If you, like me, have signed up for MAH’s new health care plan, you are probably going through some adjustment pains adapting to the new plan. 

The new plan does not have the co-pays that we have all become accustomed to, so now we need to begin using our bargain hunting skills in the medical marketplace.

I recently needed refills for a couple of prescriptions that last year had cost me about $35 per month. I was prepared for an increase, since the plan has a higher deductible than previous, but was frankly surprised at the full cost.

Here are a few suggestions to help deal with these costs:

1)      Check with national pharmacies to see if your medication is on their $4 formulary list.

Walmart and  Kroger have such lists. It may also pay to make sure your doctor knows that you are on a high deductible plan, so he or she can prescribe medications that are on the list. (Unfortunately, neither of my prescriptions are on the list – I plan to discuss this with my doctor the next time I see him).

2)      Check the website of the drug manufacturer.

In my case, I take Lipitor to manage cholesterol. At http://www.lipitor.com:80/offers/index.aspx there are offers for a 30 Day free trial and a Co-pay card that is worth $15 each month for a total of $180 a year.

Health and pharmacy costs are constantly increasing, but if we take some simple steps, we can manage our personal situation to minimize the increases.

Keith Walls, CFO

Rachele and I attended the OnRec Recruiting Conference in Chicago this week and had a great time.  We learned quite a bit….mainly that we need to become more technologically mobile to keep up with the Millennials and/or Echo Boomers!  In light of that I discovered the mobile app for Twitter and Facebook   for my Blackberry during the conference. We didn’t realize we were so technologically out of touch until we were in a room filled with hundreds of tweeting people!

We also learned our “Recruiter” titles are outdated and have been replaced with snappy titles such as “Talent Acquisition” and “Talent Strategist”. I’m game so now it’s a matter of getting Mr. Murphy on-board with the change!

All in all we are planning to implement some great ideas we came up with this week.  Stay tuned!

Patrick, Bill and Jose are off to the NCCHC Convention in Orlando next week.    So as they are basking in the Florida sun the rest of us will remain in Indy basking in our 45 degree unseasonably cold weather.  Thanks, gentlemen.

On a side note Cassandra was unable to attend the Kentucky Jailers Association Conference  this week so she sent Luanne our Controller instead.  Luanne attended the conference with Dawn our Western Kentucky Portable Route Dental Assistant.  Both ladies have a wonderful sense of humor and very vivacious personalities so I’m sure they kept the Kentucky Sheriff’s amused over the past 3 days.  Considering this was Luanne’s first MAH trade show we are all looking forward to the stories she will tell upon her return.

A group of eight MAH employee’s and spouses recently participated in the Woody Burton Golf Classic held at the Valle Vista Country Club in Greenwood, Indiana. The event was rather entertaining considering only 2 in our group of 8 actually golf regularly! Casey and Eric proved to be our saving grace so I extend a gracious THANK YOU for their efforts. I would like to say we represented MAH well and came home with a 1^st place trophy. Alas, that wasn’t the case we were instead dubbed rookies and came home with a fitting reward, several boxes of Wheaties! All in all, we had an excellent time and enjoyed Mr. Burton’s company during dinner.

 

I will be on vacation next week attending the Good Guys Rod & Custom Car Show at the Ohio Expo Center, in Columbus.  I’ll be exhibiting my Mustang and there will be over 7000 other hot rods in attendance!  Some of you had expressed interest in the show so follow the link for more details.  Hope to see you there! 

July 1^st brought about the addition of two new facilities to our Ohio contract, Trumbull Correctional Institution and Northeast Pre-Release Center. We welcome the existing staff to Mid America Health and look forward to filling the remaining positions.  For those of you aware of Ohio’s Phase 3 Staffing we are well underway and have been steadily increasing our staffing levels.  I would like to send a heartfelt THANK YOU to our Ohio staff for being flexible and patient during this Phase 3 transition.  Your help in coordinating site visits and interviews with candidates was instrumental in this smooth transition.

 

As always I would like to remind everyone that we are still hiring for positions throughout Ohio.  If you know of any dentists, hygienists or assistants looking for part time or full time employment please send them our way!

    

There are several exciting things that occurred at the Indiana State Prison (ISP) recently!

·         Our dental team, including Dr Frazee, Jennifer and Sharon, recently participated in the “In-Shape Indiana” Walk.  They made tee-shirts that read “Our Extractions are Painless, ISP Dental” and were accompanied by 20 other ISP staff including the superintendent!  Kudo’s to all of you!

 

·         We would like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to our dental assistant, Jennifer, as she graduates from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s Degree! 

 

·         Thank you to the Indiana University Hygiene students who have completed their semester at ISP and managed to clean approximately 240 offender’s teeth!

As the number of confirmed cases grow, the government is also learning more about the outbreak.  Although most cases seem to be mild, it still has the potential to be a major threat.  Please continue to follow the suggested precautions and limit your contact with individuals that may be showing any symptoms.

MAH is proud to announce we are establishing a new Portable Route in Northern Florida.  This route will be based out of Tallahassee, FL and will service northern Florida and south-west Georgia.  Needless to say I’m keeping the recruiting department busy!

It’s that time again, now that spring has sprung so have the Dental Conferences.  Rachele and I will be exhibiting at the North Coast Spring Meeting in Cleveland next week. If you are attending stop by our booth…Number 203…and pick up some goodies.  The dates are Thursday May 7^th and Friday May 8^th.  Hope to see you there!