Federation Update – Health Plan
Published on: Sep 29, 2014
Hi Members:
With the passing of summer, we head into a new season – not back to school – but rather open
enrollment for insurance.
The good news for next year is that there are no changes to the health plan. We are retaining
coverage through Medica with the same plan options, deductibles and out-of-pocket levels. The even
better news is that rates actually are down from last year. Depending on your plan, the employee’s
portion of the monthly premium cost will go down by $1 to $5.
Over the summer, the City, in conjunction with our representatives on the Benefits Labor Management
Committee (“BLMC”), sent out a request for proposals for providers to submit bids for both a fully
insured plan and administration of a self-insured plan. Surprisingly, Medica proposed a fully-insured
plan for 2015 with lower premiums than what they charged in 2014. As a result, the BLMC determined
that best course was to retain the fully insured plan for 2015 and look to move to self-insured in 2016.
The one thing that will change is the wellness program. Over the summer, Medica announced that it
entered into a business partnership with RedBrick – a recognized leader in wellness programming –
to run Medica’s wellness platform. Our wellness program will keep the same basic format (multiple
options with a 300-point threshold for completion), but you will notice new options to meet the
wellness requirements.
Be on the lookout for open enrollment information in the mail, on City Talk and on the Medica website.
As always, there will also be a series of informational meetings. Remember, even if you intend to select
the same plan as last year, you should take the time to go through the open enrollment process to
ensure the accuracy of your information and to make your Minneflex elections. The Tax Code requires
that flexible spending account elections be made each year. Thus, there is no automatic renewal of any
tax-saving options that you might have selected in the past.
Finally, we are in the process of finalizing a “transparency” pilot program with Medica that will allow
you to make price comparisons for certain procedures and prescription drugs so that you can save
money on your out of pocket costs. The pilot program will include financial rewards for selecting low-
cost providers for medical procedures. The details of the pilot program are not yet finalized, but the
intention is for the program to be implemented on January 1, 2015 and run throughout the calendar
year. Stay tuned for more details on this important cost-saving program.
Sincerely,
Lt. John Delmonico
President, POFM
