Healthful
travel no accident
By LoRraine Simpkins
Getting ready to head out on a much-needed vacation? Don’t forget to pack your
health benefits, medications, your medical and health plan contact numbers, ID
cards and other potential necessities.
HMOs generally limit the benefits provided for care received outside their
service area, so check with yours before you leave.
If you are in the Empire Plan, ask your agency’s health benefits administrator
for a booklet called “On the Road with the Empire Plan,” or download it from the
state Department of Civil Service Web site at
www.cs.state.ny.us/ebd. From the
NYSHIP Online home page, click on “Using Your Benefits,” and then
“Publications.”
This booklet tells enrollees what you need to know about your health insurance
while traveling outside New York state. It’s also useful for your dependent
students who are going off to college.
Ask your health plan
Contact your health plan (Empire Plan: call NurseLine at 1-877-7NYSHIP for
health information and advice any time, any day) for information on the
following issues when you are away from home:
• Emergency medical care benefits and the criteria for qualifying;
• Benefits for non-emergency, urgent medical care;
• Your plan’s definition of an emergency;
• Differences in benefits based on the type of provider who treats you;
• Differences in benefits based on whether or not the provider you see has an
agreement with your health plan to accept its payment as payment in full;
• Availability of a participating provider, including pharmacies, at your
vacation destination (Empire Plan: call 1-877-7NYSHIP or check the NYSHIP Online
home page under “Find a Provider,” and check for MultiPlan providers that
discount their fees for Empire Plan enrollees. HMO: ask yours if it has a
reciprocal access agreement with another HMO at your destination.);
• Emergency treatment notification requirements (Empire Plan: call 1-877-7NYSHIP
within 48 hours after an emergency or urgent hospital admission. No call is
required when you are traveling out of the country. HMO: Check with yours for
its emergency notification requirements.); and
• Payment for provider services and procedure for obtaining plan reimbursement
to you.
See your doc
Most people don’t need to schedule a special visit to their doctor before they
go on vacation, but there are exceptions.
Call or see your doctor before leaving, if you:
• Are leaving the country for an extended time;
• Were recently hospitalized for a serious condition or had major surgery;
• Have a chronic medical condition or are taking prescription medicine; or
• Have a minor ailment such as a sore throat or earache.
Also consider having a dental checkup before leaving if you are going out of the
country or will be gone for an extended period of time.
You may need or want to get special immunizations before traveling to some
foreign destinations (check
www.cdc.gov/travel). Allow enough lead time to receive all of the
immunizations needed and to develop an effective immunity. The cost of
immunizations not covered by your plan, may be reimbursable through your Health
Care Spending Account.
Ask your doctor if you should carry a brief written medical history, and a list
of your medications and food and drug allergies.
Outside your comfort zone?
Consider whether you have a medical condition such as asthma that could be
aggravated by changes in climate or altitude during your travel.
If you must eat or drink at regular intervals, check with the TSA and your
public carrier about restricted opportunities to buy or carry food and drink.
Find out if the food and water at your destination will be safe to consume. You
may want to avoid salad, ice, rare meat and raw shellfish. Consider carrying
bottled water and/or water purification products.
Consider whether you have a condition or take a medication that could be
adversely affected by the local cuisine.
Check your medications for warnings that they can increase your sensitivity to
the sun, so you can take proper precautions.
Packing a first-aid kit seems like a no-brainer, but it’s easy to forget. Just
watch out for TSA restrictions about what you can carry with you.
Thorough planning now will go a long way in ensuring you can relax and enjoy a
safe, healthy trip.
Got your meds?
Make sure you have an adequate supply of prescribed medication for the length of
time you’ll be away. You may want to take twice your normal supply of
medication, carrying half on board and packing the other half in your checked
luggage, to protect against loss or theft.
Be sure to check the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Web site,
www.tsa.gov, for updated information on travel
restrictions.
Empire Plan expands disease management
programs
The Empire Plan now has five voluntary and free disease management programs
available through United HealthCare (UHC).
In addition to the Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Program, the Asthma
Management Program and the Diabetes Management Program, UHC now administers two
new programs — one for individuals with congestive heart failure and one for
those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
These programs provide information and resources to help participants better
understand their conditions and how to most effectively manage their care. Nurse
case management is available for individuals considered to be at high risk of
serious complications.
If UHC identifies you as someone with one of these conditions that would benefit
from disease management, UHC will contact you either by letter or telephone
about enrolling and participating in the program.
There is no penalty for declining to participate. To find out more about the
programs, call 1-877-7NYSHIP (1-877-769-7447) and select the #5 prompt for the
Empire Plan Nurseline which is available 24 hours a day. Lorraine Simpkins
The Communicator June 2007
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