Family Voices Indiana

by Brian Replogle, family leadership specialist (2012)  All dads remember the day they found out they were going to be dads, and the day their children were born or adopted (as is my case), and while we all have had different experiences surrounding those momentous events I think most of us can agree they are some of the most amazing memories we have. Equally, we share similar, yet different, memories of our fathers and grandfathers bestowing the “rightsof manhood”, “pull my finger son,” upon us as we grew-up. I personally consider my job as Austin’s father to be the greatest honor and greatest achievement of my existence, and I pray every father shares that sentiment. The unconditional love of a child for their parents is a special treat to us all. My advice for Father’s Day: Enjoy every moment with your children. Life is hard, life is fleeting, but life is amazing when we spend quality time with our children doing things we all can enjoy together. Take a moment t

Jun 02, 2015 by  Lauren Agoratus A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), “Americans Don’t Feel the Slowdown in Health Costs,” i   indicates that most families feel that the expense of health care is increasing.  Although costs for health care are increasing somewhat, “national spending on health care and insurance premiums has risen at historically low rates in recent years.” Yet, the perception of families is different.  The chart below shows how Americans perceive costs of health care. What is really going up? For many families, it feels like premiums, deductibles, and prescription costs are rising more than they really are.  This is because in the last 15 years, inflation has risen 43% and “wages have been relatively flat.”  So although medications are only 10% of overall health costs, families are reminded of a co-pay whenever they get a refill.  Deductibles and other cost sharing, even if only rising slightly, are perceived as higher than they really are du