October, 2005 - Health Insurance Update
Worker’s Compensation - If
you have an open worker’s compensation claim with the city, you MUST see a
work comp physician every 12 months to keep this claim active. If you do
not meet this requirement, the city will close your claim! Your health
insurance may not cover you if you do not comply with the yearly visits.
Physical
Therapy/Diagnostic tests – You may receive a prescription from your doctor
and a recommendation from his office on where to go for these services.
BEFORE you go, or when you make an appointment, you need to make sure this
facility is a part of your United Healthcare plan.
Newborns – It is very
important that you call the Health Trust office within the first 31 days
of the birth of your new child. Heath insurance coverage for newborns by
law, is only provided for the first 31 days. The child MUST be registered
by the parent to continue on the plan. A phone call to the Health Trust
office will allow us to add the child immediately. The birth certificate
copy can follow at a later date.
Pharmacy changes – United
is supporting a new program promoting 16 drugs that can be ordered in
double strength, and cut in half. The co-pay would be the same, for the
prescription or refill, but you’d have double the amount. Advertising for
the new program will be rolled out by United Healthcare after October 1.
The program will be officially launched on January 1, 2006. Watch for
coming attractions!
Retirees/New Medicare D
Pharmacy Program 2006 – The companies that will be participating in this
new drug benefit for Medicare eligible people will start providing
information about their plans after October 1, 2005. Some of these
companies will actually be on site at Wal-Mart, Costco and other large
pharmacies to promote their government approved plan and answer
questions. You should attend one of these sessions and/or read all of the
materials that will start arriving next month from Medicare.
Recently AARP has started
communicating program benefits and rules, and can be another source of
information for you.
We have had our pharmacy
plan reviewed (attested) and it is equal to, or better than the Medicare D
plan. Therefore, participants will be allowed to select the Medicare D
program and/or stay in our plan. The Health Trust will be sending a
Certificate of Credible Coverage letter to the affected retirees (Medicare
participants in 2006) prior to the start of open enrollment – November 15,
2005. Enrollees must sign up by December 31, 2005. The program is quite
new and has already caused a fair amount of confusion for everyone. We
are currently finalizing our understanding of the program rules right
along with you! Your patience will be appreciated.
URGENT CARE centers will
save $$$$ versus use of the emergency room!!
Go to
www.myuhc.com
to find network centers nearest to where you live or work.
What’s the best way to
improve your health?
Find out with a
personalized Health Assessment at myuhc.com®
A healthier lifestyle
could be just a few clicks away. By taking a free online Health
Assessment, you can identify your personal health needs, learn healthy
habits and compare your “lifestyle score” to others of the same age and
gender. Plus, you’ll have access to several health improvement resources.
To get started, just visit
www.myuhc.com
and under “Health Topics and Tools,” click on “Assess and Improve Your
Health.” If you haven’t yet registered with myuhc.com, click “Register
Now.” It’s quick and easy, and you’ll gain access to all of your personal
health benefits information, a wealth of health and wellness information
and of course, the online Health Assessment.
Available to all Health
Trust plan enrollees, this assessment will:
-
Provide feedback on your
current health habits with suggestions on how to improve.
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Give you a personalized
lifestyle score and explain how your health compares to others of the
same age and gender.
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Educate you on healthy
lifestyle techniques.
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Offer health improvement
resources.
UnitedHealth Wellness tool
kit – Don’t
forget to visit
www.unitedhealthwellness.com
to utilize the new UnitedHealth Total Well-Being Program (myRenewell) and
use its many tools. Via this website you will also be able to access the
Health Value Program which provides discounts of up to 50% to services not
covered in our health plan. Examples are Cosmetic dentistry, Laser Eye
Vision, Long-Term Care Services and Alternative Medicine. Contact the
Health Trust office for a complete brochure for you and your family!
Please remember, our
medical plan is self-insured. Contributions from the city and you
pay our claims! United Healthcare has a claim system to pay the providers
and gives us access to provider network discounts, thus acting as Third
Party Administrator or TPA. Accessing network providers and utilizing
proper care will help contain plan costs and your contributions!
Keep up the great job of being informed consumers of our
plan!
Questions: Health
Trust Office 954-527-9218
