This week hosts Blair Late, Chelsea Cannell, and Samantha Gutstadt recap all the best and worst fashions from 2011 SAG Awards including Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Tina Fey, Julie Bowen, Jennifer Lawrence, Paz de la Huerta, and Winona Ryder. They also talk about the upcoming Oscars and what trends to expect like honeysuckle pink, blush tones, romantic and Victorian influences. In Beyond Obsessed Blair gushes about his favorite Giles and Brother bracelet, Chelsea shows off her Linea Pelle cuff, and Samantha shows her Ashard Richley handbags. In Seen on Screen the girls show you how to recreate the look of Natascha McElhone’s character on Californication. For more information, show notes, and schedules, visit www.thisweekin.com.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

This week we have Elise Gulan, Celebrity Fitness Trainer. For more information, show notes, and an upcoming schedule, go to www.thisweekin.com.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

http://corporate.wwe.com/documents/TalentWellnessProgramOutline2-27-06CORPweb.pdf

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Companies stop offerring health insurance.

What they offer instead is wellness programs, which can be on or off company property.

These programs are focused on weight control, exercise, nutrition, and medical monitoring (blood pressure, heart health, obesity, range of motion, pulminary function, liver function — simple blood tests)

No employees are compelled in any way to participate in any way in any company wellness program.

But, those that do, get certificates signed by physicians stating the wellness factors that apply to that individual participant. Kept his weight down, did running, has good heart function, liver is fine … blah blah blah. These would be the kind of certificates that local health insurors would take into account in rating the premiums to be paid by that individual wellness program participant.

Beyond the certificate, and depending upon wellness factors attainments (weight loss, better this, better that etc) the company provides a wellness encouragement award in the form of a check, once every 90 days.

Recipients of such checks can use that cash for anything they want, including time with working girls in Nevada, or rye whiskey, or Cuban cigars.

However if they can present a receipt for a health insurance premium they have paid, for their own selves as beneficiaries of privately acquired health insurance policies (with a little help from the certificate signed by physicians from the wellness program) then, their next award check, if they get one by continuing to make attainments, will be doubled in value. The doubling only happens once. Once a person is getting double-sized award checks they keep getting those checks as long as they keep buying private health insurance, and can show receipts, and as long as they keep making attainments in the company wellness program.

This plan is filled to the brim with justice. It is highly focused on individual responsibility, not just a gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme style system. People whose behavior is cost-containing and good get highly rewarded. All people of every kind are completely free to do anything they want. Nobody is compelled in any way to do anything.

The company gets to set up their wellness program as a charitable educational or health related organization — a 501 (c) (3).

They also get to create a company Foundation — a 501 (c) (6) to give money on a tax deductible basis to the wellness program.

So all the costs of the wellness program become tax deductions, including the fees for the trainers, nutritionists, and the award checks given to employees, either in the single portion amount or in the double portion amount — all those costs are a tax deduction for the company. They come out of pre-tax gross income.

The incentives here are 100% perfect.

The outcome here is that probably 10 million additional people get health insurance — not the full load of 35 million, but a step in the right direction is still a step.

More importantly by dumping a lot of healthy people into the insurance pools, who pay full premiums (some of which is subsidized by their award checks), everybody’s health insurance premiums go down.

Not only that, the average healthiness of the American population goes up.

So more healthy people are paying premiums and there are less sick people who need healthcare.

Less sick people, not only makes premiums go down it also makes our national productivity go up.

How productive we are, in relation to our national debt, determines how long we get to exist as a nation that’s not in default or owned outright by China.

My plan is an extremely good plan — it cuts through all the nonsense and goes straight to the core issue which is health. It properly incentivizes everybody involved. It is 0% coersive — no mandates on anybody.

I’m putting it up here so that a few thoughtful people can read it, think about it, and send me useful comments to make it better, or fix any flaws you see in it. Cynical clowns could just please leave this question alone, I don’t have time to read your snarky junk answers. Persons of goodwill, please come forward, my strength is not equal to my task, I need your help.
For Don:

We’ve got 35 million uninsured with no healthcare.

My plan would knock that down to 25 million uninsured with no healthcare.

So Don, your conclusion using your logical and ethical skills is that my plan is a bad plan.

Unless every single person can be fixed all at once — nobody should be fixed — we should just stay broken — as broken — not any less broken — that Don’s path to success.

My path is called dis-jointed incrementalism. You knock off a piece of the problem.

Then you go back to the smaller problem, and knock off a piece of that.

Repeat as required until problem is gone.

This is how you chop down a tree, break up a huge block of ice, or move a pile of snow.

Many problems in the *real* world are solved by dis-jointed incrementalism.

The only people who need to solve huge problems all at once with one huge law are people who are not in fact interested in the problem at all — what they want is totalitarian power for themselves. Seig .

Health Promotion and Wellness Programs: Top Health Risks

By John Bates

Obesity, tobacco use and stress are the most common hazards to health in the American workforce. In addition to the direct harm they cause to individual wellness, they also provoke many indirect issues related to health care.

Weight loss and tobacco cessation are similar in that they both require behavioral modification and a comprehensive maintenance plan to curb the chances of a relapse. Staff qualifications should indicate training and experience adequate to deal with this type of psychology.

Furthermore, weight loss and tobacco cessation programs have varying success rates across different demographics and within small groups; therefore, health promotion and wellness programs have to be tailored to fit individual needs.

Before a diet and exercise plan can be implemented, a Health Risk Assessment is necessary to seek out pre-conditions for heart disease or stroke which could be compromised by the health promotion and wellness program.

Exercise programs and nutrition education should be scientifically-based, drug-free and physician approved. Weight loss has to be the result of a balance between caloric intake, healthy meals and exercise.

For resources and guidelines pertaining to obesity, nutrition, exercise and diet plans, consult: National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute
Physical Activity Programming

Encouraging people to exercise involves more than merely offering physical activity opportunities. Motivating employees includes acknowledging their present sedentary lifestyle and persuading them to make realistic and alternative lifestyle choices. The exercise program should be selected by the employee and offered during a time that is convenient for them in order to achieve a consistent participation rate.

Education will be necessary to teach employees the relationship between activity, diet and health and to demonstrate how this can be changed to encourage physical wellness. Health promotion and wellness program supervision will be necessary to ensure that injury does not develop and exercise programs are introduced safely.

Appropriate education in physiology, sports medicine or an equivalent and have a current CPR/First Aid certification should verify that health promotion and wellness programs are operated safely. The Health Risk Assessment should be checked to ensure the participant has agreed to a referral, elected exercise options and verified that there are no contravening health issues that preclude an exercise program.

Staff should monitor heart rate and blood pressure to protect health promotion and wellness program goals during all intervention procedures. Safe exercise guidelines are offered by the American College Of Sports Medicine. Free Fitness Handouts and Fitness Posters can also be found at Wellness Proposals
Tobacco Abuse

Smoking cessation is one of the most difficult health risk issues to tackle because nicotine is considered to be one of the most addictive substances. In order to succeed, participants must want to quit. Preparation to quit, support with choosing a method to quit and visible proof of results need to be demonstrated. Counseling should be available for the participant at any time.

Not all cessation programs work the same way with everyone. A qualified counselor should recognize individual differences and be able to match cessation programs with individual preferences. Diet plans, exercise programs, and activities that preclude smoking need to be presented as part of the cessation program. Relapses are common; therefore, a maintenance plan is mandatory. Nicotine substitution patches, sprays, gums or other medicinal options should be included in the counseling session to support cessation efforts.

Guidelines and resources for cessation programs are plentiful. Some of the best offerings are presented at the Surgeon General’s website, The American Heart Association, The American Cancer Society, The American Lung Association, or Smoke Enders.

For the purpose of tracking tobacco cessation success rate, the participants who began the program need to be the same ones who finished it. Maintenance parts of cessation should be recorded for a minimum of one year.
Healthy Choices, Healthy Diet

The Health Risk Assessment tests where nutritional education would benefit. With almost a seventy percent rate of obesity, the American workforce is in dire need of healthy food choice counseling. Health promotion and wellness programs promote better food choices by teaching participants how to identify low carbohydrate, lower calorie, high protein, and high fiber foods.

Explaining the relationship between obesity and the escalating incidence of heart disease, Type II Diabetes and health care costs should help motivate participants

John McCain’s Vision for Health Care Reform

John McCain Believes The Key To Health Care Reform Is To Restore Control To The Patients Themselves. We want a system of health care in which everyone can afford and acquire the treatment and preventative care they need. Health care should be available to all and not limited by where you work or how much you make.

Making Health Insurance Innovative, Portable and Affordable

John McCain Will Reform Health Care Making It Easier For Individuals And Families To Obtain Insurance. An important part of his plan is to use competition to improve the quality of health insurance with greater variety to match people’s needs.

John McCain Will Reform The Tax Code To Offer More Choices Beyond Employer-Based Health Insurance Coverage. While still having the option of employer-based coverage, every family will receive a direct refundable tax credit – effectively cash – of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to offset the cost of insurance. Families will be able to choose the insurance provider that suits those best and the money would be sent directly to the insurance provider.

John McCain Proposes Making Insurance More Portable. Americans need insurance that follows them from job to job. They want insurance that is still there if they retire early and does not change if they take a few years off to raise the kids.

A Specific Plan of Action: Ensuring Care for Higher Risk Patients

John McCain Will Promote Proper Incentives. John McCain will work with Congress, the governors, and industry to make sure this approach is funded adequately and has the right incentives to reduce costs such as disease management, individual case management, and health and wellness programs.

A Specific Plan of Action: Lowering Health Care Costs

CHEAPER DRUGS: Lowering Drug Prices. John McCain will look to bring greater competition to our drug markets through safe re-importation of drugs and faster introduction of generic drugs.

CHRONIC DISEASE: Providing Quality, Cheaper Care For Chronic Disease. Chronic conditions account for three-quarters of the nation’s annual health care bill. By emphasizing prevention, early intervention, healthy habits, new treatment models, new public health infrastructure and the use of information technology, we can reduce health care costs. We should dedicate more federal research to caring and curing chronic disease.

COORDINATED CARE: Promoting Coordinated Care. Coordinated care – with providers collaborating to produce the best health care – offers better outcomes at lower cost. We should pay a single bill for high-quality disease care which will make every single provider accountable and responsive to the patients’ needs.

GREATER ACCESS AND CONVENIENCE: Expanding Access To Health Care. Families place a high value on quickly getting simple care. Government should promote greater access through walk-in clinics in retail outlets.

SMOKING: Promoting The Availability Of Smoking Cessation Programs. Most smokers would love to quit but find it hard to do so. Working with business and insurance companies to promote availability, we can improve lives and reduce chronic disease through smoking cessation programs.

TORT REFORM: Passing Medical Liability Reform. We must pass medical liability reform that eliminates lawsuits directed at doctors who follow clinical guidelines and adhere to safety protocols. Every patient should have access to legal remedies in cases of bad medical practice but that should not be an invitation to endless, frivolous lawsuits.

TRANSPARENCY: Bringing Transparency To Health Care Costs. We must make public more information on treatment options and doctor records, and require transparency regarding medical outcomes, quality of care, costs and prices. We must also facilitate the development of national standards for measuring and recording treatments and outcomes.

Confronting the Long-Term Challenge

John McCain Will Develop A Strategy For Meeting The Challenge Of A Population Needing Greater Long-Term Care. There have been a variety of state-based experiments such as Cash and Counseling or The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) that are pioneering approaches for delivering care to people in a home setting. Seniors are given a monthly stipend which they can use to hire workers and purchase care-related services and goods. They can get help managing their care by designating representatives, such as relatives or friends, to help make decisions. It also offers counseling and bookkeeping services to assist consumers in handling their programmatic responsibilities.

If you don’t think that this is where I should put this question. Please tell me where I should.
agree with you, but still a summary would be nice.