As overall medical costs continue to increase by double digits annually, medical costs for individuals in account-based consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) went down 26% over four years, while levels of care for their preventive medicine, chronic disease management and evidence-based treatments were higher than their counterparts in traditional PPO and HMO health plans, according to a new multi-year study of health care claims experience of 655,000 CIGNA customers.

The Fourth Annual CIGNA Choice Fund Experience Study is the latest evidence that more than any health reform proposal currently on the table, these innovative free market plans have been consistently proven to deliver actual quality, accessible health coverage at substantially lower costs.

“The empirical data is in and it’s undeniable: when health plans provide incentives for people to be engaged, their health care quality goes up and costs go down,” said CIGNA President and Chief Operating Officer, David M. Cordani. “CIGNA’s study shows that the incentives offered by consumer-driven plans — such as lower premiums, freedom of choice, and the ability to build up health savings — result in an immediate and sustained improvement in health care quality and lower costs.”

Key findings of the Fourth Annual CIGNA Choice Fund Experience Study include:

Immediate and sustainable cost savings: CDHP medical costs are 14% less than traditional plans the first year, cumulative cost savings rise to 19% in the second year, 23% in the third year and 26% in the fourth year.

Higher levels of care: People with CIGNA Choice Fund received recommended care at compliance rates that were similar or better than those covered by traditional CIGNA health plans. Key indicators such as use of preventive care, evidence-based care and disease management program participation were measurably better among those in CIGNA CDHPs than those in PPOs and HMOs.

Less cost for those with chronic conditions: Medical cost trend was substantially less for CIGNA Choice Fund customers with hypertension (27% less), joint disease (21% less), and diabetes (15% less), than for individuals with either of those diseases in traditional CIGNA health plans. According to the study data, these cost savings were achieved without sacrificing care.

According to Cordani, if the share of Americans enrolled in a CDHP rose from a current 18% to 50%, and the results of the CIGNA study were applied, the U.S. could achieve $350 billion dollars in savings over 10 years.

Chris Policinski, President and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc., noted: “Offering consumer driven health plans to Land O’Lakes employees is helping to keep health care costs in check, while maintaining or improving care quality. For Land O’Lakes, this approachsupports our commitment to employees, while at the same time ensuringthat we remain highly cost efficient.”

Customer: Engagement is Key

One of the nation’s premier agricultural cooperatives, Land O’Lakes, Inc., offers both CIGNA Choice Fund CDHP and traditional health plans. The company confirms that its employees are increasingly electing to enroll in the CDHP for cost savings — with eight of 10 employees choosing CDHP over traditional managed care plans.

“Since January 1, 2007, when our first CDHP was offered, our company and employees have saved more than $10 million in health plan costs,” said Land O’Lakes Director of Benefits and HR Operations Pamela Grove. “From 2006 to 2007, our health care trend decreased from 13% to negative 5% – a decrease of 18% year over year. Our employees are making smart choices: increasing their use of preventive care and the CIGNA 24-hour nurse line, as well as opting to use less-costly urgent care facilities or convenience care clinics rather than heading to the emergency room for non-emergency events.”

“We attribute this enormously successful enrollment to honest and open communication with employees coupled with consumer-focused information and tools,” said Grove. “That’s a strategy that we will continue to focus on and, so far, it has produced very impressive results.”

Individuals Making the Most of their Health Benefits

Noting the solid clinical compliance among those enrolled in CIGNA Choice Fund plans, CIGNA Chief Medical Officer, Jeffery Kang, M.D. said: “America is a land of smart shoppers, and what our study shows is given the right plans, tools and information, people will make rational, wise and successful health care decisions.”

Individuals enrolled in CIGNA Choice Fund plans continued to receive recommended care at the same or higher levels as those enrolled in traditional plans in an evaluation of compliance with 400 evidence-based measures of health care quality. In fact, first year Choice Fund customers had higher statistical compliance with 11% of evidence-based measures than their counterparts in traditional plans, and 16% higher for Choice Fund customers enrolled for multiple years.

Moreover, individuals with chronic illnesses covered by CIGNA Choice Fund plans are more engaged and more likely to comply with and complete their plan disease management programs. Disease management program follow-through and completion rates are 22% higher among those in CIGNA Choice Fund plans than their counterparts in traditional CIGNA managed care plans.

Preventive care visits for first-year CIGNA Choice Fund customers were an average of 16% greater when compared to traditional plans, with CDHP preventive care visits continuing at higher rates than those in traditional plans in the second year.

The trend in pharmacy costs for new CIGNA Choice Fund customers who also have their pharmacy benefits with CIGNA was cut by more than half when compared to those enrolled in traditional plans.

“CIGNA’s mission is to improve people’s health, well-being and sense of security;” said Dr. Kang. “During the past four years, CIGNA Choice Fund studies have consistently demonstrated that CDHPs are part of the solution for creating a more affordable, accessible, sustainable and high quality healthcare system.”

A treatment that is not included and regarded as a typical Western medical activity is called “alternative” or “complementary.” Alternative types of medication include a wide range of practices raging from dietary supplements to acupuncture.

Some individuals choose to employ alternative treatments in conjunction with traditional types of treatment when facing ED. In case you consider using an alternative treatment for ED you first have to discuss it with your doctor and see if it is safe for you.

Alternative ED treatments

Dietary Supplements: dietary supplements such as the amino acid arginine, zinc, Vitamins C and E, flaxseed meal are often considered to be effective in cases of erectile dysfunction. Additionally, men with decreased levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) hormone have reported improvements in their erections after taking additional amounts of DHEA. Still, the long-term effects of DHEA supplements are not studied well and doctors do not recommend taking it for long periods of time.

Herbal Drugs: men intensively speculate on the effectiveness of Asian ginseng and Ginkgo biloba in improving potency and treating erectile dysfunction. Still, it is highly recommended to discuss with your doctor any possible herbal treatments to see if they are safe in your medical situation.

Acupuncture: the ancient Chinese medical tradition that involves stimulating certain points of the body to be stimulated with small needles is reported to be quite effective in healing a variety of medical conditions, including erectile dysfunction. Some men report that it was very effective in treating impotence with them.

In case you are experiencing recurring problems with erection it is advised that you visit your doctor to determine the causes of this condition and learn ways of treating it. These may be typical treatments like Levitra or Cialis or lifestyle change recommendations.

Common sense helps

Remember that due to the fact that alternative treatments are not controlled or regulated in any way it is hard to predict what you will get in the result. Here are some guidelines to consider in case you think about employing a herbal supplement or another alternative treatment.

• Discuss with your doctor all the herbal medications and alternative practices before using them.
• In case you observe symptoms such as insomnia, diarrhea, rashes, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, it is advise to stop taking the supplement and contact your doctor immediately.
• Take caution when taking preparations that use more than one herb.
• Take reasonable skepticism when reading the advertisements of herbal remedies. Look for scientific tests and reliable sources of information concerning the effectiveness of the drug or therapy.
• Take caution when choosing the brand. Buy products that provide all the necessary information about the manufacturer and detailed use of the drug. If any part of this information is missing, it’s better to consider another drug.
• When taking taking over-the-counter medications, make sure to inform your doctor about them and take extreme caution when combining them with traditional ED medications like Cialis or Levitra.

Let’s start with the bad news. Everybody knows that acne is most common in teenagers but many people don’t believe that it can affect people of all ages. Now it’s time to believe it. In particular, the hormonal changes in women during the menstrual cycle or pregnancy can cause outbreaks of acne. Problems can also be caused by the use of oral contraceptives which affect the balance of hormones in the body. The first symptoms are blemishes on the skin of the face, neck and shoulders. In more advanced cases, it can spread down the chest and back. The medical profession takes power over ordinary conditions by using labels. You can use word “spot” if you like it. There must be far more impressive and frightening words found to ensure that ordinary people feel there is something more seriously wrong with them. In this case, there are five most commonly used words:

Comedones – this is the technical name for what you would call blackheads and whiteheads. Hairs on the body and scalp grow out of follicles. If these follicles get blocked up with some kind of lipids, the skin can darken. When the skin rises it goes pale.

Papules – if the blocked follicle is infected or becomes inflamed, the skin will turn red and feel tender to the touch.

Pustules – as the infection takes hold, pus is created which rises through the inflamed area to form a distinctive white eruption.

Nodules – these are solid lumps that form under the skin when the oil-producing glands are blocked. They can be painful.

Cysts – these are like nodules but the lumps are infected and generate pus. This can cause more serious eruptions like boils. Unless these are dealt with well, they can leave scars.

So if a doctor as an authority figure tells you that you have pustules, this reference to inflammation and infection causing pus sounds frightening so you are prepared to pay for treatment. If the same person told you it was a common-or-garden spot and it would go away of you ignored it, you would feel less inclined to reach for your money. Words are powerful tools when marketers want to manipulate their customers.

Does this mean we should not care about acne? Unfortunately, the current culture makes it difficult to ignore it. In the real world, it is not a disease. It does not cause any lasting damage to the body so not treatment is really justified. In the world created by the stories people tell about acne, immense social damage is caused to any individual who rejects the idea of treatment. It passes beyond simple embarrassment and becomes a serious threat to the self-confidence of the young. So, until culture can be put on a better basis, treatment is given. The strongest prescription only medication is accutane. If the other OTC and prescriptions drugs have failed, accutane beats acne. But it is a powerful drug and it should only be used under the supervision of a dermatologist. For some, the price of beating acne can be a very unfortunate side effect. It is always better to follow the guidance of the medical profession if you feel you must take their cures.

In a recent study Diazepam was found to significantly reduce the likelihood of intense convulsions resulted from fever, which thousands of young children and toddlers suffer from each year.

The study enrolled over 400 children examined in the course of four years, who were given oral doses of Diazepam, a strong sedative. The results have shown that by using this drug the frequency of febrile seizures caused by fever was significantly reduced. About four percent of all American children suffer from this type of convulsions each year.

Doctors state that such seizures don’t wield much potential hazard to the child in the long run, however they can give a strong stress to parents, and quite seldom can increase the likelihood of developing epilepsy especially among children who are naturally susceptible to this condition.

The authors behind the research and independent experts agree in that there’s a need to develop a new common treatment of febrile seizures, especially when another study has shown that the medication that is commonly used in such cases for over 40 years actually provides little benefit if not even harm.

Today most doctors use a single daily dose of phenobarbital for in those children who have had a history of seizures caused by fever in the first two years of their lives, with hope to prevent them in future. But according to a recent study phenobarbital can actually be harmful to children, making them lethargic and sometimes causing decline in the intellectual development over a long period of time.

In contrast, when doctors used periodic doses of Diazepam (also known as Valium) in cases of febrile seizures no major side-effects both in short and long run were observed. And the treatment was much more effective in comparison with the common one.

Of about four million children born in the US each year, nearly 160,000 suffer from seizures caused be fever. About one third of these children experience the condition repeatedly. It is interesting to note that the condition is more characteristic to boys than to girls, and is usually observed in the first two years of life, wearing off later on.