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Blue Cross HealthyExtensions

Special Program for PPO Members

Blue Card

Special Program for HMO Members

Blue Cross HealthyExtensions

Blue Cross Healthy Extensions, a program for all our medical plan members, helps you take an active role in shaping healthy lives. The program offers helpful resources to meet individual health and fitness goals. Blue Cross’ prevention and health management programs form the basis for Healthy Extensions, then add a variety of alternative and wellness products and services through independent vendors offering Blue Cross member discounts. Healthy Extensions includes:

Healthy Living Programs

Blue Cross Med Call

Get professional, reliable health care information instantly by phone, toll-free, any time of the day or night, from the registered nurses at Blue Cross Med Call. They can answer your health questions and help you decide whether to call your physician, go to the emergency room, or treat your symptoms at home. Med Call, featured on all our current medical plans, also offers educational audio tapes on more than 200 health topics.

Blue Cross HealthyCheck

Regular health screenings are a vital part of promoting health. Blue Cross developed Healthy Check to provide Blue Cross PPO and EPO members with affordable and convenient annual preventive care screenings.

Annual Healthy Check screenings are available to Blue Cross of California members ages 7 to adult who have purchased their PPO or EPO health plan through their employer who has 50 or fewer employees, and to most members who have purchased their PPO or EPO health plan directly and not through their employer. Healthy Check screenings are not routinely available for members who have purchased their insurance through an employer with more than 50 employees or to our mature members.

Eligible members can visit a Healthy Check center once every 12 months.  Children aged 7 to 17 get certain dental, vision and hearing screenings, along with necessary childhood immunizations, for a single $25 fee. Adults can choose from two levels of screening for $25, or $75. 

Healthy Check centers provide educational materials, including recommendations for developing a healthier lifestyle. In some instances, members may also be able to register for classes on health-related topics, such as weight loss and fitness. At the end of your screening, you'll receive a individualized health status report, which includes a copy of all your test results. Results are also sent to your doctor, and if appropriate, it may be recommended that you consult your doctor for a more thorough exam.

Call our toll-free number, (800) 274-WELL, for more information or to schedule an appointment, which will be set within 60 days and within 30 miles of your home or work location. If you are a BCC member, check out the Healthy Check page of this web site for more information.

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Blue Cross Baby Connection

The Blue Cross Baby Connection promotes early and regular prenatal care, giving our members an even higher probability of having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Our Baby Connection nurses work with you and your doctor to create a pregnancy program around your specific needs. The nurses are available by phone, toll-free, to answer your questions and fill other special needs concerning your pregnancy and newborn baby. They help all Blue Cross medical plan members identify potential risk factors, such as pre-term labor, pregnancy-induced hypertension or diabetes, and provide information and educational material on how to have a safe, healthy pregnancy and early motherhood.

Health Management Programs

Blue Cross provides programs and activities for managing chronic conditions affecting a large number of our members. We offer self-care programs for asthma, diabetes and congestive heart failure. Blue Cross works with members, their health care providers and employers to provide education, home or telephone coaching, and health management tools to help members with chronic conditions enjoy a fuller, more active life.

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Discount Programs and Products

All Blue Cross Medical plan members can take advantage of discounts from 10-50 percent on a variety of alternative health care and wellness products and services offered by independent vendors. You can save on vitamins, nutrition and fitness programs, health clubs, hearing aids, eyeglasses and contacts, skin care products, educational materials and online health resources.

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Health and Wellness Practitioners

Massage therapists, registered dieticians, hypnotherapists and yoga instructors can help guide you on your road to wellness. A network of these professionally qualified practitioners offers Blue Cross members discounts averaging from 10-25 percent. These practitioners augment the acupuncture and chiropractic benefits covered in many of our medical plans.

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Special Program for PPO Members

Blue Card

The Blue Card program gives Blue Cross PPO members access to doctors and hospitals in participating local Blue plan networks throughout the nation. The program features assistance in locating these participating providers from a roster including more than 70 percent of doctors and 80 percent of hospitals in America. Blue Card extends “Power of Blue cost savings and the security of access to quality health care, wherever you travel within the U.S.

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Special Program for HMO Members

Self-Referral for OB/GYN Care

All women enrolled in a Blue Cross HMO may select OB/GYN care directly from a participating specialist, without referral from their Primary Care Physicians. Your medical group can provide you with a list of participating OB/GYN referral physicians.

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Blue Cross DirectAccess

Blue Cross Direct Access provides members the option of self-referral to participating specialty service providers for some services, without authorization from their Primary Care Physicians. Specialty services include allergy, dermatology, and ear, nose and throat. This program is available to HMO members who choose medical groups in the provider directory that participate in the Direct Access program.

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Blue Cross SpeedyReferral

With Speedy Referral, members benefit from immediate referrals from their Primary Care Physicians for certain specialty-first consultations, without prior authorization from their medical group’s management committees. Specialty services include cardiology, dermatology, ear, nose and throat, endocrinology, gastroenterology, general surgery, hematology, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopedic surgery, podiatry, routine laboratory, routine x-ray and urology. This program is available to HMO members who choose medical groups in the Provider Directory that participate in the Speedy Referral Program.

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