We continue to receive reports of new phone scams. Yet while the “title” of the scam may change, the fundamental tactics are the same. Below is a warning of two recent scams reported to us this month, followed by a list of common tactics. This list provides a helpful reminder of what to watch out for to protect yourself from fraud and to report it when encountered.

Two Recent Scams:

New Medicare benefits phone scam: In this scam, a caller claims to be a Medicare representative and wants you to know all about Medicare’s new and improved benefits. The caller than asks you to verify your Medicare number, primary physician information and current health conditions. Remember, Medicare will never call you to report on new benefits, AND will not ask you for your personal information. Medicare already has it. Hang up and report this number to our Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) helpline at 855-613-7080.)

Medical device alert robocall phone scam: In this scam, a beneficiary receives a call from recording (also referred to as a “robocall”) which says, “You have been recommended to receive this device by a physician … dial 1 to continue …” You will know if a medical device is recommended by your doctor through a direct one-on-one conversation with him or her, not through a phone call. This is a scam. Hang up and report the number to SMP.

Common Phone Scam Tactics:

• Fraudsters often call consumers early in the a.m.
• The sales pitch is done rapidly, usually with a foreign accent
• Callers deliberately confuse people into believing they represent Social Security or Medicare
• Caller promises a new Medicare card or medical card
• Caller offers free medical alert equipment (or other free equipment or supplies) to get their checking account information, credit card and/or Medicare number

Again, if you come across any of these scenarios, see if you can get some information on the caller and their number, hang up and report the scam to our Senior Medicare Patrol at 855-613-7080.

Oral hygiene is just as important to infants as to children and adults.  Even though a baby may not have teeth you still need to provide for daily oral hygiene for your infant.  Infants require daily oral hygiene, because the tissues in the mouth require cleansing to prevent irritation and infection.  Thrush is a treatable fungal infection caused by yeast that often appears in areas of the mouth that may have torn tissue, due to the constant sucking of a pacifier, bottle, or during breastfeeding. The tiny tears remain moist, and if not removed, the yeast can cause this painful condition.

People are much less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior if they know that they are HIV-positive. Unfortunately, more than 18 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States are unaware of their HIV status, and about half of new HIV infections are transmitted from that “HIV unaware” population. For these reasons, HIV testing is at the forefront of HIV prevention strategies in the United States.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) may support these strategies, since gaining coverage increases the likelihood of being tested for HIV. We modeled the impact of the ACA on HIV testing, diagnoses, and awareness of being HIV-positive, assuming that only the eighteen states (and the District of Columbia) that had committed to expand Medicaid as of July 2013 did expand the program. We found that the ACA will result in an additional 466,153 people’s being tested for HIV and 2,598 new diagnoses of HIV by 2017. Among people living with HIV/AIDS who gain insurance through the ACA, the share of the HIV unaware will decline by 22 percent. The impact on both HIV testing and new diagnoses would be nearly 30 percent larger if all fifty states expanded Medicaid. Policy makers should consider such epidemiological benefits when analyzing insurance expansion policies.

Parents can normally have very busy day and so it easy to forgot things at time.  Kids can be just as busy doing their kid stuff and forgetting to brush often happens. By using a brushing chart it will help your kids to remember to brush and floss their teeth on a daily basis, plus it will also give you a little reassurance that this important task is not being forgotten.  You can find tooth brushing charts free on line or you can make them yourself.

An enzyme that helps maintain immune system function by “throwing away” a specific protein has a vital role in controlling symptoms of allergic asthma, new research in mice suggests.The finding suggests that this enzyme, called Cbl-b, could be a target for drugs used to treat allergic asthma and other autoimmune disorders.

It is estimated that the average American drinks nearly 600 cans of soda person per year. Studies shown that soft drinks is a causing factor to adult’s and children’s tooth decay. The problem with soda in regards to dental health is that many sodas contain acids and sugars that could erode tooth enamel over time. Even diet soda contain phosphoric acid and/or citric acid and still cause dental erosion — though considerably less than their sugared counterparts.

According to researchers from the University of Maryland Baltimore Dental School, drinks that especially aggressive to erode tooth enamel are light-colored soda (such as Sprite and Mountain Dew) and canned iced tea (such as Arizona Iced Tea)   If you are a soda drinker root beer products did the least damage. Other safer drinks for teeth would be water, brewed black tea, and black coffee all showed minimal tooth enamel damage.  Another helpful tip to soft drink, drinkers would be to drink soda out of a straw which will help to reduce soda’s contact with your teeth.

A small filter the size of a contact lens could possibly make life easier for some of the estimated 500 million people worldwide who suffer from itching, sneezing and a runny nose as soon as the pollen season starts.

Many parents try and limit the amount of soda their child drinks, but sports drinks can be just as harmful to their children’s  teeth.  Most sports drinks are quite acidic (pH 3-4) and if taken to excess, may lead to dental erosion and demineralization. One study found that 57% of 11-14 year-olds had evidence of some dental erosion.

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), changes in income and family circumstances are likely to produce frequent transitions in eligibility for Medicaid and health insurance Marketplace coverage for low- and middle-income adults. We provide state-by-state estimates of potential eligibility changes (“churning”) if all states expanded Medicaid under health reform, and we identify predictors of rates of churning within states. Combining longitudinal survey data with state-specific weighting and small-area estimation techniques, we found that eligibility changes occurred frequently in all fifty states.

Higher-income states and states that had more generous Medicaid eligibility criteria for nonelderly adults before the ACA experienced more churning, although the differences were small. Even in states with the least churning, we estimated that more than 40 percent of adults likely to enroll in Medicaid or subsidized Marketplace coverage would experience a change in eligibility within twelve months.

Policy options for states to reduce the frequency and impact of coverage changes include adopting twelve-month continuous eligibility for adults in Medicaid, creating a Basic Health Program, using Medicaid funds to subsidize Marketplace coverage for low-income adults, and encouraging the same health insurers to offer plans in Medicaid and the Marketplaces.

In Washington a two and a half year old had to under go dental surgery, after dental x-rays showed that 11 of his 20 baby teeth had cavities. The pediatric dentist extracted two incisors, performed a root canal on a molar, and gave the rest fillings and crowns.

The child parents did not even worry about brushing their child teeth until they notice his teeth were starting to become discolored. They stated they just had too much on their mind to think about brushing his teeth at night. This is not as uncommon as you may first think.

According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention they noted an increase, the first in 40 years, in the number of preschoolers with cavities in a study five years ago    Dentists nationwide are saying they are seeing more preschoolers at all income levels with 6 to 10 cavities or more. With the level of decay, being so severe that they often recommend using general anesthesia because young children are unlikely to sit through such extensive procedures while they are awake.

Currently CMS requires Part D plans to cover the vast majority of drugs in six specific classes. One proposed change is to drop two of these categories next year (anti-depressants and immunosuppressant drugs) and then drop anti-pyschotics a year later. Several advocacy groups are concerned that this change would reduce people’s access and ability to get the drugs they require. They point out that not all drugs are the same and it’s important to have a wide range of drugs available. Another proposal is to limit the number of plans each plan sponsor can offer. Research shows that more choices aren’t necessarily better for seniors; it can actually be more overwhelming. Many beneficiaries tend to stick with a plan they originally pick.

If your child is fussy about brushing their teeth is can be that they do not care for the taste of the toothpaste in use. There are many kid friendly toothpaste that may make your child want to brush or brush longer.  Colgate has Colgate Kids in strawberry as well as watermelon flavors.  Crest toothpaste offers a bubblegum flavor. There are other toothpaste that taste like ice cream.  These flavor toothpaste may help making brushing their teeth much easier. However keep in mind that like any other toothpaste they are to still be kept out of reach of small children and use only for brushing their teeth and not for eating.

Money can be tight for anyone but here are some tips that may help to stretch your food budget.

1) Plan meals and snack for the week according to an established budget.

2) Find quick and easy recipes. Note one way to do this in online.

3) Include meals that will stretch expensive food items, such as stews, casseroles, and stir fired dishes. Put the left over in the freezer or refrigerator so that you can have it for another meal later on during the week.

4) Avoid impulse shopping by making and sticking to a grocery list

5) Check for sales and coupons in the local paper or online and consider discount stores such as the 99 cent stores

6) Ask about loyalty car at your grocery store.

It is never good to do anything in excess, when it comes to whitening your teeth dentist warns that over bleaching your teeth could harm your health.  Dental health professionals have coined the term Bleachorexia to describe a person with an addictive obsession with bleaching their teeth to the point that it’s affecting their dental heath.

Beaching your teeth correctly can provide you with a smile you want. However over use of over the counter whitening product can damage your oral health.  Bleaching your teeth excessively can actually cause them to get translucent, and  make them look even less white. Other risk of obsessive bleaching include hypersensitivity (making your teeth more sensitive) Oral Irritation and tooth enamel erosion.

While many are stocking up on allergy medicine in preparation for spring, a new study from researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center has uncovered a new connection between allergy and cancer that could potentially lead to therapies involving common antihistamines.Recently published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, the study was led by Daniel H. Conrad, Ph.D.

A dental abscess begins as a tooth infection or cavity and can turn into an infection of the mouth, face, jaw, or throat if left untreated.   Bacteria form tooth decay can extend into the gums, cheek and throat, beneath the tongue, or even into the jaw or facial bones.  Periodontal abscesses are the result of an infection that has moved deeper into gum areas, and a periapical abscess refers to a tooth with an infection of the pulp.

With a dental abscess you may notice pus collecting at the infection site. Normally the condition will become more painful until the abscess either ruptures and drains on its own or is drained surgically. Dental abscesses can also make you generally ill, with nausea, vomiting, fevers, chills, and sweats. Anyone who thinks they may have a dental abscess should see a dentist right away.