As the beginning of a new school year approaches, your child may be considering playing on an organized sports team. Whether the sport is a school or community based athletic team, you will most likely be asked to schedule an appointment with a physician for a sports physical. 

In fact, most school sponsored athletic teams require that kids complete their sports physical before they can even step onto the practice field. 

The main reason organized teams require young athletes to have a sports physical is to determine if the child is healthy and in good enough physical condition to safely participate. While a sports physical may not determine or diagnosis all medical conditions, it may bring to light certain health problems with which your child may be struggling. It’s also a great opportunity to make sure your child is up to date on the required immunizations. 

You can always schedule the sports physical with your regular doctor or local clinics, including some clinics that are now opening in retail grocery stores. Some schools may offer physicals with their on-site medical staff, or you may want to check with your local health department. 

Due to the number of children and teens who die each year from sudden cardiac arrest while participating in sports, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that sports physicals be performed only by medical professionals who have been trained to recognize the signs of heart disease. While this number is minimal, many of these children had undiagnosed heart conditions or cardiac defects. 

Most children pass their sports physical with flying colors and are allowed to participate in the sport of their choice. If your child shows any signs of the conditions listed below, your physician may ask to run additional tests to make sure your child does not have a condition that would make participation dangerous. 

• Heart murmur or abnormal heartbeat.
• A history of dizziness, fainting.
• Chest pain, short of breath.
• Family history of sudden cardiac death or certain types of heart disease. 

Even if the physician finds a health problem during the physical, in most cases children can be treated and placed on medications which will allow them to play sports safely. So get ready, and schedule the appointment so that your child can PLAY BALL! 

For more information, please visit Livestrong.com and KidsHealth.org.

The first day of school is just around the corner so what better time to take advantage of ‘preventive care’ for your children. The Affordable Care Act requires that health insurance plans provide coverage and eliminate cost sharing requirements for certain preventive services, including well-child care, without charging you a co-pay, coinsurance or deductible.

 Most school systems require your child to be up to date on their immunizations, have vision and/or hearing screenings. Also, if they participate in sports, they may be required to have a complete health physical. 

Some of the child preventive services covered under Health Care Reform include: 

• Physical examination as well as height, weight and body mass index measurements.
• Vision screening.
• Hearing screening.
• Oral health risk assessments.
• Screening for hemoglobin or hematocrit level, lead, tuberculin etc.
• Obesity counseling and helping children maintain a healthy weight.
• Depression among adolescent children.
• Alcohol and drug use assessment for adolescents.
• Immunizations – for children from birth to age 18 include:
  • Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
  • Haemophilus influenza B.
  • Hepatitis A and B.
  • Inactivated poliovirus.
  • Influenza.
  • Measles, mumps and rubella.
  • Meningococcal.
  • Pneumococcal.
  • Rotavirus.
  • Varicella.                                                                                                                              

Check with your local school system to identify the health requirements for your child. Get ahead of the game by giving your child a healthy head start to the new school year. 

For more information, please visit HealthCare.gov.

On July 11, 2011, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced two notices of proposed rulemaking. The first called for the establishment of exchanges and qualified health plans. The second affects standards related to reinsurance, risk corridors and risk adjustment. The proposed guidance is designed to help states design and implement their exchanges in two key areas: 

• Setting standards for establishing the exchanges, setting up a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), performing the basic function of an exchange and certifying health plans for participation in the exchanges.
• Ensuring premium stability for plans and enrollees in the exchanges, especially in the early years as new people use the exchanges to shop for health insurance. 

The exchange guidance issued by HHS is not final. HHS is accepting public comments on the proposed exchange guidance for 75 days to learn from states and other stakeholders how the rules can be improved. HHS expects to make changes to its proposed guidance based on the comments it receives.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new guidelines in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 1^st, requiring health insurance plans to cover several women’s health preventive services, including birth control, with no co-pay or deductible required by the patient, beginning on or after August 1, 2012.

Below are a few of the notable changes: 

• The new benefits become active one year from now for new health insurance policies.
• Eventually, nearly all policies will cover costs of birth control. Members should check their specific policy to determine coverage.
• The new rules allow religious organizations which offer coverage to refrain from covering birth control options that are ”inconsistent” with their beliefs.
• The no co-pay, no deductible coverage for birth control applies only to FDA approved contraceptive methods.
• Additional preventative care services that will be included in the list of free services for women include:
  • Well-women visits.
  • Breast-feeding support, supplies and counseling.
  • Gestational diabetes screening.
  • Human papillomavrius (HPV) DNA testing for women 30-years-old and older.
  • Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and counseling.
  • Sexually-transmitted infection counseling.
  • Domestic violence screening and counseling.  

To learn more, please visit CNN.com and HealthCare.gov.

Workplace wellness programs are really gaining momentum these days, as employers continue to look for new and dynamic ways to cut health care costs while improving the health & productivity of their employees.  However, despite the growing popularity of these programs, many employers are still hesitant to implement these programs. There are a number of reasons for this; however I typically find that while employers see the value in a wellness initiative, they lack the knowledge of what resources are out there to assist them in the creation of a successful program.

On September 27, I will be leading a breakout session at the 2011 Indiana Employee Health & Wellness Summit, (presented by the Indiana Chamber and the Wellness Council of Indiana in partnership with InShape Indiana) alongside Program Director for the Wellness Council of Indiana, Chuck Gillespie.  This session entitled, Wellness Council Certification Process: Achieve WELL, will not only educate employers of all sizes about the process for obtaining certification from the Wellness Council of Indiana, but will answer some common employer questions regarding wellness programs: Am I doing the right thing?  What resources are available to me?  What are the costs?  Also, we will provide information on a number products and services available to Indiana employers for workplace wellness programming.

In addition to a number of other informational breakout sessions throughout the day, the 2011 Indiana Employee Health & Wellness Summit has some exceptional guest speakers on the agenda.  We are thrilled to welcome Marci Crozier, recent contestant on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, acclaimed keynote, Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, aka The Stress Doc™, and Kevin Leville, Founder and CEO of Eat Right America to name a few.  I am honored to serve as the 2011 Indiana Employee Health and Wellness Summit Master of Ceremonies.

For further details on the 2011 Indiana Employee Health & Wellness Summit, I invite you to check out the official Summit Brochure.

To register for this exciting one day wellness summit, email Sarah at seminars@indianachamber.com.  Be sure to use the Neace Lukens Client Priority Code 9377 to receive 10% off your registration.  In addition, the Indiana Chamber is offering a send one; get the second half-off discount.