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September 2007 Newsletter
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Article Content
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| It's all online; Check out your 2008 benefit options |
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Your Benefit Board wants to make sure you have access to 2008 benefits information at least a month before Open Enrollment. Beginning Sept. 1, you can go online to see all your 2008 options:
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Changes to the medical, dental, life and disability plans
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How each of the plans work
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Whether you’re eligible to enroll
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The premium rates for the plans
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| Do you cover a child age 19 and up to 24? |
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If you cover a dependent age 19 through 23, you need to follow a new process to certify the dependent is eligible. If you don’t provide this certification, your dependent will lose coverage on Jan. 1, 2008.
During Open Enrollment in October, you can certify their eligibility online. If you cover a dependent in this age range, you’ll see a screen asking you to certify that you expect the dependent will continue to meet PEBB eligibility rules through 2008.
Read the definition of an eligible dependent PEBB has filed in OAR 101-010-0005. |  |
These rules keep your benefits program in line with the IRS. This means PEBB maintains cafeteria-plan status, which gives you and your employer tax advantages.
If you don’t certify your dependent's eligibility by the end of Open Enrollment, you will receive a letter and form during November. You will have until Dec. 9, 2007, to return the form to PEBB.
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| Watch for your benefit statement |
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Look for your 2007 benefit statement in the mail this week. It shows all the information in your benefit record to help you get ready for Open Enrollment in October. Make sure the statement shows the correct:
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Personal information (address, phone, date of birth, e-mail, etc.)
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Dependent information (names, birth dates, etc.)
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Current benefit enrollments.
Contact your agency or benefits office now to report any errors in your current enrollments.
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| Connect with your benefit board |
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Your Benefit Board has created a new e-mail address to learn your benefit-related questions, suggestions and concerns. E-mail the Board at pebb.connect@state.or.us.
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Voting Members
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Advisory Members
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Diane Lovell, Chair
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Sen. William Morrisette
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Jeneane Smith, Vice Chair
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House Member (vacant)
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Peter Callero
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Rocky King
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Administration
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Paul McKenna
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Jean Thorne, Administrator
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Sue Nelson
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Lydia Lissman, Deputy
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Rich Peppers
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Administrator
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Bret West
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| Saving tax $ just got easier |
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Your Benefit Board has selected ASIFlex as the new administrator for flexible spending accounts (FSAs). The company offers a healthcare FSA debit card that makes it even easier to save tax dollars.
When you enroll for a 2008 healthcare FSA, you’ll have the option of having your monthly pretax contribution put into a debit-card account. You can use these tax-free deposits to pay for qualified medical and dental expenses not covered in your plans.
How your FSA debit card works
When you use your card, the cost comes right out of your account. This means you don’t have to submit claim forms and wait for reimbursement checks. Your card will work to pay such healthcare providers as:
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Doctors
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Hospitals
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Health clinics
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Medical labs
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Dental offices
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Pharmacies
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Optometrists
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Using your card at retail outlets
The card will also work at retail outlets that have an Inventory Control System (ICS). Currently, only WalMart, Sam’s Club, Walgreens and drugstore.com have an ICS, but this list is expected to grow considerably by January 2008.
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| Get personal support through e-mail |
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Did you know you can e-mail your employee assistance program (EAP) for help with a personal or emotional issue?
Many people who e-mail the EAP like the convenience of using it at home or at the office. They also like not having to look at someone in a counseling session or to be at a certain place at a certain time.
E-mail your EAP for help to
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Determine the best course of action to resolve a personal, family, or relationship issue
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Schedule an appointment
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Find a provider in your area
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Locate community resources
E-mail the EAP at info@cascadecenter.com.
Note: Please follow your agency guidelines about use of state computers at work. You can always call the EAP at (800) 433-2320.
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| Member health survey scheduled this fall |
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If you get a call from someone saying they’re conducting a survey for PEBB this fall, please take a few minutes to participate. With support from the Department of Human Services’ Healthy Worksites, PEBB is sponsoring this survey to get information on employee health and wellness.
You may be one of the 2,000 employees selected from a random phone list. You will be able to schedule the 15-minute survey interview at your convenience to answer questions about:
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Your health risks
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PEBB’s wellness program
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Worksite health and wellness activities
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Your experience with the healthcare system.
All responses will be completely confidential. The independent survey firm will use member phone numbers for this survey, only. It will securely dispose of all individual information when the survey is completed. The firm will report results to DHS and PEBB only in the aggregate. No person can be identified through any reported information.
Your participation is important. The survey results will help the Board create or modify wellness programs and other activities to meet member needs.
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| New user-friendly security process |
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Before Open Enrollment in October, log in to pebb.benefits to set up your new, user-friendly security questions and answers. PEBB changed the process to help you keep from being locked out if you forget your password.
In the past, you created your own security questions, and the answers could vary over time. The answer to “What’s my favorite baseball team?” could be “the Cubs” one year and “the Yankees” the next year.
Now, you pick two standard questions with answers that don’t vary. For example, "Where was I born?" or "What’s my mother’s maiden name?"
Go to the online system, select Register or Log In, and follow the screen instructions. If you have a problem with the system, call PEBB at (503) 373-1102 in Salem or (800) 788-0520 statewide.
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| Eat your colors |
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Did you know that color plays a role in nutrition? Colorful fruits and vegetables provide the wide range of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and chemicals your body uses to stay healthy and energetic.
To make choosing a variety of fruits and vegetables simple, think of the different colors fruits and vegetables come in – blue or purple, green, white, yellow or orange, and red.
The goal is to eat about one cup from each color group every day. So, keep color in mind – the more color you eat, the greater the health benefit for you.
It’s Easy
It’s easy to get more color in your diet. Here are some suggestions to help you stay on track.
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Find easy, delicious, colorful recipes online
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Among the healthy ways to prepare vegetables are eating them raw with low-fat dips or in salads; stir-frying or sautéing with canola, olive or sesame oil; steaming; and roasting with olive oil.
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Instead of sharing doughnuts, cookies or candy, bring in some fresh fruits and vegetables to share with your co-workers. Promote a salad bar potluck.
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| PEBB plans enhance your benefits |
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For 2008, your Benefit Board enhanced your medical plans to improve your coverage, care and costs.
Hearing Aids If you need hearing aids in 2008, your plan will cover up to $4,000. You pay only 10 percent of the cost. This benefit is renewed every four years.
Glasses and Contacts In the full-time plans, your materials allowance for routine vision care will increase to $200. You can use this amount to cover costs of frames and lenses or contacts.
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Note: Part-time and retiree plans do not cover routine vision benefits (except for an eye exam in Kaiser).
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Support from your medical plan
 Providence Choice will offer lower co-pays. For example, in the full-time plan, you will pay only $5 for an office visit to your Medical Home. These lower co-pays make it easier for you to choose and use your Medical Home in the Portland area.
 Regence will pilot a new pharmacy program for members with diabetes. If you have diabetes and live one of the pilot communities (to be determined), the plan may give you more support to stay healthy by using your medications wisely.
 Samaritan Select will roll out a Zero co-pay program for certain generics. This program fully covers seven of the most-common generic drugs to treat diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If you have one of these conditions, you may be able to get some of your drugs at no cost so you can reach your health goals.
 Kaiser Permanente will continue to promote its online tools and low-cost for generics. As a Kaiser member, you can e-mail a provider any time with non-urgent health questions and get a secure e-mail answer within 24 hours. You can even make appointments and get prescription refills online, saving you time, travel and dollars. You will continue to pay just $1 for generic prescription drugs in the Kaiser HMO.
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