Preventive dental and vision care now added as Healthy Steps

An increasing amount of research has proven that regular dental and eye exams are useful in detecting and preventing significant health problems, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), heart disease, and even certain cancers.

We are pleased to announce that preventive dental and eye exams received since Dec. 1, 2008, are now being recognized as healthy steps. These will be added toward your goal in meeting the required 100 Take a Healthy Step (TAHS) points, so you may be well on your way to earning your 2010 MyHealth deductible credit.

Earn your points

Employees who have regular dental exams will receive 50 TAHS points per visit for a maximum of 100 TAHS points per year. UPMC Health Plan recently retroactively credited more than 16,000 dental exams to employees’ total TAHS points. Eye exams also have been awarded with Take a Healthy Step points. You will receive 50 TAHS points each year for two consecutive years following your eye exam. More than 8,000 eye exams were recently credited to employees’ total TAHS points. You will receive TAHS points credit toward your 2010 MyHealth requirements for these preventive exams completed from Dec. 1, 2008, through Nov. 13, 2009.

Check your status

To see your credit for an eye or dental exam, go to MyHealth Online to view your MyHealth completion status. Simply log in to My HUB, click on the Human Resources tab, and select MyHealth/MyFlex Advantage under My Benefits.

Nov. 13 is the last day to take healthy steps and earn your 2010 MyHealth deductible credit as well as the last day to qualify for the MyHealth Rewards Drawings, where you have an opportunity to win a $500 cash prize.