Employee Benefit Trust Notice - 06/17/2005 CITY OF WICHITYA FALLS
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS TRUST MEETING
June 17, 2005
Present: Bill Sullivan, Chair
Darron Leiker,Interim City Manager
Jim Dockery,Director of Finance
Gail Gannon,Employee Benefits Coordinator
The meeting was called to order by Bill Sullivan at 10:05 AM.
Agenda Items:
Approval of Minutes:
Bill Sullivan made a motion to accept the minutes from the meeting of May 31, 2005.
Jim Dockery seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Appeal
The employee appeal was moved to the end of the meeting.
Presentation of Flex Spending Account Proposal
Sharon Alt and Chris Alt, representatives from Alt Benefits in Ft. Worth, were present to
explain their company's flex spending account program for the Board's consideration.
Sharon Alt began by explaining Alt Benefits has been in business since 1996 and that
"flex spending accounts" is the only product that their company offers, therefore making
it possible for them to give 100% attention to their clients needs. They currently
administer the flex accounts for Wichita County and various other businesses in Wichita
Falls. .
Ms. Alt explained how Alt Benefits, if selected, would do all of the initial education to
the employees as to how a flex spending account would work and how it could be used to
supplement their current medical insurance since these accounts are designed to cover
unreimbursed medical expenses, such as prescription co-pays, over the counter
medications, eye-wear, etc.
Chris Alt explained that debit cards are available for convenience, but that they are not
mandatory and are not necessarily recommended although they have been shown to
increase participation. There is a monthly fee for use of the debit card. Use of the card
allows participants to be reimbursed at the time of purchase. He stated that the election by
the employee to participate in the program is an irrevocable contract and cannot be
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cancelled until the next enrollment period or termination of employment. Bill Sullivan
inquired as to the limit a person could put into the account yearly. Mr. Alt stated that the
employer has the option of setting the limit on the amount of money a participant can put
into the account per year, thereby limiting the employers possible liability in the event a
participant terminates employment after using more than is in their account.
Mr. Alt explained that fees to Alt Benefits for administration of the plan are as follows:
$500.00 initial set up fee
$0.30 per eligible participant (one time charge)
$4.25 /$5.50 per month per participating member
$250.00 yearly renewal fee
$5.00 monthly per debit card (optional)
Flex spending account funds are deducted from payroll on a pre-tax basis, therefore
saving the employee money and saving the City considerable money on the FICA.
Cassie Stennett then presented the board members a written proposal from Pay Flex
which had a similar fee structure and similar benefits as the Alt Benefits plan.
Representatives from Pay Flex were not present at the meeting.
This ended discussion of the flex spending account proposals.
Sondra Farrell of Pharmacare and Carol Bailey of PSG Consultants, then brought the
Board up to date on the City's prescription program regarding the use of generic vs.
brand preferred and brand non-preferred medications They made several suggestions as
to what the City could do to improve the prescription coverage portion of the plan. Those
suggestions included, 1. restoring coverage of the drug Omeprozale because it is a
generic proton pump inhibitor and many participants of the plan use drugs from this class
(a proton pump inhibitor is used in the treatment and control of gastric reflux disease), 2.
lowering the generic co-pay to at least $10.00 at the retail level, and 3. adding a specialty
pharmacy program which would council patients who are using certain specialty drugs
and work with them on their conditions. It would also be responsible for dispensing
those drugs to the patient. Specialty drugs are used for treatment of conditions such as
Aids, Rheumatoid arthritis, and Hepatitis C.
Discussion with Marvin Traywick
Marvin Traywick was present to discuss the City's current contract arrangement with
United Regional Hospital. Bill Sullivan suggested that it might be time to reapproach the
hospital administrators on the City's contracted discount. It was noted that Blue Cross
Blue Shield is afforded a higher discount than our current 25%. Mr. Traywick plans to
set up a meeting with United Regional officials in the near future. He suggested that it
would be wise to get Mr. Bill Altman to attend the meeting also on our behalf since he is
on the City/County hospital board and is familiar with the hospital officials. He noted
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that our leverage in these discussions would be that we pay on a timely basis, giving the
hospital a good cash flow.
Mr. Traywick also plans to speak with Susan Strait, head of Texoma Independent
Physicians, with which we are contracted on a"fee schedule" arrangement.
Jim Dockery stated that he would be interested in having our current plans reviewed. It
was decided that Marvin would look at the City's current plan structure and make
suggestions as to what might be done for improvement.
Appeal
An employee had made an appeal as to the On-Site Clinic charging less for lab work for
participants on Plan D than it charges participants of the other City plans. He also
expressed concern that the higher amount that he paid for lab work would not be counted
toward his plan deductible.
It was noted that the lower lab fees for Plan D were a part of the plan structure and that
for the time being that would remain in place. Gail Garmon, Employee Benefits
Coordinator, was instructed to draft a letter to the employee explaining the policy for
participating in Plan D, use of the On-Site Clinic, and to further insure the employee that
his fees for lab work are processed and counted toward his deductible and are eligible for
reimbursement after satisfying the deductible, the same as any other claim from any other
provider.
In other discussion the Board members expressed the need to invite Dr. Tom Talbert, and
Joe Bryan, PA, to a future meeting for discussion of the On-Site Clinic procedures and
administration.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:50 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail Garmon
Employee Benefits Coordinator