1 / 18

Public Safety Employees Association Health and Welfare Trust

April 2009. Public Safety Employees Association Health and Welfare Trust. Wes Yoder, Trust Consultant. General Information. Sponsored by the Public Safety Employees Association of Alaska (PSEA) Governed by a Board of Trustees elected by PSEA members participating in the Trust

raine
Download Presentation

Public Safety Employees Association Health and Welfare Trust

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. April 2009 Public Safety Employees Association Health and Welfare Trust Wes Yoder, Trust Consultant

  2. General Information • Sponsored by the Public Safety Employees Association of Alaska (PSEA) • Governed by a Board of Trustees elected by PSEA members participating in the Trust • Current participants include: • Alaska State Troopers • Airport Police and Fire Officers • Juneau Police Department • Fairbanks Police and Fire Departments • Trust website: http://www.pseahealth.org • Health benefits purchased through Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska • Trust administered by Labor Trust Services, Anchorage, AK

  3. Eligibility and Benefits • To be eligible for benefits, an employee must: • Be a regular and active employee of an employer participating in the Trust • Regularly work a minimum of 25 hours per week if salaried or 20 hours per week if part-time • Have the required contribution made by their employer and received by the Trust • Eligibility is on a family basis. All eligible dependents are covered when the employee becomes eligible • Eligible dependents include: • Legal spouse or same-sex domestic partner • Natural or adopted children under age 25 who are unmarried and primarily dependent upon the employee for support

  4. Eligibility and Benefits • Medical, prescription drug, dental and vision benefits provided by Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska • Business travel accident insurance provided through CIGNA • Death benefit provided by the Trust

  5. Benefit Summary

  6. Benefit Summary

  7. Benefit Summary

  8. Trust Funding and Administration • Trust is funded by employer and member (participant) contributions. • Total required contribution rate established each July by the Board of Trustees. • Current required monthly contribution rate (effective July 1, 2008) is $1,117 per participant per month. • Total contributions remitted monthly by each employer to the Trust administrator, Labor Trust Services, Inc. (LTS). • LTS forwards eligibility and premiums to insurers and provides COBRA administration for the Trust.

  9. Historical Expenses • Over the last five years, Trust expenses have increased 10% annually. • Currently over 97% of expenses are used for purchasing benefits, with less than 3% of expenses attributed to Trust operations.

  10. Historical Income vs. Expenses • Over the last several years, expenses have outpaced income. • For the current policy period (July 2008 – June 2009) the Trust is expected to deficit spend approximately $350,000 ($47 per participant per month).

  11. Historical Assets • Net assets available for benefits have declined. As of November 30, 2008, the Trust had approximately $2.4 million in net assets. This represents approximately 3.4 months of current projected expenses.

  12. Historical Claims Utilization • Claims have increased significantly during the current contract period. • The Trust is 100% experience rated. Each year Premera sets the Trust’s premium rates based on the Trust’s own historical utilization hc&gb\pseawa\reports\2009\trust report

  13. Projection for July 2009 – June 2010 Contract Period • Based on projected premium increases at July 1, 2009, a significant deficit is projected for the upcoming contract period (approximately $217 PPPM). • The projected deficit will need to be offset by the following: • Increases in employer contributions (varies by employer) • Increases in participant contributions • Benefit changes to reduce premium costs

  14. Options • The Trustees value your input • Each year the Trustees have to balance the cost of benefits with the available contributions. • If benefits remain at current levels, significant increases in participant contributions will be required. • Increases in participant contributions can be lessened with benefit changes. Examples include: • $300 deductible/80% coverage/$2000 OOP max ~ $40 per month • $500 deductible/70% coverage/$3000 OOP max ~ $100 per month • Rx - $8 generic copay/20% brand copay ~ $6.50 per month • The Trustees will continue to review strategies to control costs over the long term.

  15. What Can You Do? • Being a smart health care consumer can help lower costs. • Use generic prescriptions when possible • Currently 65% of prescriptions received by Trust participants are generic. • On average, brand name drugs can cost three to five times more than generic drugs. • If you are currently taking a brand name drug, ask your doctor or pharmacist if there is a generic drug that would work. • Use a Premera preferred provider when available • Preferred providers have agreed to discounted fees as payment in full for their services. • Preferred providers cannot balance bill you for amounts above the agreed upon fee. • During 2008, medical preferred provider discounts for the Trust totaled $1.3 million (approximately $174 per participant per month). • Remember to update your enrollment data with the Trust office (LTS) whenever you have a change in dependent status (i.e. marriage, divorce, birth, child attaining age 25).

  16. Other Information • Current PSEA Health and Welfare Trustees • Rob Cox – Alaska State Troopers, PSEA President • Chip Gallagher – Airport Police and Fire • Mo Hughes – Alaska State Troopers • Tim Schoenberg – Alaska State Troopers • David Wrightson – Juneau Police Department • Robert Thompson – Fairbanks Police Department • PSEA Trust Administrative Office (LTS) Contact Information P.O. Box 93870 Anchorage, AK 99509 3380 C Street, Suite 107 Anchorage, AK 99503 Local: .................................................. (907)561-5119 Toll Free:........................................... 1-800-325-6532 • Premera Customer Service (Claims Questions) - 1-800-508-4722

  17. Questions?

  18. Services provided by Mercer Health & Benefits LLC

More Related