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A selection of original content  produced for Rally Health.

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How Payers Are Supporting Health Equity

The pandemic has touched all of us, but some have felt its effects more than others. COVID-19 has exposed longstanding inequities that have harmed the physical, social, economic, and emotional health of communities of color and other vulnerable populations.

Payers understand that eliminating these health disparities is not only an ethical imperative, but also a necessary step to ultimately achieving lower-cost, higher-quality care. That’s because health disparities result in vulnerable populati
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How to Create a Culture of Caring in the Workplace

Whether it’s Simone Biles stepping back from the Olympic stage or working mothers slogging through the pandemic, Americans are increasingly speaking out about the connection between their mental health and their work.

While COVID-19 brought mental health struggles into the spotlight, the reality is that employees and employers have grappled with these issues for years. Nearly one in five US adults reported mental illness in 2016, and 71% reported at least one symptom of stress, according to the
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Try a DIY Wellness Retreat (Without Leaving Your House)

Stress is taking a toll on many people’s mental and physical health, for obvious reasons. Researchers at Boston University found depression rates likely tripled last year, while scientists at the University of Vermont who measure the happiness of large populations via social media data say we had the saddest day in 13 years in 2020.

There could hardly be a better time to “get away from it all” with a spa day or relaxation retreat. And while we might not be able to escape our worries by flying t
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Watch Out for These Sneaky Restaurant Dishes!

We’ve all seen those eyebrow-raising restaurant dishes that are deep fried, packed with carbs, and loaded with calories. It’s no surprise that deep-fried pasta or triple chocolate cookie-pizza aren’t the healthiest picks on the menu.

“The high-calorie mashups are everywhere,” says Lindsay Moyer, RDN. Moyer helps puts together the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s annual Xtreme Eating roundup, which compiles what they consider to be the most unhealthy dishes in the country. “It’s as if
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5 Things Being Inside So Much Can Do to Your Body — And How To Reverse Them

Working from home certainly has its benefits — no commute and coffee in your PJs while you read your emails — but it also might mean you’re also spending more time indoors than usual. You also might just be sticking closer to home these days out of safety.

Being cooped up inside too long, though, can make you tired and cranky. Plus, you might not be getting your daily dose of vitamin D which may help with everything from fighting off respiratory infections, to keeping depression at bay, to stre
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5 Signs You Need Better Sleep

How well do you fall asleep? Chances are good that you probably feel, at least some days, that you aren’t getting to sleep as fast as you should or sleeping as well as you could be.

That’s no surprise given the stresses of modern life and the endless opportunities it offers to distract ourselves with TVs, cellphones, and computers — right up to the moment we close our eyes, expecting to drift off to dreamland. Unfortunately, getting a good night’s sleep isn’t always easy.

More than a third of
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Here’s How to See a Doctor Without Stepping Outside

From streaming the latest movies to buying a new laptop or ordering Latvian takeout, you can do a staggering number of things without leaving your couch these days. And more people are realizing you can also talk with a doctor — about diagnosis, a treatment plan, and prescriptions — without stepping outside. That’s convenient anytime, but especially now during the COVID-19 situation –– right now, it may be best to stay away from hospitals and medical clinics, unless you really need to be there.
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7 Ways to Make Managing a Chronic Condition Easier

“When people get diagnosed with chronic conditions, oftentimes they’re very motivated to change everything at once, which can be overwhelming and hard to sustain,” says Amy Walters, PhD, a clinical psychologist and the director of Behavioral Health Services for St. Luke’s Humphreys Diabetes Center in Boise, Idaho. Instead, focus on incremental changes that can help you bring more control into your life and make managing an illness easier, whether you’re the patient or the caregiver.

When someon
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Kitchen Rx: 5 Doctor-Approved Cooking Tips

“Let food be thy medicine,” the Greek physician Hippocrates is said to have declared, thousands of years ago. Wouldn’t you know it, today, science is confirming that wisdom. There’s increasing evidence that how we eat is one of the most important steps in potentially heading off heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. A poor diet is the most significant risk factor for premature death and disability in the United States, according to a 2018 report in the journal American Family Physici
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Surviving the Strain of a Crowded House

Back in pre-pandemic times, Jenna and her husband spent most of the week in different orbits: She worked from home while supervising their two young children; he was out of the house for at least 12 hours a day for his high-stress job in New York finance. They relished frequent date nights but also enjoyed separate outings with their own friends. Since the stay-at-home orders, however, that's all changed.

“There's a lot of ‘Why did you do it that way?’” says Jenna, who asked that we use only he
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Social Distancing Do's and Don’ts

In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are dealing with big changes to our day-to-day lives. Social distancing recommendations and stay at home orders across the country mean that many of us now work from home, have kids home from school, and stay away from social gatherings. That can be a recipe for social isolation and its negative health effects –– but it doesn’t have to be.

Being lonely, anxious, and cooped up can have real detrimental effects under normal circumstances, a
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How to Find the Right Therapist for You

Have you been tossing and turning at night? Can’t get out of bed in the morning? Are you arguing more often with your partner? Or worried that your one glass of wine after dinner has turned into two or three? Whether you’ve been struggling with mental health issues for a while or are experiencing new feelings and issues because of the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be contemplating therapy for the first time. And that’s a good thing, says Christina Aegerter, PsyD, LP, a licensed clinical psychologis
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7 Common Money Leaks and How to Stop Them

Saving money feels good under any circumstances. But when your finances are stretched or uncertain, finding fresh ways to cut back can be life-changing.

“You’ll get the biggest bang for your buck if you target areas where you didn’t realize you were overspending or losing money anyway,” says Brian O’Connor, author of “The $1,000 Challenge.” Here are seven places money may be leaking out of your budget without you realizing it — and how to stop it.

Americans waste nearly a pound of food per
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7 Things to Do Today to Feel Better About Your Finances

It’s natural to feel fearful or overwhelmed by the big, sweeping changes happening around us, says Shannah Compton Game, a certified financial planner and host of the Millennial Money Podcast. “But taking action — even a small step — can help move you out of that place of fear.”


Not sure where to start? Try one of these concrete steps you can take (today!) to regain even a small sense of control over your finances — and be that much stronger to face the future.

If you make it to the end of m
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Make the Most of Your Online Therapy Session

These days, our homes are doing double or even triple duty as places not just where we lay our heads, but also as offices, makeshift classrooms, and exercise studios. Now, it seems, with just a little determination and a strong Wi-Fi signal, there’s very little that can’t be accomplished at home. And that includes accessing previously in-person services that have found a new virtual life.

Online therapy — otherwise known as teletherapy — has seen a big boom since the beginning of 2020, and it’s
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Working Through the Big Emotions of Financial Upheaval

If your finances make you anxious, you’re not alone. Before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19, 60% of Americans were stressed out by money, according to the American Psychological Association. None of us are untouched by uncertainty about what lies ahead, and that can cause unexpected emotions.

“Entering into this crisis, most of us already had anxiety and stress around money,” says Brad Klontz, PsyD, CFP, a financial psychologist and managing principal at Your Mental Wealth Advisors and ass
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Having the Feels Over COVID? That’s Normal –– and Healthy

It was a chicken-fajita meal kit that pushed Amy Ortega over the edge. Or rather, the missing spice packet that was supposed to be included with the kit, which Ortega had planned to cook and feed her two kids after a long day working as a nurse in Chicago. “When I realized the spices were missing, I got so angry I threw the empty box across the kitchen,” she says. Only when her husband came rushing in did the anger flare-up strike her as both silly and surprising.


It’s also the kind of emotio
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New Survey Shows COVID Has Been a Wake-Up Call

Whether or not you or someone you know has had COVID-19, the virus has touched all of our lives in profound and personal ways. Rally Health’s new Preventive Care in America Survey asked Americans about their health care and found that the public is adapting to a changing health care landscape.

Rally Health surveyed more than 4,000 adult Americans, with help from the independent research firm Edelman Intelligence, and found that COVID-19 has dramatically reshaped our relationship to our health a
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Secrets From People Who Are Coping (Even Thriving!) During COVID

If COVID-19 has put the spotlight on your stress, anxiety, or mood shifts, you’re hardly alone: 44% of Americans say they’re more aware of their mental health than they were before COVID, according to Rally Health’s “Preventive Care in America” survey. And nearly a quarter say that their mental health has gotten worse. Our survey also found that the pandemic led about half of us to focus on our health. Surprisingly, among those who have taken steps to focus on their health, 43% say they’re even
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6 Surprising Habits That Fight Inflammation

Imagine you accidentally slice your thumb while chopping veggies or scrape your knee on an icy sidewalk. The injured area might stay red and swollen for a few days. That’s acute inflammation (the good kind!) hard at work, fighting off bacteria and healing an injury.

But there’s a second, chronic kind of inflammation that’s been linked to the development of serious health problems, like cancer and cardiovascular disease. Scientists aren’t exactly sure why yet, but some research suggests chronic
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9 Tasty Ways to Hydrate You’ve Never Heard Of

Drinking enough water is important for your health. If you ever suffer from fatigue, headaches, or dizziness, dehydration may be to blame.


However, it’s all too easy to skimp on fluids. Maybe you’re bored by the taste of plain water, or you simply forget to drink it. Sometimes, proper hydration just falls through the cracks.

Luckily, there are lots of ways to hydrate beyond drinking regular H2O from the tap. Here are nine clever ways to sneak in more fluids throughout the day (and have fun
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