There are quite a few symptoms of hemorrhoids, and they will vary depending on what is causing your condition, what kind you have and how severe your particular case is. No matter what the reason for your hemorrhoids, you want to be able to get rid of them as quickly as possible. In order to successfully achieve this goal you need a good understanging of your condition. We will walk you through a few of the symptoms of hemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids get categorized by type, internal and external, and level of severity which ranges from first degree to fourth. Internal hemorrhoids are not visible without a medical examination, which is the biggest difference between the two types. If you only have hemorrhoids occasionally, and your symptoms are not causing you extreme discomfort, you probably won't need anything more than anti-inflammatory medication that you buy at the pharmacy or prescribed by your doctor. Skin irritation, mucus discharge, itching or bleeding when having a bowel movement are all symptoms of hemorrhoids. The inflammation of internal hemorrhoids is what generally causes these symptoms. These symptoms, which are usually not very painful, can be treated with over the counter medications, in most cases. If you experience bleeding regularly, you need to see your doctor as this can be a symptom of a more serious condition.
You can try to manage hemorrhoids yourself after first noticing the symptoms. Taking over the counter medication to deal with the pain, you can usually treat hemorrhoids by improving your diet, drinking lots of water, and getting more exercise. If these lifestyle changes are effective at controlling your symptoms, then making them permanent will help prevent the hemorrhoids from recurring in the future. Your doctor may prescribe a stronger medication if these changes aren't enough by themselves. The main symptom of hemorrhoids is extreme pain or discomfort in the anal area. You're in luck however, hemorrhoids do not usually last for a long time. If your symptoms last a long time and are not getting better from any of the treatments above you should see your doctor. It may be that you are one of the unlucky few who require a different treatment method. Your symptoms may vary from what your heard here. Most people, fortunately, are able to control their hemorrhoids, either on their own or with medical help.
These guidelines can help you with your hemorrhoids problem, still if you truly want to get the very best results a complete plan to shrink hemorrhoids is definitely recommended.
2012年2月15日星期三
2012年1月31日星期二
Kevin Smith Regales With Tales of "Rectal Adventures"
What's typically billed as a light, stream-of-consciousness rap between two old friends and colleagues strewn with pop culture references took a surprisingly strange focus Sunday night that made us want to leave early -- but it ended on an intimately somber tone that made us glad we didn't. It was Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier recording their weekly SModcast live at Cobb's Comedy Club.
For the first 15 or 20 minutes, the talk moved along at a clip so swift that you might miss the subject if you paused to dip into your nachos. And then, for the next hour or so, the man whose celebrated filmography includes titles such as Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and the recent Red State joined his buddy and longtime collaborator in fixating on their asses.
Smith was asked to leave a Southwest Airlines flight in Oakland in 2010 because of his size, an incident that is not only outrageous, it has seemed to take more than a fair toll on his self-esteem. Even if it was just for schtick, which it probably wasn't, Smith made frequent jabs at his body that got increasingly more uncomfortable.
It got to be shocking how long the two lingered on topics such as enemas, hemorrhoids, and anal fissures, which Smith lumped together under the umbrella of "rectal adventures." Stories were punctuated with laughs here and there, but it was far from punchline-driven -- 20, 30, 40 minutes went by, but the two didn't veer from the rear.
With all the ass talk, we were fiddling with the handle of our purse and really considering cutting the night short. Finally, Smith changed the subject to talk about what he said was the most profound thing he's ever had to go through: caring for Scully, his ailing, 14-year-old dog.
It seems everyone except Smith has given up on Scully, who can no longer walk but still can wag a tail of happiness. After the vet told him that he should think about putting her to sleep because everyone has "things to do," Smith said he doesn't have more to do than write, smoke pot, Tweet, and sleep. And he has taken on the messy and immersive challenge of helping Scully live out the remainder of her days as comfortably as possible.
We appreciated hearing about such a personal travail and feel all the more endeared to Smith that he told it. Though a sad note, it was a better one to close the night.
For the first 15 or 20 minutes, the talk moved along at a clip so swift that you might miss the subject if you paused to dip into your nachos. And then, for the next hour or so, the man whose celebrated filmography includes titles such as Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and the recent Red State joined his buddy and longtime collaborator in fixating on their asses.
Smith was asked to leave a Southwest Airlines flight in Oakland in 2010 because of his size, an incident that is not only outrageous, it has seemed to take more than a fair toll on his self-esteem. Even if it was just for schtick, which it probably wasn't, Smith made frequent jabs at his body that got increasingly more uncomfortable.
It got to be shocking how long the two lingered on topics such as enemas, hemorrhoids, and anal fissures, which Smith lumped together under the umbrella of "rectal adventures." Stories were punctuated with laughs here and there, but it was far from punchline-driven -- 20, 30, 40 minutes went by, but the two didn't veer from the rear.
With all the ass talk, we were fiddling with the handle of our purse and really considering cutting the night short. Finally, Smith changed the subject to talk about what he said was the most profound thing he's ever had to go through: caring for Scully, his ailing, 14-year-old dog.
It seems everyone except Smith has given up on Scully, who can no longer walk but still can wag a tail of happiness. After the vet told him that he should think about putting her to sleep because everyone has "things to do," Smith said he doesn't have more to do than write, smoke pot, Tweet, and sleep. And he has taken on the messy and immersive challenge of helping Scully live out the remainder of her days as comfortably as possible.
We appreciated hearing about such a personal travail and feel all the more endeared to Smith that he told it. Though a sad note, it was a better one to close the night.
2012年1月15日星期日
Surgical centers presenting new options in health care
When Eric Hutchcroft of rural Elburn learned he would need a hernia operation, the surgeon asked where he wanted to do it.
The doctor explained that he is on the staff of three facilities and could do the surgery at any of the three. Where would Hutchcroft feel more comfortable and convenient?
At Delnor Hospital, a large secular medical complex in Geneva?
At Provena Saint Joseph, a large Catholic medical complex in Elgin?
Or at the Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center, a one-story, 32,000-square-foot facility that looks more like an insurance office and is tucked almost invisibly into an office park along Randall Road in St. Charles?
“I picked the surgery center,” recalls the 40-year-old software developer. “It seemed closer to home, and it seemed like it might have a more personal aspect. I figured I wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost in a giant operation.”
When Hutchcroft left the center after the operation, he decided the experience had gone more smoothly than the time he had endured a colonoscopy done by another doctor at a large hospital in the suburbs.
“The waiting time was very minimal,” he said. “The people were very friendly. I would definitely recommend using a surgery center.”
Hutchcroft is one of a growing number of people who have found that getting an operation doesn’t necessarily mean going to a hospital. Nationwide, there are now 5,000 independent surgery centers.
In the Fox Valley, the Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center (nicknamed “VASC”) is one of the oldest and largest of these independent, for-profit centers. It opened in 1987 and in 1997 even added a nine-bed Valley Medical Inn, where patients who need to spend a night or two as an in-patient can stay in bed under the supervision of nurses.
VASC contains seven surgery suites and serves 5,500 to 6,000 patients a year — roughly 20 to 25 operations a day. The center is 60 percent owned by some of the doctors who practice there and 40 percent by a corporation named Symbion, which also owns four hospitals and 75 other surgery centers and clinics.
The newest surgery centers in the area are two clinic-style operations in Elgin that offer more than just surgery.
The Elgin SurgiCare opened last August in an 8,000-square-foot office at the corner of North McLean Boulevard and Todd Farm Drive. It’s part of a chain of seven medical centers and nine MRI/CT/X-ray centers across the Chicago area owned by Chicago physician Dr. Naser Rustom.
The 6,900-square-foot Center for Advanced Medicine and Surgery (also known as Centro Medico del Pueblo) has been under construction for a year and a half in the former Hollywood Video Store at 1460 Larkin Ave. but still hasn’t opened. According to its city building permit, the facility will have nine treatment rooms and seven testing rooms, with about 10 employees. Like VASC and Elgin SurgiCare, it will be open Monday through Saturday. Its owner, who reportedly is a Latino physician based in Chicago, could not be reached for this story.
Some centers offer only surgeries in specific specialty areas, such as Elgin’s Endo Center, which does colonoscopies and minimally invasive gastrointestinal operations; and Elgin’s Valley Surgery Center, which does plastic surgery.
Other such facilities in the area include the Tri-Cities Surgery Center, a joint venture of Delnor Hospital and a group of doctors who do mostly gastrointestinal work; the Center for Surgery in Naperville; and the Algonquin Surgery Center.
In almost every case, surgeries are done by doctors who are not full-time employees of the centers but have their own offices somewhere else. In fact, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Professionals requires that surgeons using surgery centers also have admitting privileges to at least one regular hospital. Many of the centers are owned or co-owned by doctors or groups of doctors.
Elgin SurgiCare Manager Robin Fina said patients are attracted to these centers by three things: lower prices, a less-intimidating atmosphere and greater safety from contagious infections.
Hernia patient Hutchcroft said he didn’t really consider the comparative cost of using a hospital versus the cost of using a surgery center. “The way my insurance works, it would have been about the same cost to me either way,” he said.
But Dr. Anthony Giamberdino, the medical director at VASC, said more and more people do pay attention, and “based on my interviews, our prices are lower in 98 percent of the incidences. So for a patient with a significant co-pay, we can save them money.”
“For Medicare patients, we are 38 percent less expensive than a hospital,” said VASC Administrator Deborah Lee Cook. “The government recognizes that we are more efficient and tries to steer Medicare patients toward surgery centers.”
Giamberdino said the lower prices are possible because surgery centers and clinics don’t have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries to top-office administrators, don’t have to run a cafeteria and don’t need to run an emergency room. “We’re efficient because we can focus on one thing — surgery.”
The surgery center people also claim their facilities are also less prone to spreading infections.
“Our infection rate is lower because we don’t take sick (with an infection) patients” the way a regular hospital must, VASC Marketing Director Diane Lauterer said.
The type of operations that can be done vary considerably among facilities. And if you’re planning on a heart bypass or brain-tumor removal, you will need a full-fledged hospital.
VASC does only surgery but can do many types of that. At VASC, “it’s easier to say what we cannot do surgically than what we can do,” Giamberdino said. “We don’t do childbirths. We don’t do any procedure that involves a long hospital stay or requires an intensive-care ward. We don’t operate inside chests or skulls. But that leaves a lot that we can do. We have pretty much every surgical specialty represented by the surgeons on our staff.”
Typical operations at VASC include hernia repairs such as Hutchcroft’s, knee and hip replacements, plastic surgery, gynecological and gastrointestinal work, tonsillectomies, and kidney stone and gall stone removal.
“We have done spinal fusions, thyroid surgeries, joint replacements, hysterectomies,” Giamberdino said.
Elgin SurgiCare can do fewer varieties of surgery but is more of a full-scale medical clinic. A full-time certified physician assistant, Mario Astacio, is on hand to examine and perhaps write prescriptions or order tests for someone who walks in off the street with some ailment. A chiropractor, Dr. Houston Brown, works on pain management and has a large room full of exercise equipment to do physical therapy. Parkside Imaging, a sister business in the same building that is also owned by Rustom, has a million-dollar MRI machine plus CT scan, X-ray and ultrasound equipment. Elgin Pharmacy will open a branch in the SurgiCare building soon.
“We’re pretty much a one-stop shop for everything from a chest cold to an auto accident,” Fina said.
When it comes to the operating room, however, Elgin SurgiCare’s scope is more limited than VASC’s. It doesn’t do surgeries that involve fully opening a body cavity, such as Hutchcroft’s traditional-style hernia repair. But if a hernia can be fixed via laparoscopic surgery, that can be done at the SurgiCare. Fina said that using laparoscopes, colonoscopy and other minimally-invasive techniques, Elgin SurgiCare doctors work on such things as shoulders, knees, hemorrhoids, skin, the reproductive organs and the gastrointestinal tract. Even a bad uterus now can be removed laparoscopically.
Astacio said Elgin SurgiCare especially targets Elgin’s large Hispanic population. He said he and the daily staff members speak Spanish as well as English.
In a time when the opening, closing and even ownership of medical facilities is heavily regulated by the state in an effort to avoid expensive duplication of resources, each surgery center must convince the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to grant it a certificate of need. That board voted last month against allowing new hospitals to be built in Huntley and Crystal Lake, but the panel seems easier to convince about the need for small surgery centers and clinics.
Like most surgery centers, he said, VASC is run by medical professionals.
“The best leadership in a health-care organization is people who have done health care,” Giamberdino said. “Our board of directors is made up of physicians. Our administrator is a registered nurse, and our medical director — me — is a physician. We’re not governed by spreadsheets here. The most important thing to us is our patient outcomes, and the people who provide the care are the ones who make the decisions.”
The doctor explained that he is on the staff of three facilities and could do the surgery at any of the three. Where would Hutchcroft feel more comfortable and convenient?
At Delnor Hospital, a large secular medical complex in Geneva?
At Provena Saint Joseph, a large Catholic medical complex in Elgin?
Or at the Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center, a one-story, 32,000-square-foot facility that looks more like an insurance office and is tucked almost invisibly into an office park along Randall Road in St. Charles?
“I picked the surgery center,” recalls the 40-year-old software developer. “It seemed closer to home, and it seemed like it might have a more personal aspect. I figured I wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost in a giant operation.”
When Hutchcroft left the center after the operation, he decided the experience had gone more smoothly than the time he had endured a colonoscopy done by another doctor at a large hospital in the suburbs.
“The waiting time was very minimal,” he said. “The people were very friendly. I would definitely recommend using a surgery center.”
Hutchcroft is one of a growing number of people who have found that getting an operation doesn’t necessarily mean going to a hospital. Nationwide, there are now 5,000 independent surgery centers.
In the Fox Valley, the Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center (nicknamed “VASC”) is one of the oldest and largest of these independent, for-profit centers. It opened in 1987 and in 1997 even added a nine-bed Valley Medical Inn, where patients who need to spend a night or two as an in-patient can stay in bed under the supervision of nurses.
VASC contains seven surgery suites and serves 5,500 to 6,000 patients a year — roughly 20 to 25 operations a day. The center is 60 percent owned by some of the doctors who practice there and 40 percent by a corporation named Symbion, which also owns four hospitals and 75 other surgery centers and clinics.
The newest surgery centers in the area are two clinic-style operations in Elgin that offer more than just surgery.
The Elgin SurgiCare opened last August in an 8,000-square-foot office at the corner of North McLean Boulevard and Todd Farm Drive. It’s part of a chain of seven medical centers and nine MRI/CT/X-ray centers across the Chicago area owned by Chicago physician Dr. Naser Rustom.
The 6,900-square-foot Center for Advanced Medicine and Surgery (also known as Centro Medico del Pueblo) has been under construction for a year and a half in the former Hollywood Video Store at 1460 Larkin Ave. but still hasn’t opened. According to its city building permit, the facility will have nine treatment rooms and seven testing rooms, with about 10 employees. Like VASC and Elgin SurgiCare, it will be open Monday through Saturday. Its owner, who reportedly is a Latino physician based in Chicago, could not be reached for this story.
Some centers offer only surgeries in specific specialty areas, such as Elgin’s Endo Center, which does colonoscopies and minimally invasive gastrointestinal operations; and Elgin’s Valley Surgery Center, which does plastic surgery.
Other such facilities in the area include the Tri-Cities Surgery Center, a joint venture of Delnor Hospital and a group of doctors who do mostly gastrointestinal work; the Center for Surgery in Naperville; and the Algonquin Surgery Center.
In almost every case, surgeries are done by doctors who are not full-time employees of the centers but have their own offices somewhere else. In fact, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Professionals requires that surgeons using surgery centers also have admitting privileges to at least one regular hospital. Many of the centers are owned or co-owned by doctors or groups of doctors.
Elgin SurgiCare Manager Robin Fina said patients are attracted to these centers by three things: lower prices, a less-intimidating atmosphere and greater safety from contagious infections.
Hernia patient Hutchcroft said he didn’t really consider the comparative cost of using a hospital versus the cost of using a surgery center. “The way my insurance works, it would have been about the same cost to me either way,” he said.
But Dr. Anthony Giamberdino, the medical director at VASC, said more and more people do pay attention, and “based on my interviews, our prices are lower in 98 percent of the incidences. So for a patient with a significant co-pay, we can save them money.”
“For Medicare patients, we are 38 percent less expensive than a hospital,” said VASC Administrator Deborah Lee Cook. “The government recognizes that we are more efficient and tries to steer Medicare patients toward surgery centers.”
Giamberdino said the lower prices are possible because surgery centers and clinics don’t have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries to top-office administrators, don’t have to run a cafeteria and don’t need to run an emergency room. “We’re efficient because we can focus on one thing — surgery.”
The surgery center people also claim their facilities are also less prone to spreading infections.
“Our infection rate is lower because we don’t take sick (with an infection) patients” the way a regular hospital must, VASC Marketing Director Diane Lauterer said.
The type of operations that can be done vary considerably among facilities. And if you’re planning on a heart bypass or brain-tumor removal, you will need a full-fledged hospital.
VASC does only surgery but can do many types of that. At VASC, “it’s easier to say what we cannot do surgically than what we can do,” Giamberdino said. “We don’t do childbirths. We don’t do any procedure that involves a long hospital stay or requires an intensive-care ward. We don’t operate inside chests or skulls. But that leaves a lot that we can do. We have pretty much every surgical specialty represented by the surgeons on our staff.”
Typical operations at VASC include hernia repairs such as Hutchcroft’s, knee and hip replacements, plastic surgery, gynecological and gastrointestinal work, tonsillectomies, and kidney stone and gall stone removal.
“We have done spinal fusions, thyroid surgeries, joint replacements, hysterectomies,” Giamberdino said.
Elgin SurgiCare can do fewer varieties of surgery but is more of a full-scale medical clinic. A full-time certified physician assistant, Mario Astacio, is on hand to examine and perhaps write prescriptions or order tests for someone who walks in off the street with some ailment. A chiropractor, Dr. Houston Brown, works on pain management and has a large room full of exercise equipment to do physical therapy. Parkside Imaging, a sister business in the same building that is also owned by Rustom, has a million-dollar MRI machine plus CT scan, X-ray and ultrasound equipment. Elgin Pharmacy will open a branch in the SurgiCare building soon.
“We’re pretty much a one-stop shop for everything from a chest cold to an auto accident,” Fina said.
When it comes to the operating room, however, Elgin SurgiCare’s scope is more limited than VASC’s. It doesn’t do surgeries that involve fully opening a body cavity, such as Hutchcroft’s traditional-style hernia repair. But if a hernia can be fixed via laparoscopic surgery, that can be done at the SurgiCare. Fina said that using laparoscopes, colonoscopy and other minimally-invasive techniques, Elgin SurgiCare doctors work on such things as shoulders, knees, hemorrhoids, skin, the reproductive organs and the gastrointestinal tract. Even a bad uterus now can be removed laparoscopically.
Astacio said Elgin SurgiCare especially targets Elgin’s large Hispanic population. He said he and the daily staff members speak Spanish as well as English.
In a time when the opening, closing and even ownership of medical facilities is heavily regulated by the state in an effort to avoid expensive duplication of resources, each surgery center must convince the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to grant it a certificate of need. That board voted last month against allowing new hospitals to be built in Huntley and Crystal Lake, but the panel seems easier to convince about the need for small surgery centers and clinics.
Like most surgery centers, he said, VASC is run by medical professionals.
“The best leadership in a health-care organization is people who have done health care,” Giamberdino said. “Our board of directors is made up of physicians. Our administrator is a registered nurse, and our medical director — me — is a physician. We’re not governed by spreadsheets here. The most important thing to us is our patient outcomes, and the people who provide the care are the ones who make the decisions.”
2011年11月30日星期三
Damaging the economy and inconveniencing millions of people is your job
Public sector workers have hit back at Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne after he insisted that today’s strikes will damage the economy and inconvenience millions by reminding him that’s what he’s been doing for the last 18 months.
Cabinet Minister Francis Maude was also highly critical of the strikes and what they would achieve.
“Striking while negotiations are still going on will achieve about as much as the negotiations have up until now – nothing,” he blasted.
Despite the government’s insistence that the strikes are ‘indefensible’, polls suggest that the majority of the public support the action, with one poll revealing that 100% of schoolchildren think it’s ‘the best idea ever!’.
Strikes
Private sector opposition to the strikes has softened after workers enjoyed a congestion free journey into work this morning.
“I had convinced myself that all public sector workers were greedy, selfish bastards,” said 38 year-old Sandra McGovern.
“I’ve got to say though, that this morning I was in the office in plenty of time to have a bacon roll, a cup of tea and read TV Quick.”
“I wish they could strike everyday. Except every other Thursday because that’s when my rubbish is collected.”
“Oh, and next Tuesday would be a bad day too because I’ve got an appointment at the hospital to have an elastic band wrapped around my hemorrhoids,” she added.
Cabinet Minister Francis Maude was also highly critical of the strikes and what they would achieve.
“Striking while negotiations are still going on will achieve about as much as the negotiations have up until now – nothing,” he blasted.
Despite the government’s insistence that the strikes are ‘indefensible’, polls suggest that the majority of the public support the action, with one poll revealing that 100% of schoolchildren think it’s ‘the best idea ever!’.
Strikes
Private sector opposition to the strikes has softened after workers enjoyed a congestion free journey into work this morning.
“I had convinced myself that all public sector workers were greedy, selfish bastards,” said 38 year-old Sandra McGovern.
“I’ve got to say though, that this morning I was in the office in plenty of time to have a bacon roll, a cup of tea and read TV Quick.”
“I wish they could strike everyday. Except every other Thursday because that’s when my rubbish is collected.”
“Oh, and next Tuesday would be a bad day too because I’ve got an appointment at the hospital to have an elastic band wrapped around my hemorrhoids,” she added.
2011年11月14日星期一
Retired couple billed $50,000 despite travel insurance
A B.C. couple on a fixed income is facing a $50,000 US hospital bill, despite buying travel health insurance for their last trip.
"What are we supposed to do?" said Artur Friesen, from Abbotsford, B.C. "We don't have anything. How am I supposed to pay that?"
Artur and Anna Friesen say they live modestly on government pensions. Every year for the last 20 years, they've driven their motor home to California to escape the winter.
"We buy insurance to be covered and be safe," said Artur.
Last year, they bought full medical coverage as usual, through their broker, from Prime Link Travel Medical Insurance. While in California, Anna had to go to hospital with a blood clot in her leg.
Records show the U.S. hospital checked with Prime Link, which is underwritten by Manulife, to see if she had insurance, and was told she did. Her bill for treatment was $10,000 a day, for five days.
The couple said they were shocked when the insurance company later refused to pay the bill, because of how Anna answered one question on her initial application form.
"I never would have gone into the hospital if I knew that would happen. Never. I would have went home," she says.
Answer not quite right
The Friesens struggle to understand English, so said they relied on broker Barrie Cartmell to fill out their application. He read them several questions from the form, including: "In the last 36 months, have you received treatment for kidney disorder (including stones)?"
Anna answered no. She's had weak kidneys for several years, but has not actively been treated.
"I had no treatment and I just had weak kidneys, and that is what we talked about [with the broker]," said Anna. "I am not reading [the form] or anything, because I don't know how to read English.
"[The broker] was satisfied with the answer that we gave him, that she had no treatment and no [kidney] stones," said Artur.
Despite letters submitted since from doctors, insisting she is not receiving any treatment for her kidney condition, the insurance claim denial letter reads, "You do have a chronic kidney disease for which you have undergone investigations which is considered treatment."
Prime Link returned the $694 premium the couple paid for the policy, with a letter saying it's null and void because of "misstatements during the application period."
The Friesens are now getting calls from a U.S. collection agency and are afraid to go south for their usual trip. They check the mail every day, hoping the insurance company has considered their appeal and changed its position.
"I don't even lift up the phone anymore. I see it's a number from outside, I don't even lift up the phone anymore," said Anna. "Because [the collection agent] told me last time I am supposed to pay him $5,000 a month."
"We are stressed out. Really stressed," said Artur.
Afraid to go south
"We are not the same people [as we were] last year when we came home. Our friends they are leaving on Friday for California for four months again, and we have to stay home."
The broker, Barrie Cartmell, said he doesn't remember Anna mentioning her weak kidneys. Nevertheless, he said he believes she answered the question honestly and the insurance company is wrong.
"I don't think it is the client's fault. They just didn't understand," said Cartmell. "I think [the insurance company] has got to clean up their definitions and make them a lot clearer."
He insisted if Anna did tell him about her kidney condition, he would have advised her to consider a different answer.
"I can't remember the exact conversation because I've got thousands of clients," said Cartmell. "When I go through the application, I ask the questions as they are."
He said he tried to go to bat for her with the claims department, but got nowhere.
"They do not discuss this. They will not discuss it," said Cartmell.
"Certainly if I was asked that question I would think that the word treat means exactly what it says, treatment, and I would say no," said Jim Bullock, an independent broker who helps lawyers who are going after insurance companies.
"The fact I was being monitored, in my mind, wouldn't mean I was being treated."
Deliberate tactic, says critic
Bullock says the forms are ambiguous, and he thinks that is intentional.
"I've come to the conclusion that it's a deliberate tactic," he said, citing several examples of what he calls "trivial" denials.
"A lady didn't disclose that she had an ear infection four years ago. Another lady didn't disclose that she had hemorrhoids during her pregnancy two years ago. A fellow didn't disclose that his brother had a heart attack. He didn't know his brother had a heart attack. That didn't matter. He didn't disclose it," said Bullock.
He would like to see provincial authorities hold insurance companies more accountable.
"For whatever reason, they have steadfastly refused to get involved with the issue of claims-paying practices. They won't even ask the companies in their annual reports how many claims were not paid," said Bullock.
"Frankly, I think governments are afraid of insurance companies. It appears that way."
David Hartman, of the Travel Health Insurance Industry Association of Canada, confirmed the industry doesn't release statistics on how many claims are denied, although he estimated it's less than five per cent.
"Not disclosing medical information is one of the top five reasons claims are denied," he said.
He also said the industry is working on making travel insurance questionnaires simpler.
"It is a concern," Hartman said, "Some companies are looking at plain language policies."
He said seniors should realize insurers can and will look at all medical records, so it's best to disclose everything, even if it costs more for coverage. He said some medical conditions trigger premium increases of 300%.
New decision coming
David Rivelis of Prime Link, the Friesens' insurance agent, said even when a customer's doctor states they are not being treated for a condition, the adjuster's interpretation can supersede that.
"The insurance company ultimately determines the term of the contract," said Rivelis. "How the doctor defines something may be different from how it's defined by an insurance company."
He advises every senior to read their whole policy, even when they are using a broker.
"Policy definitions are what governs the payment of claims," he says.
However, after CBC's Go Public got involved, Manulife, the underwriter, said another decision is forthcoming on the Friesens' claim.
"I understand a decision on the appeal of this case will be made shortly and should be communicated to the individual in the next couple of days," wrote Manulife spokesperson Michael May.
"What are we supposed to do?" said Artur Friesen, from Abbotsford, B.C. "We don't have anything. How am I supposed to pay that?"
Artur and Anna Friesen say they live modestly on government pensions. Every year for the last 20 years, they've driven their motor home to California to escape the winter.
"We buy insurance to be covered and be safe," said Artur.
Last year, they bought full medical coverage as usual, through their broker, from Prime Link Travel Medical Insurance. While in California, Anna had to go to hospital with a blood clot in her leg.
Records show the U.S. hospital checked with Prime Link, which is underwritten by Manulife, to see if she had insurance, and was told she did. Her bill for treatment was $10,000 a day, for five days.
The couple said they were shocked when the insurance company later refused to pay the bill, because of how Anna answered one question on her initial application form.
"I never would have gone into the hospital if I knew that would happen. Never. I would have went home," she says.
Answer not quite right
The Friesens struggle to understand English, so said they relied on broker Barrie Cartmell to fill out their application. He read them several questions from the form, including: "In the last 36 months, have you received treatment for kidney disorder (including stones)?"
Anna answered no. She's had weak kidneys for several years, but has not actively been treated.
"I had no treatment and I just had weak kidneys, and that is what we talked about [with the broker]," said Anna. "I am not reading [the form] or anything, because I don't know how to read English.
"[The broker] was satisfied with the answer that we gave him, that she had no treatment and no [kidney] stones," said Artur.
Despite letters submitted since from doctors, insisting she is not receiving any treatment for her kidney condition, the insurance claim denial letter reads, "You do have a chronic kidney disease for which you have undergone investigations which is considered treatment."
Prime Link returned the $694 premium the couple paid for the policy, with a letter saying it's null and void because of "misstatements during the application period."
The Friesens are now getting calls from a U.S. collection agency and are afraid to go south for their usual trip. They check the mail every day, hoping the insurance company has considered their appeal and changed its position.
"I don't even lift up the phone anymore. I see it's a number from outside, I don't even lift up the phone anymore," said Anna. "Because [the collection agent] told me last time I am supposed to pay him $5,000 a month."
"We are stressed out. Really stressed," said Artur.
Afraid to go south
"We are not the same people [as we were] last year when we came home. Our friends they are leaving on Friday for California for four months again, and we have to stay home."
The broker, Barrie Cartmell, said he doesn't remember Anna mentioning her weak kidneys. Nevertheless, he said he believes she answered the question honestly and the insurance company is wrong.
"I don't think it is the client's fault. They just didn't understand," said Cartmell. "I think [the insurance company] has got to clean up their definitions and make them a lot clearer."
He insisted if Anna did tell him about her kidney condition, he would have advised her to consider a different answer.
"I can't remember the exact conversation because I've got thousands of clients," said Cartmell. "When I go through the application, I ask the questions as they are."
He said he tried to go to bat for her with the claims department, but got nowhere.
"They do not discuss this. They will not discuss it," said Cartmell.
"Certainly if I was asked that question I would think that the word treat means exactly what it says, treatment, and I would say no," said Jim Bullock, an independent broker who helps lawyers who are going after insurance companies.
"The fact I was being monitored, in my mind, wouldn't mean I was being treated."
Deliberate tactic, says critic
Bullock says the forms are ambiguous, and he thinks that is intentional.
"I've come to the conclusion that it's a deliberate tactic," he said, citing several examples of what he calls "trivial" denials.
"A lady didn't disclose that she had an ear infection four years ago. Another lady didn't disclose that she had hemorrhoids during her pregnancy two years ago. A fellow didn't disclose that his brother had a heart attack. He didn't know his brother had a heart attack. That didn't matter. He didn't disclose it," said Bullock.
He would like to see provincial authorities hold insurance companies more accountable.
"For whatever reason, they have steadfastly refused to get involved with the issue of claims-paying practices. They won't even ask the companies in their annual reports how many claims were not paid," said Bullock.
"Frankly, I think governments are afraid of insurance companies. It appears that way."
David Hartman, of the Travel Health Insurance Industry Association of Canada, confirmed the industry doesn't release statistics on how many claims are denied, although he estimated it's less than five per cent.
"Not disclosing medical information is one of the top five reasons claims are denied," he said.
He also said the industry is working on making travel insurance questionnaires simpler.
"It is a concern," Hartman said, "Some companies are looking at plain language policies."
He said seniors should realize insurers can and will look at all medical records, so it's best to disclose everything, even if it costs more for coverage. He said some medical conditions trigger premium increases of 300%.
New decision coming
David Rivelis of Prime Link, the Friesens' insurance agent, said even when a customer's doctor states they are not being treated for a condition, the adjuster's interpretation can supersede that.
"The insurance company ultimately determines the term of the contract," said Rivelis. "How the doctor defines something may be different from how it's defined by an insurance company."
He advises every senior to read their whole policy, even when they are using a broker.
"Policy definitions are what governs the payment of claims," he says.
However, after CBC's Go Public got involved, Manulife, the underwriter, said another decision is forthcoming on the Friesens' claim.
"I understand a decision on the appeal of this case will be made shortly and should be communicated to the individual in the next couple of days," wrote Manulife spokesperson Michael May.
2011年8月18日星期四
Forces of Nature Introduces the First Medicines That Are USDA Certified Organic
Forces of Nature(R), a pharmaceutical company and the first manufacturer of medicine that uses certified organic ingredients, introduces its Control line, 14 USDA Certified Organic and FDA Registered topical medicines that target seven hard-to-treat conditions including acne, herpes cold sores (caused by the herpes simplex virus) and scars. Each medicine uses a two-in-one approach that merges the soothing nature of botanicals with recognized and established homeopathic drugs. The Control line is currently available at select Whole Foods Market(R) stores and is rolling out in independent natural retailers nationwide.
Forces of Nature's Control line features elite treatments for dermatological ailments that affect millions of people and ushers in an exciting opportunity for healing. It is the first and only line of medicines that use USDA Certified Organic ingredients and are FDA Registered. Never before has there been a natural, plant-based remedy categorized as medicine that is certified organic. Until now, consumers and professionals faced limited options for treating Control conditions. Forces of Nature's Control line medicines signal a breakthrough in the pharmaceutical and natural products industries and represent a new choice of homeopathic products for consumers and professionals.
"Plant-based medicine has been around for centuries and is at the very roots of modern drug therapeutics," said Peter Klapper, founder and CEO of Forces of Nature. "If you're sick, the first thing you should seek is a natural remedy to revitalize your system. Natural medicine works in harmony with your immune system versus suppressing your body's natural instinct to heal itself. Because we have only one health but many diseases."
The Forces of Nature Control line offers a promise of purity. It sources its pure, organic materials directly from over 20 privately owned remote certified organic farms across the globe. By growing these potent genera of plants the old-fashioned way -- carefully tended by hand and using sustainable methods -- the soil maintains high levels of nutrients, increasing the plant's potency.
The crops are harvested when their soothing properties are at their utmost peak. Once harvested, these properties begin to fade, so Forces of Nature distills the plants right on or near the farms -- never shipping them to commercial distilleries. The crops are distilled in small batches quickly, just enough to extract the botanical oils and maximize their potential. (Distilling plants for several hours to squeeze out every last drop is akin to overcooking vegetables, destroying their nutrients.)
Each Control line medicine is handcrafted and custom-blended in a proprietary formula to treat conditions via soothing the skin topically while the homeopathic medicine addresses the condition systemically. Here are a few of the most common conditions: -- Acne: Roughly 80 percent of 11-30 year olds are prone to acne outbreaks(1) and pregnant and menopausal women can have outbreaks too. Current remedies are often ineffective or may have potentially severe side effects. Forces of Nature's Acne/Pimple Control(TM) is designed to clear acne, pimples and blackheads while promoting healthy skin and enhancing and balancing skin tone. -- Herpes Cold Sores: Herpes cold sores caused by the herpes simplex virus affect approximately 70 percent of American adults(2). Forces of Nature's H-Balm Control(TM) provides relief from painful lesions and is designed to be the safest, most efficient means available to treat outbreaks. -- Scars: Everyone is susceptible to scars, especially children, post-operative patients, cooks, athletes and construction workers, etc. Forces of Nature's Scar Control(TM) is designed to reduce and help eliminate old and new scars, scar tissue and discoloration of surrounding skin while improving skin tissue elasticity. Additional Control medicines treat fissures, hemorrhoids, nail fungus and warts(3).
Forces of Nature's Control line features elite treatments for dermatological ailments that affect millions of people and ushers in an exciting opportunity for healing. It is the first and only line of medicines that use USDA Certified Organic ingredients and are FDA Registered. Never before has there been a natural, plant-based remedy categorized as medicine that is certified organic. Until now, consumers and professionals faced limited options for treating Control conditions. Forces of Nature's Control line medicines signal a breakthrough in the pharmaceutical and natural products industries and represent a new choice of homeopathic products for consumers and professionals.
"Plant-based medicine has been around for centuries and is at the very roots of modern drug therapeutics," said Peter Klapper, founder and CEO of Forces of Nature. "If you're sick, the first thing you should seek is a natural remedy to revitalize your system. Natural medicine works in harmony with your immune system versus suppressing your body's natural instinct to heal itself. Because we have only one health but many diseases."
The Forces of Nature Control line offers a promise of purity. It sources its pure, organic materials directly from over 20 privately owned remote certified organic farms across the globe. By growing these potent genera of plants the old-fashioned way -- carefully tended by hand and using sustainable methods -- the soil maintains high levels of nutrients, increasing the plant's potency.
The crops are harvested when their soothing properties are at their utmost peak. Once harvested, these properties begin to fade, so Forces of Nature distills the plants right on or near the farms -- never shipping them to commercial distilleries. The crops are distilled in small batches quickly, just enough to extract the botanical oils and maximize their potential. (Distilling plants for several hours to squeeze out every last drop is akin to overcooking vegetables, destroying their nutrients.)
Each Control line medicine is handcrafted and custom-blended in a proprietary formula to treat conditions via soothing the skin topically while the homeopathic medicine addresses the condition systemically. Here are a few of the most common conditions: -- Acne: Roughly 80 percent of 11-30 year olds are prone to acne outbreaks(1) and pregnant and menopausal women can have outbreaks too. Current remedies are often ineffective or may have potentially severe side effects. Forces of Nature's Acne/Pimple Control(TM) is designed to clear acne, pimples and blackheads while promoting healthy skin and enhancing and balancing skin tone. -- Herpes Cold Sores: Herpes cold sores caused by the herpes simplex virus affect approximately 70 percent of American adults(2). Forces of Nature's H-Balm Control(TM) provides relief from painful lesions and is designed to be the safest, most efficient means available to treat outbreaks. -- Scars: Everyone is susceptible to scars, especially children, post-operative patients, cooks, athletes and construction workers, etc. Forces of Nature's Scar Control(TM) is designed to reduce and help eliminate old and new scars, scar tissue and discoloration of surrounding skin while improving skin tissue elasticity. Additional Control medicines treat fissures, hemorrhoids, nail fungus and warts(3).
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