Healthy Living Extra | winter 2008

Ask Dr. B...

Eat Your Way to Heart Health

What did you eat today or yesterday? More important, what do you plan on eating tomorrow and the rest of your life? The foods you choose to eat or limit can add up to a higher or lower risk for heart disease. The meals you eat each day and everything in between can help you prevent or treat heart disease.

We asked Windsor Medicare Extra's Chief Medical Officer, James Bracikowski, M.D., how to eat heart-smart.

Q: Which foods are considered a heart-healthy choice?

Dr. B: Create a nutritious eating plan that emphasizes fruits and vegetables and incorporates whole grains, lean meats, and low- or nonfat dairy products. When selecting fats for cooking, opt for cooking choices such as canola and olive oil with two or less grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. And eat fish, especially salmon and other fatty fish, at least twice a week.

Q: Which foods help control and prevent high blood pressure?

Dr. B: Eating two to four servings of low-fat dairy products a day is just one strategy in the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. The DASH diet, aimed at reducing high blood pressure, also encourages you to eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, and nuts.
James Bracikowski, M.D., Chief Medical Officer

Q: Which foods raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels?

Dr. B: Healthy adults should limit their saturated fat intake to less than 10 percent of daily calories. Aim for less than 7 percent if you have heart disease or high cholesterol. To reach this goal, choose lowfat milk and cheese, lean meats, poultry, and fish.

To dodge trans fats, limit your intake of cookies, crackers, baked goods, and fried foods.

Most people should eat fewer than 300 milligrams of cholesterol each day. Those with existing heart disease, diabetes, or high LDL cholesterol should aim for fewer than 200 milligrams a day.

Are You at Risk for Heart Disease?

Be sure to have your doctor screen you for heart disease during your annual physical. Remember that physical exams are part of your Windsor Medicare Extra coverage so if you have not had your exam this year, contact your healthcare provider to schedule your appointment today.

Windsor Medicare Extra is a product of Windsor Health Plan, Inc., a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract.

The benefit information provided herein is a brief summary, not a comprehensive description of benefits. For more information contact the plan.

Benefits, formulary, pharmacy network, premium and/or co-payments/co-insurance may change on January 1, 2011.

You must continue to pay your Medicare Part B premium.

People with limited incomes may qualify for Extra Help to pay for their prescription drug costs. If eligible, Medicare could pay for up to one hundred (100) percent of drug costs including monthly prescription drug premiums, annual deductibles, and co-insurance. Additionally, those who qualify will not be subject to the coverage gap or a late enrollment penalty. Many people are eligible for these savings and don't even know it. for more information about this Extra Help, contact your local Social Security Office at 1-800-772-1213 between 7 am and 7 pm, Monday through Friday. TTY users should call 1-800-325-0778. Or you can call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

To request materials in alternative formats (i.e. large print or audio compact disk) or other languages, please contact our Customer Service department at 1-800-316-2273 (TTY: 1-866-460-7617) 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Central Time, seven days a week.

In general, beneficiaries must use network pharmacies to access their prescription drug benefit, except in non-routine circumstances, and quantity limitations and restrictions may apply.

You must use plan providers except in emergency or urgent care situations or for out-of-area renal dialysis or other services. If you obtain routine care from out-of-network providers neither Medicare nor Windsor Medicare Extra will be responsible for the costs.

Windsor Medicare Extra Comp Plus Plan (HMO SNP) is available to all persons with Medicare who also receive Medical Assistance from their state Medicaid/Tenncare programs. Premiums, co-pay, co-insurance and deductible amounts are based on the level of Extra Help you receive. You should check with your state to confirm your eligibility level, or contact the plan for further details.

Windsor Medicare Extra Diabetes Plan (HMO SNP) is available to all persons with Medicare who have been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus by a physician. Physician documentation of your condition to demonstrate your eligibility for the plan will be required to complete your enrollment in the plan.

Windsor Medicare Extra Fusion Plan (HMO SNP) is available to all persons with Medicare who have been diagnosed with the following chronic or disabling conditions: bipolar disorder, major depression, paranoid disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder. Physician documentation of your condition to demonstrate your eligibility for the plan will be required to complete your enrollment in the plan.