During the pandemic, many people may have felt hesitant to visit the doctor. Others may have not yet taken the opportunity to establish a relationship with a primary care provider.
In these circumstances, there are missed opportunities to help people live healthier and happier lives. No matter the age or stage of life, routine care is a critical part of keeping our community strong and healthy.
Well-visits for children and adults can help prevent disease, answer health questions and reduce repeat visits to the emergency room. Alliance members of all ages can visit their doctor for a check-up at no cost.
With nearly 390,000 Alliance members, there are myriad opportunities to improve health in our communities by taking advantage of well-visits. Please join us in encouraging well-visits in Merced, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties!
Well-child visits
Well-child visits are important for children’s overall health and include a physical exam, vaccines and other screenings based on the child’s age. At a well-child visit, the doctor will check the child’s:
- Height, weight, heartbeat and breathing.
- Eyes, ears, nose, mouth and throat.
- Developmental milestones that happen at different ages, such as walking and talking.
- Blood lead levels (at ages 12 and 24 months of age).
Children are required to get certain vaccines before starting transitional kindergarten/kindergarten and seventh grade. For children who missed vaccines during COVID-19 lockdowns, well-child visits are an opportunity to get caught up.
Additionally, parents of children with Alliance health care can earn Health and Wellness Rewards for completing various milestones in their child’s/children’s routine care. Parents can receive up to a $100 Target gift card. For more information, visit our Health and Wellness Rewards page.
Adult well-visits
Checking in regularly with the doctor can help adults:
- Prevent disease.
- Stay healthy.
- Get medical advice.
- Keep up to date with vaccines and prescriptions.
How you can help
The Alliance is calling on community leaders to spread the word about the importance of well-visits. Here are some easy ways to help:
- Post and/or distribute our Check In, Check Up flyer encouraging members to visit their doctors for routine care. The flyer is available is English, Spanish and Hmong.
- Share a link to our Check In, Check Up webpage.
- Share posts about well-visits from our Facebook page. We regularly post links to more information to encourage our members to manage their own health journeys.
- Encourage Alliance members to call their doctor or their child’s doctor to set up an appointment. If Alliance members have questions about their care, please direct them to call Alliance Member Services at 800-700-3874, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. If members need language assistance, we have a special telephone line to get an interpreter who speaks their language at no cost to the member. For the Hearing or Speech Assistance Line, members can call 800-735-2929 (TTY: Dial 711).
Thank you for your partnership!
