General News
Published July 15, 2019
For all Premera plans, except Medicare Supplement
Getting an annual checkup is important for everyone. Routine exams can help spot health issues before they become serious and harder to treat. That's why Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska covers routine preventive medical care in full on all our plans.
Updates to preventive services
Premera regularly updates our preventive care services based on recommendations from medical and public health organizations and to maintain compliance with federal regulations of the Affordable Care Act.
What’s changed?
We’ve changed the language for cervical cancer screening:
| Old language |
New language |
| Cervical cancer screening: Pap test |
Cervical cancer screening
– Ages 21 to 65: Cytology (pap test) every 3 years
– Ages 30 to 65 who want to lengthen the screening interval, human papillomavirus (HPV) screening alone or in combination with cytology every 5 years
|
Action you can take
- Share an updated preventive services list with your employees.
- Remind your employees that preventive benefits are paid in full when in-network providers are used. If they choose an out-of-network doctor, they may pay more.
- You can find ready-to-share resources about preventive services on the Premera Employee Communications Center. To get to this valuable online library or ready-to-share communications, sign in to the secure employer website and follow the link to the Employee Communications Center. Once you're in the site, select Preventive care in the left-hand menu.