A new video, including a health tip from an athlete on the UnitedHealthcare cycling team, will be posted each month.

The topics align with the national annual health and wellness concepts are seasonally relevant, and range from general health and wellness to exercise and fitness equipment.

• Video 1: Smart eating, March
• Video 2: Eating a healthy breakfast, April
• Video 3: Exercise and arthritis, May
• Video 4: Men’s health, June
• Video 5: Sun safety, July
• Video 6: Stress management, August
• Video 7: Childhood obesity, September
• Video 8: Breast cancer awareness, October
• Video 9: Diabetes management, November
• Video 10: Bike safety, December
• Video 11: Weight management, January 2013
• Video 12: Healthy heart tips, February 2013

United Healthcare clients can post links to the videos on their intranets or include them in employee communications as appropriate.

In our ongoing effort to continue to find innovative ways to reach their members and leverage the power of social media, links to the videos will be available from United Healthcare’s websites, UHC.TV, uhc.com, UnitedHealthGroup.com and in their Customer Connection newsletter each month.

We encourage you to use this information in these practical solutions with your employees to help them understand how to apply the information to their own lives, to help boost their mental and physical health and possibly save money on their health care in the process.

If you want more information on United Healthcare, or a Wellness plan, give us call at (520) 721-4848.

HSA Contribution Limits:

• Individual (self-only HDHP): $3,250($150 increase from 2012)
• Family: $6,450 ($200 increase from 2012)

Limits for catch-up contributions (for persons over age 55): $1,000 (unchanged from 2012)

HDHP Minimum Required Deductibles:

• Self-only: $1,250
• Family: $2,500

HDHP Out-of-Pocket Maximum:

• Self-only: $6,250 (a $200 increase from 2012)
• Family: $12,500 (a $400 increase from 2012)

For more information view the IRS change or contact us at (520) 721-4848.

Here’s your best defense—from least to most invasive, medically speaking. Try the first few and you may not need to hit the pharmacy at all.

1) Tree pollens, grasses and weeds — Your symptoms surfaced as early as February, when trees started blooming. Right now, it’s grasses that are making you miserable (they will through late summer). Weeds will keep you wheezing through fall.   To police pollen, Click on the National Allergy Bureau’s website for a daily ranking of allergens, including seasonal tree pollens, grasses, weeds, and outdoor molds. Stay indoors when levels are high or very high for those that you’re sensitive to.

2) Wear a mask — If you must finish that gardening before the in-laws show up, don a not-so-chic but très useful N95 filter mask ($25 for 20), which keeps pollen out of your nose and mouth.

3) Wash your hair at night — Rinse the pollen out, especially if you’re a gel or mousse fan. These products can trap pollen.

4) Soak up the calm — In one study, seasonal allergy (hay fever) sufferers had a more extreme reaction the day after performing a stressful task, such as giving a speech.  “Stress raises levels of the hormone cortisol,” says Clifford Bassett, MD, an allergist at New York University Medical Center, and that often leads to an amped-up allergic response.  A few minutes of meditation or a soak in the tub should help.

5) Keep your nose clean — “Your nose is like a car windshield—pollen sticks to it,” says Neil Kao, MD, an allergist at the Allergic Disease and Asthma Center, in Greenville, S.C.  Try a saline sinus rinse, found at any drugstore.  If that doesn’t do it, buy the nonprescription herbal nasal spray NasalCrom (cromolyn sodium), which helps prevent allergic reactions in your nose.

To continue this article Click Here.

– By Hallie Levine Sklar and the Good People at Health.com

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona customers with individual and family plans will be able to pay their bills online using their checking or savings accounts through Direct Bill Pay.

No more writing checks, stamping an envelope and counting the days for it to clear. With Direct Bill Pay, you can transition to going paperless and simplify your life. Direct Bill Pay is available 24/7 through your BlueNet account at azblue.com.

Members are also able to choose to go paperless with online billing statements. It’s quick and it’s easy – visit azblue.com/GreenOptions, log into your BlueNet account at azblue.com, and choose paperless billing statements. more information

Need an insurance quote from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona? Click Here!

“Obesity probably reflects many of the factors in our western culture like the way we cook and the ingredients that we use or don’t use,” Jhaveri said. “More than one-third of kids in our country today are obese, and another one-third are overweight. So that is two-thirds of our kids beyond what they should be in terms of their weight. That is a problem.”

Jhaveri pointed out that parents should focus on the amount of physical activity kids are engaged in and how much time they are spending in front of the TV, on phones and playing computer games.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Arizona chapter put out an initiative based on a national model that we like here at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona called 5-2-1-0,” Jhaveri explained.

• FIVE servings of fruits and vegetables a day
• TWO hours or less of screen time
• ONE hour or more of significant physical activity
• ZERO calories from soda

“A lot of states have rallied around these concepts,” Jhaveri said.

(information provided by BCBSAZ)

Need more information to help keep your kids healthy?  Call us at (520) 721-4848.