Preventive care is important to your health and well being at any age. Preventive care can help identify any health concerns or conditions in the early stages of development. Identifying a condition, such as cancer, in the early stages means that your treatment may be less invasive and your chance of a full recovery is greater.
Your Service Benefit Plan coverage provides benefits for many preventive care services for both children and adults. Plus you can save money if you use Preferred providers. Your out-of-pocket expenses are limited and you pay nothing for many of the covered tests and screening procedures performed by a Preferred provider.
Adult Preventive Care
If you use a Preferred physician for your annual physical, you pay $20 under Standard Option and $25 under Basic Option in 2010 for the examination and nothing for the services and tests related to the exam. The tests and services that are free after you pay the copayment include a health and risk assessment, chest X-ray, EKG, urinalysis, CBC, and a total cholesterol test. When you think of how much some of these tests would cost individually, the savings of using a Preferred provider become even greater.
We also provide benefits for cancer screening procedures such as a colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer, Pap Smears for cervical cancer screening and mammograms for breast cancer screening. If the screening procedures are performed by a Preferred provider, you pay $20 under Standard Option and $25 under Basic Option for the related office visit and nothing for the test. Again, think of how much a mammogram costs and you don't have to pay anything for the test.
Immunizations are also important to maintain your good health. So, we provide benefits for shingles vaccines, HPV vaccines, flu shots. Pneumonia vaccines, meningococcal vaccines and tetanus-diphtheria boosters. You pay the copayment for the related office visit, but nothing for the vaccine. You can also get certain immunizations free at Preferred pharmacies in our vaccine network.
Covered Preventive Care For Children
We provide benefits to keep children healthy from the day they are born until they turn 22 years of age. We pay for newborn visits and any routine screening procedures that may be needed. We follow the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for routine care, including examinations, immunizations and tests, for children up to the age of 22.
Under both options, when you use a Preferred provider for covered preventive child care, you pay nothing. That means you can keep your child healthy and happy, and save money at the same time.
New For 2010
With health care costs increasing, it's nice to announce that you can keep more money in your pocket in 2010 and still maintain your health. If you take your online Blue Health Assessment in 2010 before your annual physical with a Preferred provider, we will waive the $20 copayment under Standard Option and the $25 copayment under Basic Option for your annual physical in 2010.
The Blue Health Assessment is easy to do. Just log on to www.fepblue.org then select the health and wellness feature. Click on Blue Health Assessment and sign on. Once you complete the Blue Health Assessment, you will have access to a personalized certificate of completion. Print the certificate and take it with you to your appointment with a Preferred provider for your annual physical in 2010. Mention the certificate when you make the appointment and/or show it when you arrive for your appointment. Your provider will not require a copayment amount and we will pay the physician 100 percent of the Plan allowance. We will pay the visit copayment for an annual physical in 2010 for every family member who takes the Blue Health Assessment in 2010.
Preventive care with your Service Benefit Plan coverage costs you very little out-of-pocket or nothing at all. These amounts you pay are a small price to pay for peace of mind and control of your health care decisions.