Northwest cares about the health and wellness of its employees and is responding to feedback from the employee engagement survey regarding concerns about the rising costs of health insurance premiums. For these reasons, the University’s employee wellness program is changing in 2023.
Preventive care is routine healthcare that includes screenings and labs to help prevent illness, disease or other health problems. Along with a healthy lifestyle, taking basic preventive care steps can immensely improve your health in the future and reduce healthcare costs.
In 2023, Northwest is moving away from annual health risk assessments and implementing a primary care provider wellness program.
The primary care provider wellness program consists of an annual preventive visit and routine labs ordered by a healthcare provider. Our health plan covers an annual preventive visit and routine labs, funded at 100 percent, when you see an in-network provider.
Employees will need to login to your mybluekc.com account, download and print a Physician Screening Form (PSF) from the A Healthier You portal to bring with them to their preventive care appointment. Employees on a Northwest health plan who do not return the PSF by Oct. 15, 2023, will be assessed a $50 per month premium differential beginning with the December 2023 paycheck.
The on-campus biometric screening event that typically happens in October each year will no longer be offered.
The online health risk assessment questionnaire will not be required as a part of the primary care provider wellness program, but employees are still encouraged to complete the online assessment.
At this time, spouses on a Northwest health plan will not be required, but are encouraged, to participate in the primary care provider wellness program.
Northwest, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Mosaic have collaborated and reached a resolution on the preventative health screen with lab draw process.
When scheduling your appointment with Mosaic, call 660.562.2525, identify yourself as a Northwest employee and state your need to schedule a standalone wellness/preventative- only appointment and labs with your primary care provider.
The preventive visit and labs cannot be incorporated with a regularly scheduled visit, for example, if you are seen every three to six months for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or another acute diagnosis for which you receive medication or medical treatment.
When you arrive and register for your appointment, identify yourself as a Northwest employee and provide your Physician Screening Form to the receptionist.
During your appointment:
Labs drawn during a preventive-only health screening appointment should not be charged to Northwest employees. Northwest employees who receive a bill from Mosaic for a lab draw completed during the preventative-only health screening appointment should contact Northwest’s Office of Human Resources.
A Healthier You is Blue KC's suite of health and wellness services. The cornerstone of A Healthier You is your personalized member portal, which can be accessed online or via the mobile app.
To access A Healthier You you must first login to your mybluekc.com account. For instructions, visit Accessing A Healthier You
If you forgot your mybluekc.com password, visit MyBlueKC Forgot Password for instructions on resetting your password (you must know the email address associated with your account)
If you don't know the email address associated with your mybluekc.com account or are having other issues logging in, you can contact Blue KC customer service at 888.920.6304. You should have your member ID card when calling customer service.
If you need to create a mybluekc.com account because you have never logged in, visit How to create your MyBlueKC.com account for instructions. You can also contact Blue KC customer service at 888.920.6304.
To download and print your personalized Physician Screening Form from your A Healthier You portal, you will first need to login at mybluekc.com or open your mybluekc app and then select A Healthier You from the Health & Wellness menu on the left of the screen. For help, visit Accessing A Healthier You
For step-by-step instructions for accessing your Physician Screening form from your A Healthier You portal, visit Physician Screening Option .
If you have any issues with accessing your personalized Physician Screening Form, you can contact the Office of Human Resources at 660.562.1127.
The Physician Screening Form is due to A Healthier You by October 15, 2023. The following methods can be used to return the completed form:
You will receive an email within 72 hours to confirm receipt of your form. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact eHealth Screenings (the A Healthier You screening vendor) at 888.708.8807 or send an email to AHYscreening@ehealthscreenings.com.
The Physician Screening Form requires the following information:
For step-by-step instructions for accessing your Physician Screening form from your A Healthier You portal, visit Physician Screening Option . If you have any issues accessing the form, please contact the Office of Human Resources at 660.562.1127.
You will need to ask your healthcare provider if there will be a fee to complete the Physician Screening Form. At this time, Mosaic Medical Center in Maryville has indicated there will be no fee for providers at their facility to complete the form.
When you call to schedule your appointment, be sure to say:
If the healthcare provider tells you it hasn't been 12 months since your last preventive visit, please let them know that according to our health plan, preventive visits are covered on a calendar year basis, there does not need to be 12 months between the appointments.
Other things to keep in mind when preparing for your annual preventive care visit:
from your A Healthier You portal to take with you to your appointmentIf you have already had a preventive visit and labs in the 2022/2023 calendar year, you may not have to make another appointment with your healthcare provider unless they advise otherwise.*
You can download the Physician Screening Form form from your A Healthier You portal and request that the results of your recent preventive visit be used to complete the form. The form will still require a provider signature and all other biometric and lab results. Be sure the completed form is submitted by the October 15, 2023 deadline.
*Some healthcare providers may ask that you come in for another preventive care visit, depending on how long it's been since your last preventive exam. Please note that our health plan covers preventive visits on a calendar year basis. For example, even if you had a preventive visit in December 2022, our plan would cover another preventive visit in January 2023. The visits do not have to be 12 months apart.
If the healthcare provider tells you it hasn't been 12 months since your last preventive visit, please let them know that according to our health plan, preventive visits are covered on a calendar year basis, there does not need to be 12 months between the appointments.
If your healthcare provider tells you that you do not need the labs that are normally collected during a preventive care exam, present them with the Physician Screening Form and let them know the blood testing results are required in order for the form to be considered complete.
If your healthcare provider tells you that you do not need the labs that are normally collected during a preventive care visit because you just had them recently, have the healthcare provider complete the Physician Screening Form using the results from that visit.
Be sure to return the completed Physician Screening Form to A Healthier You by October 15, 2023.
You can search for in-network providers when you login to your mybluekc.com account.
Once logged in select Find Care on your dashboard on the left of the screen.
Then select the Find Doctors, Specialists & Hospitals link.
You will then be automatically direct to a new web browser where you can search by category, specialty, zip code, accepting new patients, etc.
You can also call Blue KC customer service at 888.920.6304.
Services from your preventive care visit must be billed with a primary diagnosis of preventive to be covered at 100%.
Your healthcare provider may order tests during your preventive care visit that are not preventive care. These tests may be subject to deductibles, copays and/or coinsurance.
Your healthcare provider may also treat an existing condition or symptoms of an illess at the time of your visit. Treatment, tests or office visits for that existing condition are not preventive care and are subject to deductibles, copays and/or coinsurance.
Be sure to ask your healthcare provider:
Employees should make arrangements with the healthcare provider during their preventive care visit to determine if they will submit the Physician Screening Form OR if the employee needs to retrieve the completed form at a later date and return to A Healthier You directly.
**It is recommended that the employee retrieve the completed form from their healthcare provider and return it to A Healthier You directly using one of the methods below:
You will receive an email within 72 hours to confirm receipt of your form. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact eHealth Screenings (the A Healthier You screening vendor) at 888.708.8807 or send an email to AHYscreening@ehealthscreenings.com.
Physician Screening Forms are due to A Healthier You by October 15, 2023.
Yes, but there are additional steps required if submitting a blank form instead of your personalized form from your A Healthier You portal.
Please contact the Office of Human Resources at 660.562.1127 for additional information.
Once the form is submitted, you should receive an email within 72 hours to confirm receipt. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact eHealth Screenings (the A Healthier You screening vendor) at 888.708.8807 or send an email to AHYscreening@ehealthscreenings.com.
Once the physician screening form is received and processed (can take up to 10 days), the biometric and lab results from the physician screening form will also be uploaded and made viewable in your A Healthier You portal. Simply click "View Biometric Screening Results" from the home page of your portal.
If the Physician Screening Form is not returned to A Healthier You by October 15, 2023, you will be assessed a $50/month premium differential beginning with the December 2023 paycheck.
Services from your preventive care visit must be billed with a primary diagnosis of preventive to be covered at 100%.
Your healthcare provider may have ordered tests during your preventive care visit that are not preventive care. These tests may be subject to deductibles, copays and/or coinsurance.
Your healthcare provider may have also treated an existing condition or symptoms of an illess at the time of your visit. Treatment, tests or office visits for that existing condition are not preventive care and are subject to deductibles, copays and/or coinsurance.
You will need to contact your healthcare provider directly to see why the visit was not billed with a primary diagnosis of preventive.
No, the online health risk assessment that was required in prior years, will not be a requirement of the primary care provider wellness program.
Employees are encouraged to take a few minutes and complete the assessment, which contains a series of questions designed to help you learn where you are in your health journey.
Completing the assessment helps you answer questions about your health, understand your risks and get the tools you need to stay healthy.
You will receive points for completing the questionnaire and those points can be used toward gift card drawings at major retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart.
Visit How to Complete the Health Risk Assessment for further instructions.
Spouses on our health insurance plan are not required at this time to participate in the primary care provider wellness program.
Participation is encouraged and will likely be required in the future.
The University does not receive any of your personal health information obtained through the Physician Screening Form. The University receives aggregate information only. Some information received includes who has completed the wellness program requirements and the percentage of employees with risk factors, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Northwest and the Benefits and Wellness Committee use this data to determine the programs and resources to offer employees.
A Healthier You (AHY) is Blue KC's suite of health and wellness services. The cornerstone of AHY is your personalized member portal, which can be accessed online or via the mobile app.
Some of your portal features include:
Preventive care is routine healthcare that includes screenings and labs to help prevent illness, disease or other health problems.
Chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are leading causes of death and disability in the United States. They are also high cost-drivers that contribute to annual increases in health insurance premiums for everyone.
Preventive care can detect these chronic conditions early which can help to shorten the severity of certain conditions or help you recover more quickly. Along with a healthy lifestyle, taking some basic preventive care steps can immensely improve your health down the road.
Visit Preventative Care Basics: Your Checklist for additional information about the benefits of preventive care. Visit Routine Preventative Services to see a complete list of services covered by your Blue KC Health Plan.
