Get Rid of Mental Stress with Early Sunlight

What is stress?

Biologically speaking, stress is simply your body's reaction towards a drastic change. This change could be environmental or physiological. When an individual feels stressed, his/her body releases some chemicals in the bloodstream. The human body is the most sophisticated biological machinery. It has the innate capabilities to cope with such situations. However, with the consistent disturbances either due to a wrong lifestyle our faulty dietary regimen, the efficacy of such coping mechanisms gets compromised. At this juncture, to balance the harmony of body and mind, the biochemical reactions occur at escalated rates. The byproducts of such biological reactions act as a causal agent to induce the unhealthy condition of body and mind which is commonly referred to as stress. 

The biochemistry of stress

The evolution of our species has created several biological molecules for the proper functioning of the body. The sole task of these molecules is to keep the being in a happy state. One such molecule is known as the “Happy Hormone”. Medically known as serotonin, the adequate production of this hormone is meant to keep the individuals out of stress. A decreased concentration of serotonin can cause disturbances in neurological functioning of the body.  Basically, serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is responsible for the conduction of electrical messages across the body. These electrical messages encode vital information regarding our behavior, memory, appetite, and sleep. One can imagine the results of the under secretion of this vital neurotransmitter. 

Can stress lead to anxiety or depression?

Stress and anxiety are the two sides of a coin. Both these metal conditions can display similar symptoms. It’s not only that these terms are used interchangeably, but both these conditions can also invite each other i.e. stress can lead to depression and vice versa. At times, it can be difficult to identify stress vs. depression vs. anxiety. The reason is that all these conditions often show similar symptoms viz. loss of appetite, sleepless nights, excessive worries, etc. In simple words, stress can be called a short term experience. However, an elongated duration of stress invites anxiety and prolonged anxiety pushes the host into the state of depression. All these conditions can persist at your workplace, home, or within your social circles. 

Can my lifestyle & wrong dietary regimen cause stress?

A faulty lifestyle is the leading cause of stress. A disturbed daily regimen, untimely meals, or use of intoxicating substances invite the scenarios which are sufficient enough to push someone into a stressed state of mind. Normally, stress is an integral part of everyone’s life. And it's not always avoidable. However, if it clings on to you, that's just unhealthy. Two major aspects of your lifestyle viz. diet and sleep are crucial determinants to invite or terminate a prolonged state of . Timely meals enriched with essential nutrients is the best thing that can be done to keep stress at bay. For a layman, it can be said that eat natural and eat fibrously enriched food, that will do the job. Another important aspect to eliminate stress from your life is the sleep cycle. Try to set up your schedule with the sun. Get up early in the morning, with the sun, and try to go to bed when the sun goes down. And yes, avoid the artificial lights of your cell phone, TV, etc. for prolonged periods. 

How stress affects my happy hormone?

As mentioned earlier, one has to maintain the optimum levels of the happy hormone. Now one might wonder how can something internal/ involuntary be achieved. Here is the secret molecular mechanism to maintain a healthy concentration of the happy hormone. The internal fire (digestive enzymes) of your body breaks the complex food components and while this breakdown, an amino acid called Tryptophan is produced. This tryptophan is a molecular component of your happy molecule (serotonin). That is why most of the serotonin is available in the digestive tract. And as per the ancient medical science of Ayurveda, the early sunlight can actually trigger the production of serotonin. The sun rays can potentially activate the receptor sites of the cell membranes to bind and transport sufficient serotonin naturally. So, technically, a bath in the early sun rays can help you to get rid of stress as it can enhance the natural concentration of the happy hormone. 

Does Yoga/ Pranayama help?

As per the opinion of the experts, ‘YES’ it does. The natural remedies can be of great benefit to treat stress, anxiety, and depression. Following routine exercise can be helpful in enhancing digestion which can automatically induce the production of happy molecule. And Hey! if you plan to exercise, doing it in the open sunlight can be a cherry on the cake. Doing Yoga/ Pranayama can actually give you control over yourself and help you to consciously mark the first outlets of your anxiety.

How to afford expensive psychiatric treatments on a tight budget?

Pshcharitist counseling can be expensive. The inability of health insurance and medical financing options to cover all treatments cost forces the patients to look for affordable payment plan options. So, opt for Denefits enhanced patient financing for bad credit for mental health treatments. We are on top among the patient financing companies in North America Denefits patient financing ensures instant processing, 100% approval rate, no credit check, NO hidden fees, low-interest rate, flexible financing terms, and letting the patient's loved ones be their helping hand (through our Social Healthcare Payments™ option, patients can raise funds for their medical bills). 

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How Denefits Payment Plans Help Retaining Patients

As a health care practitioner, your major focus is to offer the best medical treatment plan for patients. In general, it is recommended that your treatment decisions should not be influenced by the financial challenges faced by the patients. However, the lack of healthcare patient financing solutions, medical insurance, poor credit history, denied credit applications force patients to discontinue the required medical treatment. This gesture of patients can cause huge losses in your revenues.

How Denefits allows your patients to pay for your prescribed treatment?

It is perfectly understandable that a patient may need treatment irrespective of time or place. Hence, Denefits offers financing for medical procedures while offering payment plans to your patients. Across North America, Denefits finances your patients instantly. 

“No Good Credit History - No Worries.” 

Denefits (Healthcare Financing Company) does not run credit checks of your patients. We offer guaranteed payments. So, the practitioners can freely focus on an adequate treatment plan for their patients. We assist your practice to offer treatment for all those who approach your doorsteps. With these affordable treatment plans, your patients will certainly avail the necessary follow-ups. Hence, you can capture more recurring revenues.

The ethics & transparency of Denefits

The most common complaint of several consumers is that the credit card companies/ health insurances are often equipped with hidden fees & terms. Rest assured with Denefits, our healthcare financing services don't support such financial protocols. We don't have any hidden fees or terms & conditions. We are a value-based system. We stress on sharing all the terms & conditions beforehand. Hence, our system makes it impossible to charge your patients any additional service fee that has not been declared to them.

The flexibility with Denefits

Our medical patient financing lets your patients choose the amount they need and the time to repay the same, whatever suits their financial capacities. Denefits patient financing platform allows you to distribute your medical expense over months/ years. It, therefore, becomes convenient for your patients to pay the entire cost of any treatment plan in an easy & stress-free manner.

The innovative solutions of Denefits offer quick financial assistance and being a leading player in the patient financing industry, we are always keen to bring greater values and better opportunities to our business model. Our patient financial solutions can positively help to grow your practice with a higher number of satisfied patients. Our bond with practice makes it free from the burden of any financial condition of patients and the practitioner becomes free to focus on the medical needs of the patients.  

Choose Denefits Today!  

• Denefits offers a full spectrum of patient financing programs. It is the best platform that supports patients to pay their expensive/ unexpected medical bills, conveniently.
• Once you are connected with Denefits, you can count on instant patient financing and 100% approval rate that too, without credit checks. 
• Denefits interactive digital platform understands the patients’ needs and yields unique solutions tailored to their financial capacities.

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6 Reasons Healthcare Is So Expensive in the U.S.

Healthcare in the U.S. costs about twice as much as it does in any other developed country. If the $3 trillion U.S. healthcare sector were ranked as a country, it would be the world’s fifth largest economy according to “Consumer Reports.” The cost of this huge financial burden to every household because of lost wages, higher premiums and taxes plus additional out-of-pocket expensesis more than $8,000.

Even with all this money being spent on healthcare, the World Health Organization ranked the U.S. thirty-seventh in healthcare systems, and The Commonwealth Fund placed the U.S. last among the top 11 industrialized countries in overall healthcare.

Why is the U.S. paying so much more for care and not appearing at the top of the rankings? Here’s a look at six key reasons the U.S. is failing to provide adequate healthcare at reasonable prices.

1. Administrative Costs

The number one reason our healthcare costs are so high, says Harvard economist David Cutler, is that “the administrative costs of running our healthcare system are astronomical. About one quarter of healthcare cost is associated with administration, which is far higher than in any other country.”

One example Cutler brought up in a discussion on this topic with National Public Radio was the 1,300 billing clerks at Duke University Hospital, which has only 900 beds. Those billing specialists are needed to determine how to bill to meet the varying requirements of multiple insurers. Canada and other countries that have a single-payer system don’t require this level of staffing to administer healthcare.

2. Drug Costs

Another major difference in health costs between the U.S. and every other developed nation is the cost of drugs. The public definitely believes drug costs are unreasonable; now politicians are starting to believe that too. In most countries the government negotiates drug prices with the drug makers, but when Congress created Medicare Part D, it specifically denied Medicare the right to use its power to negotiate drug prices. The Veteran’s Administration and Medicaid, which can negotiate drug prices, pay the lowest drug prices. The Congressional Budget Office has found that just by giving the low-income beneficiaries of Medicare Part D the same discount Medicaid recipients get, the federal government would save $116 billion over 10 years. Think of what the savings might be if all Medicare recipients could benefit from Medicaid-negotiated drug prices!

3. Defensive Medicine

Yet another big driver of the higher U.S. health insurance bill is the practice of defensive medicine. Doctors are afraid that they will get sued, so they order multiple tests even when they are certain they know what the diagnosis is. A Gallup survey estimated that $650 billion annually could be attributed to defensive medicine. Everyone pays the bill on this with higher insurance premiums, co-pays and out-of-pocket costs, as well as taxes that go toward paying for governmental healthcare programs.

4. Expensive Mix of Treatments

U.S. medical practitioners also tend to use a more expensive mix of treatments. When compared with other developed countries, for example, the U.S. uses three times as many mammograms, two-and-a-half times the number of MRIs and 31% more Caesarean sections. This results in more being spent on technology in more locations. Another key part of the mix is that more people in the U.S. are treated by specialists, whose fees are higher than primary-care doctors, when the same types of treatments are done at the primary-care level in other countries. Specialists command higher pay, which drives the costs up in the U.S. for everyone.

5. Wages and Work Rules

Wages and staffing drive costs up in healthcare. Specialists are commanding high reimbursements and the overutilization of specialists through the current process of referral decision-making drives health costs even higher. The National Commission on Physician Payment Reform was the first step in fixing the problem; based on its 2013 report, the commission adopted 12 recommendations for changes to get control over physician pay. Now it is working with Congress to find a way to implement some of these recommendations.

6. Branding

“There is no such thing as a legitimate price for anything in healthcare,” says George Halvorson, the former chairman of health maintenance organization Kaiser Permanente. “Prices are made up depending on who the payer is.”

Providers who can demand the highest prices are the ones that create a brand everyone wants. “In some markets the prestigious medical institutions can name their price,” says Andrea Cabarello, program director at Catalyst for Payment Reform, a nonprofit that works with large employers to get some control on health costs.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has pushed back to some degree against the high costs created by branding. In central Florida, for example, one of the top brands is Florida Hospital. This year ACA policies offered by Humana did not include services provided by this brand. Similar types of contract negotiations knocked out top hospitals in other locations. It remains to be seen whether this will cause those hospitals to reduce prices to get those patients back.

The Bottom Line

Most other developed countries control costs, in part, by having the government play a stronger role in negotiating prices for healthcare. Their healthcare systems don’t require the high administrative costs that drive up pricing in the U.S. As the global overseers of their country’s systems, these governments have the ability to negotiate lower drug, medical equipment and hospital costs. They can influence the mix of treatments used and patients’ ability to go to specialists or seek more expensive treatments.

So far in the U.S., there has been a lack of political support for the government taking a larger role in controlling healthcare costs. The most recent legislation, the Affordable Care Act, focused on ensuring access to healthcare, but maintained the status quo to encourage competition among insurers and healthcare providers. This means there will be multiple payers for the services and less powerful control over negotiated pricing from providers of healthcare services.

Where to Find Affordable Health Insurance

Whether your trip to the doctor is for something as simple as a sinus infection or something as complex as cancer, you don’t want to feel worse when you receive the bill. The cost of medical services can hit the wallet hard: there are 1.7 million personal bankruptcies every year due to inability to pay medical bills — in fact, crushing healthcare debt is the number one reason for filing bankruptcy.

While having health insurance is no guarantee you won’t be overwhelmed with medical expenses in the event of a serious accident or health issue, it does let you rest easy in the knowledge that barring something extreme, you and your family can take care of your healthcare needs without going broke. Additionally, with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (often referred to as Obamacare or ACA), those without insurance in 2014 and beyond will face a penalty on their tax return — 1% of their yearly household income, or $95 per household member, whichever is higher.

Check with Your Employer

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 86% of full-time employees in the US have access to health insurance through their workplace. If you are in this category, your lowest-cost, best-coverage option is probably going to be your employer’s plan. Group health insurance generally provides significant savings, even with rising costs for the worker’s portion of the premium. In 2013, the average employee’s cost for family health insurance was $4565 annually, with the employer paying the remaining portion of $11,786.

Look to the Government

For a sizable portion of the population, the government is picking up their healthcare bill, either through Medicare for older Americans or state Medicaid plans for those with low incomes. If you’re over 65, you probably already receive Medicare. While Medicare is quite complex, in simplest terms, if you paid enough taxes while working, you will receive Medicare Part A — which covers hospital-related expenses — premium-free. Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient care, doctor’s visits, medical supplies and lab tests, requires a monthly premium of $104.90 for those with an annual income of less than $85,000, and carries a $147 deductible.

For those with very low income, Medicaid offers health insurance at low-or-no cost to the recipient. Though every state manages their Medicaid program differently, the general guideline is that individuals or families with income below 133% poverty level are eligible. Since the passage of the ACA, many states have expanded their Medicaid guidelines to cover far more families than in previous years. If you feel you might qualify for Medicaid, you can apply at your state’s social services department or through your state’s insurance exchange.

Shop through Your State Exchange

One of the key facets of the ACA is the creation of state exchanges to facilitate health insurance enrollment. Seventeen states run their own exchange, the remainder either default to the federal government’s exchange (which you can access through Healthcare.gov), or have a hybrid state/federal exchange program. With the advent of Obamacare, your state exchange (or the federal marketplace) is one of the easiest ways to compare insurance policies and choose the one best suited to your needs.

While the individual states have a great deal of flexibility in their insurance programs, generally, you’ll find a wide range of policies with varying deductibles, premiums, out-of-pocket limits and coverage details. You may also qualify for assistance in paying for your insurance:

• If your income is less than 400% of the poverty level, you may qualify for tax credits to help offset the cost of insurance
• If your income is under 250% of the poverty level, you may qualify for a subsidized insurance policy
• If your income is less than 138% of the poverty level, you qualify for Medicaid in those states with expanded coverage

Buy Health Insurance Direct

If you don’t qualify for any of the above options, or you simply prefer to buy insurance on your own, there are several ways to shop.

• Insurance companies: You can buy insurance directly from most insurance companies. Most have websites that let you compare plans and apply for coverage.
• Online patient financing sites: At websites like www.denefits.com, you can compare plans from multiple insurance companies, decide which offers the price and coverage that you need and apply online.
• Insurance brokers and agents: If you prefer a personal touch, contact an insurance agent or broker to discuss your options in person. The agent will help you choose the right plan for you and your family.

The Bottom Line

Health insurance not only provides peace of mind that you and your family are covered in case of illness or accident, but it’s also required by law. With so many options available, you’re sure to find a plan you can afford.

Read more: Where to Find Affordable Health Insurance | How to Get Medical Loans with Bad Credit

Source:

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/091614/where-find-affordable-health-insurance.asp

https://medium.com/patient-financing/6-reasons-healthcare-is-so-expensive-in-the-u-s-a42e7a11fd3e

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3 Easy Ways To Increase Practice ROI

It’s no secret that dentistry is one of the most competitive businesses around. Each and every one of your patients is hard-won – but are you making each patient relationship as profitable for your practice as possible? Check out these three tips to help you increase the lifetime value from the patients you already have (and ensure they get the best possible long-term care).

LEVERAGE YOUR PATIENT RECORDS

Most dentist don’t realize how lucrative the records they already have in their database can be. But they don't call dentists "file cabinet millionaires" for nothing – there's serious production hiding in the average practice’s existing files. And it isn’t hard to reclaim that revenue. Start by looking at patients who have gone dormant, or are behind on their recall – getting those patients to come back regularly adds thousands to your bottom line. Best of all, you can reach out to them automatically with your patient communication software without adding hours of work for your front desk. You can read more about the benefits of patient reactivation for dental patients here.

DIVERSIFY AND AUTOMATE COMMUNICATIONS

Let's face it: manually sending appointment, confirmations, recall reminders and treatment plan reminders is a thing of the past. In 2017, it's essential to have a patient communication system that can streamline scheduling and communications via email, phone, mail and two-way text. Not only will your front desk be much more efficient, they’ll also have more time for other important tasks like soliciting patient reviews, reactivating dormant patients, and sending out birthday/holiday greetings. You can learn more about automating your dental practice communications here.

Related Post: DENTAL FINANCING: BENEFICIAL TO BOTH PATIENT AND PRACTITIONER

TEACH YOUR STAFF TO SELL

While most dentists dream of having staff that regularly sell additional services to your patients, sales is a skill that requires a degree of training. Invest some time to prepare your staff with some strategies, charts, and offers so that they'll feel confident enough to up-sell. If you're finding that your front desk is hesitant or uncomfortable, remind them that encouraging patients to take better care of their oral health and accept treatments is one of the best things they can do for themselves – and one of the best long-term investments they can make! Get your staff out of the mindset that selling = bad – that should unstick the wheels!

Source: https://denefits.wordpress.com/2018/09/17/3-easy-ways-to-increase-practice-roi/

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Need Major Dental Work? No Savings? Here is A Complete Solution to Approach this!

I went about 10 years without seeing a dentist, and I never properly brushed and flossed. This resulted in a medical condition that caused the tooth decay and required dental implants. I had absolutely no money to fund the treatment and I couldn’t leave because it was too painful. It is a tough spot to be in when you do not have the savings or insurance because untreated dental work can result in debilitating, serious pain in the future.

Luckily, the university I was studying in had a free dental clinic services for routine checkups, filling, etc. I used their services, but getting a regular appointment was so difficult that sometimes I had to wait for hours. I had no money, so I had no choice.

But, it isn’t the same today!

Patients nowadays have a lot more choices than there were a decade ago. They can take help of local healthcare communities, go for patient financing, travel abroad, etc. In this post, we have listed 5 different ways to get the dental work (minor or major) completed even without any significant savings or dental insurance.

University’s Dental Care

Let us begin with how I got my teeth fixed. This option might be contradicting to many because the treatment is performed by the student(or students) under the supervision of a professor. However, as per my experience, it was the safest procedure. My initial checkup was free, and my co-pays for exams thereafter were only like $5 ( it was 10 years ago). I was treated by a 4th-year dentistry student and one instructor doctor. The student was doing the work and the instructor was examining the procedure to verify nothing is wrong. Even the X-rays test was performed by both, the student and instructor doctor. Every time a task wasn’t performed appropriately, the instructor doctor would ask the student to redo the procedure for my assurance.

The experience was great; the cost was affordable. The benefits of going to a school are:

• Lowered price
• Quality care
• Ample of time spent on each dental work to ensure all the questions of patients are answered

Traveling Abroad

The dental tourism is on the rise! The Americans have Mexico to get the dental work done in an inexpensive way. It is a common situation to save up to 60% on a dental treatment in Mexico. Hungary, Costa Rica, Ukraine, and several Asian countries also offer treatment for a fraction of the price patients can expect to pay in the US. While the savings look impressive, dental work abroad should be approached with caution. 

There are way too many horror stories. Though the standards are much higher nowadays, being vigilant is paramount as there are dishonest and disreputable doctors in every country. Therefore, it is important to research adequately and get as many answers as possible. More the answers, lesser the risk.

Charitable Dental Organisations

Go to https://www.healthcare.gov/community-health-centers/ and look for a community health center nearby. Most of these centers offer dental services at a sliding fee. Medicaid is also a viable option, but its coverage depends on the state. At times, patients might have to pay additional amount out of your own pocket.

In addition, there are often free clinics for uninsured or underserved patients, such as UNCSNDA & Mission of Mercy. Even, the local dental office, at times, have charity index fund type of programs. Irrespective of where you reside, just search for “free dental care in “your location”, and you might come across surprising results.

Big, Free Dental Events

It is an ideal option for anyone looking for free dental work. Remote Area Medical(RAM) is one of the well renowned non-profit organizations that do free dental work across the country. They bring in several dentists from local practices and have all their chairs filled all day. First come, first served. ADA(American Dental Association) also organizes multiple events throughout the year to help patients suffering from dental problems.

On a disadvantageous side, the dentists participating in these events generally offer a limited set of services. You might not get dental implant services, but you can surely get a free checkup.

Patient Financing

Patients often ask dentists for help with billing and extending time to pay the practice. Patient financing is an ideal solution to address these requests and is quite easy to implement. Patients apply for financing, and once approved, can access their credit to pay for treatment. The much-needed benefit for patients in this is they can move forward with the care they need immediately while paying a convenient monthly fee.

The patient financing program is a perfect way to help patients get the dental work they need while managing the out-of-pocket costs. Because everyone has different financial needs, it is important that a patient must choose the right program in order to get the needed flexibility.

End Note:

Dental work is one of the costliest practices in the United States. They can range from as small as $200 for a regular checkup to as big as $6000 for braces. The medical insurance alone won’t suffice for the huge cost incurred during a major dental work. Even savings don’t help in most cases. Thus, it is better to have a backup plan if things ever go haywire.

Source: https://www.denefits.com/need-major-dental-work-no-savings-here-is-a-complete-solution-to-approach-this/

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