Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Call To Action - Read the Proposed Changes To Our Healthcare Benefits By Clicking On The Comments

Posted by DeKalb Officers at 8/12/2008
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2 comments:

DeKalb Officers said...

Voice your concerns with the Risk Management/Maloof Administration Building • 1300 Commerce Drive • Decatur, Georgia 30030 • 404-371-4991 • Fax 404-371-4992 and with each and every Commissioner. The Commissioners phone numbers and email addresses can be found in right hand column under "Usual Suspects".

Late information just came in: Next BOC meeting is Tuesday August 12, 2008 at 9:00 am with meeting following on Tuesday August 26, 2008 at 9:00 am.
It is not too late! Get those phones ringing and the emails sent.

MEDICAL CARE:

Kaiser Permanente

• Kaiser Permanente will remain the same. No changes to coverage or co-pays.

Premiums:
• Family- $314.00 per month
• Individual- $101.48 per month

Blue Cross/Blue Shield and United Healthcare

• Both providers are proposed to be discontinued. All employees that are members of each insurance provider will be required to choose another healthcare provider.

Cigna

• Cigna is the new (proposed) healthcare provider being offered by DeKalb County.
• There will be a PPO and a HMO option with Cigna.

PPO

Two options will be offered under the Cigna PPO plan.

• High Plan
o This option will have a higher premium (payment by employee, deducted out of paycheck), but a lower deductible.
o Proposed premium is $264.00 per month for family, with a $500.00 deductible.

• Low Plan
o This option will have a lower premium, but a higher deductible.
o The proposed premium is $255.00 per month for family, with a $700.00 deductible.

• Both plans will include a pharmacy plan provided by Caremark. Cards will be provided through Caremark and medication will be able to be obtained at most pharmacies (CVS, Walgreen, grocery stores)

HMO

• The HMO plan will also be provided by Cigna.
• The pharmacy plan will also be included with the HMO option.

Premiums:
• Family- $361.00 per month
• Individual- $116.83 per month

New Benefits with Cigna:
• No referral process.
• Insurance will now cover treatment for Autism and Infertility (with some restrictions).

DENTAL CARE:

Blue Cross/Blue Shield Dental
• DeKalb County will no longer offer Blue Cross/Blue Shield as a dental provider (proposed).

United Concordia
• United Concordia will be the new dental insurance offered.
• The dental plan will have “high” and “low” coverage. The high coverage would be more expensive monthly but will offer coverage for services such as orthodontics. The low coverage would be cheaper per month and would cover more basic services.
• The proposed monthly premium is unavailable at this time.

New Benefits with United Concordia:
• The annual coverage amount has changed from $1,500.00 per year to $3,000.00 per year depending on which coverage plan is chosen.
• Check ups and cleanings do not count against annual coverage amount.

VISION CARE:

• DeKalb County will now offer a Vision insurance plan.
• The plan will cover all exams, lenses, and frames.
• Lasik surgery may be offered with a discount, but is not covered.

LIFE INSURANCE:

Hartford Insurance Company
• If already enrolled in Basic or Supplemental life insurance it will now be provided by Hartford Insurance Company.
• Rates will stay the same.

County Insurance
• Dependant coverage being raised from $2,000.00 to $5,000.00 in the event of death.
• County death benefit for retirees is being raised from $5,000.00 to $7,000.00.

DISABILITY INSURANCE:

Aflac
• Aflac disability insurance will be handled by Colonial (proposed).
• Accidental Insurance, Flex Spending, and Transit One will remain with Aflac.

THINGS TO KNOW:
• A medical healthcare insurance plan will not be required to enroll in the vision or dental insurance programs that will be offered.
• 94% of all physicians that are in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield network will be included in the Cigna network.
• The county designs the insurance plans and coverage that are provided to the employees. The insurance companies offered provide network access, network discounts, and pays the claims made to the physicians used.
• Any disapproved claims from the insurance provider for medical procedures can be appealed and approved by the DeKalb County benefits office.

All changes are currently proposed. They will be submitted for approval at the next Commissioners meeting. Once approved, information will be distributed prior to Open Enrollment in October.

If there are any concerns or questions contact Human Resources.

August 12, 2008 at 11:52 PM
Anonymous said...

Although we get our benefits from the business world, and are not public employees, we have experienced this exact transition. My recommendation is the Cigna PPO - the docs all take it with a smile. Other empoyees seem to like the HMO though - but the docs are apprehensive due to their lower reimbursements. United Concordia Stinks... ugh. You have to visit a dental clinic - so do some research to find a good one. (One with an experienced dentist.) Otherwise, stay with your family dentist and pay cash (and ask nicely if they'll give you a cash price break... some will.)

August 20, 2008 at 8:51 AM

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