* Are my doctors in network? Use online tools to confirm which doctors and hospitals are in a plan's network. A licensed health insurance agent can also help you see if a specific doctor or hospital is in a plan's network and taking new patients, and can determine what's in network if you're a seasonal resident.

* Are my prescription drugs covered? Although Original Medicare does not cover most prescription drugs, many Medicare Advantage plans include prescription drug coverage, or you can sign up for a Part D Prescription Drug Plan separately. A licensed sales agent can look up the medications you would like covered and help you estimate what the cost of each drug would be on a plan.

* What new, innovative benefits are available? Beyond vision, hearing and dental coverage, if you aim to become healthier, look for fitness program benefits as many Medicare Advantage plans offer a gym membership. If you travel or appreciate technology, virtual doctor visits are helpful when you can't see a doctor right away. Most Medicare Advantage plans now offer transportation to doctor appointments and the gym, when a fitness center membership is offered as a plan benefit.

* What if I'm still working? If you or your spouse have health insurance from an employer, you may be able to delay enrolling in Medicare until the employment or the coverage stops. At that point, you would be entitled to a special enrollment period of up to eight months to sign up for Medicare without incurring any late penalties. Talk with your employer to find out how your coverage works with Medicare.

While the clock is ticking until the Dec. 7 Medicare annual enrollment deadline, remember that you're not alone.

Take advantage of resources including licensed sales agents and websites such as medicare.gov and www.humana.com/medicare. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) (or TTY: 1-877-486-2048) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or call Humana at 1-800-213-5286 (TTY: 711) 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time seven days a week.

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Identifying these so-called "social determinants of health" helps doctors determine the root causes of their patients' medical conditions and is critical to improving whole-person health. The Physicians Foundation found that nearly 90 percent of doctors have patients whose health is affected by these key factors.1

Below are some examples to illustrate how social factors can affect you and your health:

* Loneliness and social isolation. More than a quarter of the U.S. population live alone. Loneliness and social isolation are associated with increased mortality and poor health outcomes. Identifying individuals at risk for these factors allows doctors to recommend prevention and care strategies to improve their patients' health.

* Food insecurity. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as a lack of consistent access to enough food for a healthy life. According to Feeding America, food insecurity exists in every state in the United States. Seniors face challenges that put them at risk of food insecurity, such as being on a fixed income and having to choose between buying food or medicine, or struggling to obtain food without reliable transportation.

* Transportation Barriers. A lack of transportation affects an individual's health and well-being - from accessing health care services and healthy food options to maintaining social connections. Lack of transportation is the leading cause of patient no-shows for medical appointments, and missed appointments are associated with increased medical care costs and increased emergency room visits.2

But many Medicare Advantage plans, provided by private health insurers such as Humana, offer their members health and wellness benefits, programs and services to help address social determinants, with rides to medical appointments, meal benefits, social interaction and screening for food insecurity.

Humana is working to address social determinants of health through its Bold Goal, by working with Humana care teams, physicians, nonprofit organizations, and business and government leaders to identify, screen and refer members to community resources and long-term support.

The Bold Goal is a population health strategy to help improve the health of the communities we serve by 20 percent by 2020 and beyond.

For more information, visit populationhealth.humana.com.

1 https://physiciansfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/physicians-survey-results-final-2018.pdf

2 http://www.aha.org/transportation  

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The BABOR skin care product line, developed in 1956 in Germany by biochemist Dr. Michael Babor, has an established reputation of science-based skin care. Each item in the company's latest line of Power Serum Ampoules is designed with advanced-strength active ingredients to address specific skin issues quickly and effectively with precision single doses of targeted ingredients.

"At BABOR, our highly innovative active formulations are carefully combined with our exclusive treatment methods to provide outstanding results and a uniquely indulgent experience," according to the company website.

The new DOCTOR BABOR Power Serum Ampoule collection launched in January 2020 and features six products: Ceramides, Ferulic Acid, Growth Factor Concentrate, Hyaluronic Acid, Retinol, and Vitamin C. The collection continues the high standards and precision use of clinical ingredients for individualized skin care.

The Growth Factor serum is of particular interest to individuals seeking treatment for fine lines and wrinkles, as well as maintaining the skins elasticity and firmness and preserve the cell's optimal metabolic efficiency.

The serum contains two active ingredients, cyclopeptide and oligopeptide, that stimulate the skin's natural growth factors and promote collagen and elastic production.

The Vitamin C serum is targeted to brighten the skin and protect against the development of age-related skin damage. The Hyaluronic Acid serum is formulated to help promote skin hydration, and the Retinol serum focuses on resurfacing, improving skin elasticity and reducing the appearance of pores.

The Ferulic Acid serum promotes skin regeneration and is engineered to support the skin's natural defenses, and the Ceramides serum contains a blend of three skin ceramides that combine with the skin's natural lipids to protect against moisture loss and promote skin barrier repair.

All BABOR products comply with the European Cosmetic Safety Standards. In addition, the Power Serum Ampoules contain no artificial colors, fragrances, sulfates, parabens, phthalates, or gluten.

For more information about precision, targeted skin care and the BABOR skin care product line, visit BABOR.com.

Easy to say, but hard to do, as many smokers can confirm. Encouraging smokers to quit saves billions in health care costs, promotes longer, healthier lives, and restores lost productivity, according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA).

Quitting smoking is a challenge, but today the widespread availability of many over-the-counter (OTC) nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products can make a huge difference in helping smokers quit.

CHPA estimates that quitting smoking with OTC NRT products could save $1.3 billion per year in direct medical care costs in the United States.

In addition, data suggest that former smokers are worth an increase in productivity of approximately $1,300 to $1,800 per employee per year compared with current smokers.

Of course, the health benefits of quitting smoking are as significant as the financial ones.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smokers who quit may reduce their risk of health problems including lung and other cancers, heart disease, stroke, respiratory problems, and vascular disease, while their lung function and circulation can improve by as much as 30 percent.

In a recent study, CHPA analyzed nine categories of OTC medications, including those for smoking-cessation. Although smoking cessation products were a smaller part of overall OTC savings than other categories, including allergy medications, cold and flu products, and gastrointestinal products, the data suggests that approximately 1.8 million smokers would not seek help if OTC products were not available.

"In a scenario where OTC medicines are not available in the marketplace, a patient would have to visit a physician to get treatment or diagnosed during normal working hours, causing them to miss work," according to CHPA.

The main types of OTC NRT products available in the United States include nicotine gum, nicotine patches, and nicotine lozenges. These FDA-approved products are available in a range of dosages, and they are designed to help reduce the nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms that come with quitting smoking. NRT products can be purchased in most pharmacies, and pharmacists can answer questions and help individuals choose which option may work best for them.

For more information about how OTC medications make a difference in smoking cessation and other areas of health, visit overthecountervalue.org.

To keep themselves and their patients safe, these workers, who may have potentially been exposed to this deadly virus, may have to stay home until they are tested, losing valuable time on a now critical job.

Here's where organizations such as xymbio are stepping up to the challenge. xymbio, an infectious disease testing company, has offered the use of its high-speed testing program to help run tests on health care personnel and first responders to keep them healthy and return them to their demanding roles as soon as possible.

The Las Vegas based company, uses industry leading technologies from ThermoFisher and operates under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) guidance issued by the Federal Drug Administration and highest diagnostic standards.

xymbio is readying to process COVID-19 tests for hospitals and health care systems, and the company can provide both on-site testing and at-home testing kits for employees who believe they may have been exposed to the virus. In addition, individual physicians can request test kits and testing for patients using forms available online on the xymbio website.

The company has been waiting on a response from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute of Health (NIH), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for necessary funding to accelerate its capabilities to acquire test kits so that it can rapidly scale testing capacity.

"xymbio has developed state of the art qPCR technology using ThermoFisher reagents to detect coronavirus protein n,s,e antigens. Their test is highly specific, accurate and scalable. They are now only limited by government funding to expand capacity from 500 tests per day to thousands of tests per day. Time is of the essence. They have the fix. They need the support to expand their operations now!" Dr. Larry Emdur, Chief Medical Officer of Alvarado Hospital in California.

"We are in a war against a dangerous virus, and with federal assistance we are prepared to ramp up our testing capacity over the next 35 days to 20,000 tests a day, or 120,000 tests a week, with immediate plans to expand operations to Las Vegas and Atlanta, which would more than quadruple our testing capacity," according to Dr. Heath Wills, CEO and Chief Medical Officers of xymbio.

"We are ready to undertake the rapid action on behalf of many more citizens, and await prompt action on our proposal to the NIH, HHS, CDC, FEMA or the White House Task Force on Coronavirus testing during this national crisis," Wills emphasizes.

xymbio has also been working with the Swab for Life campaign of the Give Life Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to raise awareness of blood donation.

"We chose to partner with xymbio because of its extremely accurate COVID-19 testing capabilities that we believe will accelerate help to Americans during this national healthcare crisis," says Bart S. Fisher, chairman of the Foundation.

For more information about xymbio and their efforts to work with individual health care providers, hospitals, and the government, visit xymbio.com.

Potentially severe vaginal infections with symptoms similar to those of a yeast infection include bacterial vaginosis, a condition caused by abnormal bacterial growth in the vagina; and trichomoniasis, a parasitic infection. Both of these conditions require antibiotics from a doctor. Self-treating these conditions with a yeast medication may delay getting the right diagnosis and an effective treatment.

Fortunately, at-home tests can help women learn what to look for and determine whether their discomfort is indeed caused by a yeast infection or by something else that requires a doctor visit and prescription medication to resolve.

A vaginal health test kit is available over the counter at most pharmacies. The test measures the acidity of vaginal discharge using a hand-held detector with a tip resembling a cotton swab. The tip is designed to detect acidity, or pH, to help distinguish the type of infection that is present, and shows results in 10 seconds.

In the case of a typical yeast infection, the test kit swab will not change from its original yellow color, and you can likely treat yourself with an over-the-counter yeast infection medication.

However, if bacterial vaginosis or trichomoniasis is the source of the symptoms, the swab will change color to a blue or green, and the kit instructions strongly advise a visit to your doctor. Even in cases where there is a mixed infection caused by a combination of candida and bacterial vaginosis / trichomoniasis, the test will give a positive result and send the user to the doctor.

Other features that distinguish a yeast infection from a bacterial infection include:

- Smell. Bacterial vaginosis and trichomoniasis are usually accompanied by fishy, musty, or otherwise unpleasant odors, while yeast infections are usually odorless.

- Texture. The discharge associated with yeast infections is usually thick and white, while discharge from bacterial vaginosis is often thin and milky white or gray in color. By contrast, discharge in cases of trichomoniasis may be frothy and yellowish-green.

- Sting. Yeast infections usually involve an itching, burning, or stinging feeling, but these symptoms are not always present or as severe in cases of bacterial vaginosis or trichomoniasis.

The over-the-counter vaginal health tests available today are approved by the Food and Drug Administration and are the same as those used by doctors in their offices.

For more information about vaginal health and vaginal health tests, visit checkbeforeyoutreat.com

You can support a healthy immune system by eating well, getting plenty of sleep, and exercising. Supplements with vitamins that support the immune system, such as vitamin D, may help, too. Sunlight remains a key source of vitamin D, but supplements may be increasingly beneficial as people are less able to get outside. This is especially true for those who live in the northern hemisphere.

Vitamin D has the science to back up its potential as an immune- system support. In 2017, the British Medical Journal published a meta-analysis of 25 studies in which vitamin D showed the potential to protect against acute respiratory tract infections, especially among individuals who were also deficient in vitamin D.

In addition, Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with Fox News in March that taking a multivitamin containing vitamin D or a vitamin D supplement was good practice for overall health, and it certainly couldn't hurt when it comes to helping to boost immune resistance to infection.

However, not all vitamin D supplements are created equal. A vitamin D supplement must be easily absorbed by the body in order to provide much value. Many vitamin D supplements offer poorly absorbed forms of vitamin D in doses far too low to replenish a vitamin D deficit, much less offer therapeutic benefits for the immune system.

It's best to choose a supplement that includes vitamin D3, which is the most easily absorbed form of vitamin D, as well as Vitamin K2, such as the supplement produced by Lively Vitamin Co. Their product, Solar Power, combines vitamins D3 and K2 to provide the body with maximum therapeutic value. This combination improves total absorption rates and utilization in the body.

A blend of these two vitamins is engineered to help promote a healthy immune system and cardiovascular health. But the benefits don't stop there. Vitamin D3 supplements like Solar Power can also help the body absorb calcium and build stronger bones to help prevent osteoporosis. Vitamin D even plays a role in regulating mood and helping to reduce seasonal depression.

However, be sure to check for possible drug interactions with any prescription medications you are taking before you take vitamin D or other supplements.

For more information about vitamin D and other ways to improve your health and boost your immunity, visit findyourhealthyplace.com.

Going out with friends, hugging a grandparent, even opening a door in a public place are on hold. Some of these changes were temporary. However, even as states begin to open up, changes in how we interact with each other and the world will likely continue for far longer.

"We need to grieve the ways of life we have lost," according to William Glover, Ph.D., president of the American Psychoanalytic Association (APsaA).

"Mourning is hard work," Sigmund Freud once wrote in his essay, "Mourning and Melancholia." What makes mourning so hard is having to give up attachments - whether to people or to a way of life - that can't be replaced. Letting go of what we have lost helps us move on with our lives, although we will always miss the people, places, and things we have lost; in that sense mourning can never be complete.

Mourning and grief are an important part of coping with loss and essential in managing changes and accepting new realities. Recognizing that our pre-COVID lives may never return is a loss to be mourned, and the work involved in this mourning can help us move on and into the new reality. However, some people struggle with the process more than others, and resist by responding with illusions of control, refusing to take precautions, and showing contempt for politicians and public health officials who try to explain the changing realities of daily life.

In an article post on APsaA's Psychology Today blogsite, psychotherapist Shelley Galasso Bonanno, MA, LLP, writes, "Each person processes and expresses grief in their own individual ways, yet there is comfort and power in understanding that one is not alone during this pandemic." One way to cope with grief is by finding meaning in the present situation, although how one does so may be different for everyone.

Yet finding meaning is different for everyone. For some, it may mean providing food or assistance to a homebound neighbor, making masks for members of their community, or even donating money to help beloved organizations and venues stay afloat. Others may find meaning by expressing their emotions and reflecting on them with a therapist.

Undoubtedly, there will be new ways to maintain relationships, enjoy life, and participate in activities with family and friends. Meanwhile, being able to tolerate the pain of grief and find meaning helps sustain us in difficult times.

The American Psychoanalytic Association has created a resource page for the public and mental health providers with resources to help cope with anxiety and grief during this global pandemic.

Visit apsa.org/coronavirus for articles and videos and information on how to find a psychotherapist near you.

"Crepiness is a concern we address with many of our patients," says Dr. Melissa Kanchanapoomi Levin, board-certified New York dermatologist and founder of Entiere Dermatology. Proper exfoliation is key to improving the appearance of skin crepiness, and exfoliation also prepares the skin to receive the maximum benefits from moisturization.

"Exfoliation loosens and removes the top layers of dull dead skin cells and improves the skin's appearance," Dr. Levin says.

"Formulas that contain exfoliating acids, such as glycolic acid and lactic acid in combination with moisturizing ingredients, can be helpful. Since sun damage is the most common cause of crepey skin, wearing daily sunscreen and keeping the skin moisturized is a must," she emphasizes.

To help combat crepiness and foster a smoother, more youthful appearance, look for products that go beyond simply moisturizing, such as the Crepe Control line from StriVectin. The two-step skin care protocol includes Crepe Control Exfoliating Body Scrub and Crepe Control Tightening Body Cream.

- Smooth it Out. Crepe Control Exfoliating Body Scrub combines physical exfoliants such as rice powder with lactic and glycolic acids to help dissolve dead skin cells, promote skin brightening, and restore a softer appearance to the skin.

- Firm it Up. Crepe Control Tightening Body Cream is designed to improve the appearance of crepey skin and reduce the appearance of aging and environmental damage.

The cream includes not only murumuru seed butter as a key moisturizing ingredient, but also tripeptides to improve skin elasticity; caffeine and jojoba seed extract to facilitate firmer skin; and turmeric root extract to promote skin brightness and tone.

The scrub is designed for use on wet skin in the shower two to three times a week. And the cream can be used on areas of concern as often as twice a day.

Visit strivectin.com for more information about skin care and crepe control products.

These liver diseases may become life-threatening without any noticeable symptoms, which is why screening is vital. For people who are at high risk, such as those living with obesity, pre-diabetes, or type 2 diabetes, talk to your doctor about your liver health and get screened as early as possible. In the past, the best way to diagnose liver disease was by performing a liver biopsy, a procedure where a small piece of the liver is removed using a long needle and then analyzed in a lab. Liver biopsies can be painful, risky, expensive, and unreliable. Complications can include bleeding, infection, accidental injury to a nearby organ, and even death. A typical liver biopsy can cost more than $7,000. Additionally, a biopsy relies on using a tiny fraction of the liver, which means more than 30 percent of liver biopsy diagnoses may be wrong.

Fortunately, there are now alternatives to biopsy. It is important for all healthcare providers and patients to understand that liver biopsy is not the only diagnostic option available. Some examples of non-invasive diagnostics include blood tests, ultrasound, and various different scans. Non-invasive diagnostics lead to fewer patient visits, quicker diagnosis, and are more cost-effective without the risks of surgery. Imaging tests can provide you and your doctor with a full picture of the liver, rather than just a small sample. If your doctor recommends a biopsy to screen for early liver disease, ask for non-invasive alternatives such as blood tests and imaging.

For more information about liver health and non-invasive screening for liver disease, visit www.globalliver.org/beyond.