AlaskaCare Employee News | May 2019

• Getting to Know Your Benefits: Preventive Care
• Measles—Protect Yourself and Your Family
• Coalition Health Centers in Anchorage and Fairbanks
• Health Benefit Contact Information
• Recipe of the Month
• Exercise of the Month
• Health Fact of the Month

Getting to Know Your Benefits: Preventive Care

What is covered at no cost when you visit a network provider? Preventive care!

You don’t need to be under the weather to see your doctor, in fact, the best time to go is when you feel well. Are you thinking about a flu shot or a screening test? Or perhaps you’re just looking for some health tips. That’s preventive care—and it can help you stay healthy and in some cases, catch health issues early. When you visit a network provider or pre-certify your visit with an out-of-network provider, your costs will be covered at 100%, even before you meet your deductible.

Check in for a checkup | Preventive care starts with a yearly physical. Yearly checkups can reassure you that you’re as healthy as you feel or prompt you to ask about changes in your body that might not be normal.

What to expect | During a checkup, your doctor will provide you with the right screenings for your age, gender and health status. With these, they can spot symptoms that could be signs of something more serious. Your doctor will also measure your height and weight and may also check your blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure. These results, along with your health history, help give a clearer picture of your health so your doctor can build a personal care plan for you.

Other health checks | A checkup can also include:

• Shots for the flu, pneumonia, measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) or other illnesses
• Tests for diabetes or other conditions
• Pregnancy counseling and screenings
• Cancer screenings, including colonoscopies and mammograms

Preventive care isn’t limited to shots and screenings. Honest talks with your doctor about a healthy lifestyle—like eating better, exercising, or quitting smoking—count, too.

Whether you’re well or sick, it’s important to take good care of yourself. Call your doctor to schedule your physical checkup and be on your way to good health.

For assistance finding an in-network provider, call the Aetna Concierge at (855) 784-8646 or search online using Aetna’s DocFind tool.

Measles—Protect Yourself and Your Family

Every year, Alaska welcomes thousands of travelers to our great state. Unvaccinated travelers, who are susceptible to contracting measles, can bring it with them when they visit. They can spread measles to other people who are not protected against it, which sometimes leads to outbreaks.

Measles is a highly contagious viral respiratory illness. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, and red watery eyes followed by a rash over most of the body.

Measles can be serious. 

• About one in four people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized.
• One out of every 1,000 people with measles will develop brain swelling, which could lead to brain damage.
• One or two out of 1,000 people with measles will die, even with the best care.

Measles spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It is so contagious that if one person has it, nine out of ten people around them will also become infected if they are not protected. Your child can get measles just by being in a room where a person with measles has been, even up to two hours after that person has left. An infected person can spread measles to others even before they know they have the disease—from four days before developing the measles rash, through four days afterward.

Some people think of measles as just a little rash and fever that clears up in a few days, but measles can cause serious health complications, especially in children younger than five years of age. There is no way to tell in advance the severity of the symptoms your child will experience. A highly effective vaccine has resulted in a dramatic reduction in measles cases and deaths worldwide. However, outbreaks and deaths continue to occur, primarily related to overseas travel and unvaccinated individuals.

Measles can be prevented with a measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Talk to your health care provider today to ensure that you and your family are up to date on your immunizations.

Additional Resources:

Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Measles InfoGraphic

Coalition Health Centers in Anchorage and Fairbanks

A great place for AlaskaCare Employee Health Plan members to receive medical services and preventive care.

The Coalition Health Centers welcome AlaskaCare Employee Health Plan eligible members and dependents in Anchorage and Fairbanks. The Centers offer wellness and preventive care, for which appointments are required. For unexpected illness or injury, no appointment is necessary and walk-ins are welcome. Services received at Coalition Health Centers are not subject to your plan’s annual deductible, there is no copay for wellness and preventive care, and you will only be charged a $25 co-pay for acute, unexpected illness or injury. Do not submit claims for these services. Coordination of benefits does not apply. See the AlaskaCare Employee Health Plan amendment effective March 1, 2018 for additional information on the AlaskaCare website.

Coalition Health Center Locations:

Additional Resources:

Coalition Health Center Website

Recipe of the Month

Grilled Shrimp with Mango, Lime, and
Radish Salsa

GET THE RECIPE>>

Exercise of the Month

The Stationary Lunge

The stationary lunge works all the major muscles of the lower body: the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes.

TRY THE EXERCISE>>

Health Fact of the Month

Sleep is the way your body refuels.
Getting a good eight hours of sleep every night should be a goal year-round.