Want to be sure the eggs you buy are fresh? Look for the three-digit code on the end of the carton. It tells what day of the year the eggs were packed, starting with 001 for January 1st and going to 365 for December 31st.

If your physician prescribes a medication, ask about its possible side effects, its effectiveness, and how long it must be taken. Also find out if you can stop taking the medications when you start to feel better.

As difficult as it is to imagine taking on extra expenses when confronted with tuition bills, the cost of books, and the cost of housing, making sure you are insured during your college career is a necessity. So what things should college students and their parents consider when looking for a health insurance policy?

Today, many Universities are offering health insurance plans directly through the school. However, these plans, although considered to be moderately affordable, provide moderate coverage. Many University plans are limited benefit health insurance plans, and will not provide you the protection you need if confronted with major medical bills. The maximum benefits are extremely low, for example providing only $2,500 in benefits to single procedures. The thing people need to realize is that even the simplest medical procedures can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Read the full post on Going to College? What Health Insurance Plan Is Best For You?.

Elevated blood cholesterol increases your risk for heart disease. All adults age 20 and over should have theirs checked once every 5 years, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

At the center of the ongoing political debate is the question of how to counteract the continuous increase of medical procedures and insurance premiums. This has also become an increasing dilemma for small businesses as they attempt to neutralize the effects of an economic recession. In fact, in some states the cost of insurance premiums for small businesses has risen more than 140% over the past seven years.

These insurance rate increases actually outweigh the overall increase in operating costs of for hospitals and doctors. For example, while operating costs in the last 4 years have on average increased between 35-40% for health care providers, small business owners are said to have experienced an increase in insurance rates of upwards of 55%.

Read the full post on Increased Insurance Rates & Small Businesses.

People with a tendency to ignore or down play physical or emotional problems should make a conscious effort to change. They may be ignoring a potentially serious illness that could be treated more easily in its early stages.

With everything that is going on with the current political health care debate, the question still remains how affordable a public option would actually be? Again, this question stems from underlining principles of how insurance functions; i.e., whether or not the number of individuals enrolled in the public health insurance plan would efficiently spread the risk across a large enough membership to help offset higher monthly premiums.

Read the full post on How Affordable Will The Public Option Be?.

An important concept to grasp when selecting and utilizing a health insurance plan is whether or not your health care providers are participants in your insurance company’s network. Understanding this concept could very well save you a significant amount of money on your medical expenses.

To begin, I’d like to quickly define what a network is. A network is a group of health care providers (primary care physicians, specialists, hospitals, etc.) who are contracted with a particular insurance company. As a result of these providers being in network, the insured will receive “negotiated” rates for the services that are provided.

Read the full post on Understanding Your Network of Health Care Providers.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, stress is associated with 80 percent of all physical illnesses in which people see a doctor, ranging from the common cold to heart disease.

I believe it is fair to say that most people are aware the House of Representatives has passed a bill for our nation’s health care reform; however, the questions remain: how will the Senate respond to the idea of mandating individuals to purchase health insurance, and what is the consequence if they opt out of such a measure?

Read the full post on Senate Bill & Individual Mandate To Purchase Health Insurance.