It’s your health …
and you play a bigger
role in making decisions
about your health care
than ever before.
But you’re not alone.
The economics of the health
care environment are changing.
Not only is your role greater but so
is your share of health care costs.
For example, the average cost of
an emergency room visit in Florida
was $619* in 2004, compared to
$383 in 1996.* For many of us, our
share of health care costs will rise
as costs continue to climb. They’ve
doubled since 1992 and are expected
to double again by 2013.
As a smart health care consumer,
you need to make decisions about
the products and services you want
and need. In a complex industry like
health care, that can seem daunting.
We offer many tools to help you make
the decisions that are right for you.
They can help you navigate the health
care system and understand your
needs, options, costs and benefit plan.
Check out our website
Visit the Health & Wellness section of
our website to get information from
trusted sources on preventive health
measures and managing chronic
illnesses, like diabetes.
Our website provides a number of
guides you can download for pertinent
information on staying healthy
at any age. They include the following
from the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ), part
of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services:
- The Pocket Guide to Good Health for Adults
- The Pocket Guide to Staying Healthy at 50+
- Child Health Guide—Put Prevention into Practice
A 24/7 health resource
Beginning April 1, 2006, BlueCare
members have access to the full
services of Health Dialog®**, a
resource for health-related information
and support that’s available
whenever you need it—24 hours
a day, seven days a week. Health
Dialog can help you incorporate
your personal values and preferences
into health decisions you make and
can prepare you to communicate
more effectively with your health
care providers.
Health coaches
You can speak privately with a
Health Dialog health coach at any
time about your immediate or everyday
health concerns by calling their
toll-free number, (877) 789-2583.
They are specially trained health
professionals, including nurses, respiratory
therapists and dietitians,
with years of clinical experience.
Health coaches can provide you with
a multitude of informational material
written by nationally recognized
sources as well as videotapes on a
wide variety of topics.
If you prefer to speak repeatedly
with the same health coach you’ve
come to know and trust, you may do
so. Just ask Julie Miller-Steffen, a
43-year-old from Jacksonville who
was diagnosed with diabetes. A Blue
Cross and Blue Shield of Florida
employee, Miller-Steffen didn’t
understand much of the information
on diabetes that she had gotten on
her own. She called Health Dialog
and was assigned a personal health
coach—a registered nurse who specializes
in diabetes—who scheduled
time to explain the disease and
how to control it.
“She enabled me to act on the information,”
says Miller-Steffen, “and
she was also a great, safe resource
to ask the so-called ‘stupid questions’
you’re either afraid or reluctant
to ask your doctor. I feel better
and I’m controlling my condition
much better,” she says.
Dialog CenterSM
You also can access the online
Dialog Center, a health information
web resource site operated and
maintained by Health Dialog. It
includes thousands of pages of
up-to-date, understandable health
information. To access the Dialog
Center, go to our website, click on
the member home page, then Dialog
Center. You will need to register
the first time you use the service.
Have your health plan member
ID card ready.
Don’t have Internet access? Just call
Health Dialog to listen to audiotapes
on more than 450 health care topics.
If you wish, you may follow up
with a call to a health coach.
Health Dialog
(877) 789-2583
www.bcbsfl.comwww.bcbsfl.com
Click on Member, Dialog Center
