Health News
Features
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Pop Quiz: Test your knowledge of managed-care plans
Preventing health insurance mishaps by knowing how you’re covered THERE’S NO GETTING around the fact that healthcare insurance plans can be complicated and confusing. There are many different types of plans, such as managed-care plans, and each has its own set of rules and requirements. However, having the right information — down to the smallest…
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Health insurance update: Who falls in the coverage gap and how can they get insured?
“I think most of the providers that volunteer feel a moral and ethical obligation to help take care of those people.” — Dr. David Loewy, volunteer with We Care of Polk County LOCAL RESIDENTS who have issues getting health insurance coverage are fortunate in that there are many agencies here that offer a wide range…
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Medicare and end-of-life care: What’s changing?
New proposed policy encourages the process of advanced-care planning END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS are complicated and fraught with emotion, but a recent announcement by Medicare will hopefully offer some clarity to those facing such tough decisions. In early July, Medicare announced plans to pay doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician’s assistants for conversations with patients concerning end-of-life care.…
Columns
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What Is wisdom? Take this wisdom test and find out how wise you are!
A recent article by Phyllis Korkki of The New York Times illuminates a topic that has preoccupied scientists, philosophers, and people in general for centuries: What is wisdom, and how does it relate to aging? As one of the four cardinal virtues first introduced by Plato in the 3rd century B.C., wisdom remains a fascinating…
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Then & Now: How modern dentistry makes oral health easier than ever
We are certainly well past the ancient Sumerians’ belief in tooth worms or the days when fillings were made from beeswax. When it comes to oral health, we’ve never had it so good. On the frontline of oral health is daily cleaning. Tube toothpaste came along in the 1880s; prior to that you would’ve gotten…