Back to School: Benefits Reminders for Parents and Children

Each year, the return to school can be full of both excitement and nervous anticipation. Those with Gravie’s Comfort™ plan can have peace of mind knowing that while they navigate new schedules, classrooms, and COVID guidelines, we’ve got them covered every step of the way. As the school year kicks off, here are some important reminders of all that’s covered through Comfort:

Vaccinations and COVID test reimbursement

As the pandemic continues, the need for regular COVID testing and vaccine boosters (as well as general back-to-school vaccinations) continues right along with it. The good news is that with Gravie, it’s covered — all vaccines are covered under any Gravie plan. We’ve also worked to make the COVID test reimbursement process as seamless as possible — if you pay out of pocket, you can simply file for reimbursement right from your Gravie account.

Well-child visits and sports physicals

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends school-aged children receive a “well-child visit” once per year. Those well-child visits, as well as any other needs like sports physicals or visits for specific illnesses or health issues, are all covered under Comfort. Even better, for all in-network primary care providers, Comfort members won’t need to cover a copay or worry about hitting a deductible.

Specialist Visits

Have an earache that won’t go away and need to visit an ENT? Suffer a sports injury requiring a trip to an orthopedic specialist? For those instances that require a visit to a specialist, Comfort members are fully covered. They can get that issue taken care of quickly, and by the specialist who can address it best – all without a copay or deductible.

For teens dealing with musculoskeletal (MSK) issues, either from the wear and tear of school sports or from challenging classroom ergonomics, Gravie is gearing up to offer virtual MSK care through our partnership with Sword. Starting January 1, 2023, this plan perk will be available to new and renewing plan members 13 years of age and older. Sword combines personalized care from licensed physical therapists with innovative, sensor-based technology to treat members wherever and whenever it’s convenient for them. Sword’s clinically validated program works for all major MSK issues, at any point in the journey: prevention, acute conditions, chronic pain, and post-surgery recovery.

Medications

The return to school all too often equates to exposure to more germs. The enclosed environments and cooling seasonal temperatures make school a breeding ground for the spread of illness. Some of the most common illnesses for school-aged children – like strep, pink eye and the flu – may require prescription medication. Also, some children may require ongoing prescriptions renewed at the beginning of the school year and supplied to the school nurse’s office, from allergy to ADHD and anxiety medications. Most often, those medications prescribed are common enough where there is a generic available. Generics are always fully covered under Comfort, so members won’t have to pay a dime at the pharmacy counter.  

Mental health care

For many, returning to the classroom can be accompanied by a surge of anxiety. It can also expose other mental health issues children are dealing with, especially in the wake of the pandemic. At Gravie, we never view mental health as an “extra” when it comes to health benefits. As children return to school, they may need to talk to a therapist, and with Comfort, those in-network visits are always covered. Comfort members can easily find an in-network therapist by chatting with a Gravie Care™ advisor, or by logging into their account at member.gravie.com and clicking on the Doctors link from their health plan. 

Back-to-school season is exciting, but also riddled with unknowns. With Gravie, members can have the confidence of knowing their kids are covered no matter what they face this school year – whether it’s sports injuries, mental health strains, COVID testing, and more. We’re always striving to be a health plan that earns an A+ for parents as well as their bright young learners.

To learn more about Comfort delivers the best coverage all year round, contact us.