MEMBERS
PRESENT:
Don Mathe - MSU-Bozeman
Maggie Peterson - MT Tech-UM
Susie Wortman - WDCL-MSLA
Susan Briggs - WMC-UM
Norma Tatarka - MSU-Retiree
Sue Hill - OCHE
Vicky Whitney - MSU-Bozeman
Michael Brown - UM-Missoula
Terri Gruba - UM-Missoula
Michael Franisconi - WMC-UM
Chuck Jensen - Helena COT-UM
Jim Handley - MT Tech-UM
Vicki Miller - MSU COT-Billings
Kevin Turner - AFSCME
Terry Leishman - IUOE
Tom Schneider - MPEA
Kathy Haggart - MSU COT-Great Falls
Kathy Crego - UM-Missoula
Margaret Meggs - MSU-Northern
Ken Emerson - MSU Retiree
Deborah Peters - MSU-Billings
MEMBERS
ABSENT:
Lars Erickson
- Carpenters
Don Herzog - IBEW
Susan Alt - MSU Bozeman
OTHERS
PRESENT:
Glen Leavitt - OCHE Jerry Hayes - New West Health Services
Kerri Marx - MSU-Bozeman Jeff Ireland - New West Health Services
Kirk Keller - MSU-Bozeman Lauretta Drean - New West Health Services
Jill Young - UM-Missoula Meg Lewis - New West Health Services
Richard Miltenberger - Blue Cross/Blue Shield Carolyn Miller
- Montana Public Employees Retirement
Ellen Feaver - Employee Benefit Resources
Allison Justman - UTU-Missoula
Kris Jones - Buck Consultants
Rita Garland - UM-Missoula
PJ Rismon-Beckley - FVCC
Diana Schramm - OCHE
Linda Ryckman - OCHE
Dorothy Seymour - WMC-UM
Jolynn Yerger - MSU-Billings
Quint Nyman - MPEA
Julie Taylor - APS Healthcare
Kathy Samson - MPERA
Minutes of March 8, 2001
Chairman Mike Brown called the meeting to order at 10:00a.m.
I. Call to Order
2. Introductions
3. Update on new Defined Benefit Retirement Plan - Kathy Samson
Kathy gave
an overview of the defined contribution plan implementation.
The process started with the July 1999 PERA release of the RFP
for the DC consulting services and establishing a 13 person
Employee Investment Advisory Council. The Council is now writing
the plan documents and finalizing the contracts. The education
begins mid-April of this year with Phase 1 - Employer Workshops.
The employee education "campaign" will begin late
fall 2001. Employees will have one year to decide which option
to choose. The program implementation date is July 1, 2003.
4. APS Employee Assistance Program Report - Julie Taylor
APS Healthcare offers support to Montana University System's faculty/staff and family members. This includes face-to-face counseling with master-level, licensed professional therapists for up to six sessions per issue. On-campus office appointments are available in Missoula and Bozeman and off campus office appointments are available at all campuses. APS Healthcare offers training seminars, supervisor consultations, and is now able to help employees with legal and financial consultation services. The cost for these services is $2.05 per employee per month.
5. Director's Report - Glen Leavitt
Legislative
report - HB63 adds a disability benefit to the defined contribution
retirement plan. However, because the MUS already has a long
term disability plan, this is unnecessary.
HB 97 is a housekeeping bill that revises the TRS laws.
HB 116 revises the defined contribution plan. One of the changes
would reduce the vesting period from 5 (five) years to 1 (one).
This has been amended back to 5 (five) years.
HB 294 is the GABA bill. This is the guaranteed annual benefit
adjustment for PERS and TRS retirees. It raises the GABA to
3% for PERS retirees and allows TRS to raise their GABA to 3
% over a period of years.
SB 37 increases the post retirement hours for PERS retirees
that can be worked from 640 to 960.
SB 51 is the VEBA bill (voluntary employee benefit association).
This allows employees to request that their employer establish
a VEBA into which the employees can put 25% of their sick leave
to either cash out on an annual basis and use for medical expenses,
or hold onto like an investment until retirement. The employee
can rollover into the VEBA only any sick leave over 240 hours.
SB 441 is a bill that assesses the premiums of existing benefit
plans, mainly the MUS and State plans, to pay for a program
that covers uninsurable people. The cost to the university system
would have been $300,000. This bill is now going to be studied
for the next two years to see how the program will be funded.
SB 306 raises the PERS payout for employees who have 25 or more
years of membership service to a calculation of 1 over 50 instead
of 1 over 56.
SB 412 provides
an antitrust exemption for physicians who could then band together
and bargain as a
group with health plans. This bill appears to be dead.
SB 414 - dead
SB 415 - dead
HB 355 - dead
HB 406 is a bill on diabetic insurance coverage that may pass.
HB 13 is the pay bill and is scheduled for it's first hearing
on March 12. This bill includes the $30.00 per month increase
in employer contribution for insurance.
Glen reported that the State Employee Advisory Council met earlier
this week and reported a 5.8 million dollar loss for the last
plan year ending December 31, 2000. Their projection for this
year is a 5.6 million dollar loss.
The State by design has been spending down its reserve, but
now for the next few years the State will be increasing dependent
and employee premiums.
Glen reported
the MUS plan will be down about $600,000 in operations, but
adding in the $500,000 in interest on the accounts, the plan
is about breaking even. Using inflation rates confirmed by Buck
Consultants of 10% for medical and 20% for prescription drugs,
and adding in suggested premium increases and other changes
to the plan, Glen projected about $205,000 surplus for next
year (see below).
6. Plan Change and Premium Change Discussion
Glen reported on a ruling by the EEOC stating if a plan covered
preventive services for birth control, then it was gender discrimination
not to cover all contraceptive devices for woman. This would
mean that all methods of birth control would come under a Federal
mandate. MUS plan already covers most contraceptive devices,
but adding the others would cost an additional $30,000 per year.
This issue will be referred to the plan change committee.
MSU plan currently covers 15 visits each for acupuncture and
chiropractor visits at $25.00 per visit. Naturopath benefits
could be combined with those services. Increasing the visits
for all three services to 25 per year would cost the plan approximately
$42,000.
The prescription drug changes include increasing the out-of-pocket
from $500 to $600, and increasing the Network costs to $10 for
generic, $25.00 for multi source/non preferred brand, $15.00
for single source/preferred brand drugs. The corresponding Mail
order prices would be $15.00, $50.00 and $30.00. These changes
would save the plan $936,242.
There is no increase in out-of-pocket for single employees on
the health insurance plan. But a 4.18% increase on the $350
deductible plan; a 4.35% increase on the $500 deductible; a
9.57% increase on retirees under age 65, and 15.85% increase
for retirees 65 and older generates a savings of $987,000 for
the plan. These two options save close to the two million dollars
the plan needs for next year's funding.
7. Caucus
8. Motions
Motion: The motion was made and seconded to not make any changes for contraceptive coverage to the plan at this time.
Action: The motion carried with one opposed.
Motion:
The motion was made and seconded to add naturopath to the acupuncture
and chiropractor benefit with a limit of 15 visits overall at
$25.00 per visit per plan year.
An amendment to the motion was made and seconded to change the
number of visits from 15 to 17 per plan year.
A roll call vote was taken.
MONTANA TECH
Maggie Peterson: Yes
Jim Handley: Yes
MSU-BILLINGS
Deborah Peters: Yes
Vicki Miller: Yes
MSU-NORTHERN
Margaret Meggs: Yes
HELENA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Chuck Jensen: No
UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA
Terri Gruba: No
Mike Brown: No
Kathy Crego: No
MONTANA
STATE UNIVERSITY
Susan Alt: No
Don Mathre: No
Vicki Whitney: Yes
WESTERN
MONTANA COLLEGE
Susan Briggs: Yes
Michael Francisconi: Yes
MSU COT
GREAT FALLS
Kathy Haggart: No
COMMISSIONER'S
OFFICE
Sue Hill: No
MSU RETIREE
Ken Emerson: Yes
OPERATING ENGINEERS
Terry Leishman: No
IBEW
Don Herzog: Absent (no by proxy)
CARPENTERS
Lars Ericson: Absent
AFCSME
Kevin Turner: Yes
LABORERS
Susie Wortman: Yes
MPEA
Tom Schneider: No
Norma Tatarka: No
ACTION: The vote was: 11 yes; 12 no; 1 absent; the motion failed.
Motion: The motion was made and seconded to add naturopath to
the acupuncture and chiropractor benefit with a limit of 15
visits overall at $25.00 per visit per plan year.
ACTION: The motion carried.
Motion: The motion was made and seconded to adopt option two in the prescription drug plan changes as recommended by the Director of Benefits, Glen Leavitt.
ACTION: The motion carried.
Motion: The motion was made and seconded to accept the first page on health care plan premiums increase for dependents as presented by the Director of Benefits, but, that there be no increase on single employees.
ACTION: The motion carried, two opposed.
9. Other Business
Kris Jones of Buck Consultants will send information on the
prescription drug formulary to Glen for distribution to the
committee.
Montana Association of Health Care Purchasers has an RFP out
for pharmacy services. The responses are due back on March 9,
2001. The responses will be reviewed on March 15 and the interviews
will be held on April 5. (Since changed to April 9)
Glen will distribute New West and the CHO rates to the committee members by E-mail.
Motion: The motion was made and seconded to empower Glen to
make the necessary decision regarding these rates.
ACTION: The motion carried.
10. Next Meeting Date
The next meeting of the IUBC will be the fall workshop. Any suggestions as to where to hold the workshop are welcome.
The motion was made to replace Lars Ericson who has missed the last three IUBC meetings. A replacement name will be given to Mike Brown and Glen Leavitt prior to the next meeting.
Motion: The motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting.
ACTION: The motion carried.