When it comes to doctor’s visits, do you ever wish you could have a do-over? You spend time with the doctor, only to discover on the way out the door that you’ve forgotten to ask a half-dozen questions that were on your mind the day before? If you’ve found yourself in that position, you’re not alone.

Visiting the doctor can be stressful. First of all, you’re probably feeling under the weather, or caring for a child who isn’t feeling well. Then you’re dealing with the administrative side of visiting the doctor, trying to remember insurance information and fill out paperwork to see the doctor. Then you find yourself in the office with heights, weights, heartbeats, ear checks, eye checks and everything else that may go into checking your health or your child’s well-being.

So how do you reduce the stress and make the most of your doctor’s visit? Here are some tips that will help you maximize the amount of time you have with your family physician:

• When making an appointment, provide the office with sufficient detail about your health conditions. This will allow them to allocate the proper amount of time to your appointment.
• Come prepared with knowledge about your family medical history, along with any paperwork that might help the doctor better understand your health and risk factors. You may consider writing this information down, or making a note on your phone, to make sure you don’t forget anything.
• Make a list of your current prescriptions, including the doses and frequency of any prescription and over-the-counter drugs. Make sure to include other health remedies such as herbs, supplements and vitamins.
• Take advantage of annual preventative office visits, which make more urgent visits less stressful. Let the doctor get to know you and your family in a more casual environment. These appointments are typically longer than a sick visit, and provide you with time to ask questions and address longer-term health issues.
• Use the buddy system. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the information presented during your visit. It may helpful to bring a friend or relative to help you write things down, share medical information and talk with the health care team.

If you have any questions related to your health coverage, don’t hesitate to call us at (303) 663-9991. We’re here to help protect you and your family.

Open enrollment for health insurance in Colorado ended in January. But a big change in your life, such as having a baby or adopting a child, could make you eligible for a Special Enrollment Period. It’s a window of time outside of open enrollment that allows an individual or family to purchase health insurance coverage or change plans.

Your 26th birthday —when you are no longer eligible to be covered under your parent’s health plan — could trigger a Special Enrollment Period. So could switching or losing jobs, losing your health insurance coverage or getting married. You also may qualify if you got divorced or legally separated and lost your health coverage. Once you have a ‘qualifying life event,’ you’ll have 60 days to obtain coverage or change plans.

Wondering whether a Special Enrollment period could apply to you and your family? Do you have other questions about health insurance for yourself, your family or your business? Give us a call. We’re here to help you with all of your health insurance needs, and our friendly advice is always free of charge.

We all know that you feel better when you get a full night’s rest. But sometimes that’s much easier said than done. Many of us have difficulty falling asleep or staying that way. There are lots of suggestions out there on how to get a better night’s rest, but what actually works? Here are some things that research shows can help:

Get your body used to a set sleep schedule. It’s important to get your body used to a tight schedule. Constantly going to bed at different times and waking up at different times can make it difficult for your body to get used to getting tired at the same time every night.

Turn off technology. When it’s time to go to bed at night, but your body isn’t tired, you might be tempted to bring out the laptop or smartphone. But that’s a bad idea, because the blue light from the screens will actually keep your body awake and make it harder to fall asleep. Dim lights are a signal for your body to fall asleep just like bright lights in the morning can help you wake up.

Test different pillows. The wrong pillow can make it hard to sleep. Test-drive a few different varieties.

Create a bedtime ritual. To help your body get ready for bed, it helps if you do the same routine every single night. A warm cup of tea or some reading time can help you fall asleep.

How much sleep do you really need? Here’s a guide to help your family get the sleep they need.

We love our little ones! But how do we keep them safe when they start toddling around, especially if we have medicine in the home. Heaven knows that babies love putting things in their mouths. And some medications look awfully close to candy.

Each year, more than 60,000 young children nationwide are treated in emergency rooms after getting into medicine while their parents or caregivers aren’t looking. Scary, right? As much as we would like to watch them all the time, the truth is that babies will be babies.

If you have young children in your home, here are some important safety tips from the National Safety Council that can help you prevent a potentially tragic accident:

• Store medicines out of reach and sight of young children. A top shelf in the cabinet is great idea, especially if the cabinet has a closed face. Having a glass face on your cabinet can lead to curiosity that could put your child at risk.
• Put medicines and vitamins away EVERY time you use them. Don’t rely on ‘childproof’ caps to keep your children safe. Toddlers can been creative. A cap can fail.
• With children who are old enough to understand, explain what medicine is, and why they should never try to take any on their own. Do not tell a child that medicine is candy in an effort to get them to take it.
• Is grandma coming to visit? Ask her, grandpa and any other visitors to keep medicines out of reach and sight of children while they are in your home.

We value you and your family. We want to do everything we can to help protect your family from accidents that could easily be avoided.

Federal tax credits are available for small businesses and non-profit organizations to help cover the cost of offering health insurance to employees. The credit is worth up to 50% of the costs you pay for your employees’ premiums; for non-profit employers, the credit is worth up to 35%. To qualify for the tax credit, a business must meet certain criteria, including:

1. Have less than 25 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. Have a mix of part-time and full-time employees? Here’s a calculator that can help you calculate your company’s FTEs.

2. Have an average employee salary of no more than about $50,000 per year, excluding the wages of the owners and their families.

• 3. Pay at least 50% of your full-time employees’ health insurance premium costs.
• 4. Offer coverage to all of your full-time employees. You don’t have to offer coverage to dependents or employees working fewer than 30 hours per week to qualify for the tax credit.
• Tax credits translate into a dollar-for-dollar reduction of your tax liability. The small business health care credit is refundable, so even if your business has no taxable income in a year, you may be eligible to receive the credit as a refund so long as it does not exceed your income tax withholding and Medicare tax liability. Even if your business did not owe tax during the year, you may be able to carry the credit back or forward to other tax years. And since the amount of the health insurance premium payments is more than the total credit, eligible small businesses may still be able to claim a business expense deduction for the premiums in excess of the credit. That’s both a credit and a deduction for employee premium payments. As with any tax-related issue, it’s always a good idea to consult a tax professional.

• Questions? Whether you need coverage for you or your business, we’re here to help. Visit our website and give us a call to get started.