When you’re eight years old, at an amusement park and you’re falling asleep—and not from riding all the rides—there’s something wrong. “My blood sugar was more than 800,” said Desiree Adams. “I ended up in the ICU for four days.” Adams was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It’s an autoimmune disease that strikes suddenly. It
It’s August and you probably have a suntan by now. Most of us get a little ”color” during the summer months, but few think of the consequences. “I just didn’t do anything to prevent bad sunburns when I was a teen,” Angel Champion said. Years of “laying out” and using tanning beds caught up with
What will you do in the third act of your life? Will you retire and take it easy, travel — or will you keep working? These days, baby boomers are redefining what retirement means. It isn’t about taking it easy anymore. Boomers are telling Gallup pollsters 60 is the new 40. “Many seniors are taking
The number of opioid medications filled by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) members declined 19 percent from 2014 to 2017. “There has been a lot more attention given by providers to their patients who may be misusing the drugs, filling too frequently, filling before they’ve run out, or maybe having symptoms
Thirteen medical centers and hospitals in Nebraska have achieved Blue Distinction Centers for Maternity Care status for reducing C-section rates for first time, low-risk mothers. “We are very proud of our Nebraska facilities who have been designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity Care,” said Dr Debra Esser, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska’s
If you’re around the age of 64, you almost certainly remember the heyday of the Beatles. Their 1967 song, “When I’m Sixty Four,” laments getting older, pondering, “Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I’m sixty-four?” Fortunately, our attitudes about aging and what is considered “old” have evolved since the '60s.
Skin cancer is diagnosed at a much lower level in Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska members than people living in other parts of the country. From 2014 to 2017, our members had a 0.7 percent rate of diagnosed skin cancer. Nebraska men have a higher rate of skin cancer than women. Costs
Telehealth will deliver mental health and trauma treatment to rural Nebraska families with the help of $22,000 Fearless Grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska. University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) mental health and engineering scholars are developing equipment to provide Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. The therapy uses an eight-phase approach. After a clinician
Depression diagnosis rates are increasing in Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska (BCBSNE) members – up 18.9 percent since 2014. Young people had the most dramatic rise, a 37.3 percent increase for members ages 15 to 20 and a 40 percent increases for members ages 21 to 30. “The Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Courage was what Shelley needed. The Plainview, Nebraska, woman was anxious and depressed. She had to find a new doctor to repair a knee replacement and she’d just lost her job. “It’s really hard to find a new doctor to make those kinds of repairs on your own,” Shelley said. Courage came in the form
