Volume 02-3
March - April 2002
DIRECTOR'S REPORT–Thomas H. Young, Director
Planning Ahead
To bring you up-to-date on Open Season, the final results are provided for you elsewhere in this article.
Open Season 2001 is now old news, and we turn to what can we present for this fall and the next Open Season.
What can we do to enhance the viability of the Health Benefit Plan and, at the same time, continue the modest growth we have experienced during the past two years? Some of our guidance will come from the Office of Personnel Management’s Call Letter that should soon be delivered. Any requirements contained in that document will then be paired up with the actuarial status of the Plan.
While all benefits are important and must be scrutinized, prescription drugs will certainly be in the forefront of deliberations over the benefit package for 2003. With no end in sight for the ever-escalating costs and usage of the prescription benefit, there is constant pressure to "stem the tide."
The question is, how should this be accomplished? Increasing the co-pay amounts certainly is one way to reduce the cost to the Plan. Another option would be to switch to a co-insurance approach where the member pays a percentage of the drug’s cost. A third way would be to tighten the requirements of the "preferred prescription" list also known as a formulary. Or, maybe nothing changes at all for this benefit.
But to be sure, all options will be under a microscope as we prepare our presentation to OPM.
As always, the needs and make-up of our membership will get full consideration as we strive to maintain the best possible health plan for letter carriers and their families.
While prescription drugs are still fresh on our minds, I would ask each of you to concentrate on the new members in your branch to be sure they understand how the benefit works. Making sure the members (new or continuing) follow the drug benefit program will be a real service to them and to the Health Benefit Plan.
Before we know it, August will be here and the 63rd NALC Biennial Convention will be in full swing. The Health Benefit Plan will once again conduct a Breakfast Workshop on Monday, August 19. Information regarding the breakfast, ticket price, etc., will appear in future issues of the Health Benefit Report. See you in Philadelphia!
| 2001 Open Season Results | ||
| Total | ||
|
|
||
| Postal | Add | 3,211 |
| Drop | 939 | |
| Net Gain | 2,272 | |
|
|
||
| Federal | Add | 1,353 |
| Drop | 370 | |
| Net Gain | 983 | |
|
|
||
| Annuitants | Add | 2,949 |
| Drop | 426 | |
| Net Gain | 2,523 | |
|
|
||
| OWCP | Add | 34 |
| Drop | 4 | |
| Net Gain | 30 | |
|
|
||
| DOD Demo Project | Add | 3 |
| Drop | 1 | |
| Net Gain | 2 | |
|
|
||
Total |
Add | 7,550 |
| Drop | 1,740 | |
| Net Gain | 5,810 | |
The NALC Health Benefit Plan will once again conduct a Breakfast/Workshop at the NALC National Convention this summer in Philadelphia. The Workshop will be held on Monday, August 19 from 7:30 am until 9:30 am. A registration form and additional information will appear in the May issue of the HBR Report.
63rd Biennial National Convention
HEALTH IN THE NEWS
Food of the Month
Avocado
Long scorned by the health conscious, today avocado lovers know they can eat this exotic fruit without hesitation. That’s because avocados contain monounsaturated fats, particularly one kind called oleic acid.
Doctors at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas say eating foods high in monounsaturated fat could result in a significant drop in triglycerides. To get that effect, people are advised to eat 33 grams of monounsaturated fat a day. They can get about that much from one avocado.
Avocados are especially good for people with diabetes. They eat a lot of carbohydrates and tend to develop a high level of triglycerides, a type of blood fat that contributes to heart disease. When they replace some carbohydrates with the type of fat found in avocados, triglycerides decline.
Other studies show that a diet that includes avocados raises levels of healthful high-density lipoprotein (HDL).
Half of one avocado contains more potassium than a medium banana. Doctors know that people who eat potassium-rich diets have a much lower risk of high blood pressure and related heart diseases.
Avocados are loaded with folate, which protects against birth defects and may also keep hearts healthy.
Caution: Avocados appear to interfere with absorption of the heart medication wafarin (Coumadin). Skip avocados if you must take that medication.
Get Heart Smart: Know Fact From Fiction.
When it comes to heart health, myths can be dangerous.
Here are some popular ones, according to Dr. James Rippe, author of Heart Health for Dummies (Hungry Minds):
Do Your Heart a Favor — LAUGH!!!
At last, doctors have a prescription that you’ll like and the price is right! It’s a big laugh and it’s free.
Laughter can be strong medicine say researchers at Stanford University. Even the physical act is good for you. It increases blood flow and contracts abdominal muscles.
The most significant evidence of laughter’s power comes from a study of heart attack patients. Half watched comedy shows for 30 minutes every day, the other half didn’t. After a year, the laughers had one-fifth the number of repeat heart attacks that the control group had.
Doctors at the University of California, Irvine, say watching a humorous video decreases levels of two key stress hormones that can cause irregular heart rhythms. Heart disease patients are often given beta-blocking drugs that specifically block these hormones. The doctors say laughter does the same thing and is a lot more fun.
In other studies, laughter has been shown to help children and adults handle painful medical procedures.
Dangerous Myth: The Safe Smoker
Once there was a 100-year-old man who smoked all of his life and still seemed healthy. Or, maybe it was a relative of yours who smoked and didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects. Could it be that some people are protected by their genes? Could you be one of the lucky ones?
Don’t count on it. Doctors have heard many variations of the "safe" smoker myth, perpetuated by various studies like the one published last year in the Lancet. In the reported study, researchers looked at 2,200 men. They found that smoking men with one version of the APO gene had fewer heart attacks than those with a different version. Problem is, while noteworthy, the difference was too small to be significant.
No study has found a gene that confers a lower risk for any of the myriad of other effects of smoking, including cancer, lung disease, dementia, stroke, diabetes and infertility.
What’s worse, smoking often causes years of suffering before it kills people. Dr. Harry L. Green, editor of Health News, comes to this conclusion — as gambling games go, this is one that no one should play.
Make Your Back Healthier, Stronger This Spring
Though sudden back pain can occur after a twist or sneeze, most back injuries are caused by years of mistreatment before that final painful injury.
Stresses such as poor posture, faulty body mechanics, obesity, emotional tension and lack of fitness over the long term are the cause. With these modern problems, it’s not surprising that back pain is the number one complaint today.
Whether you want to treat it or prevent it, these steps will help.
Aerobic exercise includes walking, biking and swimming. Do it 10 to 15 minutes for three or four days a week to start, build up to 30 minutes.
Poor flexibility can be a key contributor to low back and neck pain. If your hips don’t move freely, your spine will move more than it should leading to back problems. If you have a limited range of motion in an area, you need to stretch that area.
Well-balanced muscle strength is essential in maintaining good posture and a healthy back. Strong back, hip and abdominal muscles support the spine. Toned trunk muscles help to prevent back injuries.
Remember these top keys to a healthy back: posture, mechanics and exercise. The season for fun is now. Use it to get your back in shape for summer.
THE PHARMACY CORNER
A Primer on Colorectal Cancer
What is Colorectal Cancer?
Before we can address colorectal cancer, it would be helpful to know a little bit about the parts of the body that are affected and how they work.
Your colon is a six-foot long tube connecting the small intestine to the rectum (it is also referred to as the large intestine). It is responsible for processing waste from your body. When the colon becomes full of stool, it empties its contents into the rectum to begin the process of elimination.
The rectum is an eight-inch chamber that connects the colon to the anus. It is the rectum’s job to receive the stool from the colon and to let you know when the stool needs to be evacuated.
Cancer that occurs in either of these organs is referred to as colorectal cancer. The cancer occurs when the cells that line the colon or rectum become abnormal and grow out of control. This abnormal growth creates a tumor.
Symptoms of Colorectal Cancer:
Unfortunately, colorectal cancer can strike without any symptoms. For this reason, it is very important to have routine examinations (called colorectal screenings) to detect problems.
One of the early symptoms may be bleeding — however, most of the time tumors will only bleed a small amount and evidence of the blood can only be found by routine chemical testing of the stool. When the tumors grow larger, other symptoms might develop. They include:
If you experience any of these symptoms, please see your doctor to get a proper diagnosis and treatment.
How to Prevent Colorectal Cancer:
It is believed that eating a healthy diet with plenty of fiber, not smoking and getting exercise may help prevent cancer. However, in many cases, people have developed colorectal cancer for one specific reason — they inherited it. If there is a history of colorectal cancer in your family it is advisable to get routine screenings for this disease. Most health problems respond best to treatment when they are diagnosed and treated as early as possible. To catch any abnormalities or problems early, you will need regular checkups from your doctor, including a rectal exam, fecal occult blood test and possibly a sigmoidoscopy. These screening recommendations depend upon an individual’s risk of colorectal cancer.
The NALC Health Benefit Plan covers one fecal occult blood test annually from age 40 and one routine sigmoidoscopy screening every five years at age 50 and older. You will pay 10% of the PPO allowance when a PPO provider is used or 30% of the Plan allowance if you use a non-PPO provider.
FYI
Attention Health Benefit Representatives
Now that many branches have held their elections, we find it necessary to update our Health Benefit Representative listing. Any changes in the HBR status for your branch should be reported directly to the NALC Health Benefit Plan in Ashburn, Virginia. Unless we received these changes directly, you may miss out on information that is important to you, as well as to the members in your branch. Help us to help you and your members by keeping us informed.
Branch Reimbursement Certificates
Certificates must be completed and postmarked no later than April 30, 2002 in order to receive your branch reimbursements for 2001. Please remember to send a copy of your branch printout along with the certificate.
Publication Updated
The pamphlet, "It’s Time to Decide About Health Insurance," used to inform new hires of the NALC Health Benefit Plan, has now been updated to reflect the Plan’s changes for the new contract year. Your branch can obtain its supply of the pamphlet by notifying the Supply Department at NALC Headquarters, 100 Indiana Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001. A limited supply is available through the Health Benefit Plan’s Supply Department for our Health Benefit Representatives.