Planning the Perfect Vacation Without the Stress

No matter how exciting a vacation may be, the planning and preparation part is enough to drive you up the wall. However, taking the planning phase one step at a time can help you plan an awesome family vacation, all while retaining your sanity. Before you even start looking for a destination, make sure you and your family has their passports. Don’t panic if you can’t find them or if the dog ate them. Passport replacement services are always getting easier, so you can replace yours without having to jump through too many hoops. If you are looking to go on a vacation, there is no such thing as planning to early. Getting your flights and everything else a head of time can end up saving you a lot of money.Start with the exciting part: picking a destination. When considering where you want to go, be sure to keep in mind exactly when you’re traveling and with whom. You don’t want to take the kids to Tijuana. So look online and do a little research to see what sort of attractions are available that are fun for the entire family. Keep the weather and the season in mind when you’re planning your trip. Traveling to the Caribbean during hurricane season could be disastrous.The paperwork involved in your travel plans end up being some of the most important tools when planning a trip. If you can’t find your passport or if you have a damaged passport, be sure to renew as soon as possible, because sometimes it can take up to six weeks to process a passport request. Call the embassy in whichever country you will be traveling to and see what kind of vaccines you will need, as it varies by country. Also inquire about if you will need a visa or if you will have to pay entrance fees.Making a budget is a sure-fire way to reduce stress associated with planning a vacation. Talk with whomever you’re going to be traveling and establish just how much money you’re going to spend. An inexpensive vacation can be just as memorable as an expensive one without leaving you in the hole. Search for cheap flights and ask friends and family members where they’ve gotten the best deals in the past. There are tons of websites that offer cheap hotel, flight, and rental car packages that offer a one-stop solution to travel planning.Leave important phone numbers and a copy of your itinerary with a family member or friend if you’re going to be gone for a long period of time. Also leave this information with babysitters, pet sitters, and house sitters so they can always reach you. Refill any prescriptions and have enough medication for those who need it for the trip.

Cholesterol Testing and the New Health Care Reform Bill, What Does That Mean to You?

As a means to make America healthier, the health care reform bill includes provisions to provide screenings for cholesterol, diabetes, and blood pressure. These new rules allows for preventative care to be covered under your insurance plan at no additional cost. Under these new rules, if you enroll in a new health plan on or after Sept. 23, 2010, the plan must provide recommended preventive care services without cost-sharing such as co-pays or deductibles.Depending on the type of health plan and other factors such as your age, preventative care will include the following according to sources:· Blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol test· Cancer screenings· Counseling on smoking cessation, weight loss, healthy eating, depression treatments, and reduction of alcohol use· Vaccines for measles, polio, meningitis, and HPV (human papilloma virus)· Shots for flu and pneumonia prevention· Screening, vaccines, and counseling for healthy pregnancies· Well-baby and well-child visits up to the age of 21, as well as vision and hearing, developmental assessments, and body mass index (BMI) screenings for obesity· Mammograms for women over age 40· Pap smears for cervical cancer prevention· Colon cancer screening tests for adults over age 50The plan is designed to create a country which will be healthier. This reform represents a fundamental shift in how you are going to be cared for. This reform will place the focus on how to keep you well rather than how to treat you when you are sick. So many Americans go about their daily lives without knowing the status of their well being. Many of you don’t realize that you have a potential life threatening condition such as high cholesterol until it’s too late. In most cases the co-pays and other out-of-pocket costs to help identify these problems are a stumbling block. This plan will provide you with the means to be tested so you can know where you stand so you can know what to do to correct these conditions before it becomes a serious issue. The reason why the health care reform bill has place an emphasis on preventative care is because chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and others are responsible for seven of 10 deaths among American each year and account for 75% of the nation’s health care spending. According to government estimates between now and 2013, the new preventive care provisions will help an estimated 88 million Americans get preventive care, including those in group and individual plans.What you need to do is check with your employers and their insurance policy about what is covered under those plans, when the plans turn over to a new one the new covered preventive services provisions will take effect. If you have an existing health care plan you are paying for individually, contact them to find what will be the process to implement the provisions of the health care reform bill. In the meantime you are encouraged to go to check out www.healthcare.gov, type in a health plan, and see if preventive care is covered under your current plan. As always to your health!

The Expansion of Home Health Care

In the 1950s, the United States saw a population increase like it had never seen before. Soldiers returning from the atrocities and disillusionment of World War Two were eager to start families and build successful lives. Now, as the children of these inspired veterans reach their later years, we as a country are faced with more elderly citizens to care for than ever before. This will put a significant strain on social services but it also opens up a lucrative opportunity for people and companies in the home health care field.It has been said that by 2025 the United States will have an estimated 72 million people over the age of 65. That’s more people than live in the entirety of France! As these elderly people fall ill or simply experience the symptoms of age, hospitals and health care providers will have to expand to meet this increased need.The worries for this situation include everything that comes along with dramatic shifts in demographics. The United States has never had to care for this many elderly people before in the history of the country. The transition to caring for this new population will of course mean significant cultural and structural changes. As most state and local governments are already in debt, this increased need for medical care is a quandary.In contrast to these worries, there are also lots of good things that can come from this transition. Most importantly, the jobs that will be created as the health care field expands will revitalize the American economy.A trend to watch in modern health care is choosing in home care rather than sending the patient to a hospital or assisted living facility. Home health care has a plethora of emotional and physical health benefits and is usually the top choice among family members of the elderly.Because in home care requires more staff, this trend will create even more jobs in the health care field. Having a respectable field of employment with a demand for workers equal to American unemployment rates is essential to revitalizing the economy.Enough jobs, it is well and widely known, means a healthy, sustainable and resilient economy. With more people unemployed than ever before, medical work is becoming one of the chief fields of study in colleges. As baby boomers age, the medical field is promised an ever-rising demand for all sorts of care.Did you know that two-thirds of people over 65 need a caregiver to assist them in their daily activities? That means that two-thirds of the estimated 72 million senior citizens in the year 2025 will require a medical provider in their home. Many people are worried that so many people becoming elderly will bury the existing infrastructure However, if carried out correctly, the influx of job openings in home health care and other medical niches could raise the economy from the dead.

Bus Travel Service – On the Rise After Decades of Decline

Brief HistoryAfter World War 2 the middle classes deserted bus travel in favor of travel by private automobile, and later by airliner. Just 10 years ago, affluent travelers saw buses as the last resort, a sign of desperation.Rising Bus Travel  Today most Americans travel by bus or plane when undertaking long distance travels. High gas prices have boosted bus travel after decades of decline. There are more, and more of briefcase carrying travelers venturing back to the bus, as other forms of travel are slumping. What does that tell us, traveling by bus is on the rise againTravel PlanningThe Bus systems often run on a schedule of some sort, which allow you to plan your travel agenda and book your tickets in advance. Popular routes have buses leaving every couple of hours, generally all day long plus at least two or three buses traveling overnight. Buses in route on long travel tend to make stops primarily in major cities and are very pleasant to travel in. If you’re traveling on weekends or during busy holiday times on popular routes, it is sensible to reserve tickets in advance.Contribution FactorsThe development of traveling by bus corresponds to increasing package tours that evolve every year. In 1983 the number of holiday travelers that participated in package tours was roughly 8.4 million, and has increased each year since then.A bus requires less energy to operate per passenger mile than air travel, which allows very reasonable fares. No matter what bus route you end up on provides a mode of travel that allows you to view the countryside at leisure, not to mention many small towns between destinations you would otherwise not know existed.Cities are now involved around the world to improve the benefits of bus travel while they address the issues that have traditionally set back buses effectiveness. For example adding dedicated bus lanes on highways among other plans cities are involved in. This has been great for bus travel systems both locally, and long travel, as they have been able to modify to better promote & serve customers. It allows travel agency’s to offer fewer stops, and take additional efficiency measures to add time saving technologies that make bus travel reliable, fast, and effective.Other factors mostly influencing tourists’ preferences for bus travel are the good opportunity’s it provides for social interaction and its entertainment value. While traveling by bus you will be surrounded by all different types of people.There is also a new awareness of our carbon footprint, which has just about affected every industry, in fact if it has not affected a specific industry yet, it will very soon. To that end fuel costs, combined with interest in traveling “Green” have played a big role in the increased interest in bus travel. It is clear the bus is a much greener form of transportation, and as riders return to buses, the old stigma of bus travel is evaporating.Bus Budget TravelFor a nation that really enjoys there private automobile, they are seeing bus ticket prices that are to attractive to pass up. If you’re traveling independently on a budget, the bus will certainly be a lower cost choice. Don’t worry cheap tickets can still mean high quality bus travel.A growing number of budget travelers are taking a close look, and noticing buses are an viable alternatives to flying. There are several bus passes available that give you unlimited travel within a given area. Seems they are so cheap, busing around specific regions should be a serious consideration for the budget traveler. Bus Travel TrainingDid you know there are even self-paced bus travel training programs for people who are interested to learn to travel independently using the regular bus system.As you can see there is a lot of value in traveling by bus both financially, and for the quality of a trip.