DIRECTOR'S REPORT–Thomas H. Young, Director

ALOHA!!!!
(Sorry — but you’ll be hearing a lot of that these next few months!!!)

Within a few short months we will be assembling in the beautiful state of Hawaii. Enclosed with this issue of the HBR Report is a registration form for the Health Benefit Plan’s Breakfast/Workshop. Please look it over and return it as soon as possible. This breakfast/workshop has always proven to be a very popular event, so get your response in early. As in the past, the Health Benefit Plan will also have a booth in the registration area staffed with some familiar faces, ready to address your questions. We will also have an office where you can privately visit with one of our claims analysts. She will have access to your files back at the Ashburn office.

We are eagerly looking forward to visiting with you in Hawaii.

Arriving in your mailbox by April 15th will be your new NALC Health Benefit Plan identification card. Your new card continues to serve as both a medical and prescription drug benefit identification card, but it will have a NEW member number. We have taken precautionary measures to protect each member’s identity by assigning a unique 11 digit policy number to each plan member.

Included with the new cards is our revised Prescription Drug plan booklet. Each booklet is customized to give members a listing of the available local network retail pharmacies, mail order forms and preferred drug listings. Important phone numbers needed before you get medical care or purchase prescriptions will now be at your fingertips.

When your new ID cards arrive, please take a moment to destroy your old ones. You can begin using your new cards immediately. Present your new ID card to medical providers the next time you visit so they may update their records.

Remember, your Plan benefits are not changing. You are simply receiving new ID cards with a unique identification number for your protection.

I also have this gentle reminder that we continue our commitment to urge our members to do something for themselves. Something healthy. It’s not too soon and it’s never too late to begin that needed diet and exercise program.

MAHALO!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that your Branch Reimbursement Certificates (along with a copy of the current branch printout) must be completed and postmarked no later than April 30, 2004 in order to receive your branch reimbursement for 2003. If you have not already done so, please call the Plan and request two copies of your Branch printout (one will be returned with your Branch Reimbursement Certificate and one you can retain for your files). Any questions regarding completion of your reimbursement certificate can be directed to the Plan’s Administrative office.

HIPAA Personal Representative Authorization Form

April 14, 2004 will mark the one-year anniver-sary of the implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. As supporters of the Privacy Rule, we cannot and will not disclose anyone’s Protected Health Information (PHI) except for purposes of treatment, payment and health care operations (TPO), or as required by law, without the written authorization of the individual. In order for the Plan to release information to anyone else, we must have written consent. This is accomplished through our HIPAA Privacy Rule Personal Representative Authorization Form.

Each adult family member, including each adult child (age 18 or older, or as determined by state law) must complete a form if someone other than that individual is expected to contact the Plan on your behalf. No one is required to complete this form and name a personal representative, but if you do not, we will not release that individual’s protected health information to someone that might write or call the Plan on that person’s behalf.

Health Benefit Representatives do not get a free pass to call on behalf of a member. If the member wants the HBR to call on his or her behalf, there must be a Personal Representative Form on file specifically naming the HBR as their personal representative. Some HBRs have already completed forms with their name as the personal representative.

The forms are available directly from the Plan or you can download this form from our web site by visiting www.nalc.org/depart/hbp.

A personal representative authorization remains in effect until revoked by the individual. This revocation must be sent in writing to the Plan’s Privacy Official.

This form should be filled out accurately and completely. Most important is the member’s correct NALC identification number (the number on your NALCHBP Health Insurance and Pharmacy card). Please note — even though we have issued new NALC ID cards bearing a different number, your present HIPAA Personal Representative Authorization forms will remain in effect. There is room on the form to name two (2) representatives, but an individual can name as many personal representatives as he or she feels is necessary.

Our HIPAA Privacy Rule Personal Representative Authorization Form does not serve as an umbrella for our PPOs such as First Health, United Behavioral Health and the NALC Prescription Drug Program administered by Caremark, Inc. Each of these business associates is a covered entity and each has their own personal representative form or authorization to release information. If you contact them directly, representatives from these business associates can provide their form to you.

The NALC Health Benefit Plan is always available to answer any questions you may have concerning the HIPAA Privacy Rule.

HEALTH IN THE NEWS

Food of the Month

Artichoke…

This delicacy has big health benefits and a long history.

In ancient times, the artichoke grew only in western Mediterranean countries, and people ate only the leaves. The flower form was cultivated in Italy about 1400.

When King Henry II’s wife started eating artichokes, it was scandalous. People said Lady Catherine was eating an aphrodisiac.

There’s little evidence that artichokes will stoke your libido, but they can do a lot for your health. They contain a compound that can prevent certain cancers and even heal a damaged liver.

Globe artichokes are rosettes of tender, fleshy leaves that are actually immature flower heads. Doctors at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine say they contain a very powerful antioxidant called silymarin. It is so effective that silymarin extract is used medicinally against liver disease in Europe. It’s not certain how many artichokes you’d have to eat to get this benefit, but you can’t go wrong by including them in your diet.

Artichokes are an excellent source of fiber. They contain a big 72 milligrams of magnesium that keeps muscles running smoothly and lessens the risk of heart arrhythmia. And they’re loaded with foliate and vitamin C.

Mild exercise lowers your Blood Pressure

People with blood pressure readings from 140/90 to 179/109 can reduce their blood pressure with as little as 30 minutes of easy exercise per week.

A study in the American Journal of Hypertension shows that patients who walked, swam, did sit-ups, and stretching for 30 to 60 minutes a week significantly reduced their blood pressure. Exercising 60 to 90 minutes a week lowered blood pressure even more.

Doctors say additional exercise is good for many other reasons, but more than 90 minutes a week of low-key exercise had no further effect on blood pressure.

Unfit young people

People who are out of shape in their 20s run a high risk of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes later in life.

Studies in preventive medicine at Northwestern University gave 4,400 people treadmill tests at age 18 to 30 and again 15 years later. Those who did poorly on the first test faced double the risk of developing high blood pressure, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome when compared to highly fit participants.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that includes high blood sugar, poor cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and belly fat.

Some study participants took a second test seven years after the first. Those who became more fit in the intervening years greatly reduced their disease risk.

Vitamin C for your heart

A large study reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that people who consume 500 mg of vitamin C per day are less likely to die from heart disease or have a heart attack than those who get much less.

The study also shows that the benefit came predominantly from supplements and multivitamins, possibly because the amounts taken are easy to calculate.

Reducing risk of Alzheimer’s disease

What’s good for your heart is good for your brain.

Warm weather is making people want to eat right, lose weight, and get some exercise. That will make them look better in a bathing suit, but it will also help their hearts. What’s more, new studies show that these steps will reduce their risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease in later life.

The vascular hypothesis, as the idea is known, got its start in the 1980s at the medical examiner’s office in Lexington, Ky. Doctors examined the brains of people who died in a variety of accidents, though none showed signs of dementia. They found that the amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that characterize the brains of Alzheimer’s patients were common in the brains of people with heart disease.

In 1993, a study at Goteborg University in Sweden showed a correlation between high blood pressure at age 70 and the development of Alzheimer’s 15 years later. In 2000, the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study reported that men with diastolic blood pressure over 90 ran a five times greater risk of dementia 20 to 25 years later.

More recent studies show that smoking doubled or tripled Alzheimer’s risk. Other risks were obesity, high cholesterol, and high levels of homocysteine in the blood.

April is Cancer Control Month

Here’s the latest info on cancer prevention

Eat right and don’t smoke – that’s still the best advice for avoiding cancer, but researchers have added another component: Lose weight, stay lean.

Maintaining the proper weight ranks second only to avoiding tobacco as the most effective way you can improve your cancer odds. Doctors at Harvard Medical School say there is good evidence that being overweight or obese is related to a higher risk for cancers of the colon, uterus, kidney, breast, and esophagus. Being overweight can also lead to diabetes, which increases the risk for cancer of the colon and pancreas.

Staying trim, or getting trim requires a balance of calories and exercise. Here are some ways to do it.

• Be aware that low fat and nonfat are not the same as low calorie. Added sugar can increase calories.
• Be careful when eating out and ordering in. Portions tend to be very large.
• Substitute fruit and vegetables for foods like french fries, doughnuts, and ice cream.

Get in motion, move more.

Exercise and activity in general help to maintain proper body weight.

Vigorous activity can decrease the exposure of breast tissue to estrogen. It can affect cancers of the colon and other sites by reducing insulin and related proteins that increase cell turnover. The more cell turnover, the greater the risk of genetic mistakes that could lead to cancer.

Exercise doesn’t have to be running or lifting weights, although strength building is important. You can walk, dance, golf, mow the lawn, swim, or dig in the garden. Decide what you like and do more of it.

Research into the causes and prevention of cancer continues. In the meantime, it’s a matter of improving your odds. Right now, the best advice researchers give is that your odds are better if you stay lean and active, avoid calorie dense foods, and eat fruits and vegetables instead.

THE PHARMACY CORNER

Answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about Generic Drugs…

With the cost of prescription drugs constantly rising, many more consumers are turning to generic drugs. Use of these drugs can save consumers an estimated $8 to $10 billion a year at retail pharmacies. While these drugs may be cheaper than brand-name drugs, they are not inferior — as so many of you perceive.

Just what is a generic drug?

A generic drug is a "copy" of a brand name medication. It is equivalent in dosage, safety, strength, how it is taken, quality, performance and intended use.

If this is true, why are generic drugs less expensive?

The answer is one simple reason — the generic manufacturers don’t have the investment costs that the originator of the brand name had.

New drugs are developed under a patent protection which protects the investment (including research, development, marketing and promotion) thus giving the company the sole right to sell the drug while the patent is in effect.

When the patents are set to expire, other drug manufacturers can then apply to the Food and Drug Administration to produce a generic version of the drug. By not having the initial development costs and greater competition, the producers of generic drugs are able to keep the price down of their generic equivalents.

Are generic drugs as safe as their brand-name counterparts?

Yes they are. The FDA requires that all drugs be safe and effective. Since generics use the same active ingredients and are shown to work the same way in the body, they have the same risks and benefits as their brand-name counterparts.

They also have the same quality, strength, purity and stability as the brand name.

Will the generic drug take longer to work in the body?

No, generic drugs work in the exact same way and in the same amount of time as the brand name drug.

So, why does my generic drug look different than the brand name one I used to take?

The trademark laws that apply to the brand name drug do not allow a generic version to look exactly the same. However, a generic drug MUST duplicate the active ingredients. Generic manufacturers can, however, add different colors, flavors and certain other inactive ingredients.

Is there an approval process for generic drugs?

Any drug company seeking to manufacture a generic counterpart must submit an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) with the Food and Drug Administration for approval to market a generic product.

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This page was last updated on April 13, 2004.

If you have any questions or comments about our health benefit plan, please write to the National Association of Letter Carriers Health Benefit Plan at 20547 Waverly Court, Ashburn, VA 20149 or call 1-703-729-4677. For automated general benefit information, call 1-888-636-NALC.