The power of prevention

This content is provided to Johns Hopkins employees through a partnership with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield.

What is preventive care and why is it important? Preventive care includes the steps you take to stay healthy and reduce the risk for potential illnesses, chronic diseases, and medical problems. Preventive care helps detect or prevent serious diseases and medical problems before they can become major. Annual checkups, immunizations, and screenings are a few examples of preventive care.

National Immunization Awareness Month

August is recognized as National Immunization Awareness Month. This health observance highlights the importance of vaccinations for people of all ages.

By getting vaccinated, you are not only lowering your chance of getting sick yourself but also reducing the chance of spreading an illness to your community and loved ones.

Making sure your child sees their doctor for well-child visits and recommended vaccines is one of the best things you can do to protect both your child and community from serious diseases that can be easily spread.

Adult vaccine assessment tool

Vaccines are recommended for adults based on several factors such as age, health condition, and occupation.

Which vaccines do you need? Adults 19 years and older can click here to find out. Be sure to discuss the suggested list based on your answers with your primary care physician.

The seasonal flu

It's almost that time of year again: flu season. The best way to prevent contracting the seasonal flu is to get a vaccination each year. Among the many benefits:

• Keeps you from getting sick. The flu vaccination prevents millions of illnesses and flu-related doctor visits each year.
• An important tool for those with certain chronic health conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu vaccination has been associated with lower rates of some cardiac events among people with heart disease. For those with diabetes and/or lung disease, flu vaccination has been associated with reduced hospitalizations due to worsening conditions.
• Protects those who are pregnant before and after pregnancy. Getting vaccinated while pregnant reduces the risk of flu-associated respiratory infections by approximately one-half. Studies also have found that a vaccine given during pregnancy can help protect the baby for several months after birth.
• Protects the people around you. By getting vaccinated, you are also protecting the people around you who are more vulnerable to serious flu illnesses such as babies, children, older individuals, and those with chronic conditions.

Preventive care on JHU medical plans

All the university's medical plans will pay 100% of usual, customary, and reasonable fees for in-network recommended preventive care services, with no deductible. For those enrolled in the CareFirst High Deductible Health Plan, the individual or full-family deductible does not need to be satisfied before in-network preventive benefits are covered. Covered preventive care includes:

• Skin cancer prevention screenings
• Routine adult physical exam (one per calendar year)
• Immunizations
• Routine gynecological exam including Pap smear (one per calendar year)
• Mammography screening (in accordance with guidelines from the American Cancer Society)
• Colorectal screenings
• Well-child vision and hearing screenings, immunizations, and vaccinations, as well as related pathology services
• Pre- and post-natal care, lactation support and counseling, and breastfeeding supplies and equipment

Your health care provider must submit the above claim as a wellness benefit, and if additional tests were necessary to diagnose a specific health condition, those claims will be subject to the deductible and coinsurance.

• Flu vaccine: Anyone covered by the Johns Hopkins CareFirst or EHP health plan can get a flu shot at no cost from any of Express Scripts' in-network pharmacies, which include most major pharmacies; or from their in-network primary care physician. Kaiser Permanente participants should make an appointment with their primary care physician. Coverage includes the vaccine for those 65 and older. For onsite flu clinics, check here this fall for an updated 2022 schedule.
• COVID-19 vaccine: COVID-19 vaccination and booster shots are required for all Johns Hopkins affiliates working or studying in the U.S., with the exception of those affiliated with the School of Medicine. Current information can be found here.