Welcome to the fresh new look of Buckeye Health Plan! Follow Buckeye on

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1 Follow Buckeye on SUMMER Welcome to the fresh new look of Buckeye Health Plan! During the past few years we have helped more people with their health care needs, and we have expanded into more Ohio communities. We are celebrating this growth with a new, updated logo and a slight change to simplify our name. We are now known as Buckeye Health Plan and our updated website address will help you remember our name. We can be found at Our look is different, but our members are still our top priority. Buckeye Health Plan is committed to serving you with the quality care you need to stay healthy. In order to maintain that quality service, our products and benefits will stay the same. Here s a reminder of a few of the member benefits that we still Earn money through our CentAccount Program. It s easy! Just do things to stay healthy and money will be loaded onto your own personalized pre-paid MasterCard. For more information, visit our website at Take advantage of your pharmacy benefits. 90-day supplies of maintenance medications are available at your local pharmacy. They also can be delivered to your home. There are no Make an appointment to visit your eye doctor for an annual check-up. It s free! Thank you for choosing Buckeye Health Plan. Your health and satisfaction are our number one concern! If you have questions, call us at * Please note, you will be automatically directed to our new website address when you type in our former web address

2 How to tell us if you re unhappy Grievances and appeals are two ways to tell us if you are not happy with the health plan. It s good to tell us as soon as possible. We want to help you. GRIEVANCES: If you contact us because you are unhappy with something about Buckeye or one of our providers, this is called a grievance. APPEALS: Buckeye will send you a letter if we decide to deny or stop a service. You may ask that we change the decision. This is called an appeal. Call Member Services at to learn more about these options. 3 FACTS about your privacy 1 Your privacy is important to Buckeye. 2 We do all we can to guard your Protected Health Information (PHI). By law, we must protect your health records. 3 You can read the Privacy Notice in your Member Handbook or on our website. You don t always need imaging studies for low-back pain $50 billion is spent every year on back pain in the United States. Back pain is a common problem that affects nearly everyone. Most of us who experience low-back pain will feel better within weeks. These injuries usually occur in the soft tissues ligaments and tendons and not in the spine. In these cases, imaging studies (X-rays, MRIs) will not help. They would not change your treatment. Plus, imaging studies expose you unnecessarily to radiation. One study showed back-pain sufferers who had an MRI in the first month were eight times more likely to have surgery, and had a five-fold increase in medical expenses but didn t recover faster (Consumer Reports, 2012). Treatment for basic lower back pain usually pain anti-inflammatory heat and cold exercise for the lower back More aggressive treatment might be needed if there is concern about nerve damage, cancer or spine injuries. You can help keep down costs by using basic treatments first. Then, consider imaging studies and physical therapy for more severe cases of back pain.

3 A shot at better health You want to protect your kids. You tell them to wear seat belts. You show them how to cross the street safely. You even make them eat their veggies! So, don't forget to schedule their immunizations. Immunizations are shots that protect us from serious diseases. Talk with your doctor about the timeline below. BIRTH 1 MONTH YEARS 4-6 YEARS HepB HepB HepB RV RV RV DTaP DTaP DTaP DTaP DTaP Hib Hib Hib Hib PCV PCV PCV PCV IPV IPV IPV IPV Influenza (yearly) MMR MMR Varicella Varicella HepA For more details, visit or call CDC-INFO ( ).

4 Take your medications properly It s important to remember to take your medication just as your doctor told you. If you have high blood pressure, or hypertension, medications can lower blood pressure and help prevent serious health conditions, including heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and congestive heart failure. If you have diabetes, medications can lower your blood sugars and help prevent blindness, heart attack and/or kidney failure. If you have high cholesterol, taking your medications as directed will lower your cholesterol and help prevent very serious health problems including heart attacks and stroke. 5 TIPS FOR REMEMBERING TO TAKE YOUR MEDICATIONS: 1. Keep medications where you ll notice them. For medication that should be taken with food, place it on the dinner table or TV tray, or wherever you eat on a regular basis. If there are medications you need to take in the morning, put them in your bathroom, next to your toothbrush, your deodorant, or something else that you use as part of your morning routine. 2. Use daily dosing containers. These are available at most pharmacies and let you keep medications in compartments that are labeled with the days of the week and various dosage frequencies. 3. Keep your prescriptions filled. Many pharmacies can enroll you in auto-fill, which means your medication will get filled automatically every month and they will also call you to remind you that it has been filled. 4. Have your doctor write 90-day prescriptions. Many prescriptions are available in 90-day supplies. Please contact RX Direct for more information at to see if this might be a good option for you. 5. Talk with your health care professional. If medication side effects are bothering you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist about what you can do to lessen the problem. You might be able to switch to a different medication or your doctor may be able to adjust the timing of your dose. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

5 Habla usted español? Ingrese a www. buckeyehealthplan.com para ver este boletín en su idioma. Ingrese a www. buckeyehealthplan.com. Seleccione Members (Miembros), luego haga clic en Member Newsletters (Boletín para miembros) en la parte inferior derecha de la página. Do you need extra help? We want you to feel Therapy That is why we offer Rehab health services. These services Day treatment for adults help you if you are depressed. and children They can help you if you have drug or alcohol problems. Do you want to learn more We work with a company about behavioral health called Cenpatico Behavioral services? Call Health to offer: You can also learn more Evaluations See the doctor for a chance to win prizes Have you heard of Buckeye s well-teen and well-child drawings? Your kids could win prizes! If your child is between the ages of 3 and 20, they will automatically be entered into a drawing when they have a well-care visit. All you have to do is take your child or teen to his or her doctor for a well-care visit also called a HealthChek exam. The drawing for a $1,000 Wal-Mart gift card will take place monthly during Two gifts will be given away each month.

6 PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Stevens Point, WI Permit # Easton Way Suite 200 Columbus, OH (TTY ) To receive a paper copy of any information referenced in this newsletter or on the Buckeye website, please call Buckeye s Member Services department. Published by McMurry/TMG, LLC All rights reserved. No material may be reproduced in whole or in part from this publication without the express written permission of the publisher. The information in this publication is intended to complement not take the place of the recommendations of your healthcare provider. Consult your physician before making major changes in your lifestyle or healthcare regimen. McMurry/TMG makes no endorsements or warranties regarding any of the products and services included in this publication or its articles. XXXXXXXXX Sírvase reciclar esta revista OAC_H Information regarding Buckeye s 2014 Quality Improvement Program Description is available for review upon request. INSIDE: See the doctor for a chance to win prizes What is covered? Do you have a question about whether a service is covered? Our Utilization Management department (UM) can tell you if a medical service is covered. UM may look at your health records and talk with your doctor. UM decisions are based If the service is If the service works If the service is right for you. UM does not make choices based on financial reasons. We do not reward doctors or staff for saying no to care. Do you have questions? Call We are here for you Call Member Services if you need a paper copy of your Member Handbook or anything on our website. We can also help you find a doctor or get a ride to your appointments. Call Visit com to learn more about health and your health plan. Find the Member Handbook, our Health Library and lots more.