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... ~~~~~~~~~~~~Temporary Health Insurance
Today, most businesses offer their employees some kind of option for permanent health insurance. Unfortunately, employees are often required to have worked for a company for a number of months, even years, before they are eligible to receive such benefits. Even when they are eligible, the insurance plans themselves often take some time to activate. Additionally, a lot of people find themselves moving from one company to another these days, quitting or being laid off long before their eligibility for benefits rolls around. For this reason, many people today rely on temporary health insurance to provide their needed coverage during these in between periods.
To find temporary health insurance, you should contact a medical insurance agent. It is helpful to know how long you will be without insurance ahead of time so you can tell the agent exactly how long you'll need your temporary plan for. The premium on a temporary health insurance plan is often much higher than normal, though asking for a higher deductible is one way to help offset this. Make sure you carefully read over the details of the plan before you sign anything, often times temporary coverage has a long list of 'exclusions' that may render the plan ineffective for your needs. It is also very important that you keep tract of all medical receipts, records, and transactions so that you can file any claims you make more effectively.
Unlike more permanent plans, temporary health insurance usually allows you to see any doctor, or go to any clinic or hospital for treatment. However, temporary plans rarely will cover preexisting conditions, or health costs related to pregnancy and childbirth. Many short term insurance plans do not cover prescriptions, but offer such coverage at an additional fee. Because of the high cost of medication, and their wide spread use to treat a variety of conditions, it is usually recommended to pay any extra costs to have them covered.
Though they have their drawbacks, temporary health insurance plans are the only ways to ensure your coverage during periods in which your permanent plan is inactive. Short-term programs can include coverage for your spouse and dependents, and can usually be extended without very much hassle if needed. If you have recently lost medical coverage, or are waiting for new medical coverage to begin, it is recommended that you sign up for a temporary health insurance plan as soon as possible.
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... ~~~~~~~~~~~~Due Date Calendar
Due Date Calculator
So you just found out you’re expecting. The first question you’ll want an answer to (if you don’t already know) is when did it happen? You may want to use a due date calculator to figure out exactly where you are in your pregnancy. Some women know the exact moment of conception, either because it was a planned pregnancy or manipulated by scientific processes, such as during in vitro fertilization or other type of assisted procedure. Other women know exactly when conception occurred because they have had a limited number of encounters, leaving little room for doubt. Once you know the date of conception, you can use the due date calculator to find out the tentative date for delivery of your special arrival.
Due date calculators can be found on many sites on the web, and most only require you to enter the last day of your last menstrual cycle. Once you have entered this date, the due date calculator will compute how many weeks pregnant you are, and the approximate date you will deliver. A pregnancy calendar is also nice to have, because it shows the various stages of development the fetus progresses through during each of the three trimesters. From the moment of conception, momentous changes occur as the egg becomes a fertilized embryo and then a tiny developing fetus. By the time many women find out that they are pregnant, the fetus is well on its way to being a completely formed little human. Women may have no symptoms of pregnancy until they miss a menstrual cycle, which may be the first or second cycle after conception.
If a pregnancy is suspected, a home pregnancy test can confirm or deny your suspicions rather quickly. Once you know you are pregnant, you should call and schedule an appointment with an obstetrician, who will confirm that you are indeed pregnant (unless of course it’s obvious!), and calculate your due date by using a pregnancy wheel or due date calculator. If there is any discrepancy between the due date calculator and the physical exam, dates can be better confirmed with an ultrasound, which can be performed easily in the obstetrician’s office. The size of the fetus should correspond with the number of weeks that have passed since conception, which should also correspond with the due date calculator. If the development of the fetus is ahead or behind where it should be, then the date of conception is not correct, and neither is the date of delivery according to the due date calculator. If menstrual cycles are irregular, then the due date calculator will be less accurate, since ovulation does not occur regularly.
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... ~~~~~~~~~~~~Chlamydia Treatments and Infertility
Chlamydia Treatments
Chlamydia is a nasty little sexually transmitted disease (STD) that can cause major damage to the female reproductive organs if not diagnosed and treated effectively. According to www.womenshealth.about.com, chlamydia affects over 3 million people per year, and three out of four of these people are under the age of 25 years. An overwhelming 50% of women have had chlamydia before they reached the age of 30. The signs of symptoms of chlamydia may be absent or only slightly noticeable, and if Chlamydia treatment is not sought soon enough, severe damage can happen to the ovaries, Fallopian tubes, and uterus, causing infertility. Many women who have sought chlamydia treatment in the past may not even know that their reproductive system has been affected until they are unable to get pregnant. Chlamydia treatment usually does not include checking the function of the reproductive organs, and is only discovered when these women seek treatment for infertility.
More than 50% of infected women and 25% of infected men may not show any symptoms of chlamydia. If symptoms are present, it may be abnormal discharge or painful urination, both of which can be very slight. Often times Chlamydia has progressed far enough that some damage has already occurred because treatment was not initiated sooner. These chlamydia treatments usually consist of prescription antibiotics, such as Zithromax, tetracycline, or erythromycin, all antibiotics that are effective in killing chlamydia with only a few doses. Patients should be instructed to finish prescribed chlamydia treatments even if symptoms are no longer present. Other the STD may not be totally eradicated and come back with a vengeance, requiring more chlamydia treatment with an even stronger antibiotic.
The only way to avoid having to seek chlamydia treatment is to use a barrier device, such as a condom during intercourse. If you don’t know your partner that well, or there are extramarital relationships occurring, then by all means use a condom just to be safe. You may never know, especially if you are single and having one night stands and engaging in other promiscuous sexual activities. If you do contract the bug, then seek testing and chlamydia treatment as soon as possible. You may be too embarrassed to seek chlamydia treatment, which is understandable, but at the same time, your reproductive health is at stake. Confide in your health car provider if you have engaged in unprotected sex, and get tested. You may not have Chlamydia, but you will feel much better knowing that, and if you do, you can start chlamydia treatment right away.
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... ~~~~~~~~~~~~Infertility Treatments
Infertility Treatments
Many couples find themselves seeking infertility treatments because they have not been able to get pregnant within a reasonable amount of time on their own, usually considered to be a year or more of unprotected sex. Infertility treatments have become more progressive over past years, and have resulted in successful outcomes for couples desiring to have children. It may take more than one attempt in many cases, which can run into tens of thousands of dollars for some couples, if insurance coverage is not available. Only a handful of states across the nation require health insurance carriers to cover infertility treatments, leaving couples who want to have a baby having to finance the whole expense. For such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) or gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT), this could be as much as $8–10,000 each attempt. Some couples even take out second mortgages on their homes to provide the funds to pay for infertility treatments.
When couples first decide to consult a professional for infertility treatment, there are many questions that they want answers to right away; they want to know who has the problem. These concerns can usually be addressed quite easily with a few simple tests. Women may simply have a hormone imbalance that affects her chances of getting pregnant, which can easily checked and treated. The first thing checked from the male partner is the sperm assay, to make sure that enough are being produced. If the count is low the chance of the sperm penetrating the egg is decreased. Further evaluation of both partners will be needed if nothing is found with the initial testing, at which time the couple will probably be referred to an infertility specialist. Treatment for infertility does not have to involve complicated technical procedures, and in many cases can be resolved with hormone treatments and/or surgery.
If couples do proceed with more extensive infertility treatment, they should take the time to research the infertility clinic, the reproductive endocrinologists on staff, that clinic’s success rates for various procedures and how much they cost, what insurance plans they accept, and what services are included and not included for the quoted cost. Infertility treatments usually are based on the couple completing one cycle from beginning to end, but of course can vary depending on each individual case. Many couples find success with infertility treatments, and though results are not guaranteed, it is an option that is available. Infertility treatments are the answer to many couples’ dreams, to have a child of their own, no matter the cost, whatever it takes.
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