Tips For a Healthy Holiday Season The holiday season is an exciting time full of celebrations and gatherings with family and friends. Unfortunately, all of the fun and food can lead to feelings of guilt and [...]

Holiday Stress With long to-do lists, increased budgets, upcoming family gatherings, and for some reminders of lost loved ones, it’s no wonder the upcoming holiday season is referred to as “hustle and bustle.” Worse, we’re bombarded with messages telling us that this is supposed to be a joyous season, full of love, laughter, and light. But what do we do when the stress or sadness creeps [...]

Here are a few tools to help you keep track of your health. You can use them by logging on to your member account on floridablue.com and click Health & Wellness and then the Care Programs tab to access these tools:  [...]

Superbugs have been all over the news in recent months. In Florida, we have some pretty giant bugs, but superbugs aren’t something we can see, which actually makes them more concerning. These bacteria are responsible for infecting more than 2 million people each year—and they are called superbugs because they can resist even the strongest antibiotics. [...]

Goodbye, 100-degree weather! Fall is a perfect time to get outdoors and enjoy cooler temperatures, and with football and holidays it’s a great season for getting together with friends, too. Fall also means the start of cold and flu season. Here are some tips to help you feel your best this fall. • Get a flu shot. The best way to protect yourself from the flu is to get a flu vaccine each [...]

"I have pulmonary fibrosis.” I was sitting in my living room when my mother uttered those words to me from hundreds of miles away. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it didn’t sound good. I don’t recall exactly what she said after that because I was overwhelmed by a desire to learn everything I could about the disease in that moment. I grabbed a nearby laptop and immediately [...]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported a total of 35 Zika cases in Florida are from local mosquito-borne transmission, while an additional 507 cases in Florida are “travel related.” The CDC also precautions that anyone living in, or traveling to, the Wynwood and Miami Beach area of South Florida need to be especially cautious, as these areas have been directly [...]

Dental insurance is an important tool to have in your health care tool box.  Without dental insurance, the out-of-pocket cost of preventive dental care can be very expensive.  Dental benefits offered within our BlueDental plans allow you to receive a cleaning and check-up every six months, which in turn could significantly reduce the need for fillings or other costly health procedures [...]

Even if you only choose plant-based meals over animal protein only a few meals a week, plant-based diets have many health benefits. Research shows vegetarian diets are linked with lower incidences of obesity, Type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer and hypertension. By eliminating meat and substituting vegetables, beans, whole grains or soy you can create meals rich in vit [...]

With ongoing changes in the health care industry it is important to take charge of your health and well-being. Patient engagement refers to the involvement and actions each person needs to take in order to get the most from the health care services available to them. The following is a recommended list of ways to be an active participant in your health care this coming year. 1. Check wi [...]