Know Your Heart Health Benefits

February is American Heart Month and a good time to start thinking about your heart health. If you haven't had a routine physical exam recently, now may be a good time to schedule one and to talk to your physician about your heart health.

The good news is that your Service Benefit Plan coverage provides benefits for this type of exam. Both Standard Option and Basic Option coverage provide benefits for routine physical exams when you use a Preferred provider. The routine examination includes:

• A history and risk assessment
• Chest X-ray
• EKG
• Urinalysis
• A General Health Panel
• Basic or Comprehensive metabolic panel test
• Complete Blood Count (CBC)
• Fasting lipoprotein profile (total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and/or Triglycerides)

If you have Standard Option and use a Preferred provider, you pay $20 for the physical exam by a primary care physician and $30 for an exam by a specialist. Under Basic Option, you pay $25 per visit for the physical exam by a primary care physician and $35 for an exam by a specialist. You pay nothing under Standard and Basic Option for the related tests and services when you use a Preferred physician. Benefits are not available under either Standard or Basic Option for routine physicals when you use Non-preferred providers, such as Participating and Non-participating physicians.

Great News for 2010

It is important to us that you get the most for your health care dollar. So in 2010 if you take our Blue Health Assessment, you can receive a Wellness Incentive Benefit Certificate. Take this Certificate with you to your annual physical exam in 2010 and your copayment for the exam by a Preferred physician will be waived. You can take the Blue Health Assessment online or call 1.888.258.3432 to get a printed copy. It takes about 72 hours to issue the Certificate, so make sure you plan ahead. The certificate is good until December 31, 2010. Your completed Blue Health Assessment is a start to any conversation with your physician. Therefore, we suggest that you take your completed Blue Health Assessment with you when you visit your physician. For more information about benefits for routine physicals and the Wellness Incentive Benefit Certificate, please refer to Section 5(a) in the 2010 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Service Benefit Plan brochure. See Section 5(g) for more information about the Blue Health Assessment.

February 2010. Written by Paula Spurway, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Resource: 2010 Service Benefit Plan brochure (RI 71-005).

Page last updated: August 03, 2010