Talk to Medicare Advantage members about how to maintain independence and confidence

To help our Medicare Plus Blue℠ and BCN Advantage℠ members remain independent and feel confident as they age, we’ve asked them to talk to their health care providers about the following issues:

• Fall risks and how to avoid them
• Physical activity and realistic exercise expectations
• Preventing urine leakage, for members who deal with incontinence
• Feeling good about their overall health and managing pain so they can do routine activities, for members who are experiencing a decline in health

We’re encouraging our Medicare Advantage members to share their concerns with you like they would with a close friend. We’re suggesting they write down their concerns and read from the list or hand it to you so you can start the discussion.

We also encourage you to discuss these issues with patients even if the patient doesn’t initiate the conversation. Many patients don’t ask questions about these topics because they forget or don’t know what to ask, they’re embarrassed or they assume they have to “live with it.”

When you bring up these topics, it opens the door to a conversation that may not otherwise happen. It also helps your patients to know these are common issues and what types of questions they should ask going forward.

We appreciate your efforts to make members as comfortable as possible when discussing sensitive issues.