Excellus BCBS Broker News Vol. 20 No. 1

Gag Clause Certificate Of Attestation Now Available

On December 30, 2024, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield completed the Gag Clause Attestation on behalf of their fully insured and minimum premium groups who have the Rx. A Gag Clause Certificate of Attestation is available to groups, upon request.

Please reach out to your account manager with questions or to request a Certificate of Attestation on behalf of one of your groups.

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Excel Your Well: 2025 Wellbeing Webinar Series

Excellus BCBS is excited to launch a new wellbeing webinar series in 2025, geared toward helping members learn about various health topics that can support and improve their wellbeing from internal experts. Promotional flyers will be available for each month’s upcoming webinar that you can share with your groups to engage and educate them on health topics and resources available through the health plan.

January: The monthly webinar series will kick off by hosting a live “New Year, Well You” webinar. The new year provides a fresh start, making it the perfect opportunity to reflect, set new goals and habits, and reassess your health status for the upcoming year. During this webinar, they will cover how to set and stick to goals for the new year, how to build healthy habits, preventive care and more.

February: Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. February is American Heart Month, and Excellus BCBS will host a live “Heart Health 101” webinar. This interactive session will provide members with information on heart health and disease prevention, preventive screenings and more.

2025 Wellbeing Calendar: To see the monthly topics will be focused on for the year, check out the 2025 Wellbeing Tip Calendar (PDF).

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Starting The Year Off Right

January is a great time of year for employer group members to review their online account information or register for an account if they don’t already have one. Members can check their personal information, plan details and gain access to additional resources such as:

• Online member cards
• Find a doctor or urgent care tool
• View claims and track spending
• Online tools to support their health and wellbeing, such as MDLIVE and ThriveWell
• And more!

Excellus BCBS has resources on many of the tools available to help your groups and their members make the most of their plan in 2025. Log in to Sales Hub or contact your account manager for more information.

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February Wellbeing Tip: Heart Health

February is American Heart Month. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The term “heart disease” includes several heart conditions. The most common form of heart disease in the U.S. is coronary artery disease (CAD), which affects the blood flow to the heart and can cause a heart attack.

The biggest risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking. Almost half of adults in the US have at least one of these conditions. Diabetes and behaviors such as eating an unhealthy diet, lack of sleep and not getting enough physical activity can increase your risk for heart disease. Seeing a primary care provider annually is a great way to catch these risk factors early.

A heart healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, managing stress, and limiting substance use can help reduce your risk for heart disease. One factor that is often overlooked in preventing heart disease is the importance of social connection. Having social support can help people live longer, healthier lives. In turn, social isolation and loneliness can increase a person’s risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression and other chronic conditions. Stable and caring relationships can give us the support we need when life gets tough. People with healthy relationships are more likely to make healthy choices that lead to better physical and mental health, improving overall wellbeing.

For members who want support managing their health, the Member Care Management team can help. Member Care Management can be reached at 1-877-222-1240 (TTY 711), 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, or by email at Case.Management@Excellus.com.

The February Resources (ZIP) includes materials that can be shared with your groups.

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Rx News - Pharmacy Affordability Toolkit Available

Health care costs are continuing to rise, impacting both groups and members alike. To address these challenges and support employee wellbeing, employers can now download the pharmacy savings toolkit. This toolkit offers ready-to-use educational resources and prewritten emails to help navigate Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s pharmacy programs, aiming to reduce pharmacy costs and improve outcomes.

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