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How Care Managers Take the Stress Out of Health Care

Staying on top of your health isn't always easy. That's where care managers come in

Staying on top of your health isn’t always an easy thing to do. It’s sometimes tough to know the best ways to prevent or treat chronic conditions, and managing the care of a loved one with a serious illness can be an even bigger challenge. Between meetings with doctors and specialists, undergoing tests and understanding your coverage, juggling everything can sometimes feel like a full-time job. That’s where care managers come in.

By overseeing your needs, they take the confusion and stress out of health care — so you or your loved one can devote more energy to getting well. Here’s how BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee’s (BCBST) care managers work and how they can make meeting your health care needs easier.

What Do Care Managers Do?

Think of your care manager as your personal health care guide. His or her goal is to prevent sickness and promote wellness so you and your family members can be as healthy as possible. Care managers, a growing trend among insurance providers, act as a single point of contact and overseer for all aspects of your health. At BlueCross, your care management team consists of two highly trained experts:

  • Health navigator: Your health navigator is there to help you deal with the non-clinical aspects of your health care, like understanding your benefits. He or she can also identify whether you may be at higher risk for developing a chronic disease — like diabetes — and connect you with the resources and experts that can help you stay as healthy as possible.
  • Case managers: Your case manager is there to help you navigate the clinical aspects of your health care. Whether it’s a chronic disease or a catastrophic illness, he or she guides you through exactly what you need to do in order for you or a loved one to get better, like scheduling appointments, managing tests and helping you find a pharmacy.

How Do Care Managers Help?

Care managers make managing a disease or condition easier on you or your loved one. In the past, you might have had to coordinate with multiple specialists or testing centers, which can quickly get overwhelming. Now you only have to connect with your care manager and let him or her take care of the rest.

I compare the old model to a neighborhood,” says Adrienne Margulski, BCBST’s Director of Clinical Strategy. “All of your care managers lived in the same neighborhood, but you may have needed to go to one house to meet with your case manager, and then go to another house to talk to your chronic care nurse, then down another block to speak to someone about your benefits.”

“With care management, instead of going to multiple houses all over the neighborhood, we are all in the same house, and you and your family only need to speak to one person. We’ve integrated everything to make it easier for our members,” Margulski continued.

Less time spent coordinating care means more time to focus on getting well. Being healthier can help you save on health care costs in the long term, Margulski says. But having a care manager overseeing you and your family can also ease stress and give you peace of mind. And you can’t put a price on that.

Learn More about Care Management

For more information on BlueCross care management, call 1-800-818-8581.

Marygrace Taylor

Marygrace Taylor is is an award-winning health, wellness, and nutrition writer whose work has appeared in Glamour, Redbook, Prevention, and Women’s Health. You can follow her on Twitter @mgtylr, or at marygracetaylor.com.

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Get more information about specific health terms, topics and conditions to better manage your health on bcbst.com. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee members can access wellness-related discounts on fitness products, gym memberships, healthy eating and more through Blue365®. BCBST members can also find tools and resources to help improve health and well-being by logging into BlueAccess and going to the Managing Your Health tab.

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WellTuned does not offer medical advice. Any personal health questions should be addressed to your doctor.

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