Fall There s Nothing Pretty About Smoking

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1 Healthy TM Basics Fall 2010 Model Christy Turlington quit smoking. Find out how you can too. HPM There s Nothing Pretty About Smoking Christy has had a lot of pictures taken of her. But a picture of her lungs is the one she might like best. That s because she stopped smoking more than 12 years ago. PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID Healthy Basics She used to smoke a pack a day. But she knew the habit was harmful. She tried to quit many times. At age 25, she quit for good. Her father died of lung cancer a few years later. Then, HEALTH PLAN OF MICHIGAN 777 Woodward Ave Ste 600 Detroit, MI Christy knew she wanted to help others stop smoking too. Smoking can cause many types of cancer. It also can cause problems with your heart and lungs. If you smoke, try these tips to help you quit: Set a quit date and tell your family and friends. Remove cigarettes and other tobacco products from your home, car and work. Talk to your doctor about medicine to help you quit. Find out more about quitting at Christy s website, smokingisugly. com. Or call the Michigan Tobacco Quit Line at QUIT-NOW ( ).

2 Backpack Basics for Kids Backpacks are handy for school and play. But many kids carry their packs the wrong way. This can hurt their back and shoulders, and cause poor posture. To keep kids healthy and safe, make sure they follow these tips: Wear both straps. The backpack should have wide padded straps that go over both shoulders. Avoid bags that only have one strap. Don t carry too much. Kids should never carry more than 15 percent of their body weight. For example, a 60-pound child should not carry more than 9 pounds Lift with your legs. Make sure your children pick up their backpacks by bending their knees and lifting with their legs. This will avoid back strain. HEALTH SMART Protect Against Flu Do you need a flu shot? Children younger than 19, pregnant women and people over 50 often do. If you have any chronic health problems, you may also need a shot. Still not sure? Check with your doctor. He or she can tell you if you should have a flu shot and where to get it. Drinking Too Much? Four questions you can ask to help you decide. Have you noticed that a friend or family member is drinking a lot? It can be hard to tell how much alcohol is too much. If you think someone you love has a drinking problem, ask yourself these questions. 1 Has this person ever felt the need to cut down on his or her drinking? 2 Does this person get annoyed if other people question his or her drinking? 3 Has this person ever felt bad or guilty about his or her drinking? 4 Has this person ever had a drink first thing in the morning to calm nerves or get rid of a hangover? Did you answer yes to any of these questions? If so, your friend may have a drinking problem. He or she should visit a doctor right away. The doctor can get your friend the help he or she needs. Federal Alcohol Abuse Helpline

3 Lessen Your Stress Stress is a fact of life. But too much stress can make you feel tired, nervous or sad. It can make it hard to sleep or upset your stomach. It can even cause skin problems. The good news is there are simple ways to keep stress under control: Eat a healthy diet. Doing so will help your body function at its best. Take time to relax. Sing, laugh or listen to music to keep your mind and body at ease. Get moving. Even a short, brisk walk can boost your mood. Sleep eight hours a night. Catching enough ZZZs helps fight stress. A Plateful of Good Health I t can be easy to eat too much. Or to eat the wrong things. But it can be easy to eat the right things too. Use this simple method to make sure you re getting a balanced diet at every meal: Start with a plate that is 9 inches wide. This will help keep your portions at the right size. Fill half your plate with non-starch veggies, like string beans or carrots. A protein, like chicken, fish or pork, should make up one quarter of your plate. One quarter should include a healthy carb. Try whole-grain pasta, brown rice or a potato. Finish with a cup of low-fat or nonfat milk or yogurt, and a small fruit. Ask About Health Breastfeeding Is Best I just found out I m having a baby. My friend said breastfeeding is the best way to feed my baby. Why not just use formula? Signed, Mom-to-Be Dear Mom-to-Be, The best way to feed your baby is to breastfeed. For most babies, breast milk is easier to digest than formula. And since a mother s milk changes over time, your milk will always contain just the right amount of nutrients your baby needs to grow. Breast milk also has antibodies. These are proteins in the body that help fight illness. Many studies show that breastfed babies have a lower chance of getting asthma, diabetes and heart disease. Breastfeeding is also much cheaper than using formula. And, last but not least, breastfeeding is a great way to bond with your new baby.

4 2009 Quality Improvement Program Results We re helping keep members healthy with high-quality care and service. Health Plan of Michigan s goal is to make sure members get highquality healthcare. Each year the Quality Management Department (QM) sets a plan to meet this goal and evaluates it was a year of growth. We grew into 16 new counties within Michigan, covering members in a total of 64 counties! HPM grew by 70,000 new members and still kept some of the best preventive and quality scores in the nation. Health Plan of Michigan was ranked the No. 10 health plan in the country by U.S. News and World Report. We thank our providers and members for helping us meet this goal. Below are the key parts of our Quality Program: Keeping Members Healthy. We focused on reaching out to our members to keep them healthy. We remind our members to see their doctor for well visits every year. Preventive screenings and tests help find disease early and keep members healthy. We followed preventive care guidelines and checked doctors offices to make sure they are following these as well. Excellent Customer Service. All member calls were answered within 30 seconds by a person. In 2009, HPM had almost 290,000 member calls with an answering rate of 99.4 percent! We value your feedback from our CAHPS member surveys. It is a way for HPM to help doctors offices improve their customer service as well. Improving Coordination of Care. HPM worked on using new technology to improve care coordination for members and providers. Member and provider Web portals let us share information safely. Also, we have made partnerships throughout the state to spread the Patient-Centered Medical Home model among our doctors. If you have any questions, please call us at You can also visit hpmich.com for more information about our quality program. The Right Care at the Right Time Health Plan of Michigan works to make sure that our members receive the right care at the right time and in the right setting. The department that makes these decisions is called Utilization Management. HPM s Utilization Management teams include doctors and nurses who check and make sure all services are medically necessary and covered by HPM. HPM does not reward providers who review or deny coverage of healthcare services. We also do not offer extra money to anyone for making decisions that keep members from getting the care they need. We are happy to answer your questions about Utilization Management at any time Member Services

5 Help Fight Healthcare Fraud, Waste and Abuse D id you know that fraud, waste and abuse accounts for up to 10 percent of the cost of healthcare in the U.S.? This is very expensive for everybody. This money could have been spent on healthcare services for someone who needed them. Fraud, waste and abuse involves not being honest or trying to get something for nothing. Some examples of fraud, waste and abuse are: 2 Using somebody else s Medicaid ID card for services. 2 Changing or adding information on a prescription. 2 Going to the emergency room for non-lifethreatening services. 2 A physician's office sending a bill for services that were not given. 2 A physician's office giving one type of service but billing for something more expensive. Health Plan of Michigan has many programs to help identify and report fraud, waste and abuse. What can members do to help fight this? Keep your Medicaid ID in a safe place and do not let others use it. Do not give your Medicaid ID number or your Social Security number to anyone over the phone. If you suspect fraud, waste or abuse, please let us know. You can write to us at the address below or call us at Health Plan of Michigan 777 Woodward Ave, Ste 600 Detroit, MI Toll free: You can also file a report online at: fraud@hpmich.com. You can also report to the State of Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) at: Medicaid Integrity Program Section Capitol Commons Center Building 400 South Pine St, 6th floor Lansing, MI Toll free: You do not need to use your name when reporting fraud, waste or abuse to HPM or to the state if you choose. Medication Safety Tips to know What you don t know CAN hurt you, especially when it comes to medications. The more you know about your medication, the better you can make sure you re using it correctly. This is information you should know about your medications (you can even write it down and carry it with you): Medication name (both the brand name and the generic). The dosage (the amount, how many you take and how often). The size, color and the imprint on the pill. What the medication is for. When to call your doctor. Any other special instructions. Below are five important medication DO s: 1. Take each medication just as the doctor ordered (no more and no less). 2. Make sure that each doctor knows about all of your medications. 3. Let your doctors know about any over-the-counter medications (this includes vitamins, supplements and herbs that you use). 4. Try to use the same pharmacy to fill all of your medications so that they can help keep track of everything that you re taking. 5. Keep medications out of the reach of children. If you have any questions about your medications, please ask your doctor or your pharmacist.

6 Add Walking to Your Day Walking can help you look and feel better. It s a low-impact exercise that won t hurt your joints. You don t need special gear or long hours of practice. Just 30 minutes of walking every day can help you lose weight and have more energy. It can also lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. Here are five ways to add walking to your day: Walk or bike a short distance that you might have driven in the car. Park farther away from where you re headed. Walk the rest of the way. Choose to take the stairs or steps when you can. Take a family stroll after dinner. And bring the dog too. Start a walking group for friends or neighbors. Set up regular times to meet and walk. And don t forget: Before you start a new fitness routine, be sure to check with your doctor first. Generic drugs Good for You and Your Budget Brand names might matter if you re a fan of fashion or fancy electronics, but when it comes to medicine, generic drugs are just as good as the brand-name versions. They cost less and work just as well, which is something that s easy for everyone to swallow. A generic drug is a copy of a brand-name drug. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that a generic drug have the same quality, strength, purity, performance and intended use as the brand-name drug. Generic drugs cost less because the generic manufacturers didn t have the investment costs needed to make a new drug. They are making a copy. Generic drugs do not look the same as brand-name drugs due to trademark laws. However, generic drugs must have the same ingredients. The colors, flavors and some inactive ingredients may be different. The FDA makes sure that both brand-name and generic drug companies meet the same standard of good manufacturing practices. Not every brand name drug has a generic drug to match. Brand-name drugs usually have a patent protection that lasts for 20 years. When the patent expires, other drug companies can make generic copies of the drug. HPM is a mandatory generic plan. This means that we require doctors to use generic drugs when they are available and right for you. Be sure to ask your doctor if generic drugs are available for the medications that you take and ask him or her to write your prescription for them. If you have more questions about generic drugs, please talk to you doctor, pharmacist, or HPM for information. Published by McMurry 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 makes no endorsements or warranties regarding any of the products and services included in this publication or its articles. Printed on Recycled Paper Please Recycle This Magazine Photo credits: 2010 Neilson Barnard/Stringer/Getty Images (cover)