The Employee Medical Benefits Board held a regular meeting Monday, December 3, 2012 in Meeting Room #1 at the Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street, Newtown, CT.
THESE MINUTES ARE SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY EMPLOYEE MEDICAL BENEFITS BOARD
Chairman Mark Mattioli called the meeting to order at 6:15 pm.
PRESENT: James Loring, Mark Mattioli, Dan McAloon, and Donna Van Waalwijk; NOT PRESENT: Paul Smith and Ron Bienkowski; ALSO PRESENT: Finance Director Robert Tait, and Joseph Spurgeon, Consultant with Lindberg and Ripple.
COMMUNICATION: None
MEMBERSHIP: Mr. Mattioli reminded the group that his term ends on January 6, 2012. He asked if any of the other Board members were interested in becoming Chair of the Board.
ACCEPTANCE OF THE MINUTES: Ms. Van Waalwijk moved to accept the minutes of September 17, 2012. Mr. McAloon seconded the motion. All were in favor.
NEW BUSINESS
Discussion and Possible Action
Review Performance of Reserve Fund Relative to Medical/Rx Claims from the Most Recent Period
Mr. Tait distributed and reviewed the Claims Analysis showing year-to-date figures (Att. A) as well as the Medical Self Insurance Fund Analysis (Att. B). The Board discussed how the reserve fund continues to grow while the medical claims experience for the last few months continues to meet the expectations for the program. October was~a high month, November low, and the Network Access fee (NAF)~was satisfied for the plan~year in November. Based on the timing of budget discussions, Bob Tait suggested that a February special meeting might be useful.
Review/Discuss Additional Information from Consultant Relating to Town/BOE Plan for Wellness Initiative(s).
Mr. Mattioli explained that HR requested data and ideas relating to Wellness initiatives. Mr. Spurgeon discussed options and noted that utilization data show that employees tend to use preventative services for their dependents more than for themselves. He explained several ways to encourage preventative services. The Board discussed possible incentive programs, i.e., a third party biometric program and a HEP (Health Enhancement Program) that may include age-based screenings. The Board make the recommendations and the First Selectman, the Superintendent of Schools, and HR people make the final call. Third party vendors seem to be very successful. A representative from Anthem will come out to provide options and recommendations. Mr. Spurgeon stated
that the $10,000 in wellness dollars would probably be best spent on a mailing to members encouraging them to follow their schedule for preventive services. He said that some members prefer a vendor other than an insurance company to be advocating for their wellness. He mentioned that blood draws with follow-up typically run about $158 per draw. That would be significantly higher than the $10,000. He also said that Anthem and TPAs are somewhat reluctant to provide much in the way of ROI on these programs. The Board believes it is important for Anthem to communicate what their programmatic offerings are so that the~Town/BOE leaders can make an informed~decision.
Review/Discuss Town/BOE Approach to Performance Guarantees.
Mr. Spurgeon reviewed and discussed “Performance Guarantees”. The stats reflect Anthem’s entire block of business. The Board discussed having a survey done. The Board~agreed to recommend Anthem conduct an audit since it has not been~performed and shared~with the Town/BOE in recent history. Mr. Spurgeon informed the Board that the HR leaders of the program had experienced some issues with account management and implementation of changes. Based on that experience, that is where they wished to focus the performance guarantees.
Review/Discuss Town/BOE approach to increasing HSA adoption.
Mr. Spurgeon discussed lack of interest in HSA. He feels there should be more educational sessions to better inform employees of this option. He handed out a presentation entitled “Consumer Directed Health Plans/HSAs” and “Newtown Public Schools Consumer Directed Health Plan Frequently Asked Questions.” The group discussed providing a survey of existing HSA users. Mr. Spurgeon is concerned that people are not attending informative sessions/meetings and that other municipalities have larger HSA populations. He felt when people attend the education sessions they tend to be more open to considering adoption for the plan. Out of five sessions held for Newtown only four people attended. Some municipalities bargain to have education
sessions (at least one) as an important requisite step in the open enrollment process.
Review/Discuss Consultants’ Analysis of Reinsurance
The Board discussed Mr. Spurgeon’s analysis “Newtown: Town and Board of Education, June 2012, ISL Illustration, Medical Claims Only.” The Board~agreed that based on the analysis of claims, the~added risk of increasing~the specific attachment point was not worth the~premium savings. They also agreed that based on the premium of the aggregate~coverage, it was also not worth the added risk of amending or eliminating that policy.
Mr. Tait was called into another meeting at 7:44 pm
Schedule for 2013 - Ms. Van Waalwijk motioned to accept the 2013 schedule. Mr. Loring seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
ANNOUNCEMENTS – None
ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Loring motioned to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Van Waalwijk seconded the motion. The Board adjourned at 7:45 pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Tammy Hazen, Clerk
Attachments
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