D-I-Y Natural Facial Cleanser

I had a special guest in the joyous HQ this week showing me how to make her natural facial cleanser, Seanna Cohen! She is a skin care expert, natural beauty blogger at Elodiebeauty.com and she writes a column on natural beauty right here.

It was so much fun chatting with her about beauty and the importance of clean, toxin-free personal care products. She used to suffer from acne-prone skin and improved her skin when she gave her beauty products a makeover.

If this idea of clean beauty is new to you, you might want to check out the “dirty dozen” chemicals in cosmetics and also, 12 hormone disrupting chemicals that could be lurking in products you use every day. In this case, ignorance is definitely not bliss because you could be slathering body wash and cleansers on your body unknowingly exposing yourself to hormone-disrupting chemicals daily.

Many people ask me what cleansers I use and while I love to share brands that I personally use, the challenge with this is what works for me may not work for you and also, it may not be accessible to get the products I use in the city you live in. So on that note, I thought it would be a great idea to show you how to make your own toxin-free facial cleanser. It is both affordable and works for all skin types.

You must also check out a recent video I did with Graydon for a Turmeric Honey Paste — an amazingly anti-inflammatory face mask.

Here is the video and the recipes for both cleansers are below.

When making your own beauty products, always be sure to buy the best quality ingredients. Usually this means shopping at a health food store.

If you’re unsure, don’t be afraid to contact the manufacturer and ask them questions to ensure your ingredients are as pure as possible. Be sure to get non-GMO products too and if they are certified organic, even better to avoid synthetic pesticides that you can absorb through your skin. Certified organic products will always be non-GMO.

Rosewater & Aloe Cleanser
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp rose water
1 tbsp aloe vera juice
1 tbsp vegetable glycerin

Combine all ingredient into a small jar and shake to emulsify. It is best
to store the cleanser in a dark glass bottle and use with a dropper top
(to dispense product easier). Can be stored for 2-3 weeks.

To use: wet face and massage a small amount into skin, working in gentle
circles for 30 seconds. Remove with warm wash cloth. Repeat if necessary.

Honey & Aloe Cleanser
2 tbsp raw honey
2 tbsp vegetable glycerin
1/2 tbsp aloe vera juice

In a small bowl whisk raw honey with glycerin and aloe into a creamy
consistency. Store in a glass bottle for 2-3 weeks.

To use: wet face and massage a small amount into skin, working in gentle
circles for 30 seconds. The cleanser can be left on the skin as a mask for
5-10 minutes, or remove immediately with a warm washcloth.

Let me know how you like this? Also, please post any of your favourite D-I-Y beauty recipes in the comment section below.

Wishing you joyous health!

Joy

Joy McCarthy

Joy McCarthy is the vibrant Holistic Nutritionist behind Joyous Health. Author of JOYOUS HEALTH: Eat & Live Well without Dieting, professional speaker, nutrition expert on Global’s Morning Show, Faculty Member at Institute of Holistic Nutrition and co-creator of Eat Well Feel Well. Read more…

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Last chance to vote for AHCJ’s board of directors

Image: FutUndBeidl via Flickr

The voting period for AHCJ’s board of directors will close at noon Central time today. A link to the ballot was emailed to all qualified AHCJ members.

Each year, members in AHCJ’s professional category elect members of the board. Six of the 12 director positions come up for election each year for two-year terms.

The nine candidates have offered outlines of their background and their vision for the organization. Those statements are available for members to review.

AHCJ is built on the wisdom, experience and energy of its members. It is what makes AHCJ a professional home for so many journalists.

Board members are responsible for association policies and statements and work with the executive director on training, financial and other efforts to achieve AHCJ’s strategic goals. They take on committee duties and contribute to association activities, including fundraising, advocacy, helping plan sessions at training events, membership outreach and writing/editing contributions.

Members have been sent an email with the special ballot link. Your vote will remain confidential, although staff will be able to track whether someone attempts to vote more than once. Any duplicate votes used through that special link will cause all votes by that member to be voided.

Please check your email for the link to your ballot and participate in selecting AHCJ’s leadership. If you haven’t received a ballot, please check your “junk” or “spam” folder. If you don’t see it there, please email info@healthjournalism.org right away.

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Things to keep in mind as we anticipate the King v. Burwell ruling

Photo by dbking via Flickr

We’ve put up a tip sheet and written about the King v. Burwell case, but now that the ruling is imminent, we wanted to bring one more good one-stop-shopping resource to your attention and share a few tips.

The Alliance for Health Reform has issued a very good four-page tool kit – links to background articles, think tank papers, issue briefs and lots of sources. One caveat – it says that 7.5 million are subsidized in the affected states but the most recent government numbers are 6.4 million.

Other things to remember

There are 37 states using HealthCare.gov (with Hawaii, soon 38). But the reason you keep reading that 34 states are affected is that 34 are federal exchanges.

Three (plus Hawaii) are technically state exchanges but are using HealthCare.gov technology to enroll people. New Mexico had started setting up an exchange, but realized it couldn’t pull it off successfully. Oregon and Nevada did start exchanges – but they were a mess and didn’t get fixed, so the state continues to govern and operate part of the exchange. But they use the federal website and technology to actually sign people up.

Of the 34 remaining states, two – Delaware and Pennsylvania – have laid out preliminary plans to switch to a New Mexico-like model of a state exchange. There are a lot of hurdles, including political ones, but the two states have gotten a preliminary go-ahead from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Depending on what kind of timetable the court lays out (if it rules for King) the states may still have a subsidy gap because it will take time to create a state-based exchange, even without the technology.

The timetable also is a mystery (if subsidies are struck). Typically the court’s order would go into effect in 25 days, but this isn’t a typical case and the court might lay out a slower transition period.

One last note – this is not a constitutional case, it’s about interpreting the law. So the court isn’t deciding whether the ACA is constitutional or not. And while loss of subsidies would badly damage the law, it’s not a repeal or a full strike down.

Previous coverage

• Covering how King v. Burwell decision could affect subsidies
• HuffPost dives into public records on King v. Burwell
• Under­standing, explaining primary issues of King v. Burwell
• Experts make some predictions about SCOTUS ruling
• The ACA and patient satisfaction: Does it improve care?
• Conference panel generates ACA resources, story ideas
• Reporters offer state, local story ideas for covering ACA
• SCOTUS: Some things to note as we wait for a decision
• Experts weigh in on covering the SCOTUS challenge
• State waivers and the next Supreme Court ACA challenge
• Breaking down court rulings on Affordable Care Act subsidies
• Five common mistakes to avoid on the health policy beat

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Percentage of adult Americans with cavities remains high, study notes

Photo by ktpupp via Flickr.

Although tooth decay and tooth loss have been declining in recent decades, more than nine of 10 working-age Americans have cavities in permanent teeth, a new federal report shows.

“Among adults aged 20-64, 91 percent had caries and 27 percent had untreated tooth decay,” conclude the authors of a data brief from the National Center for Health Statistics.

The data were drawn from the 2011-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

The survey, really an ongoing series of surveys, serves as a major tool for assessing the status of the nation’s oral health. NHANES’ size and depth make it unique. The study combines face-to-face interviews and physical examinations of a nationally representative sample of about 5,000 people each year. The work is overseen by the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The newest data show enduring racial disparities in disease and treatment patterns. While white American adults have more tooth decay than minorities, they are also more likely to receive treatment, the brief finds.

A full 94 percent of non-Hispanic white adults of working age had decayed teeth, compared with 91 percent of black and 86 percent of Hispanic adults aged 20 to 64, according to the federal data.

Yet less than a quarter of whites had untreated tooth decay, compared with 42 percent of black adults and 36 percent of Hispanic adults. Seventeen percent of Asian American adults had untreated decay, according to the brief.

Tooth decay and loss becomes more prevalent as Americans age, the brief also found.

“In 2011-2012, nearly all U.S. adults aged 65 and over (96 percent) with any permanent teeth had dental caries,” the authors noted.

Nearly 19 percent of Americans in that age group were edentulous, meaning they had lost all their teeth. Complete tooth loss among older adults varied across the races.  Only 15 percent of older Hispanic and 17 percent of older white Americans were edentulous, compared with 29 percent of older black Americans.

The new findings provide an update from data included in the 1999-2004 NHANES study. The previous report found that 92 percent of working age adults had cavities in permanent teeth and 26 percent had untreated decay. Among older people, the decay rate was 93 percent. Nearly one quarter of Americans aged 60 years old or older had lost all their teeth.

While the new data brief explores the oral health of adults, a brief released earlier this spring took a fresh look at NHANES findings for children.

Need the latest federal data on the oral health status of Americans? The NHANES can be a very useful resource.

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Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Toasted Almonds

My strawberry lovefest continues with this fresh, vibrant and flavourful salad!

If you’re like me, you’re probably not tired of strawberries. I could eat them every single day when they are as fresh and in season like they are now. This past weekend I was at the farmers market and picked up two pints of these delicious gems. If you’ve got strawberries from your weekend market or grocery store haul then you’re in luck because I’ve got another great recipe and strawberries are the star ingredient!

I made this wonderful Strawberry Cucumber Avocado Salad last night. We enjoyed it with the Turkey Burgers from my book Joyous Health.

Strawberries are part of the “dirty dozen” so be sure to always buy certified organic, unless of course you’ve grown them in your backyard! (See more below).

Just like my Sweet Pea Hemp Dip this dish is refreshing and vibrant. It is like a burst of summer for your taste buds thanks to the fresh basil and strawberries. 

And you’ll love how easy it is too. 

Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Toasted Almonds

2015-06-22 16:24:19

Serves 2

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Ingredients

1. SALAD
2. 1 cup strawberries chopped
3. 1/4 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped
4. 2 cups cucumber, chopped*
5. 1 avocado, cubed
6. 2 garlic scapes, finely chopped
7. Handful freshly chopped basil
8. DRESSING
9. 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10. 1 tbsp honey
11. Juice from 1/2 lemon
12. Sea salt
13. Pepper

Instructions

1. Chop all ingredients and combine together in a large salad bowl.
2. Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over top of salad.

Notes

1. To toast the almonds: Coarsely chop and place on a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 300F. Toast for 10-12 minutes or until almonds get “toasty”. Be careful they don’t burn.
2. *You probably noticed by the size, I used organic mini cucumbers I got in my organics delivery box, but you could use any kind of cucumber.

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In a previous post I talked about the blood sugar balancing effects, anti-inflammatory benefits and vitamin C content of strawberries, so for this post I thought I would address a question that people ask me all the time:

When purchasing strawberries, should you buy local, organic or both?

The quick answer is organic and if you can get both organic and local, even better! When strawberries are in season, the best place to find local and organic strawberries is at a farmers markets. If you’re not sure if the strawberries are organic, just ask the farmer before you purchase.

Strawberries are part of the Dirty Dozen which means they are included in the top 12 fruits and vegetables that contain the HIGHEST level of pesticide residues. In fact, they are ranked number 4 on the list which makes them a heavy-pesticide food because the lower the number the higher the pesticides. In fact, the USDA found that a single strawberry contained anywhere from 13 to 54 different pesticides.

These pesticides are linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and developmental problems in children, says soil science expert Margaret Reeves, PhD, senior scientist with Pesticide Action Network.

The challenge with strawberries is that their little seeds are the perfect hiding ground for synthetic chemicals and it is next to impossible to wash them all off. Furthermore, pesticides are sprayed as the fruit is growing. Many people have the misconception that pesticides are just found on the outside of a fruit or veggie. If the fruit or veggie has been sprayed since it started growing then you get bet it’s also in the flesh as well.

In the winter, I purchase organic frozen strawberries because they are usually still local rather than fresh organic strawberries from far away that are white inside and tasteless. This is because they’ve been picked long before they started to ripen.

A comment I often hear people say is this…

“I just don’t have the money to purchase organic, it’s too expensive”.

Healthy, organic food isn’t expensive, the problem is that we simply don’t value food the same way we did a century ago (the same goes for clothing). In the early 1900′s people would spend over half their weekly earnings on food and apparel, now it’s less than one fifth. Instead of feeding and clothing our families we are spending it on fancy houses and cars. The other issue (which really requires an entire blog post) is that cheap food is too cheap compared to healthy food making it seem as though “healthy” food is expensive.

Also remember that the average North American wastes 40% of their food each week because it rots in their fridge! If more people simply ate what they purchased imagine how much $$ they could save.

When you consider the benefits of organic farming to both us and our planet, supporting farmers that nurture and appreciate the land has far reaching impacts for future generations to come.

Here are some ways to Shop Organic On A Budget.

So as you’re enjoying this wonderfully nourishing and delicious salad, think of the love that went into the farming of the delicious organic ingredients you are eating!

For more strawberry recipes, check out:

• Strawberry Milkshake
• Strawberry Almond Butter Cups
• Strawberry Popsicles

Have a joyous day!

Joy

Joy McCarthy

Joy McCarthy is the vibrant Holistic Nutritionist behind Joyous Health. Author of JOYOUS HEALTH: Eat & Live Well without Dieting, professional speaker, nutrition expert on Global’s Morning Show, Faculty Member at Institute of Holistic Nutrition and co-creator of Eat Well Feel Well. Read more…

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If you’ve got leftover strawberries, be sure to try my most recent Strawberry Mylkshake for brekkie or the Strawberry Almond Butter Cups for dessert or a snack.

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The reality of rural care: Covering the divide and distance

Photo: Len Bruzzese/AHCJMore than 60 people attended AHCJ’s Rural Health Journalism Workshop on June 19 in Fort Worth, Texas.

At a glance, the Dallas-Fort Worth area doesn’t seem so remote. Touching down in northern Texas, there’s a glut of restaurants, a Starbucks (there’s always a Starbucks) and, soon, a maze of highways.

But head from the airport to AHCJ’s Rural Health Journalism Workshop (#ruralhealth15) in downtown Fort Worth, and one of the major health care challenges facing non-urban areas quickly becomes clear: distance. On the road from Dallas to Fort Worth stretch miles of pavement. One Texas injury clinic along the way doesn’t look much different than the auto shops and loan stores it is sandwiched between along the busy route.

In fact, this metropolitan region was the model setting for the more than 60 people who attended the daylong program – a vast state with many isolated pockets close to Oklahoma and other states with similar challenges that can put rural residents at the bottom rung of the U.S. health care system.

Photo: Len Bruzzese/AHCJJohn Bowling, D.O., assistant dean of rural medical education, University of North Texas Health Science Center, addresses #ruralhealth15 in Fort Worth.

“We have a multi-tiered health care,” John Bowling, D.O., of the University of North Texas Health Science Center told attendees. For rural residents, simply where they live puts them in the lower tier because of the distance to access care and because there are fewer health care services available, he said.

Bowling, assistant dean of UNT’s rural medical education, said journalists, like medical professionals, need to explore ways to highlight and tackle such disparities.

Geography, and the disparities it creates in accessing care, was a recurring theme throughout the day from other panelists as well.

The first sessions took an overall look at issues facing both patients and providers in less populated areas, including the strains heaped on rural hospitals and the difficulty in navigating the unique cultural tapestry in rural areas – not just in Texas, but nationwide.

Among the central factors in rural health care, Bowling cited a lack of resources for rural health that impacts infrastructure (or lack thereof), access issues when farmers or factory workers are miles from clinics and the special needs of veterans and other groups. He also called for more family practitioners to get a wider array of hands-on training so they can wear the many hats needed in a small community handling emergencies, obstetrics, cancer screenings and more.

There are other modern-day challenges, too, said sociologist Gary Brinker, Ph.D., professor and director of Fort Hays State University’s Docking Institute of Public Affairs. Stress, poverty and so-called “political alienation” can also weigh down those living in more isolated communities.

Photo: Len Bruzzese/AHCJSharita Thomas, M.P.P., a research associate of North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services, helps journalists navigate data on rural hospital closures.

Isolation is something rural hospitals are grappling with, too, as an increasing number of such facilities struggle to stay financially solvent, according to researcher Sharita Thomas, M.P.P., who added that 53 have closed since 2010.

Issues such as remote locations, lower volumes, limited workforce and older clientele disproportionately impact rural hospitals and add to their financial strain, said Thomas, an associate at the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program. “All of these challenges make rural hospitals vulnerable.”

Michael Williams , D.O., M.D., M.B.A., saw his then-hospital in Fredericksburg, Texas, a small town about 70 miles west of Austin, teetering toward the brink when a 13-year-old son of a board member died after receiving substandard care. Williams, now president of University of North Texas Health Science Center, said he used the incident as a catalyst to transform the facility into an award-winning medical center. While other health systems were looking at the hospital’s struggles as a buying opportunity, Williams said he knew such a takeover could shut the facility and devastate the community.

But trying to reach into rural communities to asses that potential closure’s impact – or any other health challenges – can be tough.  Panelists noted the challenges of reporting on smaller communities and warned journalists against trying to just jump into reporting without first building trust and connecting with key community members.

Tammy Worth, an AHCJ member and an independent journalist from Blue Springs, Mo., offered her insights into tapping into other subgroups of rural patients after her own coverage of undocumented immigrants, such as first connecting with local church leaders.

Uche Uchendu, M.D.,who heads the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Health Equity, noted the challenges of reaching veterans in more isolated communities that may not have a nearby VA facility and said social determinants such as housing, education, employment and transportation also present challenges.

Closing the gap for better health in rural areas means, in some ways, improving access to the same level of care available in other areas, she said, noting the VA’s growing adoption of telemedicine in some areas.

“Health equity and health disparity are like two sides of the same coin,” Uchendu said.

Check back for part II from #ruralhealth15 later this week.

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States, consumer groups take steps to help with ‘surprise’ medical bills

Photo by Upupa4me via Flickr.

Amy Trent, a health care reporter for the News & Advance in Lynchburg, Va., found an ideal source for an article about surprise medical bills. She wrote about Leighton Dodd, the 83-year-old former mayor of this city of 75,000 in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Dodd, a cancer patient, in 2014 had seen the monthly cost of his chemotherapy treatment go from $5,800 in September to $16,124 in October. The reason: Centra Health made Dodd’s physician group an outpatient department.

While everything else about Dodd’s care was unchanged, the new owners of his oncology practice raised the cost of Dodd’s care by 278 percent. Dodd’s bill jumped sharply because of what are called site of service differential payments, which we covered last month in a tip sheet and last year in a blog post. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services wants to eliminate these differential payments.

Not only do differential payments drive up costs, but they are one way that consumers get medical bills they did not expect. Another way is when a patient gets treatment at an in-network hospital and one or more of the providers involved in the patient’s care is out of network, as Olga Khazan reported in The Atlantic. When that happens, providers bill patients for the difference in what is called balance billing.

In her article, Khazan quoted Stacy Pogue, coauthor of a report from the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Texas. Describing balance billing, Pogue said, “Imagine going out to eat and receiving separate bills from the restaurant, host, waiter, cook, and busboy, some of whom were willing to negotiate discounts or accept coupons, while others were not.”

The Center for Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute this month issued a report on balance billing. It explains what consumers can do to protect themselves and what officials are doing in seven states (California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, New Mexico, New York and Texas) to protect consumers.

The CHIR report says that in these states, officials can ban balance billing, improve transparency in plan benefits about which doctors and hospitals are included in networks, provide a way to set fair payment rates for out-of-network providers, and require insurers to cover the difference between the amount a consumer is charged and what the insurance company agreed to pay.

This spring, a survey by Consumer Reports National Research Center showed that more than a third of 2,000 Americans who responded to the survey got a bill after their health insurance company paid less than they expected. In a report on the survey, CR said loopholes in health insurance policies have blindsided consumers with medical expenses they can’t avoid.

To help consumers address the issue, CR now has a section on its website devoted to surprise medical bills and a health insurance complaint tool that lists resources available to help consumers, Stand Up to Surprise Medical Bills. Enter a state name and the site lists resources available from state departments and consumer organizations.

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Five Tips for Powerful Conversations and a Free Gift

Hey there to all of you fabulous Joyous Health readers! I’m Stuart Knight, and I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Joy on many occasions trying to help people lead healthier and happier lives. I’ve got some fun tips that will help you create powerful relationships, as well as a gift valued at 50 bucks at the end of this blog that will give you access to The Powerful Group. Keep reading!

Let’s face it, some people lead better lives than others. And the reason for this is not any different than the reason some wines are better than others.  You get out what you put in. I am about to share something with you that most people never consider when trying to create a better life for themselves. What am I talking about?  I’m talking about powerful conversation.

Over the past twenty years, I have had the pleasure of speaking to over one million people.  During that time I’ve realized our world is facing an epidemic and most people don’t know it.  The epidemic is that we’re not talking to each other.  What’s worse is that when people do talk to each other, they miss the opportunity to make their lives better.  Specifically, they miss the opportunity to become smarter and more well informed, to gain confidence, to develop greater emotional intelligence, to discover opportunities that could change their life and to connect with people in a way that improves their physical and mental health. Instead, they talk about the weather. Really?

Simply put, the better your conversations, the better your life. Today, I teach that concept to people all around the world and in Toronto we have an organization dedicated to bringing strangers together to have powerful conversations. So how do you do it? It’s easier than you think. Just follow the five tips below.

1. Assume people are fascinating.

Believe it or not, regular people are more interesting than most of the things that distract us.  With the right questions, people who appear average will take you on a journey that is far more exciting than Facebook, Twitter and Game of Thrones combined.  The more often you enter a conversation with the belief that it can be fascinating, the more often it will be fascinating and the more fascinating your life will become! Duh!

2. Stop thinking you are different than others.

Everyone else is just as scared, insecure and confused about what they should do with their life as you are.  Avoiding that commonality isn’t doing you or anyone else any good.  Have the courage to engage in a conversation where you show a little vulnerability and your life will become better in the process.

3. Stop letting technology control you! 

What’s more important to you?  Seeing a picture of your friend’s new shoes or connecting with a human being in a way that could change the course of your life? Just before you die you won’t remember someone’s selfie, but you will remember how others made you feel.  Ignore your phone from time to time.  Your better life depends upon it!

4. Talk to one stranger a day

There is no simpler way to lead a better life than by talking to strangers. Start with a compliment and go from there. Anything you want from life can be found through a conversation with a stranger.  Whether it’s a business opportunity, information that will make you smarter or getting one step closer to falling in love, strangers are a gold mine with riches to last a lifetime, but you’ll never discover it if you don’t have the guts to say hello.

5. Overall, ask better questions!  

 It’s one thing to ask someone how their weekend was, and it’s an entirely different thing to ask someone what their happiest moment was over the weekend.  The better the questions, the better the answers, and the better the answers, the more likely you are to connect with someone in a way that will lead you to a better life.

These five tips are a great chance for you to start moving yourself toward a more successful, happy and healthy life.   For those of you who want the ultimate chance to put these tips to the test, come join us at The Powerful Group.  To make it an easy decision, I’m going to give you a free two-month trial membership (Value: $50). Holla! Just click HERE to receive it. To see if The Powerful Group is right for you, click HERE.  

Yes, this is one of the moments that could change the course of your life, but only if you let it.

Stuart

Stuart Knight

Stuart Knight is a critically acclaimed author, award winning entrepreneur and one of Canada’s best corporate speakers. His presentations have been seen by over one million people and today he helps some of the world’s biggest companies reach new levels of success. When he’s not on the road speaking, you can catch him online with his thought provoking and often hilarious blogs and videos that force you to boycott what you thought. www.stuartknight.com

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Dallas TV station hasn’t let go of Medicaid dental fraud story

Byron Harris and his colleagues at WFAA-Dallas have been reporting on Medicaid dental fraud in Texas for years.

Photo: WFAA

The allegations of widespread fraud and abuse related to braces for poor children first came to light in their 2011 Crooked Teeth investigation.

The “Crooked Teeth” stories revealed that Texas was spending more on Medicaid orthodontic services than the nation’s nine other most populous states combined. The reports raised questions about whether dentists were providing unneeded braces to Medicaid children and sending the program the bill.

Now, there’s a new chapter to the story. Federal officials have concluded the state owes $133 million for unnecessary dental work.

“Texas paid $191,410,707 for unallowable orthodontic services from 2008 through 2010, according to a federal investigation,” Harris told viewers June 3. “And officials say the federal government now wants a large portion of that money back.

“The findings are in a report compiled by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington. The report – which took four years to complete – puts a price tag on one of the largest scandals in the history of the Texas Medicaid program,” Harris noted. As he pointed out in the story, dentists filed the claims and the state approved them, but a state contractor oversaw the approval process.

A Xerox subsidiary, Texas Medicaid and Healthcare Partnership (TMHP), began processing Medicaid claims for the state in 2004. TMHP’s contract endured even after a 2012 federal audit found the company had been ‘essentially rubber-stamping” dental claims. Last year, the office of the Texas Attorney General announced it was suing Xerox in hopes of reclaiming hundreds of millions of dollars the company allegedly paid out for medically unnecessary Medicaid claims. At the same time, the state’s Health and Human Services Commission announced it was terminating its contract with TMHP.

In the new report, federal investigators say that although the contractor was remiss, the state still is on the hook for the misspent Medicaid funds.

“Although TMHP failed to approve requests for prior authorizations of Medicaid orthodontic services in accordance with State Medicaid guidelines, the State agency is ultimately responsible for contractor compliance and therefore responsible for unallowable costs,” the report said.

The investigators reached their conclusions by examining a random sample of claims submitted by Texas dentists over a 33-month period from 2008 to 2010.

They found many lacked proper documentation and that most were improper, even if they did include the required documents.

A single dentist was responsible for “examining all the dental claims submitted statewide in a program that served as many as 80,000 children per year at its peak,” Harris reported.

“The one dentist, he really didn’t do anything,” Matt Moore, an investigator for the federal OIG told News 8. “He just approved everything that went through.”

Related Coverage

• Tip Sheet: Tips from Texas for covering Medicaid fraud, overtreatment
• Oral Health Blog – Potential billing abuse by Medicaid dental providers a fertile area for coverage
• Oral Health Blog – Florida dentist accused of abuse, fraud in treatment of young patients

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Cucumber Grapefruit Refresher

It’s time to dust off that juicer and bring it out from storage because there’s nothing quite as refreshing in the warm weather as a fresh, raw juice.

I created this recipe the other day on a bright and sunny afternoon. I knew exactly what I was going to make because it was sitting in my Organics Live food delivery box — a juice with grapefruit, cucumber and a couple more ingredients I had in my fridge. It was just what I and my sweet bambina needed

Both grapefruit and cucumber are extremely hydrating foods. In fact, grapefruit is about 90% water and cucumbers have a whopping 96% water! Take about a hydrating drink for your skin.

Nutritional Highlights

Cucumber

• Rich source of vitamin C which is a potent antioxidant that mops free radicals that can otherwise damage your heart and age your skin.
• Cucumber is an excellent source of silica, which is known to promote joint health by strengthening the connective tissues. It is also known as a beauty nutrient because it strengthens hair and nails, only if you juice the peel.
• Cucumbers are rich in vitamin A, B1, B6 & D, folate, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

Grapefruit

• Also rich in vitamin C
• Rich in an antioxidant called lycopene which you may have heard of as it relates to tomato paste. Lycopene has the highest capacity to help fight oxygen free radicals, which are compounds that can damage cells. This can only be found in pink and red grapefruit NOT white.
• There are phytonutrients in grapefruit called limonoids that work magic by inhibiting tumor formation by promoting the formation of glutathione-S-transferase, a detoxifying enzyme.

If you’re a regular reader of joyous health then you probably use ginger regularly because it is incredibly anti-inflammatory and you can read more about the health benefits here, plus find all my gingery recipes too!

The addition of the lime adds more vitamin C and hydration. And the hot chili pepper is an option. Foods that create heat in the body increase your metabolism and can help to fight infection too, especially if you’re coming down with a cold or flu.

I created a recipe video for you… here it is, and the full recipe is listed below.

 

Cucumber Grapefruit Refresher

2015-06-18 17:10:35

Serves 2

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Ingredients

1. ½ cucumber
2. 1 grapefruit
3. 1 or 2 limes
4. Chunk of ginger
5. Optional: Hot chili pepper
6. 1 cup sparkling water

Instructions

1. Using a juice extractor, run your cucumber, grapefruit, ginger and lime through the juicer. Every juicer is different but mine yields about 1 cup fresh raw juice.
2. To this I added some carbonated water to give it an effervescent taste.

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Now you don’t have to add the sparkling (carbonated) water, you could just enjoy as is. Walker and I have soda stream at home that we use to make our filtered alkaline water bubbly. Once I became pregnant all I wanted was refreshing bubbly drinks. Since champagne was off the table (hehehe) making these types of refreshing drinks was and IS the next best thing!

I hope you enjoy this fresh, raw juice recipe.
Wishing you joyous health,

Joy

Joy McCarthy

Joy McCarthy is the vibrant Holistic Nutritionist behind Joyous Health. Author of JOYOUS HEALTH: Eat & Live Well without Dieting, professional speaker, nutrition expert on Global’s Morning Show, Faculty Member at Institute of Holistic Nutrition and co-creator of Eat Well Feel Well. Read more…

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