[MyOEBB] FW: OEBB -- 2014 Insurance Committee Meetings

Thu Apr 3 16:39:24 PDT 2014

I hope you enjoyed Spring Break 2014, whether you were able to get away, or were just able to focus on some things you wanted to get accomplished that you never seem to be able to get to.  We sent the notice below to ESD representatives late last week (Thursday, March 27). You may have already been contacted by your ESD about setting up insurance committee meetings for the 2014-15 plan year.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask that you encourage your insurance committees to consider scheduling time to have OEBB come out to talk about what to expect for the 2014-15 plan year. Not only will we be providing information on any plan or program changes, relevant rule changes and rates, we plan to provide an overview of what OEBB is doing in light of federal healthcare reform and how it has or may impact the medical plans available through OEBB. All of this information should be considered when making plan selection decisions.

If you have already worked with your ESD representative to schedule a meeting time or times, you can disregard the rest of this email. If you have been contacted, but haven't yet responded with your date(s) and time(s), we urge you to do so as soon as possible to assist both your ESD and OEBB in finalizing and confirming locations, dates and times. If you haven't heard from your ESD, you can either contact them, or contact Rose Mann at rose.mann at oregon.gov<mailto:rose.mann at oregon.gov> to verify whether a meeting or meetings have been scheduled in your area.

Organizing these meetings in a central location helps us meet the demand in the short period of time between releasing plan designs and rates and the end of the school year. We understand that limiting meetings to ESDs only can be a major inconvenience for some districts and are willing to consider coordinated efforts between districts and community colleges and/or even district-specific meetings when there are no other options. Our intent is to be as available as possible within the staffing and time constraints we face.

We look forward to coming out and meeting with the employee groups charged with reviewing options and possibly making plan selections for their co-workers and peers. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Denise L. Hall
Denise L. Hall, Deputy Administrator
Oregon Educators Benefit Board
http://egov.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB<http://egov.oregon.gov/DAS/OEBB>

OEBB encourages all members to stay healthy and be happy!!!!     Pass it on.....
http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/pages/welllinks.aspx

*****CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE*****

This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the addressee or it appears from the context or otherwise that you have received this e-mail in error, please advise me immediately by reply e-mail, keep the contents confidential, and immediately delete the message and any attachments from your system.

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Subject: OEBB -- 2014 Insurance Committee Meetings
Importance: High

It's that time of the year again!  OEBB and its insurance carriers are preparing for meetings with educational entity insurance committees and groups of employees responsible for reviewing plans and options to determine which benefit plans will be offered to employees for the 2014-15 plan year.
For the past several years, we've scheduled most insurance committee meetings through the education service districts (ESDs) located throughout Oregon.  This has helped us to be available for many more insurance committee meetings than would otherwise be possible. We really appreciate the time and effort you have put into this the past couple of years. Thank you!

We hope you are once again willing to contact or work with the benefit representative or business manager for the districts in your service area to coordinate a date and/or time for in-person insurance committee meetings this year. For the past two years, we haven't limited the number of meetings per ESD and overall it has worked pretty well as ESDs and districts have been willing to (and were able to for the most part) arrange schedules to accommodate insurance committee members in your area within a two-day period with no more than three meetings in any one day. We appreciate how flexible you all have been as we've tried to coordinate our limited resources during the very tight timeframes we all face.
We will send out an email to individual districts on April 2nd letting them know to anticipate hearing from you regarding scheduling these meetings. We will also encourage districts that are unable to arrange a time that works with their ESD to coordinate with other districts, or even community colleges, in their area to schedule joint meeting times. Our goal is for OEBB to be able to complete all of the meetings needed in a specific area in a three- to four-day period within the block of time designated for the various areas of the state (see below).

The regions are divided a little differently than you see traditionally, so we identified the ESDs and community colleges considered to be in each of the areas.

*       Southwest Oregon - Week of May 19: South Coast; Douglas; Southern Oregon; Rogue CC; Southwestern Oregon CC; Umpqua CC

*       Central Oregon - Weeks of May 19 & May 26: North Central; Jefferson; High Desert; Harney; Grant; Malheur; Central Oregon CC; Treasure Valley CC

*       Portland/Metro Area & Willamette Valley - Weeks of May 12, May 19 & May 26: Willamette; LBL; Lane; Lane CC; Linn-Benton CC; Columbia Gorge ESD; Columbia Gorge CC; Clackamas ESD; Multnomah; Portland CC: Clackamas CC; Mt. Hood CC

*       Northeast Oregon & Northwest Oregon - Week of May 12: Inter-Mountain; Union-Baker; Region 18; Northwest Regional; Clatsop CC; Oregon Coast CC; Blue Mountain CC; Tillamook CC

*       Southeast Oregon - Week of May 19: Lake; Southern Oregon; Klamath CC

We anticipate the presentations will last approximately an hour and can allow an additional 30 minutes for questions. OEBB staff will provide an overview of all program and plan changes, talk about the impact of healthcare reform on the rates and program, summarize any pertinent rules or rule changes and answer all program, eligibility and healthcare reform questions that we can.

We do not anticipate that carrier representatives will be participating in insurance committee meetings this year unless specifically requested by an entity, or we determine having a carrier representative available to speak to a specific change or changes is in the best interest of the audience. Benefit and benefit plan selections are very important decisions and OEBB's goal is to provide this important information to every employee who participates in the plan selection process for the 2014-15 plan year.

Once you have identified meeting dates and times for the entities in your area and you are ready to schedule an insurance committee meeting or meetings, please complete a meeting request form (2014 Insurance Committee Form<https://adobeformscentral.com/?f=zCFKSumkh*zj5n5jAfO6IQ>) for each requested meeting and return it to Rose Mann at rose.mann at oregon.gov<mailto:rose.mann at oregon.gov> no later than close of business on April 25, 2014. We will do everything we can to accommodate the specific dates and times that work best for you and your entities; however, we may need to contact you to resolve any scheduling conflicts that may arise as the requests come in. We anticipate having the final meeting schedule set by May 2, 2014, and will send out a meeting confirmation at that time.

If you have any questions, please contact Linda Freeze at Linda.Freeze at oregon.gov<mailto:Linda.Freeze at oregon.gov>, or by calling 1-888-4MyOEBB (1-888-469-6322). Thank you for your continued support and cooperation as we prepare for a successful 2014-15 plan year.

Sincerely,

Denise L. Hall
Denise L. Hall, Deputy Administrator
Oregon Educators Benefit Board
http://egov.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB<http://egov.oregon.gov/DAS/OEBB>

OEBB encourages all members to stay healthy and be happy!!!!     Pass it on.....
http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/pages/welllinks.aspx

*****CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE*****

This e-mail may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the addressee or it appears from the context or otherwise that you have received this e-mail in error, please advise me immediately by reply e-mail, keep the contents confidential, and immediately delete the message and any attachments from your system.

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