| Prevention 101: Heart Health | Check out Prevention 101, our ongoing wellness series. Click below for this month's guide.
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| About Us | |
A not-for-profit ministry of
Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust Inc.
Church of the Brethren Insurance Services provides ancillary coverage for ministers and other employees of congregations, districts, and camps. Medical and ancillary plans are available to Brethren-affiliated employer groups.
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Contact Us
1505 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
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Greetings!
Greetings! It's hard to believe that November is here already! As we begin to anticipate the holidays, Brethren Insurance Services wishes each of you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.
This month, our newsletter is focusing on smoking cessation. Nov. 18 is the Great American Smokeout, and we encourage anyone who smokes to consider stopping on that day. According to the Surgeon General, cigarette smoking is so widespread and significant as a risk factor that he has called it "the leading preventable cause of disease and deaths in the United States." Also, don't forget to check out this month's Prevention 101, which focuses on heart disease!
Are you ready for health care reform?
Since some new health care-related laws became effective in March 2010, we have been made aware of several items that will affect your health plan beginning in January 2011.
- There is no longer a lifetime maximum benefit amount. Your plan had a $2,000,000 lifetime benefit in 2010; as of January, that maximum is eliminated and the benefit is unlimited.
- Dependent children can now be covered until they become 26 years old, and they are not required to be full-time students to be eligible for coverage. If you have a dependent who was taken off of the Brethren Medical Plan but has not reached his 26th birthday, you may add that dependent onto your plan now for a Jan. 1 effective date. Contact Brethren Insurance Services to enroll these dependents or to ask any questions you may have regarding this provision.
- Over-the-counter drugs will no longer be eligible for reimbursement through your flexible spending/medical reimbursement plan unless you have a prescription for these medications from your physician. This rule will take effect on Jan. 1, 2011.
- There are more provisions that will become effective over the next several years, and we will keep you informed accordingly.
If you are enrolled in a Medical Reimbursement or Dependent Care account, please remember to use any remaining funds in the account by Dec. 31 to avoid forfeiture of these funds. If you have any questions about your account balance, please contact us!
Please let us know if you find this newsletter beneficial, and if there is any information you would like to have included. Don't hesitate to contact any one of your Insurance Services team at 800-746-1505 or insurance@brethren.org.Have a safe and blessed November! |
| Make NOW your time to quit |
 Quitting smoking is one of the most important steps to help create a world with less cancer and more birthdays. The annual Great American Smokeout is Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010, and the American Cancer Society urges all Americans using tobacco to use the date to quit by becoming more aware of the many support methods available to help you quit for good. If you are a non-smoker/non-tobacco user, please encourage co-workers, friends, and family to quit.Did you know?- Nicotine is actually more addictive than heroin. (U.S. Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop 1988)
- Nearly one in five deaths nationwide is smoking-related, accounting for more deaths than those from AIDS, alcohol use, cocaine use, heroin use, homicides, suicides, motor vehicle crashes, and fire combined. (Healthy People 2010)
- Smokers who quit can add up to eight years -- or eight birthdays -- to their lives. (American Cancer Society)
- There is no safe way to use tobacco. Cigars, pipes, spit/chew, and other types of smokeless tobacco all pose serious health risks. (American Cancer Society)
- One-third of cancer deaths could be prevented if people avoided tobacco products. (American Cancer Society)
- Tobacco not only can cause lung cancer, but it's also a risk factor for many other kinds of cancer, including cancer of the mouth, voice box (larynx), throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, cervix, stomach, and some types of leukemia. (American Cancer Society)
- Tobacco is linked to a number of other health problems, from heart disease to stroke. (American Cancer Society)
- It takes just minutes for your body to start healing after you quit smoking. (American Cancer Society)
- You can look forward to better circulation and lung function and an improved sense of taste and smell when you stop smoking. (American Cancer Society)
- By quitting smoking you are not only saving your health, but saving dollars. On average, people who stop smoking one to three packs a day save more than $1,500 to $4,400 per year by not buying cigarettes.
There is no right way to quit -- do what works for you!
Quitting isn't easy. It's a fight that you can win with planning, commitment, and help from family, friends, and these quit resources:- Guided Self-Help Smokeless is a self-administered tobacco cessation program that helps you quit at your own pace. Users have unlimited toll-free access to a qualified tobacco cessation counselor. Members should call 1-800-345-2476 to enroll.
- Telephonic Smokeless is a one-year telephone-based program with five scheduled phone calls conducted by a professional tobacco cessation specialist who helps guide participants through the process of quitting tobacco. Members should call 1-800-345-2476 to enroll.
- HealthMedia BREATHE is a tailored Web-based smoking cessation program designed to meet individual quitting needs with a tailored action plan and three follow-up action plans delivered at critical relapse times. Members can log on at www.highmarkbcbs.com.
- Blues On Call helps members become more involved and more active in their health care by providing them with the information needed to make educated and confident decisions. Members can call Blues On Call at 1-888-BLUE-428, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- American Cancer Society's THE GREAT AMERICAN SMOKEOUT CHALLENGE Web site has tools and materials to help you quit. Take the Great American Smokeout Survey or click on the Get Started link to plan your quit day. Go to: http://ww2.cancer.org/docroot/subsite/greatamericans/
smokeout.asp
- Other national quitlines and Web resources to help you quit:
- Quitline Consortium:
1-800-QUITNOW (1-800-784-8669)
- American Lung Association:
1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872)
- National Cancer Institute Quitline:
1-877-44U-QUIT (1-877-448-7848)
- Online Guides:
www.smokefree.gov or www.cancer.gov
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| Are you age 55-64? |
 If so, and you don't already have it, Long-Term Care insurance could be a very important insurance purchase for your future. People between the ages of 18 and 84 can purchase and benefit from Long-Term Care insurance. However, 53 percent of people wait and purchase this insurance between the ages of 55 and 64. The younger you are, the less expensive the monthly premiums are.Please contact Randy Yoder at 847-849-0205 or ryoder_bbt@brethren.org to hear more about this important insurance service. |
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