Last week I had the privilege of participating in a conversation about The Evolving Role of Health Insurers with The Motherhood and representatives from WellPoint. You may not recognize the name WellPoint, but you probably recognize their affiliates like Anthem BlueCross BlueShield, which happens to be my health insurance provider.
While it is nice that our health insurance covers our medical bills, I would prefer not to visit the doctor in the first place. I was happy to discover that WellPoint shares my point of view. They have tailored plans to meet our needs with programs, tools and services that help us personalize our health care experience, including nutrition and exercise advise that helps minimize our need to see a doctor. Here are a few things they are doing (the last one in this list is available to everyone):
24/7 NurseLine: Have you ever noticed that most fevers and injuries occur after your doctor goes home for the day? The 24/7 NurseLine allows you to speak to an experienced registered nurses any time of the day or night through a toll-free number. This team of nurses helps you assess symptoms and determine whether you should see a doctor, go to the ER or visit an urgent care center. And yes, I have used this service in the past. More than once! 🙂
Future Moms: The Future Moms maternity program gives personalized support to expectant moms. The program includes risk screening and educational support as well as post-delivery follow-up. It also provides you with information and tips as you care for your child throughout the first year. You may need to enroll in this program. To enroll, call the number on your insurance card to check on eligibility and ask if you need to enroll.
Personalizing Your Health: As moms, we prioritize everybody’s health and welfare over our own. To help us remember to take care of ourselves, WellPoint and its affiliated health plans have provided a health and wellness portal that you can customize to your needs. The portal lets you develop a personalized health plan and includes email reminders for you to do the things you need to do – like scheduling check-ups and working out. I like this feature, because not only am I notified of the check-ups I should have, Anthem BlueCross also nags my husband to get check-ups making my job of keeping him healthy a little easier. 🙂
The health and wellness portal also has a live-chat feature as well as access to a health coach for support with health resources, and even services as specific as providing suggestions for quick and healthy recipes. Fitness devices are also available to help measure your steps, activity and even your sleep! Check your plan to see which of these benefits are available to you.
Fitness to Fit Your Lifestyle: It is hard for me to carve time out of my busy schedule to go to the gym. Understanding this, WellPoint has partnered with FitOrbit to offer convenient and affordable ways for moms (and dads) to achieve their personal fitness goals. FitOrbit is available to anyone who wishes to sign up on the Fitorbit.com site. However, WellPoint and their affiliate companies have plans to incorporate FitOrbit into some of its products for employers, as well as offer it at a discounted rate to members in the future. Keep an eye on your plan, so you don’t miss out on this awesome feature! FitOrbit provides:
- Unlimited access to a real personal trainer who is available to you around the clock.
- Customized, family-friendly meal plan including recipes and a grocery list!
- Detailed, personalized fitness plan that you can do anywhere, anytime. Whether it’s doing lunges at the playground while you push your child on the swing or doing squats while folding laundry, the personal trainer can help you find moments during the day when you can easily add an exercise!
Disclosure: I was compensated for participating in the briefing and writing this post. All opinions are my own.
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