WORLD TOP 5 MEDICAL INSURANCE COMPANIES

Aetna, Inc.

history

Today’s Aetna, Inc. is the descendant of the Aetna Life Insurance Company, which was incorporated in 1853. In 1931, their corporate headquarters building was constructed on Farmington Avenue in Hartford. Designed by James Gamble Rogers, it is a Colonial Revival building far more monumental than any actually built during the colonial period. In a sense it is like the Old State Housesteroids, and shares some stylistic similarities with that historic structure. on

Introduction

Aetna is one of the most active health insurance companies in the US. The company operates in three segments. Its Health Care division offers HMOs, PPOs, point-of-service (POS) plans, health savings accounts, and traditional indemnity coverage, along with dental, vision, behavioral health, and Medicare plans. Aetna covers more than 15 million individuals under its health plans, some 13 million dental plan members, and 10 million pharmacy members. Its Group Insurance segment sells life, disability, and long-term care insurance, covering about 15 million people. The Large Case Pensions segment offers pensions, annuities, and other retirement savings products.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association

Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association

The rise of managed health care has had some of its members singing the blues, but the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association still has major market power. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association coordinates about 40 chapters that provide health care coverage to over 90 million Americans through indemnity insurance, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), point-of-service (POS) plans, and fee-for-service plans. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association chapters also administer Medicare plans for the federal government.

CIGNA Corporation

CIGNA Corporation

One of the top US health insurers, CIGNA covers more than 9 million people with its various medical plans, which include PPO, HMO, point-of-service (POS), indemnity, and consumer-directed products. CIGNA also offers other health coverage in the form of dental, vision, pharmacy, and behavioral health plans; and it sells group accident, life, and disability insurance. Its customers include employers, government entities, unions, Medicare recipients, and other individuals in the US and Canada. Internationally, the company sells life, accident, and supplemental health insurance in parts of Asia, the European Union, and Chile and provides health coverage to expatriate employees of multi-national companies.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated

The second largest health insurer in the US (behind WellPoint), it operates through four business segments and offers a variety of health care plans and services. Its Health Care Services segment manages HMO, PPO, and POS (point-of-service) plans, as well as various Medicare and Medicaid options. Members of AARP are served via the firm's Ovations unit. Uniprise handles health plans for large companies, and Specialized Care Services offers just that -- vision and dental care and other products and services. Ingenix provides health information consulting and publishing, as well as clinical research and drug marketing services.

WellPoint, Inc.

WellPoint, Inc.

The nation's largest health insurer, WellPoint is finding out what B. B. King already knows: Getting the blues ain't easy. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides health coverage, primarily under the Blue Cross and Blue Shield name, to more than 34 million medical members. It is a Blue Cross or BCBS licensee in 14 states and provides plans under the Unicare name in other parts of the country. WellPoint offers a broad range of managed care plans (including PPO, HMO, indemnity, and hybrid plans) to employers, individuals, and recipients of Medicare and Medicaid. It also provides administrative services (claims processing and underwriting) to self-insured groups and specialty insurance products.

Women’s Health: Your Top 5 Medical Tests

Women’s Health: Your Top 5 Medical Tests

Women these days lead very busy lives, and somehow squuezing in that extra time to make appointments and visit doctors is not high on the priority list unless we get sick.

But here are five tests that you should not forget about and which can actually save your life.

1. Cholesterol Test
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among American women these days, yet somehow we focus our attention on other diseases and threats. Six times more women die from heart disease than breast cancer each year, and most of these cases were due to the fact that the women avoided getting the right tests.

One easy way to gauge the health of your heart is to get a cholesterol test. Remember that there is both good and bad cholesterol, but by getting a simple test your doctor will be able to inform you if your cholesterol levels are at a dangerous level. They will also test your blood pressure because high blood pressure or hypertension as it is medically known is a condition which can be very harmful, even potentially deadly.

Cholesterol tests are recommended at least once every 5 years starting at the age of 20.

2. The Mammogram
Many younger women think that mammograms are only for their mothers, women who are older aged, but this is not true. In fact, breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death around the world, and in many cases it develops in younger women, even those in their early twenties.

Women should get a mammogram at least once every couple of years, and always check for lumps in your breasts. The best idea is to check in circular motions around the area of both your breasts every time that you are in the shower. Not only does the warm water help you to relax but as well it helps you to remember to examine yourself. Breast cancer has an incredibly high cure rate as long as it is caught early, so keep on top of the situation on your own time.

Mammograms are recommended once a year for women over the age of 40.

3. Pap Smear
Many women mistakenly think that the Pap smear is just to check for sexually transmitted diseases but its main purpose is to check for cervical cancer, a major killer around the world. Cervical cancer is so dangerous because it tends to be caught late. The Pap smear is the best test to catch it early.

One of the leading causes is the Human Papillomavirus, or HPV as it is more commonly known. This is one of the leading STDs in the world, and most women do not even realize that they have the disease for years.

This test looks for any abnormalities that could lead to cervical cancer, as well as various other health conditions. In fact, the American Cancer Society recommends that the Pap test be taken by all women at least once annually until the age of thirty, and if no problems arise until that point then they can begin taking the test only once every two or three years.

4. Dermatology Test - CheckYour Skin
Every woman should visit her dermatologist from the age of eighteen, and having a skin exam every 3 years (once a year for women over 40). They will typically do an all over examination of your skin, checking for any abnormal pigmentations, red or brown spots, in particular moles that are larger than normal or irregularly shaped.

Skin cancer is something that very few women think about, even though it is one of the leading causes of death among women around the world. Even if you stay out of the sun and take proper care of your skin you can still develop skin cancer, so it is important that you stay on top of this and make sure that you do not have a problem.

5. The Katie Couric Test
So many people think colon cancer is a guy thing, but we women get it too. The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 75,000 women alone will be diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer this year, so do not take this lightly. Colon cancer is totally preventable and treatable if found early, and the main test for this is the colonoscopy, which Katie Couric has now made famous.

The colonoscopy allows a doctor to closely inspect the patient’s rectum and lower colon, during which they will check for any signs of cancer, polyps, or even small growths that may continue to grow and eventually become cancerous. The test is quite simple, and the patient will first be given a medication that allows them to relax and not tense up, as this can make the examination of the rectum much more difficult. The scope is then inserted slowly into the rectum, and on this scope is a tiny video camera, the pictures from this which are sent to a television monitor in the room that the doctor can use to examine the rectum better.

Robot to Help Neurosurgery

Surgery can take a huge step towards the future due to a new surgical robot system, developed at University of Calgary. Surgeons' mistakes will no longer take place because the NeuroArm is going to upgrade the level of neurosurgery as well as other branches of operative medicine.It it the first MRI-compatible robot in the world and its creator is Dr. Garnette Sutherland. For six years he has worked together with a leading team of Canadian Scientists. Dr. Garnette has cooperated with MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. The cooperation lead to the design of a unique machine that doctors say is “a milestone in medical technology.”A surgeon, through a computer workstation controls the robot. The NeuroArm works with real-time MR imaging. It helps surgeons see and works on a microscopic scale.The testing of the NeuroArm is currently under way and the first patient is anticipated this summer.The robot represents one of the most advanced robotic systems that people ever developed and it was created with the help of MDA, which is known for developing Canadarm and Canadarm2.The whole project of creating the NeuroArm started in 2001 when Doc, B.J. and Don Seaman invested $2 million to start the project. The two oilpatch pioneers and brothers are the namesakes of the Seaman Family MR Research Centre. They started supporting the research centre when it began the development of the first intraoperative MRI scanner in the world.The NeuroArm required an international collaboration of professionals from different fields, including physics, software, optics and mechanics.Dr. Sutherland outlined that the team is not only looking forward to create a robot, their creation is going to build a medical robotics program. "We want the neuroArm technology to be translated into the global community, i.e. hospitals around the world," he said.

FDA Approves Magnetic Brain Therapy

Recently US Food and Drugs Administration put its first stamp of approval for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which is expected to treat migraine, depression and stroke. There are rumors that TMS can even raise a patient from coma.The FDA mentioned that TMS can help adults who suffer from depression, but who do not respond to antidepressants. Transcranial magnetic stimulation features an electromagnetic coil which is held over patient's head. The coil stimulates the underlying brain tissue.Magnetic fields, which are rapidly changing, generate small electric currents in brain tissue, exciting or impeding brain cells, thus easing or hardening communication with each other. Scientists performed a number of large trials were they discovered that TMS could be useful in treating depression, exciting cells in the some of the regions in the brain that are involved in mood regulation.Neuronetics of Malvern, Pennsylvania, a privately-owned medical device company who is also one of the leaders in neuromodulation, developed the TMS device. In its latest trial, which was submitted to the FDA, the device showed that over a half of patients suffering from depression had shown significant improvements after being exposed to a 40-minute session each week for a period of 4 to 6 weeks, NewScientist reports.Mark George of the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, was the one who initiated the use of TMS in patients suffering from depression during the mid 1990s. He mentioned that some scientists are still skeptical about the effectiveness of TMS. The researcher will carry on studying the TMS in order to see whether the device really works. The results of his latest trial will be available next year.Those, who supported the FDA approval, mentioned that further research is still necessary, in order to establish an optimum dose and decide which patients have more chances of benefiting from TMS."Only some patients respond to TMS for depression, so part of the process for optimizing it is to find ways of screening patients," said Vincent Walsh of University College London.

New Electronic Display to Be Used on Clothes and Beer Cans

New Electronic Display to Be Used on Clothes and Beer Cans

One of the latest inventions in the field of light emitting devices might change the way people light their homes and design clothes. The device represents a thin film of plastic able to conduct electricity and create solar power.Scientists working on the international project are looking forward to bring the organic light emitting devices to the masses. Thus the invention could significantly cut costs by billions of dollars each year.Due to the fact that the organic light emitting devices are very thin and flexible, electronic display screens could be easily created on nearly every material, thus, for example, clothing could, for the first time in history, display specific electronic information.There are various ways of using the this OLED, like for example change the color of clothes, beer can would be able to display various sports results. In addition the OLED is much more efficient than the light bulb used today.Currently these devices are applied in mobile phones and MP3 players. However, such OLED is not quite reliable for large TV or computer screens.In order to make the device more efficient so later to launch it to mass market, the international consortium of researches, Modecom, headed by the University of Bath, United Kingdom, started a three-year project which will cost about $1,700,000.Modecom comprises 13 groups from 9 universities and two companies. There are three groups from the United Kingdom, six groups from the United States and one group from China and one each from three European countries including Belgium, Italy and Denmark. Only the European countries and China will receive financial aid from the European Union.The coordinator of Modecom is Dr Alison Walker, who represents the Department of Physics of the University of Bath. "This is a long-term project, and the contributions of many scientists are needed for its success ... Success in achieving the goals of cheap, efficient and long lasting devices is essential as we must do everything we can to reduce our energy costs," he stated.

Alcohol kills faster than ecstasy

A new drug list was revised by Britain's drug experts to reveal that alcohol and tobacco put your health at greater risk than such dangerous drugs as LSD, cannabis and ecstasy.Experts conducted a new all-compassing research with the government top advisory committee involved to make a shocking conclusion on the harm of regular tobacco and alcohol.A modern classification of drugs doesn't reflect the real situation on harmful substances. Thus more than 20 drugs were tested on their social and individual impact and results lead to revision of ABC system.A team of 29 psychiatrists took part in the the study to classify all drugs into nine groups that were analyzed on the physical harm, addiction and social danger. Another group consisted of 16 experts did the research in several fields including chemistry, pharmacology, psychiatry and legal field to say a final word on drug ranking.According to this new drug list, alcohol is named A drug. It slightly outruns heroin and cocaine. Tobacco was placed ninth and fell within a category B drug, after amphetamine. Such dangerous drugs as cannabis, LSD, ecstasy were left far near the end of the drug list.This latest study raised the question that government's drug policy was not paying enough attention to modern state of affairs and didn't take notice of the scientific findings.There should be no surprise that ecstasy drug was placed almost at the end of the list. One person a day dies from acute alcohol poisoning in comparison to 10 people a year who die from ecstasy overdose.A new classification brings to light many issues concerning drug policy with a more thoughtful approach and corresponding legal response.Drug and alchohol abuse is more common than we think. Learn more about alchool or opiate addiction by visiting a trusted detox site. A drug addiction is usually a very difficult segment of one's life, but with the proper care, it can be beat.

TOP 3 MEDICAL UNIVERSITYES

Harvard University

Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature,^[2] Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It is also the first and oldest corporation in North America.^[4]Initially called "New College" or "the college at New Towne", the institution was named Harvard College on March 13, 1639, after a young clergyman named John Harvard, who bequeathed the College his library of four hundred books and £779 (which was half of his estate). The earliest known official reference to Harvard as a "university" occurs in the new Massachusetts Constitution of 1780.During his 40-year tenure as Harvard president (1869–1909), Charles William Eliot radically transformed Harvard into the pattern of the modern research university. Eliot's reforms included elective courses, small classes, and entrance examinations. The Harvard model influenced American education nationally, at both college and secondary levels. Eliot also was responsible for publication of the now-famous "Harvard Classics", a collection of "great books" from multiple disciplines, published by P. F. Collier and Sons beginning in 1909, that offered a college education "in fifteen minutes a day of reading." The collection soon became known as "Dr. Eliot's Five-Foot Shelf." During his unprecedentedly influential presidency, Eliot, a prolific book and magazine writer and widely traveled speaker in the pre-radio age, became so widely recognized a public figure that by his death in 1926, his name (and, not coincidentally, Harvard's) had become synonymous with the universal aspirations of American higher education.Harvard is consistently ranked at or near the top of international college and university rankings,^{[5][6][7][8][9]} and has the second-largest financial endowment of any non-profit organization (behind the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), standing at $28.8 billion as of 2008. It has been the world's best achieving university for the past decade.
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a nonsectarian, private research university located in Greater St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853 and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than one hundred and twenty five nations.^[5] Twenty-two Nobel laureates have been associated with Washington University, nine doing the major part of their pioneering research at the university.^[5]Washington University is made up of seven graduate and undergraduate schools^[6] that encompass a broad range of academic fields. Officially incorporated as "The Washington University", popular nicknames for the university include "Wash. U." and "WUSTL", all derived from the initials of the university's name. To prevent confusion over its location, the Board of Trustees added the phrase "in St. Louis" in 1976.^[7] The university has an endowment of $4.05 billion.^[2] The current chancellor is Mark S. Wrighton, who has led the university since 1995. He is among the highest paid university heads in the United States
University of California, San Francisco

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dental, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world. The UCSF Medical Center is consistently ranked among the top 10 hospitals in the United States by U.S. News & World Report [1]. Some of UCSF's most renowned treatment centers include kidney and liver transplant, neurosurgery, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, gene therapy, women's health, fetal surgery, pediatrics, and internal medicine. UCSF also has the nation's leading HIV/AIDS treatment and research centers. Collaborations with African Universities such as the University of Zimbabwe to deal with HIV have been established. UCSF should not be confused with the Hastings College of the Law, a separate institution of the University of California which is also located in San Francisco.Founded in 1873, the mission of UCSF is to serve as a "public university dedicated to saving lives and improving health." Though one of the ten campuses of the University of California, it is unique for being the only University of California campus dedicated solely to graduate education, and this in health and biomedical sciences. UCSF has developed a reputation for unique interdisciplinary collaboration between the health science disciplines which has led to some of the most important discoveries in the biosciences. The graduate-focused environment of UCSF, its relatively small size, and its culture of collaboration allows for a flexibility to translate new discoveries into new treatments hard to find even at many of the world's other top medical centers.