Medicare's Annual Open Enrollment is from Oct. 15 - Dec. 7

Every year, people with Medicare get to explore new choices and pick the health and drug plans that work best for them. This year, this Open Enrollment period is starting earlier - on October 15 - and ending sooner - December 7. This gives people with Medicare a full seven weeks to compare and make decisions, and ensures that they will have essential plan materials and membership cards in hand on January 1, 2012 when new coverage starts.

There'll be a wide range of health and drug plan options available across the country, including Original Medicare. Most people with Medicare can choose a "Part D" plan to help them pay for prescription drugs. And people who have chosen to enroll in a "Part C" Medicare Advantage plan for their basic health care services have the option of staying in that plan, choosing a different plan, or going back to the Original Medicare program. Plans can change from year to year, so these are important choices that should be made with care. People can turn to www.medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or consult with a local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) for help.

Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - Open Enrollment Center 

When is it:

October 15-December 7

What can you do:

* Change from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage Plan.

* Change from a Medicare Advantage Plan back to Original Medicare.

* Switch from one Medicare Advantage Plan to another Medicare Advantage Plan.

* Switch from a Medicare Advantage Plan that doesn't offer drug coverage to a Medicare Advantage Plan that offers drug coverage.

* Switch from a Medicare Advantage Plan that offers drug coverage to a Medicare Advantage Plan that doesn't offer drug coverage.

* Join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.

* Switch from one Medicare Prescription Drug Plan to another Medicare Prescription Drug Plan.

* Drop your Medicare prescription drug coverage completely.

Source: Understanding Medicare Enrollment Periods - Medicare.gov Publication # 11219  

Should I see my doctor...  

visit an urgent care center...  

or rush to the emergency room?

Knowing where to go for medical care can save you lots of time and money - not to mention, get you the best care for your situation. So, here are some general guidelines to help you determine the right place for you or a family member when the unexpected happens.

Who do I call if I need medical care?

You should first try to contact your primary care physician (PCP). Your PCP is your gateway to finding the most appropriate type of care for most medical situations. He or she will either schedule an appointment or direct you to a specialist, hospital or the type of care that's most appropriate.

What if my doctor is not available?

If your doctor can't see you or it's after hours, you have two options:

* Contact another doctor (preferably another provider in your insurance carrier's network); or

* Visit an urgent care center or medical clinic.

Normally, urgent care facilities are open for extended hours and available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

What is urgent care?

While both urgent and emergency care situations are serious, urgent care is for medical symptoms, pain or conditions that require immediate medical attention, but are not severe or life-threatening and do not require use of a hospital or ER.

Urgent care conditions include, but are not limited to: earache, sore throat, rash, sprained ankle, flu and fever not higher than 104°.

Do I need emergency care or urgent care?

While both urgent and emergency care situations are serious, there are important distinctions between the two. Here are a few basic guidelines for determining whether your medical condition is an emergency, or simply a condition that needs immediate attention.

If you answer yes to any of these questions, call "911" or go to your nearest emergency room.

1. Are my symptoms severe and/or life threatening?

2. Did the symptoms occur suddenly and unexpectedly?

3. Is there excessive bleeding, extreme pain or broken bones?

4. Using your best judgment, do you believe there may be serious impairment to bodily functions or serious dysfunction of a bodily organ/part without immediate medical attention?

What exactly is emergency care?

Emergency care is necessary when a person has an unexpected onset of symptoms or a severe medical condition, accident or illness that could place a person's health in jeopardy if not treated with immediate medical attention. Severe symptoms or conditions such as chest pain, shortness of breath, shooting pain or other unexpected severe pain or symptoms require emergency care.

When immediate medical attention is needed, call 911 or go to an emergency room.  

The emergency room (ER) shouldn't be your first stop - unless there's a true emergency.  

Wellness Tip of the Month 

Reducing your cancer risk:

Last week, Harbour Health celebrated Devin's Dash with us, a memorial 5K Hilton Head Health (H3) hosts every year in honor of Devin Sheaffer, H3's beloved massage therapist that passed away last year from cancer. The type of cancer Devin died from is rare with no known behavioral risk factors. When we hear about someone dying from a type of cancer that seems to have no real cause, especially if it is someone we know and care about, it can reinforce the misconception that many people have: that cancer is something we can do  very little to prevent. And while, unfortunately, that was the case with Devin's type of cancer, that is not the case with many forms of cancer; specifically, the ones that affect the most people.  

For example, while there are over 200 different types of cancer, the two most influenced by lifestyle, lung and colorectal, are responsible for almost 40% of all cancer deaths. Smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths and 87% of all lung cancer deaths.

Approximately one third of all cancer deaths each year are due to poor nutrition, physical inactivity and excess weight. In fact, surprisingly after tobacco smoking, obesity is the principle cause of cancer in the U.S.  So the fact is, there is a lot we can do to reduce our risk of cancer.  

The American Cancer Society and the American Institute for Cancer Research are great resources for cancer information in general and specifically to learn what you can do to lower your risk.

To reduce your cancer risk they recommend that we:

• Maintain a healthy body weight throughout life
• Adopt a physically active lifestyle
• Consume a healthy diet with an emphasis on plant sources.
• Limit the consumption of red meat and avoid processed meats.
• Limit your consumption of alcohol to no more than 1 drink per day for women , 2 drinks per day for men.
• Avoid sugary drinks and other calorically dense foods.
• Limit the consumption of salty foods.
• Don't Smoke.

Not only will these behaviors lower your risk of many types of cancer, but they will lower your risk of many other chronic diseases as well including heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.

Alicea Glover is responsible for H3 Direct, a corporate wellness program, facilitated by Hilton Head Health (H3), designed to take the inspiration of H3's Healthy Lifestyle™ program, delivered to your door.  It's not too late to begin a program for your company in 2011 - call 843-785-3919 for information about how you can invest in your employees' health in the New Year for less than a quarter a day!

Recipe of the Month 

It's Vegetarian Awareness Month so we thought we'd celebrate by sharing some of our favorite vegetarian dishes with you. H3 staff is honoring Vegetarian Awareness Month by eating two vegetarian meals each week as part of our Corporate Wellness program, Operation Health.  

Take the challenge with us and try some of these delicious vegetarian recipes!

• Vegetable Cashew Stir Fry 
• Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta 
• Pep-A-Powder Tempeh and Black Bean Tostadas (Tempeh is a soy product that is a great alternative to tofu if you're not a fan of it)
• Greek Pita Pizza 
• Portabello Panini   

Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta

Hilton Head Health is proud to announce its new state-of-the-art learning kitchen and cooking school, the Culinary Arts Center, is now open!  The Culinary Arts Center offers a variety of classes ranging from Vegetarian Variety and Pumpkin Patch, to Mexican Cuisine and Roast & Sauté. These classes are open to Lowcoutry locals and visitors, so check out the Culinary Arts Center page of our website at  www.hhhealth.com/cac, or call (800) 292-2440, for more information on class offerings and private parties.