August 2005 Alternative Medicine&Natural Health Newsletter

The Alternative Medicine & Natural Health Newsletter is sponsored by ALTERNATIVE HEALTH INSURANCE SERVICES.

August 2005

Since 1985, Alternative Health Insurance Services has helped businesses and individuals find the best value in health insurance with an emphasis on coverage for alternative medicine and natural therapies. Please visit www.AlternativeInsurance.com to learn about options for your personal or group health insurance.

August 2005

Welcome to the August 2005 edition of our newsletter. Our goal is to provide you with information and articles that are of interest to you and may be of value to you. Information we include is gathered from a variety of publications. We hope the information we provide is of value to you. If you have not read our previous newsletters, they are also posted on our website.

Study: Effect of Garlic on Stomach Cancer Cells
According to a Xinhua News Agency article on china.org.cn, citing a report published in Science and Technology Daily, research conducted at Beijing Genome Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Clinical Tumor Institute of Beijing University, and the Beijing Tumor Prevention and Treatment Research Institute indicates that garlic may prevent the multiplication of stomach cancer cells and cause the cancer cells to die.
Internet Resources:
Article on China.org.cn

Action of anti-cancer foods revealed
The discovery of the anti-cancer mechanism behind certain natural compounds could present the food and drug industries with exciting new opportunities... Read

Calcium may prevent polyps but cancer not clear
Calcium supplements might stop the development of polyps that sometimes lead to colon cancer but there is not enough evidence for its anti-cancer effects... Read

Grape Seed Extract Decreases Oxidation in Brain
Supplementation with grape seed extract decreases free-radical damage to brain tissue.

Grape Polyphenols Promote Cardiovascular Health
Intake of grape polyphenols may have positive effects on plasma lipids, inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress.

Quebec Asks For More Time To Regulate Private Health Care

For those who think that the government-run Canadian health care system is something we would want to have in the U.S., the following article should make you think again:

The Quebec government has asked the Supreme Court of Canada for an 18-month suspension of the Chaoulli decision, which struck down the province's ban on private insurers, to permit the government to identify, analyze and draft new rules to regulate private health care and health insurance.

The Canadian system has grown unruly, marked by long waits and rising inefficiency.

In June, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Quebec's ban on private insurers, stating that patients' rights under the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated by the excessive waiting times they endure under the government-paid health care system.

"Delays in the public health care system are widespread, and in some serious cases, patients die as a result of waiting lists for public health care," said the judges. "The prohibition against private health insurance and its consequence of denying people vital health care result in physical and psychological suffering that meets a threshold test of seriousness."

Quebec Health Minister Philippe Couillard will lead a committee that must produce recommendations on private insurance regulations by December. The Supreme Court of Canada will review the documentation filed and issue a written ruling. There has been no indication how long it will take for the court to issue its decision.

Study links breast cancer with french fry consumption in youth
New research links the consumption of french fries in early childhood with development of breast cancer later in life. The study suggests that each weekly serving of french fries that girls consumed between the ages of 3 and 5 increased their risk of developing breast cancer in adulthood by 27%. Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.)/Associated Press (8/18), CNN/Reuters (8/18)

Vitamins, especially E, may slow cataract progression
Taking vitamin E supplements, as well as a higher intake of the B vitamins riboflavin and thiamine, could slow cataract progession... Read

Patients With Severe Asthma May Benefit from Increased Vitamin C Intake
Australian researchers, in a study published in The European Respiratory Journal, compared the dietary intakes and blood concentrations of antioxidants, including vitamin C, in 28 patients with severe asthma compared with 53 mild asthmatic patients and 43 subjects without asthma. They noted that the blood concentrations of vitamin C were markedly lower in patients with severe asthma compared to subjects with mild asthma or those without asthma, and this difference was observed in both males and females.
Internet Resources:
Press Release on NPIcenter

Companies Likely To Shift More Health Care Costs to Employees

More than three-fourths of large U.S. companies next year likely will require employees to pay more for health insurance and about one-fourth likely will reduce wage increases for employees because of increased health care costs, according to a survey released on Monday by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the AP/Detroit Free Press reports. According to the survey, which involved 150 companies, 70% of respondents said that increased health insurance deductibles for employees would reduce their discretionary health care expenditures, although 60% said that the practice would prompt employees to avoid necessary care.

More than 80% of respondents cited financial incentives for employees to adopt healthier lifestyles as the most effective proposal to reduce health care costs, but only 48% said that employees with unhealthy habits such as smoking should have to pay more for health insurance, the survey found. In addition, the survey found that about one-fourth of respondents attributed reductions in profit growth to increased health care costs and that about 20% likely will hire fewer new permanent employees next year. According to survey respondents, per-employee health care costs increased by 12% this year and likely will rise by 11% next year without reforms.

PWC consultant Barry Barnett said health care currently accounts for between 12% and 15% of payroll costs for large companies, compared with about 8% in 2000. "Health care costs are the reason job growth isn't where the Bush administration would like it to be," Barnett said (Agovino, AP/Detroit Free Press, 7/18).

MORE THAN HALF OF CALIFORNIANS IN HMOS ARE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE; NEW STUDY BY THE UCLA CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH FINDS THAT HMOS SHOULD BE A PART OF THE STATE'S SOLUTION TO OBESITY CRISIS LOS ANGELES-- (BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 2005--More than 5 million Californians enrolled in HMOs - more than half of all enrollees ages 12 to 64 - are overweight or obese, according a new policy brief by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. The study, commissioned by the California Office of the Patient Advocate, highlights the role that California HMOs can play in addressing the growing problem of overweight and obesity among the state's residents.

Currently, the number of overweight and obese residents of California between ages 12 and 64 stands at about 13 million, meaning that more than a third are enrolled in HMOs. By promoting services that address the problem among their enrollees, HMOs can not only help their members lead healthier and more productive lives, but also take a major step toward addressing a key source of rising health care costs.

Overweight and obesity currently adds approximately $7.7 billion to medical care costs in California each year."This is more than just an opportunity for HMOs to address the major health crisis of overweight and obesity that is facing their members, it's also proof that HMOs can do something to reign in these spiraling health care costs," said Gerald Kominski, associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and lead author of the study.

In their review of data from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey - the most comprehensive survey of the state's residents on health issues - the brief's authors found that while the average combined prevalence of overweight and obesity in the state's seven largest HMOs stood at 52 percent, there were significant differences among individual HMOs. Aetna (59 percent), Kaiser (54 percent) and Health Net (53 percent) reported higher than average prevalence of overweight and obesity. Cigna (52 percent), Blue Cross (51 percent), Blue Shield (49 percent) and PacifiCare (49 percent) were at or below the state HMO average. The authors note that these differences across plans are not attributable to demographic factors among members, such as age and race/ethnicity.

"While the rates of overweight and obesity appear to vary, the real take-home message is that they are high in all the major health plans that were studied," said Ed Mendoza, acting director of the California Office of the Patient Advocate, an independent state agency that advocates for HMO consumers. "This study's most important value is that it gives us a baseline that we can use to measure change over time and evaluate the progress that HMOs make in addressing this critical problem."The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research was established in 1994 and is one of the nation's leading health policy research centers. It is also the premier source of key health policy information for California. The Center is based in the UCLA School of Public Health and is affiliated with the UCLA School of Public Affairs. The entire policy brief can be downloaded at www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu

FREE ACUPUNCTURE & CHIROPRACTIC BENEFIT

Alternative Health Insurance Services now includes a free benefit for our individual and group clients that provides up to 20 acupuncture and/or chiropractic visits per year with a $20 co-payment for each visit. This complimentary benefit is a bonus for doing business with us and is included with most of the health insurance plans we offer.

We have contracted with Landmark Healthplan of California, Inc. to provide a combined chiropractic and acupuncture benefit that utilizes Participating Chiropractors and Acupuncturists. A directory of these providers may be found on the Landmark website at www.LandmarkHealthcare.com or from Alternative Health Insurance Services.

Participants will have a co-payment of only $20 per visit and can receive up to 20 visits per year. Treatments must be medically necessary to treat an injury or illness. After an initial visit, subsequent visits need to be pre-authorized by Landmark. Each participant will receive a Schedule of Benefits and other materials that fully describe their benefits, limitations, and exclusions.

This benefit is being provided at no cost to California clients of Alternative Health Insurance Services who are actively participating in a permanent health insurance plan where commissions are being paid to either Alternative Health Insurance or Steve Gorman. These benefits are being provided only to each primary policyholder and their spouse/partner.

This program is only available as a complimentary benefit to clients who have purchased their health insurance plans through Alternative Health Insurance Services and can not be purchased as a "stand-alone" benefit.