Public Employees' Benefit Board January 2010

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Public Employees' Benefit Board

January 2010

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Check Your Benefits for 2010

Do yourself a favor in the New Year – carefully go over your first pay stub or statement as soon as you get it. This way you can make sure your deductions line up with the benefits you chose during Open Enrollment.

It’s also a good idea to compare that first pay stub with your benefit statement. Log in to the benefit system and select "View my current benefit selections."

If you see an error on your first pay of 2010, you have 30 days to correct it.

Contact your payroll or benefits office as soon as possible.

Here’s a key to abbreviations used by the agency payroll system.

Core Benefits

Abbreviation	Description
KAISER DENT	Kaiser dental plan
KAISER HMO	Kaiser medical plan
ODS TRD DENT	Traditional dental plan, administered by ODS
ODS PRF DENT	Preferred dental plan, administered by ODS
P/T	Plan available only to part-time employees
PROV CHOICE	Providence Choice plan, administered by Providence
PSWP	PEBB’s Statewide Plan, administered by Providence
VSP	Routine vision services plan, administered by VSP
WILLMT DENT	Willamette dental plan

Optional Benefits

Abbreviation	Description
AD&D	Accidental death & dismemberment insurance
BASIC LIFE	$5,000 basic life insurance; premium paid by agency
PEBB LIFE	$20,000 basic life insurance; premium paid by PEBB
EMP LF/##-##	Employee life insurance/age range
FSA DEP CARE	Flexible spending account for dependent care
FSAHLTHCARE	Flexible spending account for healthcare
LONGTERM DIS	Long term disability insurance
SHORTERM DIS	Short term disability insurance
SP/DP ##-##	Spouse or domestic partner life insurance and age range

For coverage details, see the plan handbooks.

For specifics on how your benefits work, see the Summary Plan Description.

To contact a plan directly, access the directory.

Common comments in the new plan year

My dependents aren’t covered.

You may add dependents to coverage if you experience a life or family change that affects eligibility. Review the matrix of midyear plan changes. If you have a qualified change, submit an update form to your payroll or benefits office. Coverage goes into effect the first of the month after receipt of the form (no earlier than the date of the change).

I enrolled in the wrong plan.

If a premium deduction is not for the plan you intended, contact your payroll or benefits office within 30 days of when you receive your pay.

My dependent in the 19 to 24 age range is now eligible.

Submit an update form to your agency payroll or benefits office. Coverage goes into effect the first of the month after receipt of the form.

I disagree about coverage for one of my prescriptions.

Call your plan’s customer service line and ask to speak with pharmacy services.

In the News

PEBB members may have read or seen news stories about a mix-up in a mailing by Providence Health Plans to a group of members in the Statewide Plan. Click here to learn what happened and what happens next. Note that If you received a letter from Providence that included your name and plan ID number, you are NOT in the group that is part of the mix-up.

Fast Facts


What stays the same and what changes for 2010
Same
Plan designs – covered services and level of coverage – are the same as last year. In designated rural counties, PEBB continues to cover services from out-of-network providers at the same level as in-network providers. About 95 percent of members continue to have access to current providers at in-network coinsurance levels. The plans continue to contract with Weight Watchers for the weight management benefit.
Change
PEBB self-insures the Statewide Plan, administered by Providence. Your choices about health and healthcare have even more impact. About 10,000 members will pay less for current prescriptions; about the same number can choose to pay more for a brand drug or talk with their provider about an effective alternative. Members in the Statewide Plan can get 90-day prescription fills at mail-order cost from retail pharmacies in the network. Direct-entry midwives are not listed as providers.

Weight Watchers in 2010

Your Benefit Board continues the popular weight-management benefit in 2010 – no-cost participation in Weight Watchers.

The no-cost option applies to the employee who is the primary subscriber enrolled in the medical plan. Weight Watchers offers a discount for covered dependents.

The benefit begins anew in 2010. You can participate through meetings at work or in your community, or on your own online.

View this brochure to learn how to sign up and how to continue to participate throughout the year. You will need to contact your plan and give them your PEBB Benefit number to get your access code.

Note: Enrolling in the online option requires a credit-card number. Once enrolled, remember to cancel the credit charge.


Make a Real Change this Year

Do more than make a list this year. Make a life change. The Quit For Life® Program can help you succeed in quitting tobacco for life. This PEBB benefit is FREE. It’s confidential. It works. Don’t wait until next year! Call (866) QUIT-4-LIFE (866 784-8454), or visit www.quitnow.net today. Kaiser Members: Call Kaiser membership services first to ensure you get access to the full benefit.