Coverage to Care Step 4: Find a Provider

Follow these four steps to find a primary care provider. You may need to find a primary care provider who can recommend you to a specialist if your health requires it.

1. Identify providers in your network

Call your insurance company to find a list of providers in your area. See if providers meet your needs. Do you need them to speak a language other than English? Keep in mind that a provider not in your network will cost more than one in your network.

2. Ask around

Perhaps your family or friends may have recommendations for providers!

3. Pick a provider

Call and see who may have availabilities. Ask if the provider is taking new patients. Determine if there is an appointment time that works for you.See if the provider meets your needs as far as language and accessibility is concerned.

4. Give them a try!

It may take multiple tries to find a provider that is right for you, so don’t be concerned about testing a few out.

For more information, contact Compassionate Care Network: 773-775-3600

Mental Health Awareness Month

As May draws to a close, it’s important for us to remember that it is Mental Health Awareness Month. Join CCN as we work to shine a light on mental health issues. We all need to work together to overcome social stigmas that prevent diagnosis and treatment.

Mental health issues affect people from all different backgrounds and at all different ages. According to many sources, 1 in 5 Americans (that’s about 43 million people) are suffering from a mental health issue, although not all of them are receiving help. However, many health insurance plans (including those under the ACA) cover mental health services. If you feel you may benefit from treatment, call your insurance company to see what is covered.

Here are some other facts to keep in mind from the National Institute of Mental Health:

• Although 1 in 5 Americans have some mental health issue, many of these are not seriously debilitating. 1 in 25 American adults experience serious functional challenges due to a major mental health disorder such as schizophrenia or bipolar type I.
• Mental health issues can be dangerous, like many physical health issues. Over 40,000 people committed suicide in 2013. That’s about as many people who died of breast cancer. The highest risk group for suicides are men over the age of 60.
• Mental health disorders DO respond to treatment. Up to 85% of the most seriously depressed people respond to treatment while 75% of people with schizophrenia experience long-term improvement in their mental health status. Lithium is very successful at treating bipolar disorder. Many, many people benefit from mental health treatment, even in the most serious of cases.

If you feel you or someone you know can benefit from mental health treatment, don’t delay getting help.

For more help, contact Compassionate Care Network at 773-775-3600.

Coverage To Care Step 3: Know Where to Go for Care

In a life-threatening emergency, you can always call 911 for emergency services. A trip to the emergency room can be costly, however. In order to safeguard your health, your best course of action is to get routine services and preventative care from a primary care provider.

You can find a primary care provider in a number of different places:

• Private medical groups
• Hospital outpatient clinics
• Community or government-funded clinics
• School clinics
• Veterans’ Affairs clinics.

Your primary care provider will work with you on long-term health issues as well as run regular tests to make sure that you are in excellent shape. To go to a primary care provider, you must call ahead and make an appointment. Make sure you bring your copay. You should visit your provider annually when you are healthy and if you have any health problems.

Having a primary care provider is crucial towards maintaining long-term health. Don’t delay in finding a primary care provider.

Making Good Protein Choices

Protein is an extremely important part of your diet. It’s also important to make sure that when you include protein, you include healthy proteins rather than ones that are bad for your health. Make smart choices by keeping these points in mind.

• Lean meats: Know what part of meats have the least amount of fat and try to stick to those. If you’re cooking beef, choose round steaks and sirloin. Buy skinless chicken or remove the skin before you cook it. For cold cuts, use turkey and roast beef over bologna or salami. Trim away excess fat when you’re eating or cooking and avoid breaded meats.
• Switch it up: Try to eat seafood twice a week. Beans or tofu are good meat replacements that have lots of protein, as is hummus. Use nuts to replace meats or poultry as well, although they can be high in fats, so try not to overindulge.
• Food label smarts: When you’re looking at food labels, check the amount of sodium. Sometimes low calorie foods pack an unhealthy amount of sodium. Lower fat versions of many meats are available so make sure you compare calories and amounts of fat in each product.

Coverage To Care Step Two: Understand Your Health Coverage

If you have recently purchased insurance, before you use it it’s important to know what you can use it for. Your coverage is useful when you’re sick, but it’s also useful before you’re sick. Most insurance covers vaccinations, annual well visits and certain cancer screenings. Make sure you understand the following things about your insurance;

• Network: The doctors, hospitals and clinics that your healthcare provider has selected as “in network”  are available under your insurance. Visiting healthcare practitioners that are “out of network” may cost you more.
• Deductible: Some plans require you pay a certain amount in healthcare costs before the insurance kicks and covers services. This amount is called a deductible.
• Co-pay: When services are covered by your insurance, you may still have to pay a percentage of the cost. The amount you are responsible for is called a co-pay.
• Premium: This is the amount you or your employer pays each month for your insurance.

Compassionate Care Network can help you if you’re confused about your benefits. Find us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CompassionateCareNetwork

Coverage to Care Step One: Put your Health First

It’s important for everyone to prioritize their health, not just for themselves, but for their family and and other loved ones. The best way to keep yourself healthy is to be proactive about preventative care. While health insurance can be very helpful when you are sick or injured, it’s no substitution for preventing health problems in the first place or identifying minor issues before they become major ones. Here are some steps to maintaining your health:

• Preventative care starts at home. Focus on eating well and exercising to keep yourself in top shape.
• Consider what preventative health services you may need.
• Stay aware of your health and body
• Keep all of your health information in the same place

A project of Compassionate Care Network, 2015. Compassionate Care Network provides ongoing preventative medical screenings and education on important issues like heart health, diabetes and obesity prevention and reduction.

More Heart Healthy Foods

More healthy foods for your heart, straight from the Mayo Clinic. Include these in your Ramadan meals to help your heart thrive.

Blueberries: A great combo with either oatmeal and yogurt, blueberries are high in antioxidants and fight inflammation

Oatmeal: Oatmeal can help lower your cholesterol but also has the added benefit of keeping you full. It also keeps your blood sugar stable, which makes it an excellent choice for diabetics.

Tofu: This vegetarian favorite can be added to just about any dish. Rich in proteins and fiber, tofu is one of the healthiest things you can eat.

Low-Fat Yogurt: Not only good for your bones, calcium-rich yogurt can lower blood pressure too. Uncultured yogurt is also a natural source of probiotics, which can help your digestive system.

Including these easy foods in your diet is a great way to improve the health of your heart as well as your health overall.

 

Mediterranean Fish Steaks

Ingredients:

• 2 large tomatoes cored and sliced into 1/4-inch rounds
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 tablespoon capers rinsed
• 1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup feta cheese, reduced-fat
• 1 medium zucchini trimmed and thinly sliced into rounds
• 4 fillets of white fish, firm flesh (4 ounces each)
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning, salt free

Method:

1. Set the best 4 tomato slices aside. Chop the remaining tomatoes into small cubes. Place the tomato cubes into a bowl and add the onion, capers, vinegar, olive oil and feta cheese. Stir to mix.
2. Place the oven rack in the upper position and preheat broiler to high. Line two rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Place zucchini rounds in a single layer on one baking sheet and fish fillets on the other sheet. Spray the top sides with cooking spray.
3. Place the zucchini under the broiler for about 1 minute. Turn and season with half the lemon pepper. Broil for another minute and move the baking sheet to the bottom of the oven to keep warm.
4. Place the fish fillets under the broiler for about 3 minutes. Turn and continue broiling until the fillets spring back to light pressure, about 3 to 6 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fillets. Season with the remaining lemon pepper.
5. Place 1 tomato slice on each of four plates. Arrange zucchini in an overlapping circle on top of the tomatoes. Place a fish fillet on the zucchini and top with the diced tomato mixture. Serves 4 with serving size of 1 fillet with vegetables.

Four Healthy Heart Foods

The Mayo Clinic has been featuring healthy heart foods in recent articles. Here’s a selection of some that might be useful to you while preparing meals for Ramadan.

Black Beans: Packed with antioxidants, black beans can be a powerful tool against high blood pressure. They’re also rich in protein and fiber, and can be worked into meals lots of different ways.

Salmon: Salmon is rich in omega-3 fats, a great addition to your diet. Omega-3 fats can regulate heart abnormalities and lower blood pressure and inflammation. Try to consume fish rich in omega-3 fats two times per week.

Nuts, especially walnuts and almonds: Walnuts and almonds have lots of omega-3s in them and lower cholesterol. They’re a great replacement for “bad fats” in cookies and other sweets.

Olive Oil: A healthy replacement for cooking oils, it’s also great as a salad dressing or for adding additional flavors to a dish.

 

 

Women’s Health

Everyone should use Ramadan as a time to take stock of their lives, and that includes the gift of health which many faith traditions teach is a sacred gift. It’s especially important for us to foster opportunities for women in our communities to stay on top of their health.

Yesterday was National Women’s Checkup Day, and this past weekend many families celebrated Mother’s Day, so it’s a great time to make a well woman visit to make sure you are up-to-date on your preventative health, which can include cancer screening and genetic testing for women with a family history of certain cancers and osteoporosis screening for women over the age of 65, and mammograms.

If you have health coverage through the Affordable Care Act, you now have many more options to take advantage of your new health benefits. If you have questions about how to make an appointment, check out the Coverage to Care Roadmap here. For those of you who still don’t have health coverage, contact Compassionate Care Network at (773) 775-3600 or Facebook. You may still qualify for a special enrollment period, and even if you can’t get coverage at this time the doctors at Compassionate Care Network do weekly screenings and can provide you important health check ups too.