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September 2010
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Article Content
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| Download the Newsletter |
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Download the September newsletter.
Choose your paper size:
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| PEBB Offers New Medical Homes |
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If you live or work in the Lane, Linn-Benton, Marion-Polk, Deschutes, or Curry county areas, you’ll have a new source for quality care in 2011 – a Medical Home through Providence Choice. Members in the Portland Metro area will also have new choices of Medical Homes for 2011.
For the first time, members in the expanded service area can enroll in Providence Choice during Open Enrollment in October. This means thousands more members will have access to quality care next year at lower cost – to the member, the state and the PEBB group as a whole.
Teams of providers in Medical Homes cut costs and improve health by working closely with members and patients to make sure they get the right care at the right time and place. Learn more here.
The list of new Medical Homes, along with contact information, will be available during Open Enrollment through PEBB’s online enrollment system and the PEBB and Providence Choice websites.
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| Watch for Your Open Enrollment Packet |
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Your Open Enrollment packet should arrive at your contact address soon. PEBB is sending the packets to contact addresses in members’ benefit records.
Materials in the packet list benefit changes for 2011 and what you need to do during Open Enrollment, Oct. 1-31, so read it carefully.
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Here’s one important point you won’t want to miss:
You must actively enroll in a medical and dental plan - either by choosing to continue your current plans or selecting new plans. If you don’t, you will be automatically enrolled for employee-only coverage in the PEBB Statewide medical and ODS Traditional dental plans, and dependents you cover now will lose coverage Jan. 1, 2011.
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Contents
The packet also includes side-by-side comparisons of benefits and member cost share for covered services in each of the 2011 medical and dental plans. Where you have a choice of plans, carefully consider the value of each option for you and your family.
A list of resources includes website addresses and customer service lines for core and optional benefit plans. In most cases, these resources can answer any questions on coverage, claims and costs.
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| For Better Care, Be Informed and Involved |
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When you talk to your doctor, it’s OK to ask questions. It’s your body, and you have the right and responsibility to understand your health conditions and treatment choices. This includes asking questions and participating in all decisions.
In 2011, PEBB’s Statewide and Providence Choice plans will have a $100 co-pay in addition to coinsurance for non-cancer MRI, CT and PET scans, and sleep studies. Often, there are alternatives to these procedures that can be less expensive, less invasive and with fewer risks and better outcomes.
| "When I checked with my doctor about a pain, she seemed confident about what it was and that medication would take care of it. She also suggested an MRI and said I could have it right away. I should have just taken the pills and waited a few days. Her initial diagnosis was correct, the pills worked and the scan didn’t show anything out of the ordinary. I ended up paying $200 coinsurance for a $1,900 MRI I didn’t need." |  |
It pays to ask your provider about risks, benefits and alternatives of procedures before you decide.
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| Members Share Their Successes |
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Read PEBB members’ stories of success in improving their health and lives through participation in Weight Watchers.
Walking Works with Weight Watchers - This member sees a new person in the mirror by combining walking with Weight Watchers. More…
Dynamic Online Duo - An impending heart attack pushes a busy couple to use Weight Watchers Online, and it changes their lives. More...
Steps to Success - A member cuts her medications, puts on a swim suit and heels, and goes Kayking (not all at the same time). More…
Health Care Money Well Spent - A member shares his take on the value of PEBB’s investment in his health. More…
Tracking Does the Trick – With a weight tracker, a member carries encouragement, insight and success in her pocket. More…
Members who are the principal subscriber in a PEBB medical plan can join Weight Watchers at no cost. Beginning October 1, it takes just one call to enroll. For details, see the new Weight Watchers’ brochure available on PEBB’s website beginning October 1.
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| Get a Flu Shot in a Worksite Clinic |
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Your Benefit Board will sponsor flu vaccine clinics in worksites around the state mid-September through December. See the current schedule here.
Clinics will offer federally approved vaccines by nasal spray and injection.
These clinics require at least 20 participants, and participants must meet certain requirements.
Coordinators in agencies can request a clinic by sending an e-mail to office@getaflushot.com.
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| Don't Miss Life's Precious Moments |
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While you were smoking, your daughter turned around to wave as she boarded the bus back to school. And you missed it.
Don’t miss out on life’s precious moments because you’re giving in to the urge to smoke.
If you’re ready to take a step toward a better quality of life, the Quit For Life Program can help you quit tobacco today.
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Call 1-866-QUIT-4-LIFE (1-866-784-8454),
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| Try Oregon's #just1thing Contest |
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The Oregon Red Cross and Oregon Public Health Emergency Preparedness are hosting a #just1thing Twitter and Facebook contest this month.
Post or tweet just one thing you can do to be more prepared for an emergency, and you could a win a preparedness kit valued at more than $100.
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| Member Success - Full Stories |
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Peg Cook Hiking Mt. St. Helens
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Walking Works with Weight Watchers
I found myself at 60 years old the heaviest that I had ever weighed. I was not happy with myself being this heavy. I started walking with co-workers during the breaks but their pace was so fast I almost could not keep up. I thought that would help me lose weight but I kept eating the same amount so walking alone was not working. After Christmas 2008 I was determined to eat less and more healthy foods. Then I found out that PEBB would support us by having Weight Watchers meetings at work. I had no more excuses NOT to join. I had to do more to lose weight.
I started Weight Watchers in January 2009. I was overweight and figured I could lose 90 lbs to be at a healthy weight. I had never really tried dieting and did not know if Weight Watchers would even work for me. I found the at work meeting very convenient and I felt comfortable as I knew most of the people in the meeting as co-workers. So sharing my stories was not that difficult. I also felt they could help me be accountable at work. No more buying junk or candy out of the machines at work.
With walking and eating more healthily the pounds started coming off. Not only the pounds but the inches lost were remarkable. By the third series in 2009 I had lost my 50 lbs. I thought at that point it seemed easier that I thought it was going to be. Now I am able to keep up the pace with walking and some of my co-workers even say that I am walking too fast. The one key is moving more and once you get out and move you find that you want to move more and more. I am now climbing trails up hills and that is even more fun. I can see nature and also get in a workout. I find that if I don't walk that I really miss it.
I am still attending the at work meeting and have now lost 80 lbs with Weight Watchers. My health is better. I have been able to reduce my blood pressure medicine and I feel so much better. My doctor is amazed and pleased with my weight loss. Also my co-workers have noticed the difference and ask me what I have been doing. I tell them, Weight Watchers and walking. They say I look great. The most important thing is I feel great. That new person in the mirror is ME and I like it.
-Peg Cook, Department of Corrections
Dynamic Online Duo
I joined the free PEBB Weight Watchers in March of this year. As of September 1, I have lost 25 pounds and am about 10 pounds away from my “goal weight.” I have been on blood pressure medicine for years – two kinds and it was still going up. As of today, I am off all but a very low dose of one medication, and will be weaning off of it soon.
My husband, Cliff, is actually responsible for this decision. On President’s Day in February, 2010, he received a call from his doctor, stating that if he did not get his weight under control and his cholesterol down – he was going to have a heart attack. He finally decided to get serious. For the first month, he tried another program, and while he did lose some weight, he found it very difficult to stay on and it was quite expensive. I decided to check into the free Weight Watchers option for myself. As soon as he saw my success and how much easier it was, he enrolled at a discount He has lost almost 70 pounds. He no longer has to take blood pressure or cholesterol medications and to say his doctor is happy is a strong understatement.
We are both in our mid 50s and are so thrilled with the results and feel better than we have in years. We both use the on-line program and don’t attend meetings – since our schedules are so busy. We find it convenient and easy to use. I have just signed up for the second free session – (it is good for 3 months at a time) and plan to stay on this for the rest of my life. Thank you PEBB and Weight Watchers!
Steps to Success
I offer my eternal thanks to PEBB for picking up the bill for my health improvement by weight loss that I have realized with the help and support of Weight Watchers. I’ve lost almost 50 pounds!
The benefits are already numerous:
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My blood pressure is now normal, instead of high.
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My Body Mass Index is almost that of an average person
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I’m no longer medically classified as obese, and I am within 15 pounds of no longer even being considered over weight!
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My doctor has been able to reduce (by half or more) the amount I take of these drugs:
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Simvastatin (cholesterol lowering drug)
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Triamterene-HCTZ (a diruretic for high blood pressure)
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Prescription Potassium required with the diruretic)
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Carvedilol (lowers heart rate from previous congestive heart failure)
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My doctor supports my goal to continue to reduce or eliminate some of these medicines in the future.
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I’ve gone from a size 18 to a size 12.
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I have energy!!!
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I feel better!
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I look better!
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I wore a swim suit in public this summer!
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I can wear heels again!
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I fit in my kayak this summer!
I could go on and on, but mostly, I just want to say: THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART AND THE BOTTOM OF MY SCALE!
Health Care Money Well Spent
This is a thank you letter. I started Weight Watchers this past October. Since July I have become a "lifetime member" having lost about 74 pounds between October of 2009 and July of 2010. This weight loss is directly attributed to the WW program and my efforts at changing my lifestyle. I believe it was money well spent and I wish to thank you for this program which worked so well for me. It's a big change I was able to make with the help of the WW benefit. Thank you very much!
Tracking Does the Trick
I enrolled in my first session July, 2009. I lost a few pounds here and there, but by the end of December I had gained all but two pounds of it back. Over the next few months I struggled with the ups and downs until one day it clicked...in order to be successful with Weight Watchers, I must follow the program and start tracking. I started tracking in March, 2010 and by the end of July I was seven dress sizes smaller. I don't think I could have lost this weight on my own. The encouragement and insight received at the meetings is something I carry in my back pocket everyday. Since my enrollment, I have made a close network of Weight Watcher friends and encouraged two others to enroll. Weight Watchers is a lifestyle change and I will be forever so grateful that I was able to join these meetings at no cost.
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