Twas the night before Christmas and at the North Pole,

The Holiday hustle was taking it's toll.

The elves were all busy finishing the toys,

As Santa prepared to visit good girls and boys.

Mrs. Claus in the kitchen had a list of her own

To make sure her husband would come safely home.

First aid kit, water, extra reindeer snacks,

A second warm jacket and red furry slacks

A map and a compass, chapped lip medication

His passport and visa, and documentation

But what was the most important thing in his sleigh?

His insurance card from the elves at ISA.

She thought it would be difficult, but found that it’s not,

Applied online and printed out her cards on the spot.

Santa told Rudolph, “Its time, let her rip!”

And took off for the night on his annual trip

They started in England, and worked through the night

On rooftops and chimneys, they continued their flight .

When suddenly out of nowhere it rose,

A star even brighter than old Rudolph’s nose!

It blinded the reindeer, they started to shudder.

Santa fell from the sleigh landing right in the gutter!

The reindeer were freaking, looking through Santa's sack

They found the insurance card Mrs. Claus packed.

With no change for the phone, (as one might expect)

they found a number on the card that said call collect.

ISA said, “Don’t worry, you’re in excellent hands”

Sometimes things happen that weren’t part of your plans~

We’re here to help you in any situation

Travel assistance, medical care, even repatriation.

Soon Santa recovered and was back on his way,

Thanks to the affordable travel medical

plan from his friends at ISA!

You never know when you might get injured or sick.

It can happen to anyone, even Saint Nick.

'Tis the season for Holiday travel, and this year travelers are preparing for a whole new hassle at the airport- The Full Body Scan.

Now some travelers are all for enhanced pat-downs and extra security. Others feel their rights are being violated and are flat out refusing to fly. Whatever your opinion, a little knowledge and advanced planning is in order. Prepare for the inevitable delays and make sure to leave your gel shoe inserts in your checked luggage.

Now for the updated list of airports with full-body scanners:

You will find full-body scanners at the following US airports:

· Albuquerque International Airport (ABQ)

· Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (ATL)

· Baltimore-Washington International (BWI)

· Boise Airport (BOI)

· Boston-Logan International (BOS)

· Bradley International Airport (BDL)

· Brownsville-South Padre Island Airport (BRO)

· Buffalo-Niagara International (BUF)

· Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)

· Chicago-O'Hare Airport (ORD)

· Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International (CVG)

· Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport (CLE)

· Columbus International Airport (CMH)

· Corpus Christi International Airport (CRP)

· Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport (DFW)

· Denver International Airport (DEN)

· Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport (DTW)

· El Paso International Airport (ELP)

· Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL)

· Fresno-Yosemite Airport (FAT)

· Gulfport-Biloxi Airport (GPT)

· Grand Rapids-Gerald R. Ford Airport (GRR)

· Harrisburg International Airport (HIA)

· Honolulu International Airport (HNL)

· Houston-George Bush International (IAH)

· Indianapolis International Airport (IND)

· Jacksonville International Airport (JAX)

· Kansas City International Airport (MCI)

· Laredo International Airport (LRD)

· Las Vegas-McCarran Airport (LAS)

· Lihue Airport (LIH)

· Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

· McAllen-Miller International Airport (MFE)

· Memphis International Airport (MEM)

· Miami International Airport (MIA)

· Milwaukee Mitchell Airport (MKE)

· Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP)

· Nashville International AIrport (BNA)

· New York - JFK International Airport (JFK)

· New York - LaGuardia Airport (LGA)

· Newark-Liberty International Airport (EWR)

· New Orleans-Louis Armstrong International (MSY)

· Oakland International Airport (OAK)

· Omaha-Eppley Field (OMA)

· Orlando International Airport (MCO)

· Palm Beach International (PBI)

· Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)

· Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX)

· Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)

· Providence-T.F. Green International (PVD)

· Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU)

· Richmond International Airport (RIC)

· Rio Grande Valley-Harlington Airport (HRL)

· Rochester International Airport (RST)

· Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)

· San Antonio International Airport (SAT)

· San Diego International Airport (SAN)

· San Francisco International Airport (SFO)

· San Jose-Mineta International Airport (SJC)

· San Juan- Luis Munoz Marin International (SJU)

· Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

· Spokane International Airport (GEG)

· St. Louis-Lambert International (STL)

· Tampa International Airport (TPA)

· Tulsa International Airport (TUL)

· Valley International Airport (HRL)

· Washington DC's Dulles Airport (IAD)

· Washington DC's Reagan Airport (DCA)

You will find full-body scanners at the following Canadian airports:

· Calgary International Airport (YYC)

· Edmonton International Airport (YEG)

· Halifax-Stanfield International Airport (YHZ)

· Kelowna International Airport (YLW)

· London International Airport (YXU)

· Moncton International Airport (YQM)

· Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL)

· Ottawa MacDonald-Cartier Airport (YOW)

· Regina International Airport (YQR)

· Saskatoon-John G. Diefenbaker International (YXE)

· Toronto City-Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ)

· Toronto Pearson International (YYZ)

· Vancouver International (YVR)

· Victoria International Airport (YYJ)

· Winnipeg International Airport (WYG)

You will find full-body scanners at the following international airports:

· Amsterdam-Schipol Airport (AMS)

· Gimhae/Busan International (PUS)

· Gimpo/Seoul International (GMP)

· Jeju International (CJU)

· Lagos-Murtala Muhammad International (LOS)

· London-Heathrow (LHR)

· Manchester Airport (MAN)

· Milan-Malpensa International Airport (MXP) **No longer in use

· Moscow-Sheremetyevo International (SVO)

· Palermo International Airport (PMO) **No longer in use

· Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG)

· Rome-Leonardo da Vinci/Fiumicino (FCO) **No longer in use

· Tokyo-Narita International (NRT) *Trial period

· Venice-Marco Polo International (VCE) **No longer in use

Insurance Services of America

800-647-4589

Healthcare Reform in a Nutshell

Have you read the health care bill yet? I sure haven’t- the dang thing is 2000 pages long! Thankfully, the fine folks at Reuters have created a summary of what is to be expected. Obviously there’s a lot more to it, but this is a good start.

Healthcare reform within the first year

• Insurance companies will be barred from dropping people from coverage when they get sick.

• Lifetime coverage limits will be eliminated and annual limits are to be restricted.

• Insurers will be barred from excluding children for coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

• Young adults will be able to stay on their parents’ health plans until the age of 26 instead of being dropped at age 19, or when they finish college.

• Uninsured adults with a pre-existing conditions will be able to obtain health coverage through a new program that will expire once new insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014.

• A temporary reinsurance program will be created to help companies maintain health coverage for early retirees between the ages of 55 and 64. This also expires in 2014.

• Medicare drug beneficiaries who fall into the “doughnut hole” coverage gap will get a $250 rebate.

• A tax credit will become available for some small businesses to help provide coverage for workers.

• A 10% tax on indoor tanning services that use ultraviolet lamps goes into effect on July 1.
Healthcare reform in 2011

• Medicare will provide 10% bonus payments to primary care physicians and general surgeons.

• Medicare beneficiaries will be able to get a free annual wellness visit and personalized prevention plan service.

• New health plans will be required to cover preventive services with little or no cost to patients.

• A new program under the Medicaid plan for the poor goes into effect in October that allows states to offer home and community based care for the disabled that might otherwise require institutional care.

• Payments to insurers offering Medicare Advantage services will be frozen at 2010 levels. These payments are to be gradually reduced to bring them more in line with traditional Medicare.

• Employers will be required to disclose the value of health benefits on employees’ W-2 tax forms.

• An annual fee will be imposed on pharmaceutical companies according to market share. The fee will not apply to companies with sales of $5 million or less.

Healthcare reform in 2012

• Physician payment reforms will be implemented in Medicare to enhance primary care services and encourage doctors to form “accountable care organizations” to improve quality and efficiency of care.

• An incentive program will be established in Medicare for acute care hospitals to improve quality outcomes.

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the government programs, will begin tracking hospital readmission rates and puts in place financial incentives to reduce preventable readmissions.

Healthcare reform in 2013

• A national pilot program will be established for Medicare on payment bundling to encourage doctors, hospitals and other care providers to better coordinate patient care.

• The threshold for claiming medical expenses on itemized tax returns will be raised to 10% from 7.5% of income. The threshold will remain at 7.5% for the elderly through 2016.

• The Medicare payroll tax will be raised to 2.35% from 1.45% for individuals earning more than $200,000 and married couples with incomes over $250,000. This tax will also be imposed on some investment income for that income group.

• A 2.9% excise tax will be imposed on the sale of medical devices. Anything generally purchased at the retail level by the public is excluded from the tax.

Healthcare reform in 2014

• State health insurance exchanges for small businesses and individuals will open.

• Most people will be required to obtain health insurance coverage or pay a fine if they don’t.

• Healthcare tax credits will become available to certain income groups to purchase coverage on the exchange.

• Health plans will no longer be able to exclude people from coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

• Employers with 50 or more workers who do not offer coverage will face a fine of $2,000 for each employee if any worker receives subsidized insurance on the exchange. The first 30 employees aren’t counted for the fine.

• Health insurance companies will begin paying a fee based on their market share.
Healthcare reform in 2015

• Medicare will create a physician payment program aimed at rewarding quality of care rather than volume of services.

Healthcare reform in 2016

• An excise tax on high cost employer-provided plans will be imposed. The first $27,500 of a family plan and $10,200 for individual coverage will be exempt from the tax. Higher levels will be set for plans covering retirees and people in high risk professions.

So what do YOU think of the new Healthcare reform? Sound off in the comments section below:

Insurance Services of America

800-647-4589