Volume 25, #3 June, 2020

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:WHY YOU NEED TO REVIEW YOUR PART D EOB

THE NEW HOUSE CALL: TELEHEALTH SERVICE

STAY CONNECTED WITH VIDEO CHAT

SOCIAL DISTANCING DOESN’T MEAN SOCIAL ISOLATION

CALFRESH CAN HELP GET FOOD ON THE TABLE

KEEPING BUSY & STAYING SAFE— MEMBER ROBIN RING SHARES HER NEW NORMAL

Taking Multiple Medications?Taking Multiple Medications?Our MTM program can Our MTM program can make it easiermake it easier Inter Valley offers a free Medication Therapy Management (MTM) program that helps you and your personal doctor manage all your medications. There is no added cost to participate in our MTM program. Members who meet the following criteria will be enrolled in the program.

If you have three (or more) of these chronic conditions:

Chronic Heart Failure (CHF) Diabetes Asthma High Cholesterol

High Blood Pressure Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

If you’re taking eight (or more) prescription drugs for chronic conditions and/or maintenance

If you expect your prescription drug costs will be more than $4,255 for 2020We automatically enroll qualifying members in our MTM program. However, participation is voluntary and you can opt out at any time.

If you qualify for the program, a pharmacist and your personal doctor will review your medications and talk to you about:

How to get the most out of the medicines you take

Options that may help you save money on medications

Medication side effects or reactions

Any of your questions or concerns

Following the annual review, the pharmacist will go over their recommendations with you and your primary doctor. For more information or to enroll in our MTM program please call

Inter Valley’s Pharmacy Care Team at 800-523-3142 or TTY 711, Monday through Friday, 8 am to 8 pm. Your health and safety are

important to us. Call us — we’re here to help.

INTER VALLEY HEALTH PLAN MEMBER NEWSLETTER

Message from the Message from the PresidentPresidentWe are all aware of the challenging times we are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we want to reassure you that all of us at Inter Valley are here for you. We are observing the CDC guidelines to keep our staff and members safe and healthy.

Our employees practice social distancing, wear masks and continuously disinfect their work stations as well as our local offices — so we can remain open during regular business hours to serve you. We’re pleased to report that none of Inter Valley’s employees have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

How are we helping to keep our members safe and healthy? On our Facebook page and website, we’re providing valuable information on topics such as COVID-19 scam alerts and staying connected with friends and family. We recently mailed a washable mask to all of our members to use for essential errands like grocery shopping, picking up prescriptions or visiting your doctor. Keep up the good work of washing hands, staying inside and practicing social distancing. We want you to know it’s working. To date, 21* Inter Valley members have been diagnosed with the virus out of almost 19,000 members. So, let’s keep doing what we’re doing — we’re in this together.

And finally, we want you to know that you can count on us to be here for you. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any issue or question that you have.

We’re here and ready to help you.

Michael NelsonPresident/CEO Inter Valley Health Plan

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* Number accurate at printing

“I just love being a member of Inter Valley Health Plan. Their copays are low, their contracted doctors and specialists are excellent, and if I have questions I can visit the Claremont office to get my answers. Inter Valley is more than a Medicare plan, they work hard to keep their members healthy.

A good example is our Annual Wellness Check. Each year, we get a call to remind us to make our appointment for our Annual Wellness Check. My husband and I are both members so we go for our Wellness Check together: to get all of our preventive screenings and a thorough review of our health. The Wellness Check screening results and general health assessments are sent over to our doctors — so they know how our health is — before they see us.”

Dee Proffitt, Inter Valley Health Plan, Service To Seniors (HMO) member since 2014.

Concerns to ComplimentsConcerns to ComplimentsLet Us Know How We Are DoingLet Us Know How We Are Doing

Your feedback gives us direction and lets us know where to focus our efforts. Need help? Call us first. We're here to help when you want to know how to use your benefits, schedule an appointment, get help with a referral, or have suggestions on how we can improve. We want to hear from you so we can grow and improve.

Please call our Member Care Team at 800-251-8191 or TTY 711, 8 am to 8 pm, Monday through Friday. Call us first, we want to hear from you.

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Social Distancing Doesn’t Social Distancing Doesn’t Mean Social IsolationMean Social IsolationAs we have heard, social distancing is crucial to slow the spread of the coronavirus. However, staying at home separated from our loved ones and regular activities can leave us feeling disconnected and isolated. We encourage you to continue practicing social distancing and ease your feelings of social isolation by trying some of the activities listed to the right.

Social distancing is critical to help slow down the spread of viruses and gives our hospitals a chance to treat those in need. Social isolation can put individuals at risk for mental health problems and serious implications to those already suffering from feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety. If you think you have a heightened feeling of anxiety and/or depression, please see your doctor right away or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Remember things will get better and back to normal. We’re here for you and together we will get through this.

Keep a Healthy & Active Mind While Social Distancing

Reach out to others by calling or sending a note. Give them meaningful social contact during these trying times

Have regular video meetings with friends and loved ones. Schedule video chats with friends and families. Participate in virtual activities like having a cook off/baking challenge or playing board games together.

Exercise, preferably outdoors. Take a nice long walk or bike ride.

Keep your sense of humor. Send your friends and family funny memes daily. Watch silly movies or comedies. It’s ok to laugh and smile.

Get creative with gardening. Build your own Zen garden, add to your flower collection or build a Victory garden of fruits, herbs, and veggies. Have limited space? Use pots or recycle your plastic containers.

Try mindful meditation. There are many free meditation apps available in your app store. Mindfulness Coach is a good example of a meditation app.

Find new hobbies. Read, do puzzles, play board games, or make crafts. Have your family join in. Volunteer to sew masks to donate to frontlines, hospitals, and anyone who needs cloth masks. Visit https://www.millionmasksaday.com.

Have chores you’ve been putting off? You can finally organize your closet, get rid of clothes you don’t wear, or clean your pantry or garage.

Trouble sleeping at night? Find different strategies to help quiet your mind. Check out the Veteran’s Affairs CBT-I Coach for cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.

SMART STUFF

Stay Safely Connected: Stay Safely Connected: Learn to Use Video Chat AppsLearn to Use Video Chat AppsStaying social and active is critical for our well-being and that’s why it’s important to stay connected to friends, loved ones, and the activities that fuel your passion. With video chat apps you can talk face to face in real time to anyone no matter where they are, while staying safe at home. The only equipment you need is a smart phone or a computer with a camera and speakers. Here are some of the many free video chat apps available for you to use:

Video Chat apps: FaceTime (only Apple devices) Skype Zoom House Party Whatsapp

We’ve put together a series of guides listing some popular video chat apps and including instructions on how to sign up. You can start enjoying visiting face to face in the safety of your home. Visit ivhp.com/video-chat-guide. We love to hear from you, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram@intervalley.

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Many California residents are experiencing a serious shortage of getting enough food to eat. That’s where the CalFresh program can help. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), CalFresh is a Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) for California residents. It is not a welfare program or cash aid. The program is designed to help individuals who are low-income and meet federal income guidelines. The CalFresh funds are directly deposited into an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card each month — and it works just like any debit card to buy food. Here are quick facts about the program:

Eligibility for CalFresh is based on the individual’s household composition, residency, assets, and monthly income. An application can be submitted via phone or online to your local county Department of Public Social Services or Transitional Assistance Department office.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and State Supplemental Payment (SSP) recipients are eligible to receive CalFresh benefits (providing certain criteria are met). If approved for CalFresh benefits, SSI and SSP benefits will not be decreased.

It only takes 10 minutes to apply for the CalFresh program online at GetCalFresh.org. However, it can take up to 30 days for your County to approve or deny your CalFresh application (If you need immediate food assistance call 2-1-1, a resource helpline to an agency or organization that can help).

CalFresh Can Help Put Food on the TableCalFresh Can Help Put Food on the Table

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY Call 1-877-410-8829 or visit www.c4Yourself.com or

sbcovid19.com

LOS ANGELES COUNTY Call 1-866-613-3777 or visit www.yourbenefits.laclrs.org or www.GetCalFresh.org

RIVERSIDE COUNTY Call 1-800-221-5689 or visit www.c4yourself.com or www.GetCalFresh.org

ORANGE COUNTY Call 1-800-281-9799 or visit www.mybenefitscalwin.org

If you need assistance applying for CalFresh or would like more information please contact our Member Care Team at 800-251-8191 or TTY 711, Monday through Friday, 8 am to 8 pm. Please call us, we are here for you and ready to help.

TO SIGN UP OR FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CALFRESH PROGRAM BY COUNTY:

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Ask Your

Pharmacy

Care Team

In an effort to curb fraud, waste, and abuse, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requires that we mail you a Part D Explanation of Benefits (EOB) statement. The Part D EOB itemizes your past month’s prescription fills and the running total of the amount you have spent within a calendar year. Just like you review your credit card statement, it is very important to review your past month’s Part D expenses for accuracy. This will ensure there aren’t charges for prescriptions you didn’t receive. Reviewing your monthly Part D EOB protects both you and Inter Valley Health Plan.

Reviewing your monthly Part D EOB statement is as easy as 1-2-3. You need to look for:

1 Covered prescription charges processed during the past month — Pay close attention to the medications listed and verify the medications listed are accurate. If you don’t recognize a medication listed, please call our Pharmacy Care Team. They can provide more information to help you recognize and verify the medication charge or they will investigate why this medication was charged to your account. Note: a reversal or canceled prescription is indicated with a negative sign (-) next to the dollar amount for the drug.

2 Explanation of the Drug Payment Stages — Review how much you have spent and how much more you will spend — before you enter the next Payment Stage.

3 Your “Out-of-Pocket cost” and “Total Drug cost” expenditures — Your Drug Payment stage determines the cost of your prescriptions and what you pay for your covered prescriptions. This is important because these costs are what move you into the next Payment stage of your Part D benefit.

Need help understanding your Part D EOB? Your Pharmacy Care Team is here to help you with any questions you have. We want to make this important tool as easy to read as possible. Please call us at 800-523-3142 or TTY 711, Monday through Friday, 8 am to 8 pm, or email us at pharmacyteam@ivhp.com. We can help you.

Why is it Important to Review My Part D EOB Statement for Accuracy?

Ask Your

Member

Care Team:

Call us first

We want you to know that Inter Valley is available to help our members access quality and timely health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your health, safety, and welfare are our highest priority. Remember, if you don’t need to go out, it’s important to stay home to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

In order to keep providing health care to their patients while minimizing the risk of infection, many doctors have implemented and expanded their use of Telehealth Services. Telehealth Service uses the technology of real-time video chat for no-contact face-to-face communication between doctor and patient. Doctors and clinicians can perform additional healthcare services with this technology. Telehealth service is convenient but may not be suitable for every situation and not every doctor offers this service. Ask your doctor’s office if they offer Telehealth and if the type of service you need is appropriate. You still need to schedule an appointment during your doctor’s regular office hours.

The only equipment needed for a real time video chat with your doctor is a smart phone or a computer with a camera, speakers or a headset.

If you have questions or need help, please call our Member Care Team,

Monday through Friday, 8 am to 8 pm at 800-251-8191, or for hearing impaired, TTY 711 or email us at: memberservices@ivhp.com

What is Telehealth Service?

The New Normal: The New Normal: Keeping Busy & Staying SafeKeeping Busy & Staying Safe We checked in with member Robin Ring to learn how she has been keeping busy while staying at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A talented musician and entertainer, Robin owns and plays a variety of instruments, including two pianos (a spinet and baby grand), three ukuleles, three accordions, and a six-foot orchestra pedal harp. Due to the lock down, Robin had to cancel public and volunteer performances. “I continue to play music as much as possible at home because if you don't use it you lose it.”

An entertainer at heart, Robin often sits in front of her house curbside to perform lively tunes with her accordion for an audience of parents and their small children in the park across the street. “The kids love to sing and dance to the music. It gives me a great deal of joy to watch them,” she laughs.

“Before the pandemic, I performed regularly with a sextet, The JAMMRS, a mix of six talented singers and musicians. Since we haven’t been able to play together in-person, we are learning to use

ZOOM (video-chat app) so we can start singing together virtually. We are all frustrated trying to use this app — but it will be a great way

to stay connected and keep doing what we love — so we’re motivated to learn.”

She also stays in shape while staying at home. She uses a variety of activities including exercising five times a week, tending to her fragrant rose garden, and practicing her tap dancing routines by video. The tap dancing group she

belongs to has been learning two new routines via video to perform in the Silver Fox Follies variety show. (The Follies is a

fund-raiser for the non-profit Rising Star Equestrian Therapy organization.)

Even with all of the music in her life, she says, “A saving grace socially has been continuing to volunteer for Meals

on Wheels. I can do something to help the people who are depending on those meals. We wear hairnets, gloves, masks and we practice social distancing in our workroom to pack the meals.”

So what’s next? “A fellow accordion player and I are learning to play Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as a duet,” she laughs mischievously.

(Robin was featured in InterView’s Vol. 21, #3, 2016. To read her story visit the InterView library on our website at ivhp.com)

Robin Ring, Service To Seniors (HMO) plan member since 2015

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Growing your own flowers, fruits and vegetables is a worthwhile activity while staying safe in your home. Gardening is an entertaining and productive activity for all ages. We’re offering a chance to win a convenient light weight gardening tool belt that includes a pair of garden gloves and three garden hand tools (plant not included). If you are an Inter Valley Health Plan member, and fill in the blanks correctly, you’re eligible to win. If there is more than one member per household, a photocopied entry is acceptable. You can enter the contest by either emailing or mailing the filled in blanks.*

EMAIL TO: interview@ivhp.com (put contest entry in the subject line)

MAIL TO: Marketing Dept, Inter Valley Health Plan PO Box 6002, Pomona, CA 91769-6002

ENTRIES must be received by Friday, June 19, 2020 by 5 pm.

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*By entering this contest, you give Inter Valley Health Plan permission to publish your name in this magazine, should you win.

Congratulations to stretch band and hand weights contest winners: Phil Dupuis, Patrick P. Angst and Judy Darling.

Fill in the blanks of these contest questions from an article in this issue:

1. Inter Valley offers a free ______________________ ______________ ________________ (MTM)

program that helps you and your personal doctor _________________ all of your medications.

2. You may be eligible for the MTM program if you have three (or more) of the following

chronic conditions: Chronic ________ Failure (CHF), Diabetes, Asthma, High ______________,

High _________ Pressure, or Chronic ___________ Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

3. If you qualify for the MTM program, a pharmacist and your personal doctor will review your medications and talk to you about:

How to _____ the ______ out of the medicines you take

Medication side-effects or ____________

Enter Our Contest for a Chance Enter Our Contest for a Chance to Win A Garden Tool Kitto Win A Garden Tool Kit

Options that may _______ you save money on medications

Any of your _______________ or ____________

EMAIL: info@ivhp.com

CALL: MEMBER CARE TEAM, 800-251-8191 or TTY 711 PHARMACY CARE TEAM, 800-523-3142 or TTY 711 Contact us APR 1 to SEPT 30: 8 am to 8 pm, Mon – Fri OCT 1 to MAR 31: 8 am to 8 pm, 7 days a week We are closed Thanksgiving day, Christmas day and on federal holidays.

*NOTE: When we are closed you have the option to leave a message. Messages received will be returned within one (1) business day.

VISIT: Inter Valley Health Plan’s main office is located at 300 South Park Ave, Ste 300, Pomona. Office hours are Mon – Fri, 8 am to 5 pm. To locate a Medicare Information & Vitality Center near you, visit us at ivhp.com/companyfactsheet

Need Help? We can help you. You can reach us by phone, email or drop in to our office. We want to make it easy for you to reach us.

Inter Valley Health Plan is a not-for-profit HMO with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Inter Valley Health Plan depends on contract renewal. Inter Valley Health Plan complies with applicable Federal civil right laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex. Inter Valley Health Plan cumple con las leyes federales de derechos civiles aplicables y no discrimina por motivos de raza, color, nacionalidad, edad, discapacidad o sexo. Inter Valley Health Plan 遵守适用的联邦民权法律规定，不因种族、肤色、民族血统、年龄、残障或性别而歧视任何人.

300 South Park Ave PO Box 6002

Pomona CA 91769-6002

Health/Wellness or Prevention InformationAddress service requested

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In observance of Independence Day, our

offices will be closed on Friday, July 3rd, 2020.*