From oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us  Fri Sep  6 11:16:33 2013
From: oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (OEBB - Superintendents)
Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2013 18:16:33 +0000
Subject: [OEBBSUPERINFO] =?windows-1252?q?=93Exchange_Notice=94_templates_?=
	=?windows-1252?q?now_available?=
Message-ID: <mailman.71.1378491395.21628.oebbsuperinfo@listsmart.osl.state.or.us>

Dear Business Managers, Superintendents, and Benefits Administrators:


Template letters for the federally required ?Exchange Notice? are now available on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/Pages/HealthCareReform.aspx.

Below are the steps you will need to take and instructions on how to use these templates in order to comply with the federal requirement.



1)    Determine which of your employees have already received this notification from OEBB.

On August 26, 2013, OEBB mailed a notice to all members on your August invoice as well as any new members added to the MyOEBB system between the time the August invoice was generated and the time the mailing data was pulled from the system on August 15. If your entity added any employees to the system during this time, you will find a report in your document management area of the MyOEBB system titled ?Exchange Mailing not on August Invoice?. These members were also notified by OEBB along with those listed on your August invoice. If you do not have a report with this title in your document management area, then the August invoice is the complete listing of your members who received the OEBB notification.

(Samples of the notification letters OEBB mailed are available on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/Pages/HealthCareReform.aspx.)



2)    No later than September 30, 2013, use the ?Benefits Eligible Aug. 15 ? Sept. 30? template to notify any employees who were not notified by OEBB as described above, but who gain eligibility for benefits prior to October 1, 2013.

The ?Benefits Eligible Aug. 15 ? Sept. 30? template can be found on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website, but we have also provided a direct link here for your convenience:

www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-Aug15-Sept30.doc<http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-Aug15-Sept30.doc>



3)    No later than September 30, 2013, use the ?Not Eligible For Benefits? template to notify all individuals who are active employees of your educational entity as of September 30, 2013, but who are not eligible for benefits.

If an individual?s employment ends on or before September 30, 2013, you are not required to send them this notification; however, there?s no harm in doing so.

The ?Not Eligible For Benefits? template can be found on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website, but we have also provided a direct link here for your convenience:

www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-NotBenefitsEligible.doc<http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-NotBenefitsEligible.doc>



4)    Beginning October 1, 2013, notify each new employee within their first 14 days of employment.

Later this month, additional templates will be posted to the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website which can be used to notify employees hired on or after October 1, 2013. This notification may be mailed to the employee?s home, or it may be hand-delivered directly to the employee. It may also be included in a new-hire information packet, but that packet must be hand-delivered directly to the employee or delivered via first-class USPS mail.

Alternate delivery methods, such as making the notification available online, making multiple copies of the notification generally available in a common area, or providing a link to the notification rather than providing the full notice, will NOT comply with the federal requirement.

Employers must ensure that each new employee receives the proper notification within their first 14 days of employment either by mailing the notice first-class USPS mail or hand-delivering it directly to the employee.


If you have further questions about this federal ?Exchange Notice? requirement, please send an email to OEBB Member Services at: oebb.benefits at state.or.us<mailto:oebb.benefits at state.or.us>. Staff will research your question and provide the answer by replying to your email, as well as compile the questions and answers into an FAQ section of the Healthcare Reform page on the OEBB website. This method will help all our educational entities learn from each other?s questions.
Thank you for your patience and partnership as we work to provide you with the most helpful, clear, and easy-to-use tools during this exceptionally busy time.

Jackie Cowsill
Communications Coordinator
Oregon Educators Benefit Board
Voice: 503-378-5353
Fax: 503-378-5832

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From oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us  Tue Sep 17 11:31:14 2013
From: oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (OEBB - Superintendents)
Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 18:31:14 +0000
Subject: [OEBBSUPERINFO] =?windows-1252?q?=93Exchange_Notice=94_templates_?=
	=?windows-1252?q?now_available?=
Message-ID: <mailman.101.1379442676.19634.oebbsuperinfo@listsmart.osl.state.or.us>

Dear Business Managers, Superintendents, and Benefits Administrators:


On September 6 we sent a message notifying you that template letters for the federally required ?Exchange Notice? for current employees are now available on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/Pages/HealthCareReform.aspx.

This web page now also has templates to use for new hires on or after October 1, 2013.

Below is a reminder of the steps you will need to take and instructions on how to use each of templates to comply with the federal requirement for current employees as well as the instructions for using the two new templates for new hires on or after October 1.



1)    Determine which of your employees have already received the required notification from OEBB.

On August 26, 2013, OEBB mailed a notice to all members on your August invoice as well as any new members added to the MyOEBB system between the time the August invoice was generated and the time the mailing data was pulled from the system on August 15. If your entity added any employees to the system during this time, you will find a report in your document management area of the MyOEBB system titled ?Exchange Mailing not on August Invoice?. These members were also notified by OEBB along with those listed on your August invoice. If you do not have a report with this title in your document management area, then the August invoice is the complete listing of your members who received the OEBB notification.

(Samples of the notification letters OEBB mailed are available on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/Pages/HealthCareReform.aspx.)



2)    No later than September 30, 2013, use the ?Benefits Eligible Aug. 15 ? Sept. 30? template to notify any employees who were not notified by OEBB as described above, but who gained or will gain eligibility for benefits prior to October 1, 2013.

The ?Benefits Eligible Aug. 15 ? Sept. 30? template can be found on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website, but we have also provided a direct link here for your convenience:

www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-Aug15-Sept30.doc<http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-Aug15-Sept30.doc>



3)    No later than September 30, 2013, use the ?Not Eligible For Benefits? template to notify all individuals who are active employees of your educational entity as of September 30, 2013, but who are not eligible for benefits.

Anyone technically listed as an employee in your records on the date you mail the notification up through September 30, 2013, should be notified, even if they have not been actually reporting hours as ?worked? for any period of time. This can include substitutes, student workers, temporary employees, and/or employees on an approved leave of absence. As long as there is an active ?employment relationship? in place at this time and/or on or before September 30, you should send them the notice.

The ?Not Eligible For Benefits? template can be found on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website, but we have also provided a direct link here for your convenience:

www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-NotBenefitsEligible.doc<http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-NotBenefitsEligible.doc>



4)    Beginning October 1, 2013, notify each new employee within their first 14 days of employment.

Two additional templates are now available on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website which can be used to notify employees hired on or after October 1, 2013. Direct links are also provided here for your convenience:



?Benefits Eligible? New Hires on or after 10/1/2013:

www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-OnOrAfterOct2013.doc<http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-OnOrAfterOct2013.doc>



?Not Eligible for Benefits? New Hires on or after 10/1/2013:

www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-NotBenefitsEligible-OnOrAfterOct2013.doc<http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/2013/HCR/TEMPLATE-ExchangeNotice-NotBenefitsEligible-OnOrAfterOct2013.doc>



This notification may be mailed to the employee?s home, or it may be hand-delivered directly to the employee. It may also be included in a new-hire information packet, but that packet must be hand-delivered directly to the employee or delivered via first-class USPS mail.

Note that sending the notice via email will NOT comply with the federal requirement. In addition, other alternate delivery methods, such as making the notification available online, making multiple copies of the notification generally available in a common area, or providing a link to the notification rather than providing the full notice, will NOT comply with the federal requirement.

Employers must ensure that each new employee receives the proper notification within their first 14 days of employment either by mailing the notice first-class USPS mail or hand-delivering it directly to the employee.


If you have further questions about this federal ?Exchange Notice? requirement, please send an email to OEBB Member Services at: oebb.benefits at state.or.us<mailto:oebb.benefits at state.or.us>. Staff will research your question and provide the answer by replying to your email, as well as compile the questions and answers into an FAQ section of the Healthcare Reform page on the OEBB website. This method will help all our educational entities learn from each other?s questions.
Thank you,

Jackie Cowsill
Communications Coordinator
Oregon Educators Benefit Board
Voice: 503-378-5353
Fax: 503-378-5832

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From oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us  Wed Sep 18 16:25:41 2013
From: oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (OEBB - Superintendents)
Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 23:25:41 +0000
Subject: [OEBBSUPERINFO] Please help with an MIT survey on HSAs, HRAs,
	and FSAs
Message-ID: <mailman.145.1379546744.31003.oebbsuperinfo@listsmart.osl.state.or.us>

Dear Business Managers, Superintendents & Benefits Administrators:

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is performing a research project focused on determining whether employees with benefits available through the Oregon Educators Benefit Board (OEBB) are selecting the medical plan that best meets their and their families' needs. To help MIT make the most complete and comprehensive analysis of past and current "choices," we need to once again ask for your help.

The following survey was designed to gather information on how entity benefit contributions can be used by employees.

We know that contribution amounts and application of the entity contribution may be different for different groups of employees within an entity. If this is the case, please complete one survey for each employee group. If all employee groups have the same contribution amount and options, you need only complete one survey.

TO BEGIN THE SURVEY, PLEASE CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY/PASTE THE URL INTO YOUR BROWSER:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MITHSA

Thank you in advance for taking your time to complete this survey, or surveys before close-of-business Friday, September 27. We realize this is a very busy time of year for everyone. The results of this study will be invaluable in understanding how OEBB members make their plan choices and what OEBB can do to help employees decide which medical plan best meets their and their families' needs and is the best use of their entity contribution toward that coverage.

If you have questions about this survey, you can send an email to denise.hall at state.or.us<mailto:denise.hall at state.or.us> and/or jackie.cowsill at state.or.us<mailto:jackie.cowsill at state.or.us>, or you can call 888-469-6322 and ask to speak with me, Denise Hall, personally.

Thank you again for your assistance with this project.

Sincerely,

Denise L. Hall
Denise L. Hall, Deputy Administrator
Oregon Educators Benefit Board
http://egov.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB<http://egov.oregon.gov/DAS/OEBB>

OEBB encourages all members to stay healthy and be happy!!!!     Pass it on.....
http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/pages/welllinks.aspx


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From oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us  Wed Sep 25 16:15:52 2013
From: oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (OEBB - Superintendents)
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 23:15:52 +0000
Subject: [OEBBSUPERINFO] OEBB -- Healthcare Reform Update & ACA Bulletin #2
Message-ID: <mailman.121.1380150954.26501.oebbsuperinfo@listsmart.osl.state.or.us>

Dear Business Managers, Superintendents and Benefits Administrators:

Please take a moment to review these important announcements and reminders regarding Healthcare Reform.


IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:



*         The second "Spotlight on Healthcare Reform" bulletin by Towers Watson is now available on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website. This edition discusses ACA's Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions, including when and how they may apply to the entities.



Direct link to the bulletin: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/docs/HCRbulletins/Spotlight2-092513.pdf





*         Towers Watson will be hosting another webinar on Healthcare Reform, this time focusing on the measurement periods process discussed in the bulletin above. This webinar will be the major focus of our October BIE Meeting (Benefits Information Exchange) on October 3, 2013 from 10 a.m. to noon. Please save the date and plan on tuning in. A separate email with the login information and full agenda will be coming soon.


IMPORTANT REMINDERS:


*         The September 30, 2013 deadline for mailing the federally mandated "Exchange Notice" is right around the corner. OEBB has already mailed this notice to most of your benefits-eligible employees, but entities must send the notice via first-class mail (email will not satisfy the federal requirement) to all employees not already notified by OEBB, including:



o    benefits-eligible employees added to the MyOEBB system after OEBB pulled the mailing data on August 15, 2013, and

o    all non-benefits-eligible employees



This means you do need to notify temporary employees, student workers, substitutes, employees on an approved leave of absence, etc. If an employment relationship exists as of September 30, 2013, the employee must be notified by first-class mail no later than September 30, 2013.



Full instructions (including how to determine which of your employees were notified by OEBB) and template notices can be found on the Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website: http://www.oregon.gov/oha/OEBB/Pages/HealthCareReform.aspx



Please read the section titled "Exchange Notice - Templates for Educational Entity Benefits Administrators" as well as the section "Exchange Notice - Q&A".



If you have further questions about this requirement, please email oebb.benefits at state.or.us<mailto:oebb.benefits at state.or.us>.




*         The Healthcare Reform page of the OEBB website also includes a number of other resources to help you and your employees find and access information about the measurements, mandates, challenges and opportunities associated with these provisions. You will find all of the Towers Watson "Spotlight on Healthcare Reform" bulletins (current and previous), links to webinars prepared and/or presented by Towers Watson on this topic, a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) section and more. We will continue to grow this page as new information becomes available. You can find it easily from the homepage of the OEBB website, www.oregon.gov/oha/oebb<http://www.oregon.gov/oha/oebb>, by looking to the menu on the left side of the page and clicking "Healthcare Reform".





We hope this information is helpful to you.



Sincerely,



Denise L. Hall

Denise L. Hall, Deputy Administrator

Oregon Educators Benefit Board

http://egov.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB<http://egov.oregon.gov/DAS/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.

************************************

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From oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us  Fri Sep 27 16:54:02 2013
From: oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us (OEBB - Superintendents)
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 23:54:02 +0000
Subject: [OEBBSUPERINFO] OEBB -- Reminder of MIT survey on HSAs,
	HRAs and FSAs
Message-ID: <mailman.98.1380326044.26033.oebbsuperinfo@listsmart.osl.state.or.us>

From: HALL Denise * OEBB
Sent: Friday, September 27, 2013 1:36 PM
To: 'oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us'; 'myoebb at listsmart.osl.state.or.us'; 'oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us'
Subject: RE: OEBB -- Reminder of MIT survey on HSAs, HRAs and FSAs

Good afternoon!  We now have 71 responses to the MIT survey.  This is fantastic, but we are still holding out for more information. If you've already completed the survey, thank you very much.  If you haven't, we've decided to leave it open through Monday, September 30.  Thanks again for your assistance in pulling this information together.  The link below will be active until 5:00 p.m. on Monday.

Sincerely,

Denise L. Hall
Denise L. Hall, Deputy Administrator
Oregon Educators Benefit Board
http://egov.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB<http://egov.oregon.gov/DAS/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.

************************************


From: OEBBBUSMAN [mailto:oebbbusman-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Business Managers-OEBB
Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 11:42 AM
To: 'myoebb at listsmart.osl.state.or.us'; oebb.benefits at state.or.us<mailto:oebb.benefits at state.or.us>; 'oebbbusman at listsmart.osl.state.or.us'; 'oebbsuperinfo at listsmart.osl.state.or.us'
Subject: [OEBBBUSMAN] OEBB -- Reminder of MIT survey on HSAs, HRAs and FSAs

Dear Business Managers, Superintendents & Benefits Administrators:

Last Wednesday we sent you a link to a survey OEBB created to gather information researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will use for a special project to determine whether employees with benefits available through the Oregon Educators Benefit Board (OEBB) are selecting the medical plan that best meets their and their families' needs. To make sure the findings of this research project consider as many of the variables employees have to think about when deciding which medical plan is best for them as possible, information about availability of and contributions to tax-advantaged healthcare accounts is essential.

Thanks to the 37 entities who have already responded to the survey!!!!!  If you have not yet completed the survey, this is a friendly reminder that the survey will only be available through September 27 (this Friday).  It is our hopes that we can ensure MIT has all of the information they need to complete this research project this year and OEBB can make the most appropriate and helpful plan decision tool available to all employees who wish to use one next open enrollment period.

Below is an excerpt from the earlier email and the link to the survey for your convenience.

*******

The following survey was designed to gather information on how entity benefit contributions can be used by employees.

We know that contribution amounts and application of the entity contribution may be different for different groups of employees within an entity. If this is the case, please complete one survey for each employee group. If all employee groups have the same contribution amount and options, you need only complete one survey.

TO BEGIN THE SURVEY, PLEASE CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY/PASTE THE URL INTO YOUR BROWSER:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MITHSA

Thank you in advance for taking your time to complete this survey, or surveys before close-of-business Friday, September 27. We realize this is a very busy time of year for everyone. The results of this study will be invaluable in understanding how OEBB members make their plan choices and what OEBB can do to help employees decide which medical plan best meets their and their families' needs and is the best use of their entity contribution toward that coverage.

If you have questions about this survey, you can send an email to denise.hall at state.or.us<mailto:denise.hall at state.or.us> and/or jackie.cowsill at state.or.us<mailto:jackie.cowsill at state.or.us>, or you can call 888-469-6322 and ask to speak with me, Denise Hall, personally.

**********

Sincerely,

Denise L. Hall
Denise L. Hall, Deputy Administrator
Oregon Educators Benefit Board
http://egov.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB<http://egov.oregon.gov/DAS/OEBB>

OEBB encourages all members to stay healthy and be happy!!!!     Pass it on.....
http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/pages/welllinks.aspx


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