FID E L IS
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healthyNOW Is It Time to Renew Your Health Insurance?
Every year, members enrolled in Medicaid Managed Care, Child Health Plus, Essential Plan, and Qualified Health Plans (MetalLevel Products) must renew their health care coverage. This process is called recertification. When you receive information about how to renew your health insurance, you must follow the guidelines and time frames given, or your coverage will end. If your coverage ends, you will need to reapply and you won’t be covered until your new application is processed. This could take one month or longer.
RENEW YOUR
COVERAGE
Fidelis Care is here to help you every step of the way toward keeping your health care benefits. To help you avoid a lapse in coverage, Fidelis Care can: • Answer your questions about renewing coverage. • Walk you through the entire renewal process. • Schedule an appointment for you to meet with a Fidelis Care Representative in person. • Review your current coverage and tell you about other coverage options if you qualify.
Don’t delay! Call 1-866-435-9521 today, visit fideliscare.org/renew, or stop by one of our convenient community offices for assistance. To find the office closest to you, visit fideliscare.org/offices.
Your Renewal Information Checklist To renew your coverage, make sure you’re ready with the most up-to-date information about yourself and your household members. You will be asked to provide:
✔ Your mailing address. ✔ Total household income. ✔ Information about your NY State of Health account (such as your login information). ✔ Information about your health insurance eligibility from a job, or information about health insurance premiums you’re already paying. ✔ Any other health insurance you carry. ✔ Everyone who lives in your household, and any changes in household size. ✔ Changes in full-time student status (if applicable). ✔ Changes in immigration status. ✔ How you plan to file your taxes.
IN THIS ISSUE Tips for Preventing Lead Poisoning
A Healthy Lifestyle Helps Keep Diabetes in Check
Identifying Tuberculosis
Medicare Annual Election Period: October 15 - December 7 Do you have friends or family members who qualify for Medicare? The Medicare Annual Election Period starts October 15 and ends December 7 for benefits beginning January 1, 2018. Fidelis Care offers Medicare Advantage and Dual Advantage Plans. Medicare Advantage Plans, sometimes called “Part C” or “MA Plans,” provide all Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) coverage in addition to other benefits. Dual Advantage plans are for those who are enrolled in Medicare Part A and/or Part B and receive full Medicaid benefits. Enrollment for Fidelis Care’s Dual Advantage products takes place year round. Fidelis Care has Licensed Sales Representatives available to answer questions or help your loved ones apply for coverage. We can meet them in the comfort of their own homes or at a convenient location in their community. Applicants can also complete our easy-to-use online enrollment form at fideliscare.org/medicare to apply for coverage. For more information about Fidelis Care Medicare Advantage products, call 1-800-860-8707 (TTY: 1-800-558-1125).
A Healthy Lifestyle Helps Keep Diabetes in Check Diabetes raises blood-sugar levels beyond normal, which can cause health problems. Diabetes can affect anyone, but those who have family members with diabetes, or who are overweight, don’t exercise, or are more than 45 years old are at higher risk. A healthier lifestyle can reduce your risk of getting diabetes. If you already have diabetes, these lifestyle changes—along with your prescribed treatment—can help you keep your blood sugar under control:
1
Eat Healthy
Maintain a healthy weight by eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Avoid saturated fats found in foods such as red meat and dairy products.
2
Exercise
Make exercise part of your daily life. Most people should exercise 30 minutes a day. Combining cardio exercise (such as walking) and strength training (such as lifting weights) works best to control blood sugar.
Call 1-888-FIDELIS or visit fideliscare.org 2
Fidelis Care Member Newsletter ISSUE 3 • FALL 2017
3
M anage Your
Stress
Stress affects how hormones such as insulin work. When you are under stress, your blood sugar levels can rise. This, in turn, can create more stress. Learn healthy ways to cope with stressful situations in your life, and be sure to get enough sleep.
4
Limit Alcohol
Intake
Check with your doctor to see if drinking alcohol is safe for you.
Tips for Preventing Lead Poisoning Breathing or swallowing lead dust can make people sick, and it can cause developmental problems in young children. Avoiding lead is the key to preventing lead poisoning. Do you live in an older home? The most common source of lead is paint from housing built before 1978. Lead can also be found in old water pipes and soil. It’s also found in some imported products such as canned goods, toys, jewelry, glazed pots and dishes, and cosmetics. Use these tips to protect your family: • Before making repairs in a home built before 1978, call your local health department to learn how to work safely and keep dust levels down. Pregnant women and children should stay away from peeling paint and home repairs. • Take your shoes off when you get home. • Wash your work clothes separately from the family laundry if you work with lead. • Wash your child’s hands and face after play, before meals, and before bed. • Wash toys, stuffed animals, pacifiers, and baby bottles with soap and water. • Mop floors often, and use damp paper towels to clean window wells and sills.
• If your house has lead pipes, run cold water for a few minutes before drinking. This flushes the kitchen sink pipes. Don’t use hot water. • If your street water pipe contains lead, run your shower on cold for at least five minutes before flushing the kitchen sink pipes. Don’t use hot water. New York State requires health care providers to test all children for lead when they’re one year old, and again when they’re two years old. If there’s any risk of lead exposure, the tests are done yearly until a child is six years old.
Identifying Tuberculosis Tuberculosis — or TB, as it’s commonly called — is a contagious infection that usually attacks the lungs. It can also spread to other parts of the body, like the brain and spine. Today, most cases of TB are cured with antibiotics, but it takes a long time. You have to take medication for at least 6 to 9 months.
How Is It Spread? TB spreads through the air, just like a cold or the flu. When someone who’s sick coughs, sneezes, talks, laughs, or sings, tiny droplets that contain the germs are released. If you breathe in these nasty germs, you get infected. TB is contagious, but it’s not easy to catch. The germs grow slowly. You usually have to spend a lot of time around a person who has it. That’s why it’s often spread among co-workers, friends, and family members. Some of the symptoms of tuberculosis are: coughing that lasts more than three weeks, chest pain, coughing blood, night sweats, and weight loss. If you think you may have been exposed to tuberculosis, speak with your doctor about getting a test.
Call 1-888-FIDELIS or visit fideliscare.org ISSUE 3 • FALL 2017 Fidelis Care Member Newsletter 3
Antibiotics Work ONLY When Taken as Prescribed Antibiotics can fight some of the bacteria that make you sick, but if taken incorrectly, they increase your chances of developing an infection that resists antibiotic treatment in the future. Follow these tips for safe antibiotic use: Take antibiotics as prescribed Complete the full course of antibiotics. Don’t stop early, even if you start feeling better. Bacteria may still be present, and they may ‘learn’ how to resist antibiotics and multiply, making you sick again. Don’t take antibiotics not prescribed to you Different antibiotics are only effective against some types of bacteria, and they can’t cure diseases caused by viruses. The wrong antibiotic could promote disease bacteria growth, making you sicker. Don’t save antibiotics Discard leftover antibiotics at the end of your treatment. Using the wrong antibiotic in the future can make you sicker, and it may make your illness resistant to antibiotics in the future.
Find a Doctor Online Finding a doctor is easy with Fidelis Care’s Find a Doctor online tool. Visit fideliscare.org and click the “Find a Doctor” link on the upper-right corner of the site to search for health care providers and facilities within Fidelis Care’s provider network. Finding a doctor is just a few clicks away. Just type your desired location, select your current Fidelis Care health coverage, and enter the type of care or service you want. A list of providers matching your search will appear. Remember, if you need help making an appointment, call Member Services at 1-888-FIDELIS (1-888-343-3547); TTY: 1-800-421-1220.
Call 1-888-FIDELIS or visit fideliscare.org
Fidelis Care complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. Fidelis Care cumple con las leyes federales de derechos civiles aplicables y no discrimina por motivos de raza, color, nacionalidad, edad, discapacidad o sexo. Fidelis Care 遵守適用的聯邦民權法律規定，不因種族、膚色、民族血統、年齡、殘障或性別而歧視任何人。 ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-800-247-1447 (TTY: 1-800-695-8544). 注意：如果您使用繁體中文，您可以免費獲得語言援助服務。請致電1-800-247-1447 (TTY: 1-800-695-8544)。 4
Fidelis Care Member Newsletter ISSUE 3 • FALL 2017