foods to short-cut preparation time. Sometimes it's simply pre-grated cheese; but when using a pre-made sauce, for example, be careful  to choose a healthy variety.

It's always better to start with a plan. Always make a weekly menu, and from that, create your shopping list. I dread the end of a work day when I don't know what I'm going to make for dinner -- it just puts me in a bad mood! And keep some staples in your pantry for those days: some canned beans, tortillas, and cheese can make a quick burrito dinner with a few fresh additions, for example.

Besides finding a few favorite quick recipes, there is the make-ahead option. I know friends who spend their weekends cooking and freezing meals for the week. My mother is an amazing soup chef, and she'll make up a huge pot of beef vegetable soup and eat it throughout the week, adding a salad or a sandwich to the mix.

And even if you don't go crazy on the make-ahead meals, do this: when chopping an onion for tonight's meal, go ahead and chop an extra for tomorrow's and put it in a zip lock bag. Same for cheese, etc. 

And how about getting your kids involved? They probably get home from school before you get home from work. Leave them some simple instructions to shred some cheese, or prep some vegetables. If they're too young to handle the tools, maybe they could simply empty the dishwasher, or set the table. 

A rather creative idea is to start a meal-swap with a few friends. There are lots of ways  you could organize this; I first read about it in the Real Simple magazine. The basic concept is, you make meals enough for members of a group, and meet regularly to swap the meals. With a group of folks that are also committed to making healthy meals, this could be a lot of fun. I always like food that's cooked by someone else!

Anybody else out there love Pinterest? You can find tons of recipes, along with pictures of the food.  As you pin pictures of your own food, you might even inspire others!  Here's mine.  OK, some of those things aren't so healthy.... so don't look at those!

Holy flu symptoms, Batman, give me an antibiotic...?

We've been seeing a lot of different illnesses these past few weeks, especially those of the runny nose, cough, sore throat, and achy variety. How do you know if you have a cold, the flu, or something else?
WebMD is a great source for lots of health questions (be sure to check out this slideshow on Cold vs Flu). Here's a table I copied from their website to help answer the question. You'll notice that antibiotics are NOT mentioned as a treatment.

Symptoms	Cold	Flu
Fever	Rare	Characteristic, high (100-102 degrees F); lasts three to four days
Headache	Rare	Prominent
General Aches, Pains	Slight	Usual; often severe
Fatigue, Weakness	Quite mild	Can last up to two to three weeks
Extreme Exhaustion	Never	Early and prominent
Stuffy Nose	Common	Sometimes
Sneezing	Usual	Sometimes
Sore Throat	Common	Sometimes
Chest Discomfort, Cough	Mild to moderate; hacking cough	Common; can become severe
Complications	Sinus congestion or earache	Bronchitis, pneumonia; can be life-threatening
Prevention	Good hygiene	Annual flu shot or FluMist
Treatment	Only temporary relief of symptoms	Antiviral drugs (Tamiflu or or Relenza) within 24-48 hours of onset

Fitness Roundup

I'm sure you've all made your New Year's Resolutions by now, and hopefully you've included some fitness expectations for yourself. I've pledged to throw in something new every so often; this winter; it will be Big Ball Fitness classes (stay tuned for information...) in addition to what I do already. Cross-training is where it's at: it keeps you interested, and you'll use different important muscles each time. I really like to mix up Zumba, yoga, belly-dancing, and weight training myself. Here are some local classes that offer lots of variety:

• Zumba by Rene: every Monday and Wednesday at 6:00 at Earth Dog Cafe in Berkeley Springs  (YES! Earth Dog. Then you can have refreshments after class, because you will deserve it!)

• Zumba by Nicole: at the Hancock American Legion, every Wednesday at 6:30 This is a NEW class for Hancock! You can get the first class free if you pre-register. Sign up with Nicole by going to her Zumba page for information.

• Bellysima Bellydance: Tuesday mornings at 10:30 and Wednesday afternoons at 5:30 at Rankins Fitness Center in Berkeley Springs. For more information, call Angela Petry at (304)995-5832

• Baraka Kempo starts on February 8 at Rankins Fitness Center. Classes are Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6:00 p.m.

• Ladies Bootcamp at Rankins starts on February 8, every Monday and Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.

• Silver Sneakers is every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:30 a.m.

• Gentle Yoga at Rankins starts January 7 and is held Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:00 am

• I believe the Big Ball class will begin soon at Rankins and will be on Tuesday nights. Check back here for more information, or watch our Facebook page for updates, or call Rankins at (304)258-5555.

If you know of any other classes in the area, please email me and I'll be happy to post it. Happy, Healthy New Years, everyone!

Healthy Patriotism

Today I was shopping. I suffer from a syndrome that I call "Shopping Induced Low Blood Sugar," or SILBS. I headed for Boston Market, because I knew I could get a relatively healthy snack quickly and cheaply. I got a piece of chicken (dark meat) and two sides: green beans and mixed vegetables. A cup of coffee. I sat down to eat. It looked good!

There were lots of other people enjoying their food.   But, something was wrong! Danger was in the air... I could smell it! I looked around. Everyone else was calmly eating. I glanced surreptitiously at the plate belonging to the older gentleman sitting across from me. Everything on that plate was beige. Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Stuffing. Corn. No colorful vegetables in sight!  Over there, a woman, semi-hunched over her plateful of beige, accompanied by a huge cup of soda. Behind me, a mom with two young kids. One had mac and cheese and corn. The other had turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. No veggies. Next to me a young lady was complaining about Boston Market's policy of omitting salt shakers on the tables. (Instead of the shaker is a card that explains Boston Market's concern over their customers eating too much sodium. It further explains that if one wants salt, it's over there by the beverages.)

Now, if I had seen one of my fellow patrons catch on fire while they were dining, would I have run over and tried to help? Of course. If I had seen one of them later, getting ready to jump off a bridge, would I have tried to talk them out of it? Of course. Yet there I sat, helplessly watching a roller coaster ride with a broken track. Nobody else saw it, and nobody else would listen to me, or believe me, and the ride was about to end horribly for a whole train of people.

The roller coaster was filled with people heading for a health crisis. According to statistics, at least half of the people in this room were either already suffering from at least one chronic illness that could potentially kill them. Although the rate of obesity for adults in America is 30%, every single of of the people (including the children) in this room were at least overweight.

Should I have gone over to the gentleman next to me and quietly suggested that he might want to have a plate of vegetables to go with all that gray stuff on his plate? Should I have offered to get the kids some green beans? Should I have just stood in the middle of the room and screamed, "WHERE ARE YOUR VEGETABLES??" At best, I would've probably been called a busy body and told to shut up.  If I'd persisted, there would've probably been restraints involved, maybe even a police officer or two. 

Look. I am concerned about these people on a personal basis. And if I thought speaking to them would help, I would. But the fact is, they are contributing to problem bigger than themselves.  

Everyone is concerned about the price of healthcare in America and the topic makes for some pretty contentious debate about how it should be handled. But there seems to be a very big disconnect between "the price of healthcare" and personal responsibility. When people overeat, don't exercise, and otherwise neglect their health, they are going to get sick. Their  insurance is going to have to pay for them to go to the doctor regularly and often, get tests, and if things get really bad, have surgery or other invasive procedures. Of course these higher costs to the insurance companies are passed on to everyone in the form of higher premiums.  If they don't have insurance, and can't pay for their healthcare, the costs are  passed on to the taxpayers one way or another. 

More than half of Americans now have at least one chronic condition. These chronic conditions comprise 75% of all healthcare spending. And it doesn't stop there. When someone becomes chronic, the dominoes start to fall. People start missing work, leading to less productivity to the tune of $153 billion a year. More money lost.

 Getting people to stop smoking, eat good food (but not too much!), and exercise is a constant mantra of your primary care providers. But I wonder, if we told our patients that being responsible for their health is patriotic, that would make a difference? 

Medicare Open Enrollment Begins October 15

With the open enrollment period coming up (it runs from October 15-December 7) you might be one of those who is considering a switch from original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan (or vice versa), or from one Medicare Advantage plan to another. I happened to run across this great article from Consumer Reports that gives you lots of tips, whether you're signing up for a Medicare plan for the first time, or you've been a recipient for years wondering if you're on the best plan. Check it out! As you probably know, Consumer Reports accepts no advertisements, so you can be assured their advice is unbiased.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Our Hancock office is bedecked and beribboned in pink this month and we're wearing our pink t-shirts on Casual Friday. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. You'll be seeing a lot of pink ribbons this month! There are also a number of organizations that are planning events to raise awareness, as well as raise funds to help women prevent breast cancer,and to help women with breast cancer cope with it.

The Breast Cancer Awareness - Cumberland Valley Inc is one such organization. They provide free early detection and after-diagnosis support programs such as support groups for women with breast cancer and their families, a telephone hotline, and they provide wigs, hats and turbans to those undergoing chemotherapy. They have events scheduled throughout the year to raise funds for these valuable services. One of their biggest is coming up on October 20th: The Step N Stride Against Breast Cancer. Walkers and Zumba dancers are asking sponsors for donations. Our staff is participating with Zumba instructor Rene Kesecker's team and would love our patients to help sponsor us! You can email Bibi Hahn for information, or stop by our office and check out all the information on display here.

Trampolines: A no-no

When we drive by a house with a trampoline in the yard, my first thought is "There's an accident waiting to happen." I know of at least two trampoline accidents, neither one of which was serious, thank goodness, that actually happened on the same trampoline. Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics has come out to formally warn that trampoline devices are too dangerous for children.

I got to wondering how trampolines were invented. The first known trampoline devices were probably used by the Inuits, who used to throw each other through the air to land on a walrus skin! Probably the first practical use of a trampoline-like device, invented in 1887, was the life-nets you see in old movies used to save people in high buildings from fire. Folklore suggests that we get the name "trampoline" from the circus performer du Trampolin who first started using the device in his show, although there is no real evidence to support this. On the contrary, it probably comes from the Spanish word "trampolín," meaning "diving board."

In 1936, trampolines began being produced for athletic gymnastic tumblers, but soon trampolining became popular on its own. Several sports and games were created using the trampoline. Then during World War 2, a more serious application was found for the trampoline: the United States Navy Flight School started using them to train pilots and navigators; it was thought the trampoline would help develop better spatial orientation. As the years went by, several competitive sports were created for the trampoline, and since 2000, trampoline sports have been included in the Olympics. 

The urge to have trampolines at home created a market sometime in the 70's. Visions of nurturing a budding Olympian's talents, giving the kids a physical activity they could enjoy at home were certainly well-meaning incentives to getting one. However, these benefits don't begin to outweigh the problems caused by the injuries the trampolines create. First of all, the home trampolines are not as sturdy as the professional ones built for competition. The safety nets do little to prevent injuries; they may prevent a child from falling out of a trampoline, but the net does nothing to prevent someone for falling incorrectly, or crashing into another trampoliner. Most people jumping on a trampoline have no prior gymnastics training; knowing how to fall, having core strength and balance are extremely important. Would you just jump on a balance beam and expect to be able to walk across it with no problem? Remember, the trampoline was originally designed for athletes!

Some of the injuries associated with trampolines include concussions, fractures of the spine and legs, strains, sprains, and dislocations. Younger children are the most susceptible, especially when there are multiple people on the trampoline at once. 

Please think twice before you buy a trampoline, or allow your child to bounce on a friends' trampoline. If you decide to go ahead, please be sure there is always adult supervision no matter how old the children. Don't allow more than one kid on at a time. Verify that your home owners insurance covers trampoline injuries (there have been cases where a home owner has had their insurance cancelled because they had a trampoline!) 

Great Websites for the Whole Family!

We had the pleasure of meeting with our Healthy Kids representative from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene today, Trish Guiles. Usually these visits are tedious, full of news of coding changes and additional hoops we'll have to hurdle in order to get paid. I was pleasantly surprised today by Trish's bubbling personality and good news, including this wonderful website I just had to share with you. "Chop Chop" is chock-full of recipes for every meal throughout the day, including snacks, desserts, and beverages. I love the colorful photos for each; it all the more inspires me to make something when I see what the finished dish will look like. I was really happy to find a recipe for Kale Chips -- these seem to be ubiquitous these days, arriving as a side on every other restaurant dish I order these days it seems - so I was curious how to make them. 

She also recommended a website that emphasizes not just healthy eating, but ways to get active as well. Let's Move. For example, a page on getting families to include more physical activity in their lives encourages families to facilitate a safe walk to school a few times a week. This might not be possible in our rural area, but how about this? Maybe, next time you drive the kids to school, you could park the car a block or two from the school and walk the rest of the way? I see so many parents waiting in cars to pick up their kids from the bus. How far could they possibly live from the bus? Maybe a walk is in order there, as well. I especially liked the hint to not allow anyone to "sit still during TV commercials." I wonder if running out to the kitchen for a snack counts?!

So how about checking out those websites next time you're cruising the internet. They're just a click away from here!

Come to our Ribbon-Cutting and Open House!

The Astonishing Benefits of the 2012 Walk Across Maryland

“The benefits of regular walking are astonishing!” reports Walk Across Maryland organizer, Dr. Matthew Hahn. “Studies show that walking regularly can lower a person's risk of diabetes; decrease the need for medications; decrease arthritis pain symptoms; improves the chances of survival with some cancers; reduces the risk of stroke; and can decrease the risks of developing Alzheimer's disease. Regular walking can even improve your sex life! So, if any of that interests you, and it should, you should participate in the 2012 Walk Across Maryland.”

The 2012 Walk Across Maryland will be held on Saturday, September 29, at 9 AM, in Hancock, Maryland. Participants are challenged to walk across the entire state of Maryland, along the length of Pennsylvania Avenue, from the MD-PA border to the C & O Canal (1.7 miles). Local police will escort the walkers. Area residents are reminded that they may experience traffic delays along Pennsylvania Avenue between 8:45 am and 9:45 am, and to plan their trips into Hancock accordingly.

Free tee shirts are being provided by Meritus Medical Center, and will be available to the first 200 participants to arrive. Parking for the Walk Across Maryland is available at the Hancock Assembly of God, and shuttles will be available to transport walkers back to the start area after the walk.

BIG BIG BIG NEWS!

Hahn and Nelson Family Medicine is bringing its "new way to practice old fashioned care" to Cumberland, Maryland!  
In response to a shortage of physicians and health care providers in that area, Dr. Nelson will head the new Cumberland office, while Dr. Hahn will continue at the Hancock office. We will be opening the new office in phases to best serve our patients in both locations. We have hired a Nurse Practitioner to work with Dr. Nelson in the Cumberland office. Terry Harvey, CFNP MS, will be working full time in the Cumberland office, while Dr. Nelson will continue to see patients in the Hancock office until our new Nurse Practitioner can begin work in Hancock. Amber Morrow, NP, will begin working full-time in Hancock sometime in the late Fall. Phil Nelson will be managing the practice in the Cumberland location.

We will begin registering patients for the new practice beginning September 17th. Patients can make appointments, which will begin October 1. You may call to register or download the forms from our website and fax or email them to the new practice. Phil Nelson's email address is pnelson@hahnandnelson.com.

An open house for the Cumberland office will be held on September 30.

The address for the Cumberland practice is  30 A North Mechanic Street, Cumberland, Maryland 21502.  
The phone number is  240-362-7265, and the fax is 240-362-7266. Our website, www.hahnandnelson.com will be updated with all the information you need soon.
Please call us with any questions or concerns. Watch this blog and our Facebook page for more news!

Next stop, Hollywood?

From the Morgan Messenger, 8/22/2012

He isn't just a doctor, he also plays one on TV. Or in this case, in the latest film produced by Roman Pictures, "Signals 2." Although he was originally supposed to have a non-speaking role as described in the photo, Dr Hahn ended up providing medical advice for the film, which was shot in the old War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs. In addition to his "medical training" from the TV show "ER," patients can be assured that he also has a medical degree from George Washington University! Don't  be surprised if the next time you come into the office, you're met with the greeting "Action!"

Check your Sources, please!

During election years, things can get very contentious. No matter whether you're a member of the Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Green Party, or whatever, you must think before you believe! Here's an example. One of my friends on Facebook posted a letter, supposedly from Blue Cross Blue Shield, that states that in 2014 under "Obamacare," Medicare monthly premiums will rise to $247 (more than double what they are now). When I see something like this that even smells like it might be a story, I go to FactCheck.org, a non-partisan website that vets all kinds of stories for factual content. What did it say about the letter from "Blue Cross Blue Shield?"

"Medicare officials project the basic premium will be less than half that. But the law will eventually cause 14 percent of seniors with incomes over $85,000 a year ($170,000 for couples) to pay higher “income-related” premiums, up from 5 percent currently."

And furthermore,

"Actually, only 27 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are paying the basic rate. The rest — 73 percent — are paying less under a “hold harmless” provision triggered by the lack of a cost-of-living increase in Social Security this year or last year. Most are still paying $96.40.

As for the future, nobody can say with precision what the basic Part B premium will be next year or the year after, let alone in 2014. The premium is set each year at a level calculated to pay for 25 percent of the cost of the coverage. Medicare officials do keep close watch on the trends, however. And when we contacted Medicare’s Office of the Actuary, we were given these projections — the most recent available — which are current as of the president’s budget for fiscal year 2012 issued in mid-February:

Medicare Part B Standard Premium (projected, February 2011)
2012 $108.20
2013 $112.10
2014 $117.10

Source: Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Office of theActuary

Please feel free to  bookmark the Factcheck.org site and use it before believing for truth that next chain letter, or worse, before you click the forward button on your email and spread untruths. The truth will set you free!