It can be tough to decide what to do when it comes to healthcare. Health Options offers some resources through Healthwise®, a nonprofit, unbiased, evidence-based source of information to help you navigate your most pressing health concerns.
Let’s face it. There’s a lot of health-related information on the internet. Not sure whether that lingering cold needs some antibiotics? Google that and you’ll get bundle of responses, but it’s often not easy to know which source to trust.
Community Health Options offers you a solution with access to Healthwise®, which like Health Options, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to your health and wellbeing. Through Healthwise, you can search for symptoms and find solutions that fit your needs. And that search won’t yield questionable results. Instead, you’ll get unbiased, evidence-based and research-driven answers to your most pressing health questions.
You can, of course, search for information about physical symptoms, but you can also search for topics that support your mental and emotional wellbeing. For example, start typing “optimism,” and you’ll be taken to a page with resources to help you work through negative thoughts and anxiety.
Working toward your health goals also requires knowing how and why to use healthcare. To that end, Healthwise offers a section called “Wise Health Consumer,” which includes a range of topics to help you make the right decisions for your needs in partnership with your providers. This section helps you know which questions to ask at an appointment, when you should go to the emergency room, and can even help you create a health and wellness plan that fits your unique goals.
You can find Healthwise under the Health & Wellness tab on the left side of your Member Portal dashboard. If you need help finding it or setting up your Member Portal, please call our Maine-based Member Services team at (855) 624-6463 for assistance.
Knowing what your health care plan can do for you is one important part of maintaining your best health, and your Member ID Card is an excellent place to start. First, at the bottom of your card is the name of your plan. If you have the word “Tiered” in your plan, this means you are part of our tiered provider network option and could save money on provider visits.
Tiered provider networks give consumers a better way to consider the cost of care when choosing care options and therefore save money on healthcare costs. Our tiered network plans reduce cost-sharing for specific benefits and services received from a preferred network provider. Types of providers and services include hospital outpatient services, primary care, urgent care centers, imaging centers, and labs.
Preferred providers and facilities for these plans are noted with a preferred star icon in the Health Options Provider Directory at https://lookup.healthoptions.org/. Please note that some services may not be covered at the preferred service rate when administered in non-preferred settings. Therefore, it is important to visit the specific location listed in the search results to take advantage of the preferred rate.
Preferred locations for hospital outpatient services are limited to outpatient surgery and other outpatient procedures (such as catheterization, joint arthroscopy, or colonoscopy), including anesthesia.
It’s important to note: Even if you have a tiered network plan, you always have the option to visit our standard network providers with a standard co-pay. If you have questions about tiered network plans, contact our Member Services team at (855) 624-6463.
The bottom line is, with our robust NE Network and our new tiered network, you are very well covered!
