Employee Benefit Trust Minutes - 07/19/2005 r ,
CITY OF WICHITYA FALLS
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS TRUST MEETING
July 19,2005
Present: Bill Sullivan, Chair
Darron Leiker, Interim City Manager
Gail Garmon, Employee Benefits Coordinator
The meeting was called to order by Bill Sullivan at 2:00 PM.
Agenda Items:
Report from Marvin Traywick
Marvin Traywick reported on his meeting with United Regional Health Care Center. He
had arranged to meet with them concerning the Trust's contract agreement with the
hospital for a 25% discount on all claims. The Trust had asked him to try and negotiate a
discount arrangement that would equal the arrangement United Regional has with Blue
Cross Blue Shield, which we understand to be around 33%. Mr. Traywick stated that he
made his appeal to the hospital officials and that they indicated it would be around three
weeks before they would have an answer to his request. They will respond directly to
Mr. Traywick.
Bill Sullivan inquired as to whether or not the decision would be up to the hospital board
and not the City/County Board. Mr. Traywick stated that he felt it would be a decision
made by the hospital board.
Marvin then presented his "invitation to bid" and asked the board to proof the document
which he intends to send out to the top five carriers asking for proposals for
administering our plan. He stated the deadline for the proposals would be September 1,
2005.
Mr. Traywick then explained that he had spoken to North Texas Medical Foundation
regarding our On-Site Clinic services. The current contract with Joe Bryan and
Associates expires December 31, 2005 and the board is wanting to explore other
possibilities for on-site clinic services. Officials at the North Texas Medical Foundation
expressed an interest in working with the board on these services.
Jim Dockery stressed the need to first talk with Joe Bryan to get a clearer view of their
services, then evaluate all options.
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Discussion of Alt Benefits Flex Spending Acccount
Representatives from Alt Benefits were present to answer questions regarding their flex
spending account program. Bill Sullivan stated that the board had looked at proposals
from two other vendors and now had additional questions regarding Alt's plan.
Jim Dockery wanted some clarification to the fee structure. Chris Alt went over their
fees. He stated that there was no charge for checking on the accounts online and that
direct deposit for reimbursements was not mandatory, that it can be done both ways, the
choice is left up to the participant. The City's fee to Alt is 20 cents per claim paid. The
debit card fee is $1.50 per month per participating employee. Jim Dockery stated that the
savings to the City on the FICA taxes would be worth these expenses.
It was decided that January 1, 2006 would be the best time for the program to start with
education and sign up to take place in late November or early December.
Mr. Alt stated that to get started the employer (City) would need to fill out the 125
Application. The service agreement would then be generated from that then signed by
both parties.
Darron Leiker inquired as to the maximum recommended amount for employees to be
allowed to direct to the accounts. Chris Alt suggested that $2,500 per year be the
maximum the City allows.
Jim Dockery then suggested that the board take a vote on which of the three flex plan
proposals the City would use: Alt Benefits, AFLAC, or Pay Flex.
Jim made a motion to accept the Alt Benefits plan. Darron Leiker seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
Prior Appeal
In May, 2005, the board had approved resuming previously denied facet and radio
frequency injections for a dependent, pending the review of the treatments and medical
history by a third party. The review was done by the Medical Review Institute of
America. For the second time the treatments were found to be not medically necessary.
After some discussion the board again agreed to notify the patient and the provider that
the treatments would no long be covered by the plan.
Appeal to Reinstate Coverage
The board was presented with an appeal from a retired employee. The retiree had
stopped paying premiums for health coverage as of February 1, 2005. The retiree was
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asking that coverage be reinstated. After discussion,the board decided that the policy
had always been to not reinstate coverage once a retiree had dropped or been terminated
from coverage. In addition,there had been nearly a six month lapse in the coverage. It
was decided that a letter denying reinstatement would be forwarded to the retiree.
Approval of Minutes
Jim Dockery made a motion to accept the minutes of the June 17th meeting. Darron
Leiker seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Darron made a motion to accept the minutes of the June 20th meeting. Bill Sullivan
seconded the motion. Motion carried.
The board decided to set a meeting for sometime in the next two to three weeks to meet
with Joe Bryan and Associates.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
3.4ei
Gail Garmon
Employee Benefits Coordinator