It’s common knowledge that setting goals for healthy eating and fitness increases your chances of success, but what about setting goals for other important areas in your life? Incorporating goals for things like setting up your annual skin cancer screening or updating yourself on your insurance plan may not sound important, but staying up-to-date on your health will help reduce stress, improve care and prepare you in case an emergency occurs. Below is a checklist to ensure you’re making your health a top priority:
- Spend an hour and make sure you fully understand the costs that make up your health plan. Taking one hour now will help you avoid being confused or surprised when you receive an explanation of benefits.
- Sign up for online access. Many health insurance providers, like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, have online member portals that make it easy to check your coverage, treatment, bills and more. If you haven’t gone online and set up your membership ID and password yet, do it now so that you can quickly view your profile in the future. Blue Cross members can get started at bcbsm.com/register.
- Make sure you know where your ID card is. If you’re a Blue Cross or Blue Care Network member, you can access your virtual member ID card through bcbsm.com anytime and anywhere (as long as you register at bcbsm.com). Whether or not you have a virtual ID card, it’s still a good idea to keep your card in your wallet in case of emergencies.
- Vacations can be relaxing, but not if you’re sick and don’t know how to get care. It’s important to make sure you know what your options are if you get sick before you go away. Here’s a helpful guide to help you figure out how to get care while you’re away.
- Schedule your 2015 doctors' appointments. Why wait until you realize you’re overdo for a check-up to make an appointment? Schedule visits with your primary care physician, dentist, dermatologist, audiologist, allergist, optometrist, gynecologist or anyone else your primary care physician recommends you see annually. Learn more about essential appointments here.
Now that you know what you should do to take charge of your own health, it’s time to earn that rewarding feeling of checking them off a list! One easy way to do that is to sign up for #HealthyMe, an online community that’s all about reaching goals. Add the above to-dos to your profile, give yourself a deadline and know you’re doing all you need to stay on top of your health in 2015. For other advice about staying on top of your health, check out these posts from both this blog as well as A Healthier Michigan:
- How to Make the Most of Your Health Insurance
- What's a Deductible? A Quick Guide to Common Health Insurance Lingo
- 5 Health Insurance "Unknowns" Explained
Photo credit: Courtney Dirks
