From oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Wed May 1 09:59:07 2013 From: oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Business Managers-OEBB) Date: Wed, 1 May 2013 16:59:07 +0000 Subject: [OEBBBUSMAN] OEBB -- IMPORTANT information about the upcoming plan year (Rate renewals and plan design changes)! Message-ID: Dear Superintendents, Business Managers and Benefit Representatives: The OEBB Board continues to work diligently to ensure that the vision of OEBB is fully realized for its members. This year's renewal is a reflection of the ongoing effort to provide choice of comprehensive, affordable insurance options which encourage members to seek appropriate health care and to use providers who deliver high-quality health care. Key program changes include the introduction of a new slate of Moda Health (formerly ODS) medical plan offerings which: * Provides members with a broader array of plan choices, particularly at deductible levels and premium price-points which have become more popular in the last couple of years; * Encourages member access to primary care services through the introduction of a Systems of Care provider tier in which primary care services are provided on a copay basis in all plans (except H, the Health Savings Account (HSA) high deductible health plan, per federal law) and an additional wellness visit is provided at no member cost when using a provider recognized as a Patient-Centered Primary Care Medical Home (PCPCMH); * Adds a new member support program called Comprehensive Care Coordination for OEBB members with significant health care needs; * Enhances the pharmacy benefit by no longer requiring a copayment for prescriptions on the Value Tier and allows members to receive 90-day supplies of Value Tier medications at participating retail pharmacies and purchase 90-day supplies of Select Generics at participating retail pharmacies for three copays; * Modifies the pharmacy benefit by introducing per-prescription copayment maximums in lieu of an overall annual out-of-pocket maximum in order to limit large cost-sharing at the beginning of the year; * Continues to encourage procedures supported by evidence of medical effectiveness by adding two new procedures subject to copayment on the additional cost tier (viscosupplementation and lumbar discography); * Removes cost barriers for substance abuse treatment for both inpatient and outpatient services; * Achieves an overall increase of 2.94 percent for the Moda Health (formerly ODS) plans (well below the current marketplace trend). There will also be some changes to the medical plans available through Kaiser Permanente that: * Remove cost barriers for substance abuse treatment for both inpatient and outpatient services; * Increase copayments for many services by $5.00 and increase deductibles and annual maximum out-of-pocket amounts slightly; and * Achieve an overall increase of 5.76 percent for the Kaiser plans (also below the current marketplace trend). It is also important to note that the new slate of medical plans available through Moda Health includes a restriction that the HSA-compliant high deductible health plan (Plan H) can only be used in conjunction with a Health Savings Account (HSA). This plan can no longer be used along with a Health Reimbursement Account or Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA), or as a standalone or secondary coverage plan without participating in a qualified HSA. Plan G, under the new options, can be used by OEBB members wishing to use a medical plan with a higher deductible, and thus a lower premium, as a standalone medical plan or in coordination with an HRA or another medical plan. Plan G is not an HSA-compliant health plan and cannot be used with an HSA. Plan G was designed to allow employees access to a lower-cost, higher-deductible health plan that still provides them with the ability to receive care from a primary care provider with a low office visit copayment and that has copayments on prescription medications versus having to meet a deductible and pay a percentage of the total cost of a medication. These features are not allowed on HSA-compliant health plans, like Plan H. The creation of Plan G also allowed for a lower rate increase on Plan H. One of the philosophies behind HSA-compliant health plans is to encourage consumers to be more aware of health care costs by allowing the consumer to have a stake in the payment for more of the upfront costs. Pre-tax dollars in an HSA account, whether contributed by the employer or employee, which are not used in one plan year roll to the next plan year and can be used for future qualified medical expenses. These dollars belong to the employees. Individuals with HRAs, or using this type of plan in conjunction with another medical plan, don't have the same incentive for using health care more wisely. This has resulted in a higher rate of use than should be anticipated on OEBB's HSA-compliant health plan and therefore higher premium increases than desired. An employee that is currently enrolled in Plan 9 who does not currently have or plan to start an HSA for the 2013-14 plan year can elect to enroll in Plan G and will experience a premium increase of 12.86 percent over today's Plan 9 rates. On the other hand, an employee who chooses to start an HSA and opts for Plan H will only experience a 2.14 percent premium increase over today's Plan 9 rates. While the increase when considering Plan G seems like a pretty significant increase, it is important to note the substantial enhancements to both the medical and pharmacy coverage available under Plan G, as mentioned earlier in this paragraph. The 2013-14 OEBB Dental and Vision Plan Renewals also support OEBB's vision, providing choice of comprehensive, affordable insurance options and encouraging members to seek appropriate care. Following is an overview of the rate renewals and plan changes for the OEBB dental and vision plans: * No changes to the Kaiser Dental and Vision plans; * Limited changes to ODS Dental plan options (X-ray frequency and removal of Vizilite coverage); * The introduction of a Proactive Outreach Program for the Willamette Dental plan (members will receive a mailer encouraging them to seek preventive services at no additional cost to the member); * No rate increases for the ODS and Kaiser dental plan options (well below marketplace trend); * A rate reduction of 3.25 percent for the Willamette Dental plan option (well below marketplace trend); * No rate increase for the Kaiser vision plan (well below marketplace trend); and * A rate increase of 3.88 percent for the Moda Health vision plan options (in line with marketplace trend). We are working on more detailed plan summaries and rate sheets reflecting these changes and hope to post the 2013-14 rates on the OEBB website late today (May 1, 2013) or early tomorrow, and post the detailed plan summaries on our website by the end of this week. I hope this information and update is helpful to you as you begin to prepare for the upcoming plan year. Sincerely, Denise L. Hall Denise L. Hall, Deputy Administrator Oregon Educators Benefit Board http://egov.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB (503) 378-5133 (503) 378-5832 FAX OEBB encourages all members to stay healthy and be happy!!!! Pass it on..... http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/pages/welllinks.aspx *****CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE***** This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the addressee or it appears from the context or otherwise that you have received this e-mail in error, please advise me immediately by reply e-mail, keep the contents confidential, and immediately delete the message and any attachments from your system. ************************************ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: OEBB Medical Plan Design Overviews for 2013-14 (with rate increases).pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 100848 bytes Desc: OEBB Medical Plan Design Overviews for 2013-14 (with rate increases).pdf URL: From oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Thu May 2 08:13:25 2013 From: oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Business Managers-OEBB) Date: Thu, 2 May 2013 15:13:25 +0000 Subject: [OEBBBUSMAN] Agenda/Handouts for this morning's 10AM BIE Meeting Webinar Message-ID: What: OEBB's Benefits Information Exchange (BIE) Group Meeting - agenda attached When: Thursday, May 2, 2013 (10 a.m. - noon) - first Thursday of each month, same time (no meetings in July, August or September) Where: Join from any computer via iLinc webinar Who & Why: The purpose of the BIE Group is to facilitate improved communication between OEBB and participating educational entities. All interested entity representatives (business managers, benefit representatives, payroll staff, IT staff, etc.) are welcome to attend either in person or via the iLinc webinar. Please share this invitation with any appropriate coworkers who may not be on our listserv. Typical agenda items include a recap of that month's board meeting, a walk-through of one or two reports in Report Mart, and updates on upcoming MyOEBB system modifications and member communications. We also invite questions and suggestions on any topics you would like to discuss. How: Use this link to log into the meeting: https://oregonconnect.ilinc.com/join/bfrysbh After logging in, please enter your name and phone number. The iLinc system will call you so you can participate in the meeting. Want to prepare your system ahead of time? https://oregonconnect.ilinc.com/systest/bfrysbh Need technical assistance? http://www.ilinc.com/services/support We hope you will join us! Jackie Cowsill Communications Coordinator Oregon Educators Benefit Board Voice: 503-378-5353 Fax: 503-378-5832 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: FINAL Agenda - BIE Group 050213.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 118200 bytes Desc: FINAL Agenda - BIE Group 050213.pdf URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: BIEdocs050213.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 1157034 bytes Desc: BIEdocs050213.pdf URL: From oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Thu May 9 12:52:58 2013 From: oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Business Managers-OEBB) Date: Thu, 9 May 2013 19:52:58 +0000 Subject: [OEBBBUSMAN] Watch today's OEBB Board Meeting live! Message-ID: You can watch today's OEBB Board Meeting live by clicking the link below. http://benefitboards.das.state.or.us/public_folder.html?folder=7 If you have any public comments for the Board, please send to Rose.mann at state.or.us. Please put "public comment" in the subject line. ________________________________ Looking for the agenda and attachments? Old bookmarked pages may have changed. Go to the "Meetings" page of the OEBB website: http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/Pages/Public-Meetings.aspx -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Thu May 16 16:27:22 2013 From: oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Business Managers-OEBB) Date: Thu, 16 May 2013 23:27:22 +0000 Subject: [OEBBBUSMAN] OEBB Revisions to 2013-14 Plan Comparison document Message-ID: Dear Business Managers, Superintendents & Benefits Administrators: Today we posted a revised version of the 2013-14 Medical and Pharmacy Summary of Benefits document to the OEBB website. Here is a direct link to the revised document: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/PlanDesigns/2013/Medical_13-14.pdf Below is a link to a list of all revisions made since the Summary of Benefits for the 2013-14 plans were originally posted on May 6, 2013: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/PlanDesigns/2013/Med-RxSOB_revisions_13-14.pdf In addition, these links can also be found on the "Plan Comparisons" page of the OEBB website: http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/pages/benefits.aspx Thank you for your patience as we made these corrections and clarifications. Sincerely, Jackie Cowsill Communications Coordinator Oregon Educators Benefit Board Voice: 503-378-5353 Fax: 503-378-5832 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Tue May 21 09:46:44 2013 From: oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Business Managers-OEBB) Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 16:46:44 +0000 Subject: [OEBBBUSMAN] MyOEBB EE Plan Management is open Message-ID: Hello, Welcome to EE Plan Management for the 2013-14 Plan Year. EE Plan Management opens on Wednesday, May 22nd and continues through June 14th. We wanted to provide you with a quick update on the status of the plans and rates for the 2013-14 plan year and let you know when MyOEBB will be ready for the 2013-14 plan selection process. The Board met on April 25th and adopted new plan designs, processes and rates for the upcoming 2013-14 plan year. For access to the rates and plan designs please click on the link below: http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/pages/benefits.aspx The Board made some fairly significant changes this year to Moda Health Medical Plans -- please remember that Moda Health is the new name for ODS. Part of these changes is the discontinuation of ODS Medical Plans 3 through 9 and the addition of Moda Health Medical Plans A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H. You will note that the pharmacy plan name is no longer called out as part of the medical plan name. Since Moda Health only has one pharmacy option, we felt this was a good time to remove any reference to a pharmacy plan in the medical plan name. The Board will continue to allow all medical, dental and vision plan choices be available to an employee group within a zip code area. Just like last year, the educational entity or employee group will have the option of restricting choices by deselecting plans in EE Plan Management. However, by leaving all options in MyOEBB for employees to consider during open enrollment, individual employees will have the ability to consider and select which medical, dental and vision plan best meets their needs and/or the needs of their family. There will be one exception. Moda Health Medical Plan H (the HSA-qualified high deductible health plan) will not be automatically made available to entities that offer Health Reimbursement Accounts or Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). Moda Health Medical Plans A through G can be used independently or with an HRA, but Moda Health Medical Plan H must be partnered with a Health Savings Account (HSA ) at the employee level. If your entity offers both a HRA and HSA we ask that you contact OEBB directly so we can make sure your group plan selections match appropriately with your HRA and HSA offerings. Additionally, Kaiser Medical Plan 1A will now be called Kaiser Medical Plan 2. Kaiser Medical Plan 1 will continue to be available. Also, the Board decided on a mandatory Open Enrollment for the 2013-14 Plan Year. This means that prior to Open Enrollment, OEBB will terminate all healthcare coverage plans (medical, dental and vision) from everyone in the MyOEBB system as of 9/30/2013. Plans offered from The Standard and UNUM will remain intact for each member. Employees will need to enroll during Open Enrollment to have medical, dental and vision coverage for the 2013-14 Plan Year. The Board also decided to introduce Healthy Futures to the OEBB population for the 2013-14 Plan Year. OEBB will start communicating information about Healthy Futures in Insurance Committee meetings, in communications to individual employees starting the week of May 20, 2013, and during Open Enrollment. So, when you open up EE Plan Management this year the following changes will be in place: First, you will be asked a series of YES or NO questions pertaining to your entire benefit eligible population. 1. Will your entity offer a Health Savings Account for the 2013-14 Plan Year? 2. Will your entity offer a Flexible Spending Account for the 2013-14 Plan Year? 3. Will your entity offer a Health Reimbursement Account for the 2013-14 Plan Year? If YES, please check all that apply: * Limited - A Limited HRA will cover only specified out-of-pocket medical expenses such as dental or vision expenses, or it may cover general medical expenses but only after you have met your annual deductible in your high deductible health plan. An HRA that only reimburses for medical premiums will also be considered a Limited HRA. * Integrated Active Employee HRA - An integrated HRA requires your employee be enrolled in an OEBB medical plan through your entity. * Non-integrated Active Employee HRA - A non-integrated HRA is an HRA that allows an employee to receive an employer contribution into the HRA for opting out of the employer's plan. This type of HRA may not be allowed under federal healthcare reform effective January 1, 2014 unless it is also a Limited HRA. Check with your legal advisor or HRA administrator if you currently offer a non-integrated HRA.. * Retiree-only HRA - A Retiree-only HRA is one that allows an employee to receive an employer contribution into the HRA that can generally only be used for qualified medical expenses incurred after retirement. Check with your legal advisor or HRA administrator to ensure that this type of plan is allowable under federal healthcare reform. 4. Will your entity provide cash or any other benefit and/or incentive in lieu of medical benefit for members that opt-out for the 2013-14 Plan Year who have other group coverage? If you state that your entity does offer a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA), Moda Health Medical Plan H will not populate for any of your groups. Please contact OEBB directly if your entity only offers an HRA to specific groups and you desire Moda Medial Plan H for other groups without an HRA offering. The following plans will be discontinued: * ODS Pharmacy B Medical Plans 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 * ODS Medical Plan 9 The following plan will have a name change: * Kaiser Medical Plan 1A will now be called Kaiser Medical Plan 2 o Please note that Pharmacy is now rolled into the Kaiser Medical Plans These plans will terminate on September 30, 2013, and will not be available for selection during EE Plan Management. The following plans will be new: * Moda Heath Medical Plans A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H o Please note that Pharmacy is now rolled into the Moda Health Medical Plans We are making the necessary system adjustments to implement the above changes and will open MyOEBB EE Plan Management on Wednesday, May 22nd. Plan selection will go through Friday, June 14th. We ask that entities enter the MyOEBB Admin Module during this time to review new plan offerings for their employee groups and deselect any plans or simply confirm plan offerings if no changes are necessary or desired. OEBB staff have been traveling throughout Oregon presenting to insurance committees and will be doing so through about the first week in June explaining the changes. However, if you or your insurance committee are unable to attend a meeting you can contact an OEBB Benefit Analyst 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST Monday through Friday with questions concerning EE Plan Management at 1-888-469-6322 or by emailing us at OEBB.benefits at state.or.us. Our goal is to make this plan selection time period as easy as possible for your Insurance Committee and benefit staff. Let us know how we can help, or if you have any questions. Thanks, Linda Freeze Benefits Manager Oregon Educators Benefit Board 1225 Ferry Street SE Salem, OR 97301 Office: (503) 378-3329 Fax: (503) 378-5832 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Tue May 21 16:23:08 2013 From: oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Business Managers-OEBB) Date: Tue, 21 May 2013 23:23:08 +0000 Subject: [OEBBBUSMAN] Letter to Members - Healthy Futures Message-ID: Dear Business Managers, Superintendents & Benefits Administrators: Attached please find an announcement OEBB will send to members this Thursday, May 23, 2013 announcing the Healthy Futures program. We apologize for the short notice, as we typically strive to share member communications with you at least a week in advance, but with the end of the school year fast approaching, we felt it was important to get this communication out to members as soon as possible. Hard copies of this message will go out in the mail this Thursday to members who selected the "USPS" preference or who did not select a preference in the MyOEBB system. We will send this message via email on Thursday to members who selected email as their preference in the MyOEBB system. OEBB representatives are currently presenting information on the Healthy Futures program in Insurance Committee meetings throughout the state, and more information will be provided as we move into summer, the Open Enrollment period and the 2013-14 plan year. If you have any questions about this communication or about the Healthy Futures program, please contact OEBB Member Services by phone at 888-469-6322 (888-4My-OEBB) or by email at oebb.benefits at state.or.us. Thank you, Jackie Cowsill Communications Coordinator Oregon Educators Benefit Board Voice: 503-378-5353 Fax: 503-378-5832 Jackie Cowsill Communications Coordinator Oregon Educators Benefit Board Voice: 503-378-5353 Fax: 503-378-5832 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: FINAL Healthy Futures Member Letter 052113.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 65969 bytes Desc: FINAL Healthy Futures Member Letter 052113.pdf URL: From oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Tue May 28 10:38:56 2013 From: oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Business Managers-OEBB) Date: Tue, 28 May 2013 17:38:56 +0000 Subject: [OEBBBUSMAN] OEBB -- Important Information About Benefit Plans! Message-ID: Dear Superintendents, Business Managers and Benefit Administrators: Over the past several months, while working to provide information and resources to participating entities about the potential impacts of federal healthcare reform, OEBB became aware of a few other areas of compliance/interest that entities may need to be aware of relating to Health Reimbursement Accounts or Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). We wanted to pass along some guidance the Board received from our legal counsel with the Department of Justice. Following are some areas you should consider if your entity currently offers an HRA, or is considering offering an HRA. Please check with your legal advisor to determine if the type of HRA that you offer, or are considering offering, complies with state and federal law. OEBB participation compliance: Health Reimbursement Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) are considered benefit plans under OEBB's governing statutes, although they are not yet explicitly identified in OEBB's administrative rules. During the initial plan development process in late 2007, no HRA designs were submitted by entities as benefit plans available at that time. Although we believe there were some HRAs being offered through entities prior to OEBB's creation, the number of entities utilizing HRAs has grown significantly over the years. The Board approved filing proposed amendments to OEBB's Division 10 administrative rules to specify that HRAs meet the definition of a benefit plan. You should be receiving a notice via email later today announcing this filing and the beginning of the public comment period. Please watch for this. Subject to only a few exceptions found in ORS 243.886, OEBB has exclusive authority to provide benefit plans to Districts. Please check with your legal advisor to determine if the type of HRA you offer, or are considering offering, complies with state law. Federal Healthcare Reform (a.k.a., ACA, PPACA) compliance: Section 2711 of the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), as added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), prohibits lifetime limits, or certain annual limits, on the dollar value of benefits for any participant or beneficiary. HRAs, by design, generally are subject to such limits -- they provide reimbursements up to a maximum dollar amount for a coverage period and the upper limits for each year of coverage arguably could create a cumulative lifetime limit. Thus, HRAs that are not integrated with an entity's group medical plan that otherwise complies with section 2711 (i.e., a medical plan available through OEBB) could be subject to penalties under the PHSA as early as January 2014. Please check with your legal advisor to determine if the type of HRA you offer, or are considering offering, complies with the requirements of the PHSA and other federal laws governing health insurance. Federal income tax compliance, including constructive receipt: Some districts may be offering their employees a choice between an HRA and more wages (or other taxable income). This raises federal income tax issues, including, but not limited to, what is called the "constructive receipt doctrine." The constructive receipt doctrine means that an employee who has a choice between a nontaxable benefit and a taxable benefit, and who elects the nontaxable benefit, is treated for tax purposes as if he or she actually elected the taxable benefit (i.e., the individual will be taxed on the taxable benefit that he or she could have elected). Typically the adverse constructive receipt consequences can be avoided by offering a choice between a taxable benefit and a nontaxable benefit through a cafeteria plan. IRS Notice 2002-45 indicates that HRAs may not be funded through a cafeteria plan. Offering a choice between cash or other benefits and an HRA may obligate the Districts to impute taxable income to the employees who choose the HRA benefit. Please check with your legal advisor to determine if your HRA complies with all IRS guidelines and, especially if your entity is offering a choice between cash or other taxable benefits and an HRA, check with your legal advisor to ensure you are reporting and withholding on the proper amount of taxable income. Oregon Insurance Code compliance: Because HRAs meet the definition of "insurance" under the Oregon Insurance Code, entities need to consider if their HRAs are subject to the Insurance Code and if so, whether their HRAs meet the Insurance Code's requirements. Effective since July 17, 2007, SB 989 (Oregon Laws 2007, chapter 826, section 1) expanded the number of public bodies that are exempt from regulation under the Insurance Code when they self-insure their health insurance coverage. Now codified at ORS 731.036(6), SB 989 exempts school and community college districts whose covered employees and dependents and retired employees and dependents number at least 500 and who meet other requirements. Prior to this change, the exemption did not apply unless the number of covered employees and retired employees of a school or community college district, not including dependents, was 1,000 or more. Other public bodies that jointly or individually self-insure their health insurance coverage will be able to include dependents along with employees and retired employees in order to meet the minimum number of participants required for the exemption. If your entity is offering an HRA, please check with your legal advisor to determine whether your HRA is subject to the Insurance Code and, if so, whether it meets Insurance Code requirements. GASB compliance: The Governmental Accounting Standard Board (GASB), an independent, not-for-profit organization that establishes financial accounting and reporting standards for state and local governments, has issued Statements 43 and 45 on Other Postemployment Benefits. These Statements would affect local governmental financial reporting if the entity offered healthcare and other non-pension benefits, including an HRA, to retirees. Other GASB requirements may also be applicable. If your entity is offering an HRA, please check with your legal advisor to ensure your entity is in compliance with GASB reporting requirements. We hope this information is a helpful reminder of areas you need to be aware of if your entity currently offers, or is considering offering, an HRA to employees. Sincerely, Denise L. Hall Denise L. Hall, Deputy Administrator Oregon Educators Benefit Board http://egov.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB OEBB encourages all members to stay healthy and be happy!!!! Pass it on..... http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/pages/welllinks.aspx *****CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE***** This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the addressee or it appears from the context or otherwise that you have received this e-mail in error, please advise me immediately by reply e-mail, keep the contents confidential, and immediately delete the message and any attachments from your system. ************************************ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Tue May 28 11:28:41 2013 From: oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Business Managers-OEBB) Date: Tue, 28 May 2013 18:28:41 +0000 Subject: [OEBBBUSMAN] OEBB -- Proposed Rules Filing Notice Message-ID: The Oregon Educators Benefit Board filed the following proposed rules with the Secretary of State on May 10, 2013: Division 65 is our rule that outlines our processes related to the OEBB administration of self pay early retiree groups. Based on feedback and changes in our processes, OEBB changed the date funds are debited from the members account. This rule change aligns our current processes with rule language. Division 10 is our definitions rule. The proposed revisions include adding HRAs (health reimbursement accounts and health reimbursement arrangements) under the definition of a benefit plan. For more information on the reason for these proposed amendments, please see an email sent by Denise Hall of OEBB earlier today (May 28, 2013) relating to things to consider when offering health reimbursement accounts or health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs). A public hearing on these rules will be held on June 26, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. in the OEBB Boardroom at the DAS General Services Building, 1225 Ferry Street SE, Salem, Oregon. You can also provide written comments. Written comments can be emailed to April Kelly at april.kelly at state.or.us or mailed in hard copy to: April Kelly, Oregon Educators Benefit Board, 1225 Ferry Street SE, Suite B, Salem, OR 97301. All public comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on June 30th to be considered during the rulemaking process. Any comments received after June 30th will not be reviewed or considered by the Oregon Educators Benefit Board unless OEBB decides to extend the public comment period to everyone. A copy of these proposed rules are attached and also available on the OEBB website at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/oebb/Pages/index.aspx Thank you, April Kelly Lead Benefits Analyst/Rules Coordinator Oregon Educators Benefit Board P: 503-378-6588; Fax: 503-378-5832 www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB PUBLIC RECORDS LAW DISCLOSURE This e-mail is a public record of the state of Oregon and is subject to public disclosure unless exempt from disclosure under Oregon Public Records Law. This email is subject to the State Retention Schedule. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 111-2013510Notice.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 191392 bytes Desc: 111-2013510Notice.pdf URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Division 65_proposed revisions_April 2013.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 35550 bytes Desc: Division 65_proposed revisions_April 2013.pdf URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 111-2013510Notice.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 191156 bytes Desc: 111-2013510Notice.pdf URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Division 10_proposed revisions (Definitions)_April 2013.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 37698 bytes Desc: Division 10_proposed revisions (Definitions)_April 2013.pdf URL: From oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us Fri May 31 11:00:22 2013 From: oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (Business Managers-OEBB) Date: Fri, 31 May 2013 18:00:22 +0000 Subject: [OEBBBUSMAN] OEBB -- Open Enrollment Meeting Scheduling for 2013 to Begin! Message-ID: Dear Superintendents, Business Managers and Benefit Administrators: OEBB is beginning to prepare for the upcoming annual open enrollment period (August 15 through September 15, 2013). We anticipate there will be more interest and a lot of questions during the 2013 Open Enrollment period. As you are probably well aware, this year will be a mandatory enrollment period for all active employees and early retirees that wish to continue coverage under the OEBB medical, dental and vision coverages. In addition, there will be some fairly significant changes to many of the medical plan designs and OEBB will be introducing the new health education and promotion program "Healthy Futures." Many of you arrange for open enrollment meetings and/or benefit fairs so employees can learn about benefit and plan changes in addition to new plan offerings available at your educational entity. OEBB staff will be available to provide an overview of program and plan changes for the 2013-14 plan year. In our efforts to continue to educate our members about health care coverage, we will also spend some time explaining the steps and process of comparing medical plan options to help employees select the medical plan that best meets their needs. Carrier representatives will be available to present more details about their plans and services and can answer any questions employees might have as they consider their benefit plan choices for the next plan year. OEBB will continue to offer both venue types - open enrollment meetings and benefit fairs. However, it is very important that your employees have the opportunity to hear about the plan design changes and program additions that will go into effect on October 1, 2013, and the interaction during a benefit fair often doesn't allow for this. This year we will again ask that all benefit fairs be scheduled to immediately follow an OEBB open enrollment presentation. We anticipate open enrollment information sessions will need to be just under two hours for your employees to fully understand the plan offerings and changes for the upcoming plan year, how to begin making their benefit plan selections, and how to join and become a part of the new Healthy Futures program. As more individuals become interested in the tax savings Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) can offer, we can also schedule special meetings to follow the open enrollment session. These meetings will help employees learn more about Moda Health Plan H (the HSA-compliant OEBB plan offering) and U.S. Bank's HSA account offering, and/or the FSA benefit available through our newest vendor partner (Chard Snyder) for those entities that have elected to use the OEBB partners for these services. If you are interested in scheduling a time for a special HSA and/or FSA meeting, please note that on the form as well. These special meetings should also be scheduled to immediately follow an open enrollment presentation and could also be held in conjunction with a benefit fair. We also recognize that a mandatory enrollment period may increase the need for employees and/or early retirees to get some assistance in using the MyOEBB online enrollment system. If you are planning to offer a computer lab and would like to have an OEBB representative available to assist you, please note that on the form. (Note: You will need to provide the computers and space) We will make every attempt to accommodate these requests as well. Again, the computer lab should also be scheduled to immediately follow an open enrollment presentation and could be held in conjunction with a benefit fair. We will once again schedule open enrollment meetings by region throughout the state and encourage coordination between districts whenever possible. This is not required, but would be appreciated as we want to be able to make the best use of our staffing resources during this time period. The scheduling form will ask if you are willing to allow employees from other educational entities in the area to attend your meetings. The dates we plan to be in the various areas are listed below. The regions are divided a little differently than you have seen traditionally, so we identified the ESDs and community colleges considered to be in each of the areas. * Southeast Oregon - Week of August 19: Harney; Lake; Malheur; Grant; Klamath CC: Treasure Valley CC; Blue Mountain CC * Southwest Oregon- Week of August 26: South Coast; Douglas; Southern Oregon; Rogue CC; Southwestern Oregon CC; Umpqua CC * Central Oregon - Week of August 26 and September 2: North Central; Jefferson; High Desert; Central Oregon CC * Portland/Metro Area & Willamette Valley - Weeks of August 19, August 26, September 2 and September 9: Willamette; LBL; Lane; Lane CC; Linn-Benton CC;; Columbia Gorge ESD; Columbia Gorge CC; Clackamas ESD; Multnomah; Portland CC: Clackamas CC; Mt. Hood CC * Northeast Oregon - Weeks of August 26 & September 2 -- Inter-Mountain; Union-Baker; Region 18; Blue Mountain CC * Northwest Oregon - Week of August 26: Northwest Regional; Clatsop CC; Oregon Coast CC; Tillamook CC Our goal is to provide this important information to every employee and early retiree for the 2013-14 plan year. If you are an ESD or entity representative coordinating or scheduling meetings in your area, please complete the online form by close of business on June 28, 2013. If you provide your email address in the space provided on the form, once you submit the online form (i.e., click Submit at the bottom of the form), you will receive an email confirmation containing the information you provided for your records. We hope to be able to meet the specific dates and times of each request, but we may need to contact you to negotiate a different date or time to allow us to coordinate our journeys throughout the state. You can also find a PDF version of the form on the "Educational Entity Forms and Reports" page of our website: 2013 Open Enrollment Request Form http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/entity/Pages/eeforms.aspx If the link above doesn't take you directly to the online form, copy and paste this URL into your browser's address bar: https://adobeformscentral.com/?f=w-ahehV57bpi8lIgr7L9Cw If you have any questions, please contact Linda Freeze at linda.freeze at state.or.us, or by calling 1-888-4MyOEBB (1-888-469-6322). Thank you for your continued support and cooperation as we prepare for a successful 2013 Open Enrollment. Sincerely, Denise L. Hall Denise L. Hall, Deputy Administrator Oregon Educators Benefit Board http://egov.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB ( OEBB encourages all members to stay healthy and be happy!!!! Pass it on..... http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/pages/welllinks.aspx *****CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE***** This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the addressee or it appears from the context or otherwise that you have received this e-mail in error, please advise me immediately by reply e-mail, keep the contents confidential, and immediately delete the message and any attachments from your system. ************************************ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: