Wellness Wednesday – Healthy U leads to more physicals in 2008

picture disc.In 2008, 592 UNMC and UNMC Physicians employees or their dependents used the “Healthy U” Wellness and Preventative Services Benefit to get free annual physicals.

Of these same people, only 127 of these had physicals in 2007, which means 465 additional employees received in physicals after the benefit went in effect.

“That’s a great start,” said Jayme Nekuda, director of the UNMC Employee Benefits and Work-Life Programs Division of Human Resources and UNMC’s wellness manager. “Hopefully we’ll get even more employees to take advantage of this great benefit in 2009.”







“Hopefully we’ll get even more employees to take advantage of this great benefit in 2009.”



Jayme Nekuda



Employees and dependents who have Blue Cross Blue Shield medical insurance through UNMC or UNMC Physicians now have access to the “Healthy U” Wellness and Preventative Services Benefit, which annually covers $250 in physicals and lab tests without deductibles and co-pays.

The benefit is designed to better allow employees to manage their overall health by consistently monitoring common health indicators.

Employees can schedule an appointment with a provider of their choice. However, using a UNMC physician will help you to fully maximize the benefit, which covers the cost an annual routine “Healthy U” physical and lab tests. Lab test such as complete blood counts, lipid profile, metabolic panel, prostatic specific antigen and pap smears are included.

Annual routine physicals can be scheduled with a physician in family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology or pediatrics. If you are using a campus computer, click here to view the UNMC Physicians Intranet, which includes a list of physicians you can chose to visit.

Visit https://info.unmc.edu/healthyu to see more information about the wellness benefit.

In addition to the Health U Physical for adults and children older than 2, the wellness and preventative services benefit also covers routine mammography screening and immunizations for children younger than 6 at full cost.

In addition, well child care is covered for up to $500 annually for children younger than 2.

When scheduling a physical and/or lab test, employees must inform their physicians of their desire to use the “Healthy U” Wellness and Preventative Services Benefit and complete a form that can be accessed by clicking here.

Here is more information about some of the tests covered by the benefit:

  • Complete Blood Count (CBC) is a broad screening test to check for such disorders as anemia, infection and many other diseases;
  • Lipid Profile is a group of tests used to determine risk of coronary heart disease;
  • Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP) gives doctors important information about the current status of a patient’s kidneys, liver and electrolyte and acid/base balance as well as blood sugar and blood proteins. Abnormal results, and especially combinations of abnormal results, can indicate a problem that needs to be addressed; and
  • Prostatic specific antigen (PSA) is a test aimed at prostate cancer in men. The test helps determine if a biopsy is needed.

Visit https://info.unmc.edu/healthyu to see more information about the wellness benefit. Call benefits specialist Jo Watkins at 559-4340 or Nekuda at 559-8962 if you have questions about this benefit.