Month: September 2018

2018-09-27T10:07:00

(BPT) – It probably feels like it wasn’t long ago that you enrolled in your current Medicare prescription drug plan, also known as a Part D plan. But time flies, and Medicare Open Enrollment is here again (starting on October 15th). Consider these five tips that will help you find the coverage you need and help you save money.

* Don’t delay. According to some estimates, as many as 80 percent of seniors may choose to stay in a Medicare prescription drug plan that doesn’t match their needs. In part, this is because some people delay researching the plan that’s right for them until the closing of Open Enrollment on December 7. By then, the task of identifying that plan that fits your financial and health needs can seem overwhelming.

* Lower your costs by using preferred retail and mail order pharmacies. Look for plans with a “preferred pharmacy network.” By filling your prescriptions at a preferred pharmacy, you may save on copays. If you take a chronic medication, make sure to review the plan’s mail order options since getting a 90-day supply delivered to your door may save you time and money.

* Make sure your drugs are covered. Each Medicare Part D plan has a list of drugs that it covers—called a “formulary.” When comparing plans, always check the formulary to make sure the drugs you’re currently taking are covered, as well as the exact dosage. If a drug is not covered, you could end up paying full price for the medication. Formularies change every year, so you should always check to make sure your medication is on the list of covered drugs when considering your plan for next year.

* Review your medications with your healthcare provider. If you’re on brand-name drugs, see if there are generics or alternatives that can be prescribed instead to save you money. A brand or generic alternative drug that is in the same therapeutic class as the medication you are on can be just as effective. If a drug you’re currently taking is not covered by the plan, talk to your doctor about the possibility of using an alternative drug that is included on the formulary.

* Focus on the future. In addition to reviewing your current medications, ask your doctor if there are any other medications you’ll likely be prescribed in the coming year. For instance, if you’re pre-diabetic, you could ask if there may be a chance that you’ll need a diabetes treatment next year. When selecting your Medicare Part D plan, consider your needs—both now and in the future—so you’ll be better prepared for the road ahead.

Whether you’re enrolling in a Medicare Part D plan for the first time or have done it before, you’re bound to have questions. Visit www.RoadmapForMedicare.com for answers and to help prepare for the road ahead so you can be ready to pick the plan that’s best for next year.

2018-09-27T07:59:00

(BPT) – As the leaves change and the nighttime air takes on a chill, our thoughts naturally turn to warm, delicious foods that offer an element of comfort on a chilly autumn night.

Some comfort foods are hugely rooted in nostalgia. Others are just so enjoyably crispy, crunchy, chewy, sweet or savory, they bring a smile as soon as we tuck in.

This time of year, the ultimate comfort food is any warm dish featuring the flavorful, crunchy apples that are among the best parts of autumn. Pick up a bushel of your favorite variety at Meijer stores this fall, then slice ‘em and dice ‘em to create one of these tasty (yet easy) autumn favorites.

* Apple and cheddar pasta bake: For a main-entrée version of apple pie with cheddar, create a sauce by sautéing two cups of chopped, peeled, tart cooking apples with 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion and 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in 3 tablespoons flour, 3 teaspoons thyme, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup apple cider, and 2 cups of whole milk, melting in one 23-ounce package of softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup of shredded white cheddar. Add the melted sauce to 12 oz. of your favorite cooked pasta, sprinkle with panko crumbs sautéed in butter and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

* Apple, brie and ham paninis: For a scrumptious balance of sweet and savory flavors, fill olive oil-brushed sourdough bread slices with thin layers of sliced ham, brie, medium-tart apples and whole cranberry sauce. Grill for 2 minutes on each side using a panini press or skillet until brie is melted and the bread is golden brown.

* Slow-cooked apple pork chops: In your crockpot, place three to four boneless center-cut pork chops of one-inch thickness. Dice in three red delicious apples and a small yellow onion. Mix up then add in 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low for four to five hours, serving with crispy French bread that can mop up the drippings.

* Slow-cooked spicy apples: Peel and slice six Granny Smith apples into your crockpot. Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cornstarch and cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to taste. Cook on high for two hours and serve warm, adding to ice cream if you choose.

* Nearly instant apple dumplings: Peel and slice a large, tart apple. Unroll a tube of crescent-roll dough, roll up each piece with an apple slice and place them in a baking dish. Brush them with a caramel made of 1/2 cup melted butter, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, then pour a half-can of lemon-lime flavored pop over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

Don’t miss the glories of apple season this year. Instead, celebrate autumn by treating yourself and your family to a range of warm and delicious dishes featuring the classic and versatile fruit.

Meijer stores are offering 20 different varieties of apples this season. Find more ideas for serving up tasty comfort foods at Meijer.com.

2018-09-26T12:01:00

(BPT) – If one family trend is an indicator, aging in America is in for a transformation. As people plan their retirement years, more and more are preferring to make the right adjustments at home to age in place, rather than exploring alternatives such as assisted living facilities and nursing homes. For many, that can mean opting to live under the same roof as their grown children and perhaps even their grandchildren.

The advantages of living together

The post-war shift away from communal living is in reverse. A recent report from Pew Research says 20 percent of Americans are now living in multigenerational households, a significant increase from the all-time low of 12 percent back in 1980.

For many families, living together under one roof is a financially practical solution to offset the increasing financial pressures felt across all generations, from healthcare costs to child care. Where housing is concerned, a majority of California seniors saw living at home — and renovating it to accommodate their needs — as a less expensive option over assisted living or a nursing home, according to a market research survey conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of SCAN Health Plan, a Medicare Advantage plan that serves California seniors. In addition, 61 percent expressed a preference to make changes to stay in their existing home as long as possible rather than move out.

Aside from the financial advantages, living together holds other benefits for seniors. More than half (55 percent) of seniors said they’d be most comfortable living in their current home as they age, ideally with a spouse or other family members. Less than half (47 percent) voiced a preference for living alone at home, 17 percent favor moving in with their children, and 9 percent expect to need assisted living or a nursing home.

It’s clear that the idea of living at home with family members — with a spouse, or together with grown children and even grandchildren — is gaining traction. Communal living has many social, emotional and economic upsides that benefit all family members, but it’s important to plan ahead so everyone is comfortable.

If this sounds like a solution that would work for your family, it’s important to think through how you would handle some basic things, from adapting your existing space to managing money, to ensure a smooth transition.

Respect for privacy: The first consideration is recognizing the privacy needs of others. Some developers are building housing designed for intergenerational living. Even if you’re not planning on moving to one of these units, their floor plans can provide some inspiration and guidance if you have the room and budget to renovate your existing accommodations to add more separation. Walls, a private entrance, a shower or a kitchenette are upgrades that can make a home more functional for multigenerational living. If renovations are not practical, it’s still important to talk about how to manage the space you have to accommodate the additional family members. Cooking, showering, bedtimes and parking are all things to think about.

Communication: Combining households can be difficult, and there will be a period of adjustment. Both sets of adults may come in with schedules and habits they’ve grown accustomed to, along with varying tolerance levels for TV, noise and dust. This is especially true if family members are readjusting to the presence of children after a decade or more of child-free living. The key to making it work is a commitment to communicate, which means everyone gets a chance to be heard, and everyone works toward a compromise.

Money mindfulness: The other issue to be mindful of is money. Unlike a roommate situation, family finances can get murky. From the start, be clear on who pays for what, from utilities, to child care to dinners out. To make sure things stay on track and to anticipate upcoming onetime expenses, a monthly budget meeting is always a good idea.

Seek support: Make yourself aware of the resources in your community to help you or your family member maintain independent living as long as possible. For example, SCAN Health Plan also offers a number of programs and services at no cost to seniors and their caregivers in many California counties. SCAN’s mission is to keep seniors healthy and independent, and that extends beyond its own plan membership.

Learn more about how SCAN Health Plan can help you or your family member by visiting scanhealthplan.com.

2018-09-25T15:51:00

(BPT) – Today, food delivery competition has expanded from traditional restaurants to include local grocery stores and data-driven giants like Amazon. To stand out, companies need a competitive differentiator. Domino’s, founded in 1960, cut through the increased competition’s crust and remains one of the largest pizza companies in the world because it recognizes this.

The company boasts significant business in both delivery and carryout, serving a million pizzas daily out of its more than 14,000 stores in 85 markets. They do this by integrating customer data across multiple platforms, including mobile, social and email, to increase efficiency and provide a more flexible customer ordering experience. Relying on technology as a competitive differentiator helped the pizza giant achieve more than 50 percent of all global retail sales in 2017 from digital channels, primarily online ordering and mobile applications.

Here’s how the pizza company did it, and the tips you can take to do the same:

Domino’s AnyWare creates data everywhere: AnyWare is a digital platform that allows the company’s customers to order pizza from their smartwatches, TVs, car entertainment systems and social media platforms. All of these pizza orders across the array of digital mediums create an information tsunami, or in the company’s eyes, a competitive advantage. The pizza company realized that data is a weapon in its competitive market, and it needed to be available on demand. The company defined the requirements and goals for a solution, including speed-to-market implementation, cost and the ability to streamline workflow and reduce custom development work.

Cut down on complexity and streamline the process: Previously, the pizza company used multiple tools for capturing data and multiple agencies for marketing campaigns, all while trying to manage 17 terabytes of data. To cut down on complexity and streamline its processes, the pizza company teamed up with Talend, a cloud data integration company, to deploy Talend Big Data to integrate all of this data from everywhere — 85,000 structured and unstructured data sources in all, pouring into its system every day — to create a single view of its customers and global operations. The company uses this solution to ensure it is delivering the best product it can to its customers as fast as possible, while also analyzing all segments of its business to keep up with changing needs and constantly evolving competitive pressures. Implementing this new technology quickly transitioned the pizza company from a traditional ordering mechanism to an e-commerce platform.

Multiple touchpoints, one buying experience: Domino’s built a data infrastructure that collects information from every touchpoint, including all the company’s point of sales systems and 26 supply chain centers, and through all its channels, including text messages, Twitter, Pebble, Android and Amazon Echo. Data is then fed into the company’s Enterprise Management Framework and then combined with enrichment data from third-party sources and geocode, demographic and competitive information. Now, the pizza company has a trusted, single source of the truth that it can use to improve business performance from logistics to financial forecasting while enabling one-to-one buying experiences across multiple touchpoints.

With all of the challenges a business faces in trying to create a digital transformation, one of the main lessons to be learned from this story is that having a bird’s eye view is of the utmost importance, and that data can help any brand deliver a better customer experience. The pizza company integrated data from everywhere to create a 360-degree view of its customers, holding the pizza company’s spot at the top of the food chain. Now Domino’s isn’t only able to deliver pizza; they are delivering a tailored experience to every consumer that interacts with the brand, no matter the medium.

2018-09-25T12:01:00

(BPT) – When you enter a grocery store, you’re suddenly faced with thousands of options. You want to get the staples you need and you want the best nutrition for your family, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed. How do you know what’s your best choice?

“Options like brown versus vitamin-enriched white bread, or, grade A versus AA eggs can cause confusion for even savvy shoppers,” says Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner, winner of the hit primetime ABC television show My Diet Is Better Than Yours. “With so many choices it’s difficult to know what’s what.”

Blatner revels the truth about some of the most common myths and misconceptions of grocery store staples to streamline trips and ensure you’re bringing home the most nutritious options.

Bread

Many people believe the darker the bread, the healthier it is, causing them to skip labels and grab a brown loaf on the go. The problem is, just because bread is brown doesn’t mean it’s whole grain. That color could be achieved through caramel coloring.

“What you see doesn’t tell the whole story, so it’s important to look at labels to get the facts,” says Blatner. “Whole grain and sprouted grain are always good bread choices for better nutrition. It’s also important to pay attention to sugar content. There are many great options available with 0 grams of sugar.”

Eggs

Egg-grading systems were created by the USDA to mark interior and exterior quality of eggs. Many people ignore this system and simply choose eggs based on appearance or price. To get the best nutrition, buy from a producer that has its own quality standards that go above and beyond USDA requirements.

Blatner provides an example: “Grade A specifications for Eggland’s Best eggs are actually more strict than standard grade AA specifications for regular eggs. That means, no matter what grade you choose, Eggland’s Best provides the highest quality egg that’s fresher and tastier. In fact, Eggland’s Best recently celebrated its 30 billionth USDA-certified egg, which speaks volumes to the brand’s focus and dedication to providing high-quality products. And with six times more vitamin D, 25 percent less saturated fat, more than double the Omega-3s, 10 times more vitamin E, and more than double the vitamin B12 compared to ordinary eggs, they’re also the most nutritious choice.”

Produce

The produce section is one of the healthiest places in the grocery store, but the notion that the misters are there to make items look good and add water weight so they cost more at checkout is a myth. In reality, that water helps ensure fruits and vegetables stay fresh, especially items that could wilt, like lettuce.

“Give items a good shake to get rid of water weight,” suggests Blatner. “And remember to always rinse fresh produce well once you’re home to clean the surface of any dirt and bacteria. The mist at the store isn’t meant to clean, only to help maintain freshness.”

When fresh fruits aren’t available, she reminds people to look for frozen alternatives, noting many frozen options are picked at the peak of freshness and flash frozen to capture high nutrient content. The best frozen varieties are those without added sauces or seasonings.

“When you know the truth, you are empowered to make smart decisions while you shop so you can get superior products with superior nutrition,” says Blatner. “Then you can have fun making tasty recipes your family will devour.”

Blatner offers one such recipe for inspiration:

Zesty Egg Fried Rice Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

4 Eggland’s Best eggs (large)

2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce

6 strips lean smoked bacon, chopped

2 cups cooked jasmine rice

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup sliced scallion greens

12 leaves Boston/Bibb lettuce

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and Sriracha together until well combined.

In large non-stick skillet, over medium-high heat, cook bacon until crisp. Transfer bacon to plate, leaving drippings in the skillet. When cooled, chop bacon into small pieces.

Drizzle the egg mixture into the skillet, stirring as you drizzle. Add bacon, black pepper, rice and soy sauce to skillet and stir-fry 3-4 minutes, or until eggs are set. Stir in scallion tops.

Remove from heat. Divide the mixture among the lettuce leaves and serve immediately.

2018-09-25T12:01:00

(BPT) – A prostate cancer diagnosis can lead to profound changes in a man’s relationship with his partner. As the most common non-skin, male-specific cancer in the U.S., prostate cancer affects one in nine men. Approximately 165,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and 29,000 men will die from the disease. While early detection and treatment can save lives, treatment side effects can have a negative impact on quality of life.

The prostate gland is part of the male reproductive system. Therefore, treatment side effects can include erectile dysfunction and incontinence, which can be temporary or ongoing. These side effects can take a toll on sexual health and intimacy: in fact, sexual dysfunction is often identified as the most common long-term side effect after prostate cancer treatments like surgery or radiation.

“We don’t always recognize and talk about the ways that prostate cancer is also a couple’s disease,” says Dr. Anne Katz, a renowned author and clinical nurse specialist who has devoted her career to helping men and their partners work through intimacy issues. “When prostate cancer treatment affects a man’s ability to perform sexually, that eliminates what is a very important expression of love for his partner. That can have an emotional impact on the man and his partner. We often see that leading to a downward spiral of distance and withdrawal.”

Find common ground

Address these challenges by talking openly about one’s sexual needs while being respectful of the other partner. Acknowledge that this conversation may be uncomfortable. It may feel a bit like threading a needle … while wearing oven mitts. Neither wants to appear selfish. Neither wants to upset the other during an already stressful time. And, for many couples, discussing these deeply personal issues in open conversation feels awkward. The natural thing to do is to avoid talking about it rather than risk the embarrassment of a possible rejection.

Recognize that communication is the best way for any couple to address their issues about intimacy. Enter the conversation with the mindset that you and your partner can support each other and find common ground. Hold the conversation in a neutral area — away from the bedroom — without distractions or interruptions. Above all, listen and empathize.

Know that options are out there

Most couples do not realize that there may be possible solutions to restoring sexual function after prostate cancer treatment. From pills, to external devises, injections and surgical procedures, there are solutions for nearly everyone. With persistence, a little humor, open discussion, and medical support, couples may reclaim sexual function once again.

Seek counsel from a professional

For some couples, working through the barriers to their sexual intimacy can be stressful and overwhelming. Don’t be afraid to seek professional help. You may feel uncomfortable with the idea of talking about these private matters with outsiders. But know that there are expert counselors highly skilled in engaging you and your partner in a discussion about these sensitive issues, in addition to physicians who specialize in restoring sexual function.

You’re not alone

There’s no need to suffer in silence. Many couples must navigate intimacy issues in the face of prostate cancer, and there are a number of resources available to help make that easier. To access resources offered by Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education and Support Network, visit ustoo.org. There are pages on Sexual Health and Intimacy (at www.ustoo.org/intimacy) and Incontinence (at www.ustoo.org/incontinence) and a Prostate Cancer Pathways page (at www.ustoo.org/prostate_cancer_pathways) that contain information about educational events on this topic and others that are helpful for couples dealing with prostate cancer.