As we come to the end of our fiscal
year it is time to review our health and dental insurance. Our Health
Insurance Advisory Committee (HIAC) has worked hard this year as usual.
This committee reviews how much the plan is paying in claims, how the plan is
being utilized, and what the local and national trends are. Once the
College knows what it will receive from the legislature, the committee has the
difficult task of balancing available funding against an increase in premium or
changes to the plan. While our claims have been higher this year than
last, our plan is still doing well. It is important to note that the
College must continue to adjust the coverage and premiums to provide the highest
quality health benefits at the lowest possible cost. There are a few
benefit changes and new information that you need to be aware of as approved by
the President’s Cabinet that will become effective on July 1,
2007.
One of the fastest rising costs to
our plan is the Prescription Drug Benefit. Many of you are choosing to use
generic drugs where possible, and this has helped the plan. However, a
change to the co-pays is necessary to keep up with the increased cost, beginning
on July 1, 2007 the prescription co-pays will change
to:
At the
pharmacy for
100 doses or a 34 day supply. The annual $50 deductible for brand name will
still apply.
|
Year
2006-07 |
Year
2007-08 |
|
$7
generic $25
preferred brand name $50
non-preferred brand name |
$7
generic $30
preferred brand name $55
non-preferred brand name |
Through mail
order for a
90 day supply:
|
Year
2006-07 |
Year
2007-08 |
|
$7
generic $25
preferred brand name $50
non-preferred brand name |
$7
generic $60
preferred brand name $137.50 non-preferred
brand name |
There is no deductible for mail
order.
The premium that we pay as employees
through our paychecks for medical and dental will also increase slightly.
The premiums are as follows:
Medical
|
Year 2006-07, per
paycheck |
Year 2007-08, per
paycheck |
|
Employee
$1.50 Employee +1
$3.00 Employee
+2
$5.00 |
Employee
$3.00 Employee +1
$6.00 Employee
+2
$10.00 |
Dental
|
Year 2006-07, per
paycheck |
Year 2007-08, per
paycheck |
|
Employee
$1.50 Employee +1
$3.00
Employee
+2
$5.20 |
Employee
$2.25 Employee +1
$3.75
Employee
+2
$5.95 |
In comparison, the USHE average
during last year for family coverage out of an employee’s paycheck was $43.10
for medical alone. We continue to do well as a College in keeping this
employee contribution as low as
possible.
Because the College assumes the
financial risk of providing you with health care benefits, we will either save
or lose money depending on the level of claims incurred. The College wants
to be able to provide you with high quality health benefits, but as the cost of
providing health care rises, you too must do your part to keep benefits high and
costs low.
How Can I
Help?
Some ways that you can help save
money for yourself and the College are:
We would like to encourage our
employees to visit the Benefits Fair this year to learn about the changes to our
health plan. The Human Resources Office is pleased to announce that
effective July 1, 2007 National Benefit Services, LLC will be the new
administrator for our Flexible Spending program and they will be at our
fair. The fair will be held on April 17 at Redwood, April 18 at South and
April 19 at Miller.
The following are some other
excellent benefits that you receive as a full-time employee of
SLCC:
Thank you…Human
Resources.