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March Healthy Madness

March Healthy Madness

Happy Women's HistoryMonth 💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻

And Happy First Day of Spring 💐 💐 💐

Brought to you from the desk of Naama,What a mad, mad month – — Jack Kornfield shared a couple of weeks ago - "To thrive as a species and address the great challenges of this time, our remarkable outer technological development now must be matched by radical inner development." So while the day and night are becoming equal and the thrive for a balanced life, balanced mind, body, balanced feelings, and balanced diet is approaching the Spring Equinox. I feel hope in the new beginning as we plant new seeds for a brighter future, blooming flowers, and much greener grasses. It is time for rebirth and to ignite the potential to take action and pursue our dreams with confidence and determination, particularly in personal growth, independence, and leadership. It's time to take bold steps toward our health goals, even if they feel somewhat risky or unconventional. Let us take advantage of our physical energy and vitality, making it an excellent time to focus on self-care, cleansing, and wellness. Out of the darkness comes the growth of the light of Spring and all of the hope and potential it brings. So regardless of any madness swirling, weather, bank, economic, and political storms, we can grasp and go through, the most beneficial activity for me is to take care of myself, my health, and my soul. This is the only way I know how to survive. I was listening to Pope Francis saying, 'fast from angry words so you can be kind, fast from grudges so you can be reconciled, fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy, fast from selfishness so you can be compassionate to others, and fast from complaints to contemplate simplicity.'- So true, but, challenging at times.March, is in full bloom celebrating Women's History Month. What better way to say thank you to so many incredible women in our lives as I participated in the Visionary Women event. Maria Shriver mentioned on stage – 'What's real anymore? What's fake? What's safe? What's sound? These are the questions that abound us all these days, and the truth is that giving back, social giving, and service, and those who serve will save us all. Giving women and men the same job changed the world and made a difference; those were the days. On a health note, we are seeing technological advancements in telemedicine and digital health platforms that are helping improve care delivery while driving down costs. California continues to lead the way in implementing progressive healthcare policies, such as offering comprehensive reproductive healthcare and protecting patients from surprise medical bills. However, challenges are still ahead, such as ensuring access to affordable medications and addressing workforce shortages in certain areas. Overall, the state of health care in California is expected to be on a positive trajectory in 2023, but continued efforts will be necessary to ensure continued progress. Join the team and me in body and breath as we harmonize with the season to find balance and evoke feelings of happiness, renewal, and growth. Grow the seeds of our potential power in the landscape of our healthy lives.Naama & The RightPlan Team❤

Capcon 2023

It was an honor to be able to take the yearly trip to Washington, D.C., where we lobby on behalf of individuals, Employers, Covered CA, and the Medicare benefits market. It is fascinating to be reminded that politicians genuinely don’t understand how our healthcare system work. However, they do understand that improving it is necessary. Together with my colleagues at NABIP (National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals), we explored pressing issues in our health insurance policies and regulations with the offices of Linda T. Sánchez, Tony Cardenas, Congressman Brad Sherman, and Maxine Waters.*In the photo, the office of Congresswoman Linda represents California’s 38th congressional district, and meeting with her aid Cody Willing who was listening to our concerns and suggestions. *& I had the honor of opening the afternoon keynote session on the first day of the conference with 15 minutes meditation session -

~ Here are some of the talking points:

➕ On behalf of the employers, we strongly oppose capping or modifying the individual tax exclusion of employment-based coverage

➕ We support initiatives to innovate HSA- (HDHP) eligible plans, allowing Primary care physician visits before we meet the deductible.

➕ On behalf of our Medicare clients, we requested support excluding licensed agents and brokers from call recording. Some of us have been servicing clients for over 3 decades, so this regulation doesn’t make sense to record clients calling our office.➕ We explained why treating Cobra as a credible coverage for Medicare patients is essential. But, unfortunately, currently, they are subject to a lifetime penalty.

Such an honor to have breakfast with Dr. Bill Cassidy,the senior United States Senator for Louisiana. It was great to learn about how he co-founded the Greater Baton Rouge Community Clinic, providing free dental and health care to the working uninsured. He spoke about the vital and critical role of the health insurance agent and adviser in helping navigate enrollment and guiding people to the best, most affordable coverage.

A fun fact about Dr. Cassidy was that he met his wife in Los Angeles and shared how he loves the city.

Individual and family

Updated Federal Public Charge Policy

The final rule for “public charge” determinations took effect on December 23, 2022. If you depend heavily on government assistance or “public benefits,” then you are determined to be a “public charge”. The final rule restores previous policies when defining the use of “public benefits”, including the exclusion of Medi-Cal programs in that definition, except for long-term institutionalized care. In addition, health coverage and financial assistance through Covered California is also not considered a “public benefit”.Accordingly, obtaining health coverage through Covered California or most Medi-Cal programs does not make you a “public charge”. So, it will not affect your immigration status, chances of becoming a lawful permanent resident, or chances of becoming a naturalized citizen. It does make a big difference for people currently in the process of getting their permanent residence.

COVID-19 State of Emergency has

Ended

California’s state of emergency declaration, a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ended on February 28. The federal state of emergency also ends this spring on May 11.

Special Enrollment Period - Even though the Open Enrollment deadline has passed, you still have the opportunity to sign up for quality health insurance and get financial help to lower the cost of monthly premiums. Most of us qualify for financial assistance because of the increased and expanded financial support available through the Inflation Reduction Act. Some of us can also get comprehensive coverage for less than $10 a month.

Further, you can sign up during the Special Enrollment Period if you experience a Qualifying Life Event (QLE).

Two new Qualifying Life Events:

➕ State of Emergency: Impacted by winter storms

If you are affected by the winter storms you may qualify for this SEP through March 5, 2023.

➕ Newly qualifies for health insurance stipend

Suppose you are new to a company that offers health insurance stipends or are currently working for a company and newly eligible for a stipend due to an increase in working hours. In that case, you may qualify for and benefit from this expanded SEP. For example, drivers for app-based like Lyft and Uber may be eligible.

You don't' have to be sick in order to take care of your health

Bone Broth has been around for many years but has recently gained popularity and is widely accepted as a healthy food. It is a clear, protein-rich liquid obtained by simmering meaty joints and bones in water for a long time.

Read on here to find out the health benefits of bone broth

What we are reading

Here's Why You Should Make a Habit of Having More Fun

Between the pandemics, price hikes, SVB Bank, and pandemonium, for many Americans making time for "fun" has been low on the list of priorities.

What do they say about the time when you're having fun? It's precisely in making space for fun that's likely to make unprecedented times fly.

Read this article >>

Findings from the 2022 KFF Women’s Health Survey

This survey talks about how many

women use preventive services, but gaps in awareness of insurance coverage requirements are still persisting.

True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart

Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh gives an insight into the nature of real love. With simplicity, warmth, and directness, he explores the four key aspects of love as described in the Buddhist tradition: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and freedom—

explaining how to experience them in our day-to-day lives.

Travel