Personal Care Management
Impacts $avings

Mrs. G is a 60-year-old female who enrolled in Personal Care Management (PCM) in January 2006. She triggered on multiple hospital admissions and had been in the hospital twice the previous year for a total of 11 days with a diagnosis of asthma. After completing the assessment, the PCM Nurse Health Coach noted that Mrs. G was also overweight and debilitated due to asthma and inability to exercise. The PCM Nurse Health Coach suggested that Mrs. G ask her physician about pulmonary rehabilitation and to contact MedCost Benefit Services to confirm whether this benefit was covered. Mrs. G discussed this with the physician, but before she was able to begin the program she developed a new kidney problem. The nurse was able to help educate Mrs. G regarding the disorder and worked with her to form questions for the physician to help her understand the disease. The disease was not as severe as initially feared, and the nurse was able to begin coaching Mrs. G in moderate exercise with a walking program.

Additionally, the PCM Nurse Health Coach sent educational materials dealing with self-help for asthma and stress management were sent to Mrs. G. A dietary plan was also initiated. Mrs. G remained in the program until April 2007, when she stopped working. She is considering COBRA, and will re-enroll in the program if COBRA is initiated. She had no hospital admissions while enrolled, leading to a savings of $16,500.

Invest In Plan Participants’ Health—Offer Incentives

There is one factor that determines the success of wellness programs — high participation! In addition to promotion and ongoing communication, one way to increase participation in wellness programs is to offer an incentive.

Incentives help change behavior, and must be large enough to make participants do something they may not otherwise do. In order for incentives to be effective, they must be introduced during the initial rollout of wellness programs.

MedCost Benefit Services can administer various incentive strategies, including cash or gift cards, as well as premium contribution and benefit plan incentives.

Did You Know?
When an incentive is attached to completion of a Health Risk Assessment (HRA), employers can expect 60 – 75% participation, as opposed to about 15% without one.

Contact your MBS account manager to discuss the best type of incentives for your employees.

Consolidated EOBs

MedCost Benefit Services (MBS) will no longer be sending individual Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statements. Payments made during the month will be consolidated into one statement and mailed on a monthly basis — similar to what you receive from your financial institution.

This change will make it much easier for you to reconcile your medical bills. But wait... it gets even better! You will still be able to view claims status online, including both the individual EOB specific to that claim and the monthly EOB statement.

Click here to see a SAMPLE of the EOB statement (PDF FILE).
(Adobe Acrobat Reader Required)

 

Don't Let Back Pain Get You Down!

At some point, almost everyone has back pain that interferes with work, routine daily activities or doing the things you enjoy. Fortunately, most occurrences of low back pain go away within a few days. Others take much longer and can lead to more serious conditions.

Here are some quick tips from the American Academy of Family Physicians to help your back stay healthy.

• Always stretch before exercise or other strenuous physical activity.
• Don't lift by bending over. Lift an object by bending your knees and squatting to pick it up. Keep your back straight and hold the object close to your body. Avoid twisting your body while lifting.
• Push rather than pull when moving heavy objects.
• Ask for help when transferring an ill or injured family member from a reclining to a sitting position or when moving the patient from a chair to a bed.
• Wear flat shoes or shoes with 1 inch or lower heels.
• Don’t slouch when standing or sitting. When standing, keep your weight balanced on your feet.
• Make sure your work surface is at a comfortable height for you.
• Sit in a chair with good lumbar support and proper position and height for the task. Keep your shoulders back. Switch sitting positions often and periodically walk around the office or gently stretch muscles to relieve tension. A pillow or rolled-up towel placed behind the small of your back can provide some lumbar support. If you must sit for a long period of time, rest your feet on a low stool or a stack of books.
• Exercise regularly. An inactive lifestyle contributes to lower back pain.
• Maintain proper nutrition and diet to reduce and prevent excessive weight, especially weight around the waistline that taxes lower back muscles.
• Sleep on your side to reduce any curve in your spine. Always sleep on a firm surface.
• Don’t smoke, it reduces blood flow to the lower spine and causes the spinal discs to degenerate.

In the Spotlight - MBS Account Managers

Mary Ann Delphias

Mary Ann Delphias puts her 14 years of Customer Service and Account Management experience to work for her clients at MBS. Primarily working with health care organizations ranging in size from 100 to 6800 employees, Mary Ann enjoys working directly with clients to meet their needs. She appreciates that her clients are trying to offer an affordable but competitive health plan to their employees—and helps them find a solution.

Mary Ann is a customer-oriented professional that provides outstanding service to her clients. She is appreciated by her customers for exceptional follow through, integrity and her commitment to quality service. Mary Ann never meets a stranger and will go out her way to make you feel comfortable and at ease.

When asked about MBS Mary Ann says, “Working at MBS is like working with family. We have a great team and can really come together to promote our company and our products.”

In her free time, Mary Ann enjoys spending time with her husband and their 2-year-old son learning and growing together as a family. And of course like most girls, she loves shopping, shopping and more shopping!