January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness. While there is no cure for glaucoma and vision lost cannot be regained, early detection is the best way to protect your sight.

Those at higher risk include people of African, Asian, and Hispanic descent. Other high-risk groups include: people over 60, family history of glaucoma, diabetics, and people who are severely nearsighted.

Help spread the word about this sight-stealing disease and raise awareness about the importance of regular eye examinations to preserve vision. For more information visit http://www.glaucoma.org

WHA partners with Premier Access to provide dental plans

As of November 1st, a partnership with Premier Access enables WHA to provide dental coverage to new or renewing groups as a rider to the medical plan. It’s simple for the employer: while the dental plans are underwritten and administered by either Access Dental Plan, Inc. or Premier Access Insurance Co., employers will enjoy streamlined enrollment and premium billing through WHA. Employers may choose from three Premier Access dental plans: one DHMO and two PPO plans.*

The DHMO plan is available to all WHA groups. The PPO plans are available to WHA sole carrier groups with three or more enrolled. When an employer selects dental plan benefits through WHA, each member enrolled in the WHA medical plan will have dental coverage. Enrollment in the dental plan will mirror the enrollment in the medical plan. More details, including DHMO rates, are available here.
We hope with new arrangement with Premier Access will reinforce our commitment to our employer groups by offering comprehensive plans at competitive rates to the local community.
*WHA Dental Plans are not available to groups who are currently in contract with Premier Access.

Garry Maisel Wins the Individual Leadership Award

Our very own Garry Maisel, President and CEO of Western Health Advantage was presented with the Individual Leadership award at the Arts & Business Council of Sacramento’s “Prelude to the Season”. The award honors individual businesses and civil leaders who have greatly contributed to one or more arts or cultural organizations in the region and demonstrated dedication above and beyond professional responsibilities, making a measurable impact on the region’s cultural landscape.

Under Garry’s leadership, Western Health Advantage has continues its decade-long commitment to the arts community. Through consistent funding, volunteering and dedication of staff resources, WHA has hoped to make a difference in organizations throughout the region. Garry, his executive team and Board of Directors believe great art is crucial for a healthy community. Supporting the arts is a core area of emphasis in our giving guidelines as well as a personal passion for many of our employee volunteers. Garry himself is a team leader for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s Arts Initiative, “For Arts Sake” and moved to the leadership position, taking over for Mayor Johnson, in 2010/11. He is also past chair of the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. In 2009 and 2010 Western Health Advantage has been a financial partner for the For Arts Sake Mayor’s Initiative, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, Sacramento Theatre Company, and the Sacramento Ballet.

For information on how you can get involved in the arts visit http://www.sacabc.org/.

September is National Cholesterol Education Month

Your blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of getting coronary heart disease. More than 65 million Americans have high blood cholesterol. By itself, the condition usually has no signs or symptoms, so many people are unaware that their cholesterol level is too high.

This month, take time to get your blood cholesterol checked, and talk to your doctor about your other modifiable risk factors for heart disease.

You can control your risk for heart disease up to 82% just by living a healthy lifestyle.

Visit the American Heart Association website for additional tools and resources about cholesterol.

WHA CEO Garry Maisel is the 2011 Chairperson of the American Heart Association’s “Go Red” campaign this year and sponsor of the Sacramento Heart Walk , Saturday, Sept. 17. Signing up is easy and FREE: Visit our team page at mywha.org/heartwalk to register.

Join WHA at “Care Begins With Me” Health & Lifestyle Event

Western Health Advantage is proud to sponsor Mercy healthcare’s fourth annual Care Begins with Me Health & Lifestyle event on Tuesday, October 4 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Sheraton Grand Hotel.

Register online at: http://www.carebeginswithme.org

Care Begins with Me is sure to inspire you to live your very best life. Join the hundreds of women that attend year after year to celebrate life and learn about a variety of important women’s health topics.

Mercy’s healthcare experts will lead Care Chats the night of the event. Every guest will be invited to select two Care Chat sessions to attend featuring the topics most important to you. Among the topics planned this year are:

• Women’s Health
• Headaches
• Women’s Heart Health
• Dealing with Back Pain

The 2011 Care Begins with Me night will include:

• Informative Care Chats: Interactive discussions led by Mercy experts on health topics important to women and their families.
• Guest speaker Abby Rike from NBC’s The Biggest Loser, Season 8, will share her story of triumph over tragedy.
• Emcee is KCRA 3′s, Deirdre Fitzpatrick. She is sure to bring her own special warmth and sparkle to the evening’s festivities.
• Marketplace Expo: A boutique shopping experience featuring a variety of local businesses
• Wine, coffees, delicious hors d’oeuvres and decadent desserts.
• Stylish swag bag with gifts for guests to take home.
• Win a fabulous weekend getaway for two at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn. Luxury transportation provided. Grand prize sponsored by CBS Radio Sacramento.

Register online at: http://www.carebeginswithme.org

WHA Job Opening – Copy Editor/Marketing Specialist

Western Health Advantage seeks a service-oriented marketer and communicator to join a growing Marketing team and fill a newly-created position of Copy Editor/Marketing Specialist.

The Copy Editor/Marketing Specialist implements the organization’s marketing and communication plan while ensuring a smooth, accurate and coordinated flow of information throughout WHA culminating in the production and quality control of the company’s consumer-facing materials.  In addition, the position serves as the marketing liaison within WHA and provides B2B and B2C marketing and communications support to enhance WHA’s brand, image and reputation as the best choice for health coverage for Sacramento and Solano region’s businesses and families.

Additional details and complete job description can be found at this link here – WHA Job Description – Copy Editor/Marketing Specialist.

Candidates must have post-secondary degree in marketing, PR, communications, journalism, English, or related degree with 3 to 5 years of experience with increasing levels of responsibility. Health industry experience and bilingual (Spanish) a plus. Demonstrated knowledge of strategies and tactics of marketing, communications, editing, copywriting, and new media for a variety of audiences. Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite a plus. Demonstrated project management expertise required.

Email resume and cover letter to HR@ westernhealth.com, indicating “Copy Editor” in the subject line, or fax to (916) 563-3182 attention “Human Resources”. No phone calls, please.  EEO  Western Health Advantage is an equal opportunity employer.

High Number of Measles Cases Reported in U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the United States is experiencing a high number of reported measles cases in 2011, many of which were acquired during international travel.  The increase in measles cases and outbreaks in the U.S. this year underscores the ongoing risk of importations from worldwide travel and the need for high measles vaccine coverage.

Measles is a highly contagious, acute viral illness that is transmitted by contact with an infected person through coughing and sneezing.  After an infected person leaves a location, the virus remains contagious for up to 2 hours on surfaces and in the air.  Measles can cause severe health complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, and death.

If you are traveling this summer, make sure you are up to date on measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and other vaccines.  Check out the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/measles/ for complete details.

WHA Job Opening – Marketing Manager

Western Health Advantage seeks a service-oriented strategic marketer and communicator to join a growing Marketing team and fill a newly-created position of Marketing Manager.

The marketing manager provides B2B and B2C marketing and communications strategies to enhance WHA’s brand, image and reputation as the best choice for health coverage for Sacramento and Solano area businesses and families.  While supervising the two-person marketing staff and managing the department budget, the marketing manager acts as project lead and main point of contact with internal clients while creating member communications, marketing and sales collateral, press releases, and other promotional materials.

Additional details and complete job description can be found by clicking here.

Candidates must have post-secondary degree in marketing, public relations, communications, journalism, English, advertising or related degree with minimum 5 years of experience with increasing levels of responsibility and minimum of 2 years of supervisory experience.

Demonstrated knowledge of tactics and strategies of marketing, communications, advertising, and new media for a variety of audiences (consumer, B2B, health benefit brokers, health plan members, media, etc.).  Experience in writing communications for print, Internet, multimedia, marketing collateral, member communications, and other promotional materials.  Demonstrated project management expertise.  Health industry experience a plus. 

Email resume and cover letter to HR@ westernhealth.com, indicating “Marketing Manager” in the subject line, or fax to (916) 563-3182 attention “Human Resources”.  EEO  Western Health Advantage is an equal opportunity employer.

Better Health Care, Lower Costs

Health care in the United States is fragmented, and undeniably expensive. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, $7,538 is spent on health care for each American annually; 51 percent more than the next highest spender, Norway.

How does this happen? Different doctors are seen for different health issues. Tests are run, diagnoses made, treatments prescribed and procedures performed. Means of communication between different doctors are not well used, and duplication of tests and services may occur. Then, they all get paid, by insurance, the government or the patient. Not only is this expensive, but it doesn’t provide a complete health picture of the individual and can result in lower quality care for the patient. The cure may be Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs).

What is an ACO? The ACO takes an integrated approach to health care that moves away from our current fractured, fee-for-service model to one that incentivizes quality, value and communication. Ultimately the result should be better health outcomes for the patient and lower costs. ACOs require:

• Capitation – accountability for cost
• Pay for Performance – accountability for quality
• Coordinated Care/Information Management – eliminates gaps in hand offs

WHA compare? In many ways, Western Health Advantage is already very much like an ACO. A focus on better health is an integral part of our business philosophy. With WHA:

• Through robust risk-sharing, provider groups are incentivized to reduce waste from duplication, over testing and over prescribing – keeping costs down for our members and their employees
• Successful and healthy outcomes are rewarded – increasing coordination and quality of care
• Doctors do their jobs without WHA acting as middlemen – emphasizing accountability, quality health and controlled costs

ACOs are one of the first delivery-reform initiatives to be implemented under the Affordable Care Act to achieve its goals of lower costs, improved care and better health. ACOs are being introduced with proposed federal rules for establishing goals and tracking success, beginning with a clearly defined group of Medicare beneficiaries. WHA welcomes industry-wide changes that focus on better health and lower costs.

Sources:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/05/accountable-care-organizations.html

AHIP State on Medicare Shared Savings Program, www.AHIPCoverage.org

State is ‘Ready, Willing and Able,’ www.californiahealthline.org

Free Webinar – “Resiliency: How to successfully negotiate life’s twists and turns”

Join WHA members at a Magellan Health Services Webinar ― Resiliency: How to successfully negotiate life’s twists and turns.

Live Webinar on June 8th!  Sign Up Today!

Have you noticed that when something bad happens, some people are unable to move on, while others can bounce back and even thrive from adversity? What do these positive people have that the others lack? They have resiliency.

Western Health Advantage and Magellan, WHA’s behavior health partner, are pleased to present a special live webinar titled, Resiliency: How to successfully negotiate life’s twists and turns. The webinar will be held on June 8, 2011 and is made available to WHA members at no cost! 

Join the webinar and learn how being resilient is key to being happy and successful in life.  The webinar will focus on:

• Defining resiliency
• Assessing  your own resiliency
• How to foster a strong sense of ‘self’
• Identifying actions to enhance your resiliency

Webinar Information

Date:   Wednesday, June 8

Time:   11 a.m. – Noon

Register Now

To register for this live webinar, simply REGISTER HERE and create your own password. After registering, you will receive a confirmation and information to access the webinar.

You can also register for this and other upcoming webinars at www.MagellanHealth.com/member. After registering with your program’s toll-free number, go to Tools, On Demand Learning for a complete listing of live webinars, as well as webinar recordings and podcasts.