With Health Line Blue , the answers to questions about your health are just a phone call or click away. It’s like having your own personal nurse.
BCBSNC’s trained nurses can assist you over the phone. Call toll free 1-877-477-2424.
It’s health information at your fingertips. Health Line Blue also provides you with access to the Dialog Center, an online resource that can help you get current information on health conditions, diseases and more.
Often, healthcare consumers don’t have a clear understanding of just how much medical services cost. For many years, health plans insulated members from the true cost of these services by making payments directly to doctors or hospitals.
Did you know:
The national average cost of an MRI is nearly $2,000
Heart bypass surgery costs about $57,000
The average cost of a 30-day prescription of one name brand drug is $71 compared to $22 for the generic equivalent
National healthcare expenditures are expected to nearly double over the next 10 years
Knowing what you’re spending and keeping an eye on healthcare costs are important parts of keeping healthcare affordable for all of us. Here are some things we can all do to make a difference:
Ask for FDA-approved generic drugs instead of more expensive name brands
Make sure you’re getting the right treatment, and always ask your doctor any questions you may have
Review all explanation of benefits for accuracy, and ask about any costs that you don’t recognize or understand.
The content of this post is from “Coverage Basics: How Much Things Actually Cost” – BlueCross Blueshield Association.
For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents. Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC). You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health. Call us for details.
IS ANYTHING BEING DONE? YES!
The problem of uninsured Americans – North Carolinians specifically –
has been decades in the making. But some initiatives are making significant differences now. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has taken steps to make health care more accessible and affordable for everyone by:
• Working with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association to cut fraud, waste and abuse – saving subscribers more than $240 million nationally in 2004 alone.* BCBSNC efforts reduced fraud, waste and abuse by nearly $10 million within the state in 2006.**
• Making the cost of prescription drugs more affordable by providing incentives to customers to use generic drugs, and piloting programs such as electronic prescribing.
• Showing real results in helping members make good choices about activity and nutrition, and manage their chronic conditions through our Member Health PartnershipsSM. This program helps them save money and avoid illness down the road.
(more…)
Who they are. What they face.
Yes, the uninsured are the poor, the homeless, the less fortunate. But they’re also your neighbors across the street. Your child’s best friend at school. The small business owner who waves from her shop every morning. They are every race, religion, ethnicity and creed.
The 15.6 percent* of North Carolinians – that’s 1.3 million of the state’s residents – without health coverage come from every socioeconomic class, every level of education and every region of this diverse state. There is no one “face” of North Carolina’s uninsured. There are many faces – perhaps more than you ever imagined. But the challenges they’re dealt are very similar – such as greater risk fordeveloping debilitating illnesses, an increased number of hospital stays and significantly reduced (more…)
Tips for R and R on the Waterway!
Nothing could be more pleasing than having a nice and a peaceful journey in the cool waters down the intracoastal waterway on a boat. Many homeowners all over the world like to spend their weekends relaxing on their boats with family and friends. Boating is one of the most favorite pastimes for many Americans. “Getaway” could be defined as: “we’re outta here”, or perhaps “we gotta find ourselves all over again”. When life gets hectic, you need time away to “Relax” which is defined as: “a slower pace”, “a starry night”, “looking out over the water”, sit back and enjoy the tranquility of being on the water. This can be very relaxing, especially since health scientists feel that simply looking at the water can help lower your blood pressure and relieve stress. This can make for a healthier life and a happier person. (more…)
The impact of being uninsured*
• The uninsured have a 25 percent greater chance of
premature death.
• Nationally, there are 18,000 avoidable deaths annually among
the non-elderly due to lack of health insurance coverage.
• Uninsured women suffering from breast cancer have a 30-50
percent greater risk of death than those who are insured.
• Low-income uninsured.**
– 4.5 times more likely to have diabetes
– 30 percent more likely to have high blood pressure
– 50 percent more likely to have high cholesterol
– Almost twice as likely to have fair or poor health
Help for the “uninsurable”
• BCBSNC estimated in 2006 that a high-risk pool in North Carolina
could cover 9,000 “medically uninsurable” citizens, requiring
a subsidy of approximately $40 million a year.*
• North Carolina legislators are considering creating a state high-risk pool with premiums for eligible individuals capped at 175 percent of individual standard rates.**
For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents. Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC). You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health. Call us for details.
BCBSNC data. 2006.
House Bill 265, 2007 Session of the N.C. General Assembly.
Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, ”Covering the Uninsured: Being Uninsured Has Adverse Health Consequences.” Fact Sheet. N.C. Task Force on Covering the Uninsured. April 2006.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. 2003.
SMALL BUSINESSES, BIG RISKS
There’s a direct correlation between an employer’s size and the likelihood that the firm will provide health benefits to its employees. The smaller the company, the less likely it is to provide coverage – a reality that impacts all demographics.
That’s a particular problem for North Carolina, because small businesses are increasingly the engine behind the state’s economy: 98 percent of businesses in North Carolina are small businesses,* and more than half of them don’t offer health insurance.** It’s hard for small businesses to qualify for rates as low as those available for large firms, particularly if some of their workforce is in poor health.
About half of the uninsured in North Carolina (55.3 percent) work for a small firm or belong to a family where someone works for a small firm (fewer than 25 employees).***
For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents. Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC). You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health. Call us for details.
United States Small Business Administration. http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles/06nc.pdf
Fifty-nine percent of North Carolina businesses don’t offer health benefits. Kaiser Family Foundation State Health Facts. 2002.
“North Carolina’s Uninsured.” North Carolina Medical Journal. May/June 2006.BCBSNC, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Small Businesses and Health Insurance, Health Benefits
Most of us are shielded from the heavy burden of the full cost of medical procedures, treatments and drugs. That’s because employers spend, on average, five times more than employees do for healthcare.
From 2001 to 2002, premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance increased by an average of almost 13 percent nationwide. In this sluggish economy, businesses are struggling to pay for the steep increase in insurance premiums and some are asking employees to assume a greater responsibility.
Fortunately, there are simple things that we can all do to help keep healthcare affordable for everyone:
Discuss all treatment options with your doctors
Ask if a generic drug is available when you need prescription medicine
Carefully review your doctor and hospital bills and ask for explanations of charges that you don’t understand.
For more information on health insurance coverage in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our qualified agents. Our agency provides coverage for health insurance in North Carolina through Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC). You may qualify for a 15% healthy lifestyle discount if you are in excellent health. Call us for details.
According to a recent article from The New Times, napping may improve your memory. In a world where everyone seems to be sleep deprived, we certainly can benefit from a little extra sleep once in a while. Not only do we feel better, but maybe we can improve our memory as well!
“Take a nap. Interrupting sleep seriously disrupts memory-making, compelling new research suggests. But on the flip side, taking a nap may boost a sophisticated kind of memory that helps us see the big picture and get creative. Over time, a chronic lack of sleep can erode the body in ways that leave us more vulnerable to heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses. But perhaps more common than insomnia is fragmented sleep- the easy awakening that comes with aging, or worse, the sleep apnea that afflicts millions, whop quit breathing for 30 seconds or so over and over throughout the night. Indeed, (more…)
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA HEALTH INSURANCE:
Residents of North Carolina have a variety of health insurance plans they can research and qualify for. The most important question is, what is the best and most affordable plan for you and your family? Our agency has written for some of the top companies in North Carolina throughout our career. We have recently become exclusive agents for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, a company providing healthcare coverage for residents of North Carolina. You may ask, why exclusive for BCBSNC? It really revolves around customer service and products offered for health insurance coverage in North Carolina. As an agency doing business for 34 years in North Carolina, we take tremendous pride in offering the best health insurance plans on the market with a company that we have 100% confidence in how they treat our clients as well as the products they offer. There are so many health insurance plans in North Carolina that are being offered today, it is our job to determine what will work best for our clients and provide the best NC health coverage and affordability that is offered on the market today. So, lets talk about North Carolina health insurance plans and highlight what we think is the best product on the market and provide the best health coverage for you and your family. (more…)
Walking: A plan of actionBringing the benefits of moderate walking exercise to your workforce is a realistic, effective goal. But like many other things that are good for you, it takes the right approach to make sure you trigger a long-term change instead of a temporary fad. The key to success is planning.
Step 1: Map it out
Begin by making sure your company’s management supports what you’re doing. You don’t need a detailed plan or a budget yet—just make sure you’re not (more…)
24-hour Health Information LineYour child has a fever. What are your options? Your doctor has recommended surgery. Do you know what to expect? With Health Line Blue, the answers are just a phone call or click away.
It’s like having your own personal nurse
BCBSNC’s specially trained Health Line Blue nurses can answer your medical questions, offer support and send you free educational videotapes and brochures on many health topics. They can also help you partner with your doctor to make informed decisions and assist you in navigating the health care system.
888-765-5400