Newsletter	November 2009

Topics in this Issue...

• Medicare Annual Election Period Is Here!
  Attention Medicare Beneficiaries -
  November 15 through December 31 is your once a year chance
  (with a few exceptions) to change your insurance for 2010.
  


• "Third-Hand Smoke," Another Good Reason
  to Join the "Great American Smoke-Out"
  "Third-Hand Smoke" is the name given to the cigarette residue left
  behind on surfaces. Building up over time and continuing to emit
  invisible toxins into the air, it has recently been found to be as
  dangerous as the second-hand smoke you can see.
  
  
• A Thanksgiving Message from
  Bristol Park Medical Group
  

Medicare Annual Election
Period Is Here!

Attention Medicare Beneficiaries - November 15 through December 31 is your once a year chance (with a few exceptions) to change your insurance options for 2010.

If you are currently on traditional Medicare or have a Medicare Supplement plan and have found they do not meet all your healthcare needs and there are just too many extra out-of-pocket expenses, you may want to consider enrolling in a Medicare Advantage plan. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan but want to switch plans, now is the time.

The Advantage is Yours With a Medicare Advantage Plan

Why? Medicare Advantage plans provide enhanced services over traditional Medicare for little extra cost. Most plans offer:

• None or Minimal co-pays for physician visits
• No monthly health plan premiums
• No annual health plan deductibles
• Hospitalization covered at a substantial savings
• Enhanced prescription drug program included at no additional cost
• You can still keep your Bristol Park Medical Group doctor
  after joining a plan.

We are contracted with: Health Net, SCAN, Secure Horizons and EverCare by United Healthcare, and OneCare.

To learn more about how Medicare works, join us at one of these free upcoming seminars. Speaking will be the Public Affairs Specialist from Social Security Administration. Please RSVP - 1-866-276-3627 - Refreshments will be served.

Saturday, November 7, 10am
Norman P. Murray Senior Center, 24932 Veterans Way
Mission Viejo, CA 92692

Saturday, December 12, 10am
Bristol Park Medical Group - 11420 Warner Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

Saturday, January 9, 2010, 10am
Bristol Park Medical Group - 15 Mareblu Street, Suite 100
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656

Sales Representatives from Medicare Advantage Plans will be present with
information and applications.

To RSVP for one of the Medicare lectures, or if you have general questions, please call our Medicare Specialists at 1-866-276-3627 and we will be happy to assist you.

Act Now! - Don't miss this opportunity.

"Third-Hand Smoke,"
Another Good Reason to Join the
"Great American Smoke-Out"

"Third-Hand Smoke" is the name given to the cigarette residue left behind on surfaces. Building up over time and continuing to emit invisible toxins into the air, it has recently been found to be as dangerous as the
second-hand smoke you can see.

Even when you can no longer see the smoke, the toxins and poisonous chemicals
left behind by cigarette smoke can take up residence in clothing, hair, draperies and upholstery in home and auto and can be a danger to everyone, including the most susceptible: infants, small children and people with medical conditions worsened
by exposure. So when you hold a child or hug someone, there is the potential for
them to breathe in toxins.

This year the Great American Smoke-Out, to be held on Thursday, November 19th, celebrates 32 years of helping smokers quit. Cigarettes are equal opportunity killers.
It is estimated that 430,000 people in the US alone, will die this year from cigarette related diseases: heart attack, stroke, coronary heart disease, cancers of the lungs, mouth and throat, leukemia, just to name a few. Smoking and the toxins you receive from it either directly or indirectly contribute to diseases or a weakened immune system which allows opportunistic diseases to prey on you and your loved ones.

Cigarettes contain over 250 poisonous toxins.

The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention also estimates that anywhere
from 30,000-45,000 non-smokers will die this year from exposure to second-hand
and third-hand smoke.

The good news is according to the American Cancer Society there are definite
benefits from quitting smoking, some that begin almost immediately and some
that increase with time.

Rewards in the first couple of weeks:

• 20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops
• 12 Hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal
• Food tastes better
• Sense of smell returns to normal
• No longer out of breath performing ordinary activities
• More money from not buying cigarettes

• 2 weeks - 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your
  lung function increases.
• 1 - 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus,
  clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.
• 1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is
  half that of a smoker's.
• 5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to half that of a non-smoker
  5-15 years after quitting.
• 10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker's. Additionally, the risks of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease.
• 15 years after quitting: Your risk of coronary heart disease is that
  of a non-smoker's.
  
  (source: www.cancer.org)

Perhaps the most costly factor is most smokers cut 13-14 years off their lives by smoking. What would you do with 13-14 more years? Spend it with your spouse, children or grandkids? Travel the world? Write the great American novel?

If you're serious about quitting, go online with the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) for their Guide to Quitting Smoking, or ask your physician
during your next visit.

A Thanksgiving Message from
Bristol Park Medical Group

As we look forward to sitting down with our families
and friends this month, enjoying the love and camaraderie of the parades, football games and food,
we want to extend our thanks to you for allowing us
to be your medical group.

In these uncertain times, we are grateful for your continued patronage and we look forward to a brighter and healthier future for our country and us all. In the meantime you can trust that Bristol Park Medical
Group will be here for you "in sickness and in health."