Encompass Insurance

HIV is the most perilous sexually transmitted disease, which affects people of every life stage. It is thought that every year, 40,000 Americans are infected with this deadly virus. Internationally, more than 36 million people have been infected with the HIV. This infection can give no clinical symptoms, cause a range of conditions, or materialize and develop as AIDS. A distinctive virus, HIV repeatedly replicates after it enter the body, finally overpowering the immune system and deteriorating the body’s capacity to battle deadly infections and cancers.

The majority of people infected with HIV are not sick, because some presents no symptoms for over 10 years. A carrier can horde the virus and transmit it to other people without knowing it. When the virus is recognized in the body, probability of acquiring AIDS increases. Blood tests are employed to perceive the existence of HIV antibodies in the blood. Development of antibodies is two weeks to three months following infection. Other bodily secretion may as well supply indication of HIV infection. Still prior to the antibody test turns positive, a person can transmit the virus to others.

As we know, there is no definite cure for, or vaccine against HIV/AIDS. Though, utilizing the latest drug combination treatment can permit infected persons to stay symptom-free for a longer time, granted the disease is early detected. Once HIV is perceived early on in pregnancy, its cure with antiretroviral drugs may decrease the danger of passing on the virus to the child. Yet, the HIV-positive, pregnant woman’s health care provider will normally recommend delivery by cesarean section to eradicate the possibility of passing on the virus during childbirth. Triumph with new, very active antiretroviral therapy like HAART, also branded as a drug cocktail, and the turn down in the number AIDS cases recently reported and the number of deaths, are good news. There are HIV-infected people who are still living due to HAART, and that number is rising. Read the rest of this entry »

Beginning in January 2006, Medicare has implemented a Prescription Drug Plan that is available to any Medicare member who has Part A Medicare benefits and/or has enrolled in Medicare Part B. Part D Prescription Drug Plans are obtained in two different ways. If you retain original Medicare as primary coverage you may purchase a stand-alone Prescription Drug Plan also called a PDP. If you have opted for a Medicare Advantage Private fee- for- service plan without prescription benefits, you may also obtain a stand-alone PDP.

If you have elected to enroll into a Medicare Advantage plan that includes prescription benefits (MAPD) this plan will encompass your hospital, medical and prescription benefits into one plan. All available prescription RX plans are administered through insurance companies.

To enroll into a Part D prescription drug plan, you do so during your Initial Enrollment Period into Medicare to avoid a penalty for late enrollment. The initial enrollment period into Medicare begins the 3 months before your Medicare benefits begin, the month your benefits become effective and the three month period following. You may also sign up for a Part D plan during the Fall Annual Enrollment, which is November 15th, thru December 31st; however if outside of your initial enrollment period you may incur a penalty. Read the rest of this entry »

Direct marketers know the value of saying a lot with only a few well chosen words. The idea of being concise and to the point has never been as important to a marketing message as it is now. The popularity of sound bites, text messages and tweets proves that people want their information succinctly.

If that is the case, then why do so many companies deem it necessary to overload our senses with too much information?

Patrick Sullivan owns and operates the Oak Hill Insurance Agency. Blessed with the gift of gab thanks to his Irish forbearers, he is often called upon to spin a yarn or two for the children’s library hour or chronicle the history of the town’s founding families at the Oak Hill History Museum. He keeps his audience enthralled with tidbits of information and an enthusiastic approach to the subject. Unfortunately for Patrick, that kind of talent can be the demise of a message in a marketing strategy. Read the rest of this entry »