Robert Wagner Insurance April 2022 Newsletter

Employers Without Retirement Plans Must Enroll in State Program

California enacted a new law in 2016 requiring employers that do not already sponsor an employee-retirement plan to participate in a state-run retirement program called CalSavers. Employers with 5 or more employees (of any type – full time, part time, seasonal) must enroll in the program by June 30, 2022.

Since 2020, all California businesses have been eligible to participate in the CalSavers program; however, the approaching final registration deadline of June 30, 2022, encompasses all employers with five or more employees. Employers with 100 or more employees had a prior registration deadline of September 30, 2020. Employers with 50 or more employees had a prior registration deadline of June 30, 2021. An employer that already sponsors, or begins to sponsor, a traditional retirement plan ahead of the deadline does not have a CalSavers participation requirement.
Additionally, Californians can enroll on their own as individuals if they do not have access to a retirement savings plan through an employer.

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2nd Booster Approved

Age 50 and older can get a second COVID booster. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the additional dose on March 29. Read More

Feds Say They'll Ration COVID Treatments to the States

Biden administration officials have announced plans to ration monoclonal antibody treatments. The federal government will delay buying "hundreds of thousands" of monoclonal antibody treatments and instead cut state allocations of the drug by 30%. The move is likely to spark criticism from Republicans, who most want these treatments, and have already complained that the administration is holding back some therapies. "Even with these cuts, we anticipate that our supply of monoclonal antibody treatments will run out by late May," a senior administration official said. Read More>>

Anti-Viral Pills to Fight Covid

Sore throat? Cough? Sniffles? Finally, effective treatments for COVID-19 are available, but temper your expectations.

A March 21st article by Teri Sforza for SCNG tells of some exciting developments in treating Covid-19.

If you get tested at a pharmacy-based clinic, and you’re positive and at high risk, you can get antiviral pills on the spot, which can cut the chance of developing severe disease by some 85%.

To find a pharmacy near you with the drugs, see https://bit.ly/3wjWZBh. Click on the magnifying glass and enter your city or ZIP code.

What are the drugs?

Antivirals prevent viruses from making copies of themselves, while monoclonal antibodies bind to a virus and help the body get rid of it. Here’s a few of the treatment options:

Pfizer’s Paxlovid is the new star in the antiviral treatment arsenal. It’s a series of pills, taken orally.
Merck’s molnupiravir, an antiviral that received emergency use authorization in December as well. It works by introducing errors into the virus’s genetic code, which prevents the virus from replicating.
Veklury, the antiviral remdesivir, has been available since 2020 and isn’t part of the federal/state effort; clinics can order it directly. The drug must be delivered intravenously.
Monoclonal antibodies must be given intravenously or through injection as well, within about 10 days after symptoms. Sotrovimab is effective against omicron and part of the federal effort.
Evusheld is for those who can’t get COVID-19 vaccines for medical reasons or who didn’t have robust immune responses to vaccination.

COVID-19 tied to Diabetes and Pregnancy Complications

Researchers are continuously learning more about COVID-19 and how it affects certain individuals even after infection.

Two recent study findings that link COVID-19 to increased likelihood of diabetes development and pregnancy complications.

Individuals with a past COVID-19 diagnosis are at greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes within one year from a study published March 21 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology
COVID-19 during pregnancy can more than double the risk of negative outcomes and complications for unvaccinated individuals from a study published March 21 by JAMA Internal Medicine

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Hypothyroidism – How to Heal the Thyroid

Thyroid conditions generally fall into two categories: hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The most common thyroid problem is hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid, which leads to a slow metabolism, hormonal imbalances, a weak immune system, muscle pain, weight gain, fatigue, dry skin, hair loss, heart problems, and much more.

Naturopaths and many of the more progressive physicians and endocrinologists are using a combination of lab tests and looking at symptoms, while many holistic practitioners recognize the testing is flawed, therefore, they look at the symptoms and the function of the body as a whole.

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High Cost of Ambulance Rides

From Axios.com

The cost of an ambulance ride has soared over the past five years, according to a report from FAIR Health, shared first with Axios.

Why it matters: Patients typically have little ability to choose their ambulance provider, and often find themselves on the hook for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.

The details: Most ambulance trips billed insurers for "advanced life support," according to FAIR Health's analysis.

Private insurers' average payment for those rides jumped by 56% between 2017 and 2020 — from $486 to $758.

Ambulance operators' sticker prices, before accounting for discounts negotiated with insurers, have risen 22% over the same period, and are now over $1,200.

Medicare, however, kept its payments in check: Its average reimbursement for advanced life support ambulance rides increased by just 5%, from $441 to $463.

Between the lines: Ambulances aren't covered by the new law that bans most surprise medical bills, meaning patients are still on the hook in payment disputes between insurers and ambulance operators.

State of play: Ground ambulances are operated by local fire departments, private companies, hospitals and other providers and paid for in a variety of ways, which makes this a tricky issue to address, according to the Commonwealth Fund.

Some states — such as Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Vermont and West Virginia — have protections against surprise ground ambulance billing, a columnist in the Deseret News pointed out earlier this year.

But in California, Florida, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Washington state and Wisconsin, more than two-thirds of emergency ambulance rides included an out-of-network charge for ambulance-related services that posed a surprise bill risk in 2018, according to a Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker brief.

The Biden administration has said it's working on the problem.

The bottom line: Costs for ground ambulance care are on the rise and, with few balance billing protections, that means patients could still be hit with some big surprises if they wind up needing a ride in an ambulance.

15 Most Expensive States for Long-Term Care

The cost of long-term care services increased across all provider types in 2021 and increased more substantially in certain settings, according to Genworth’s annual cost-of-care survey.

15.Oregon

14.Vermont

13.Washington

12.Maine

11.North Dakota

10.New Hampshire

9.New Jersey

8.Delaware

7.New York

6.Minnesota

5.Hawaii

4.Massachusetts

3.Connecticut

2.District of Columbia

1.Alaska

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Which is Better: Fresh or Frozen Meat?

Fresh vs frozen meat — it’s a debate that’s been used in advertising and drives meat enthusiasts to tears. Fresh meat is often tied closely with being of better quality and having a much better flavor than when it’s frozen. However, there are those that claim freezing your proteins has little effect on the quality. We’ve even seen it argued that freezing meat can tenderize it, making it better. So, who’s right? You may be surprised to find that the answer isn’t so clear cut.

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Walk Your Way to Fitness

For those who don’t take to cycling, running, or other forms of intense cardio activity, there’s good news coming your way: Walking is a workout! In fact, walking is the most natural form of exercises — something you can practice virtually anywhere, and it offers an opportunity to shed pounds, too.

Why Walk?

Simple, uninterrupted walking can burn between 150-400 calories per hour (depending on speed).

You can easily boost this number by integrating techniques that increase heart rate, engage your core, and tone your glutes and arms. This requires a small dose of confidence since many walking workouts might look “unusual” in a public setting (think: lunges, swinging arms, and brisk power walking). If you can happily accept this new style of exercise, you’ll start sweating in no time.

The Walking Workout

Scan your posture and core. When you maintain good posture, your walk is activated by the core and not the lower body. Placing one foot in front of the other engages the psoas muscles (those deep pelvic core muscles) required to move the thighs. Translation: Your walk gets transformed into a core workout!

Pick up the pace. Start with a 2-minute power walk to get the heart rate going.

Add arms. After your pulse quickens, you might feel ready to level-up. An easy way to do this is by coordinating arm movements, which requires the body to use more energy and burn more calories.

Add legs. Tighten your booty by adding incline to your walk or incorporating walking lunges.

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