Our network medical providers are now using our online AutoAuth system to get pre-authorization for those procedures that require it. This means faster, better medical care for our members! And QualChoice is the first health insurance company to offer the service in Arkansas.

Online pre-authorization is available for these inpatient surgical procedures and many more: 

For more on the AutoAuth system, visit QualChoice.com.

Deaths from prescription opioids-drugs like oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone have more than quadrupled since 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Worksites should get naloxone, an opioid overdose treatment, and train employees on how to use it to save lives, according to Surgeon General Jerome Adams.

An Arkansas law enacted last year allows licensed pharmacists to order, dispense and administer naloxone without a prescription as therapy. Arkansas Naloxone Protocol.

Because we care about the safety of our members and their communities, we have changed the amount of Short-Acting Opioids (SAOs) that can be covered.

An estimated 40 million Americans live with depression, and up to 56% do not seek treatment. Those without close or supportive relationships at work are more likely to feel disconnected from their jobs. That can affect their performance and cause a feeling of loneliness, contributing to depression. 

This is also bad news for employers. Depression is the leading cause of disability in the US. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 200 million workdays are lost annually because of depression - costing $44 billion in lost productivity.* 

"It's important to teach managers how to start a conversation with an employee who seems lonely," according to Darcy Gruttadaro, director of the Center for Workplace Mental Health, a program of the American Psychiatric Association. Workplace Loneliness is sad for People and Bad for Business.

QualChoice follows the Mental Health Parity Act and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. The acts ensure that for plans subject to mental health parity, coverage for mental health or substance use disorder is comparable to coverage for medical and surgical care.

*Ann D. Clark, Six Steps for Dealing with Depression in the Workplace, Employee Benefit News, Apr. 30, 2018

This month's featured reward for QualChoice members is special savings from  The Wearables Store. QualChoice members enjoy 10% OFF any product on The Wearables Store website!

Visit QualChoice.com to see all QuicRewards offers from leading Arkansas health-related companies.