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What is the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP)? The Medicare Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is the perfect time to make changes to your health care coverage. During this period, you can reevaluate your current health care coverage to make sure you have the right plan. You may choose to stay in the same plan or switch to a new plan. What is Medicare AEP? The Annual Enrollment Period happens once each year. During the AEP you have the opportunity to decide which Medicare plan is the best option for your healt...

Knowing your allergies is the best way to prepare for the season. Education is the best way to limit the often-stifling symptoms allergies bring about in countless people every year during the months-long allergy season. Allergies are straightforward to understand. Simply put, allergies are the body’s immune response to a usually harmless foreign body . They can be foods, pollen, dust, or other substances typically found around the house or in nature. Symptoms can range — in both type and severity — and...

80 percent of strokes are preventable. There are more than 795,000 strokes every year in the United States , and 1 out of every 4 is preventable. And with a stroke responsible for 150,005 annual deaths in the country, that means up to 120,004 deaths every year have the potential to be avoided. “It’s imperative that everyone know their risk factors and to know the signs and symptoms of stroke,” said Dr. Aniel Majjhoo, interventional neurologist and medical director of the McLaren Stroke Network, who also...

Consider nutrition’s role in diabetes this National Nutrition Month. The sharp upward trajectory of the number of young people under the age of 20 developing diabetes projects to reach 526,000 in 2060 — a 700 percent increase over today. For doctors and other medical professionals, this stark forecast sounds a cause for concern as it’s diabetes that bring a significant increase in the risk of developing heart disease, having a stroke or experiencing various other quality-of-life-limiting complications a...

The body’s needs change as we age, so too do our nutritional needs. The practice of “proper nutrition” is as important a function as it is broad. There are a lot of aspects that go into practicing proper nutrition. And with the accelerating prevalence of diabetes and its link to nutrition, its role is key to one’s overall health and future well-being. Looking beyond the calories, carbs and fat content on a label’s nutrition facts, everyone should also consider the role vitamins, minerals, fiber and even...

With potentially devastating results, cardiologists urge everyone to not wait to call 911. The line between being overly cautious and not wanting to cause a commotion can be potentially dangerous. For people experiencing chest pain or any minor discomfort, the sensation may be a passing annoyance and gone in a few minutes. But it could also be a sign of something serious to come. The question then becomes: When do you call 911 for chest pain? The answer is very straightforward: If you’re having symptoms...

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announce Medicaid eligibility redeterminations. Starting in June, Michigan resumes Medicaid eligibility redeterminations to comply with federal legislation. During the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that required state Medicaid agencies continue health care coverage for all medical assistance programs, even if someone's eligibility changed. Michigan’s Medicaid caseload grew by more tha...

For more than 70 years, heart disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States. Heart disease extends beyond the sudden and potentially fatal heart attack. Many forms of chronic heart disease cause several quality-of-life-limiting symptoms, often progressing so subtly that sufferers can explain away these symptoms as “just getting older.” Talk to your doctor about your risk for heart disease, potential symptoms and if you need a cardiologist. The prevalence of heart disease is such that ...

Maintaining a healthy heart is a lifelong responsibility starting at an early age. With life expectancy in the United States comfortably showing the vast majority of people reaching their seventh decade, this means the average person’s heart will beat more than two billion times. At the same time, statistics also show that the heart (mainly though heart disease and heart attacks) is the leading cause of death. This risk, though, can reduced, and many heart diseases can be prevented with certain behavior...

A large study concluded that a full night’s sleep can contribute to improved heart health. Anyone who rises out of bed in the morning and doesn’t walk to the kitchen – still half asleep – to groggily wait for their first strong cup of coffee can attest to the importance and positive effect a solid night’s sleep can have. Now, though, researchers have confirmed the impact and extent it can have on one’s health. Researchers at Tulane University in New Orleans analyzed data collected from more than 400,000...