Joint Labor-Management Benefits Committee COMMITTEE REPORT 17-18

Transcription

1 Joint Labor-Management Benefits Committee COMMITTEE REPORT JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT BENEFITS COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Employee Organizations Date: April 6, 2017 To: From: Subject: Joint Labor-Management Benefits Committee Staff Projects & Activities Report Cheryl Parisi, Chairperson Paul Bechely Chris Hannan David Sanders William Violante JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT BENEFITS COMMITTEE Management Wendy G. Macy, Vice-Chairperson June Gibson Rich Llewellyn Tony Royster Matthew Rudnick RECOMMENDATION That the Joint Labor Management Benefits Committee (JLMBC) receive and file projects and activities reports regarding informational items, projects update and summary, meeting calendar, and staffing summary for March 2017 and February 2017 (Attachment A). DISCUSSION A. Informational Items Keenan & Associates (Keenan) Partnership Keenan informed the City on March 9, 2017 that it has entered into an agreement to join AssuredPartners, Inc. Keenan indicates that the current account team that City staff works with at Keenan will not change and the services provided to the City will be provided by the combined firm. Keenan anticipates the transaction will be completed by the end of March or early April. Continued Informational Items Additional information about projects and activities for the month of February 2017, including Anthem Mail Order Pharmacy Update, Mercer Dallas Field Office Closure, and New Employee Orientation Sessions that were continued from the March 2, 2017 JLMBC meeting can be reviewed in Attachment A. B. Projects Update Affordable Care Act Tax (ACA) Reporting Update Under the ACA, the City is required to provide Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1095-C (Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage) to employees that received an offer of health insurance coverage through the City s LAwell Civilian Benefits Program (formerly Flex benefits) during the 2016 calendar year. The tax forms were mailed to employees on February 21, 2017 in advance of the March 2, 2017 IRS deadline. Additional information about the ACA and informational resources provided to employees to assist them with understanding the tax forms is provided in Attachment A. Since the tax forms were mailed on February 21, staff has received minimal calls and inquiries. Staff has been able to respond to these calls and inquiries and remains prepared to handle inquiries past the April 15 tax deadline for the 2016 tax year.

2 On March 24, 2017, a proposed vote by the United States House of Representatives on a bill to change the ACA was pulled with no further detail on subsequent legislative change proposals. Staff will continue to work with its legal counsel and contracted vendors in complying with the ACA and any other applicable Federal or State laws. C. Projects Summary Following is an update on key projects and a summary project log which reflects project activity for the month of March Legend: G = Governance C = Communications O = Operations A = Administration BENEFITS COMPLETED PROJECTS: March 1 to 31, 2017 # STATUS PROJECT DATE COMPLETED Completed G JLMBC Report: 2017 Open 3/2/17 Enrollment Data Review Completed G JLMBC Report: Benefits Third Party 3/2/17 Administration Request for Proposal Update and Mercer Human Resources, LLC Contract Extension Completed G JLMBC Report: Employee Benefits 3/2/17 Trust Fund Staffing Reimbursements Fourth Quarter of Fiscal Year , Fiscal Year , and First and Second Quarters of Fiscal Year Completed G JLMBC Report: LIVEwell Program 3/2/17 Review & Updates Completed G JLMBC Minutes - Meeting of 3/2/17 February 2, 2017 Special Meeting Completed C Wellness Survey 3/17/17 NOTES Completed C Wellness Survey Postcard Mailed to 3/24/17 City Employees Completed C 2017 New Hire Guide 3/31/17 Completed O Vision Pop-Up Clinics 3/2-3/17 3/13-16/17 3/2-3/17 Marvin Braude Building 3/13-16/17 City Hall East Completed A Senior Administrative Clerk Selection Completed A Senior Personnel Analyst I Selection Completed A Request for Proposal for Life- Disability-AD&D Program Services Pre-Proposal Conference Completed A Request for Proposal for Tax- Advantaged Spending Accounts Program Services Pre-Proposal Conference Completed A JLMBC Appeals March total completed in EBD 3/20/17 3/31/17 3/20/17 3/20/17 3/30/17 2

3 Completed A Catastrophic Illness Cases March cases processed 3/30/17 ONGOING PROJECTS # STATUS PROJECT DUE DATE NOTES 1 PENDING A Kaiser Contract PENDING A Anthem Contract PENDING A Delta Contract PENDING A Eyemed Contract PENDING A ACA Ongoing Eligibility, Tax Reporting Corrections, and Communications 6 PENDING A Preparation and Planning for Open Enrollment PENDING A Request for Proposal for ACA Tax Reporting Services Draft being completed 8 PENDING A Request for Proposal for Benefits Third Party Administrator Services Draft being completed 9 PENDING A Request for Proposal for Wellness Services 10 PENDING A Mercer Third Party Administration Contract Extension 11 PENDING A Benefit Services RFP (EAP, Life-Disability-AD&D, Tax- Advantaged Spending Accounts) Response Evaluations 12 PENDING A LAwell Summary Plan Document 13 PENDING C Member Survey 14 PENDING C Revisions and Updates 15 PENDING O Benefits Trust Fund Member Refunds 16 PENDING O ASD Coordination of Benefits/Direct Billing D. JLMBC Meeting Calendar The JLMBC meeting months of May and June typically involve additional special meetings in order to allow sufficient time for the presentation of plan renewal information, benefit service provider selections that may be occurring in that year, and plan design review that will impact LAwell plan setup for the subsequent calendar year. In order to allow sufficient time for review of this year s procurements and bidder evaluations, staff is tentatively planning on meetings to take place on May 18, June 1, June 8, and June 15 (subject to JLMBC member availability dates/times will be adjusted as necessary). If additional meetings are needed, two weeks remain in the month of June for scheduling. MEETING DATE 18-May-17 ITEMS CALENDAR JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update Benefit Service Provider Presentation: EyeMed 1-Jun-17 (tentative) 3

4 JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update 8-June-17 (tentative) JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update 15-June-17 (tentative) JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update E. Staffing Summary Employee Benefits Division Staffing Update Daisy Tam, Personnel Analyst II has been appointed to fill the Senior Personnel Analyst I vacancy within the Employee Benefits Division. This position was temporarily filled by Senior Personnel Analyst I, Leonor Gardere who has taken a new assignment in the Employee Benefits Division, Commute Options and Parking Section. Daisy joins the division as an internal transfer from the Personnel Department, Liaison Services Division. In addition, Tameekah Ford, Senior Administrative Clerk has been appointed to fill the vacancy of Member Services Representative within the Benefits Section Service Center providing assistance to members with last names beginning with letters G-I and K-M. This position was previously held by Elvira Mendez and has been vacant since her departure in January. Tameekah joins the division from DWP where she previously worked as a Customer Service Representative. Following is a summary of staff positions supporting the LAwell Civilian Benefits Program: Position Authority Staff Member Function Est. % Allocated to LAwell Program Personnel Chief Personnel Analyst Steven Montagna Division Chief 60% Senior Personnel Analyst II Jenny Yau Section Manager 100% Senior Personnel Analyst I Daisy Tam TPA/Payroll/Kaiser 100% Senior Personnel Analyst I Paul Makowski Communications/Audits/Budget 100% Senior Personnel Analyst I Neil Malabuyoc Wellness Program Coordinator 100% Management Analyst II Russell Escueta Administration/COBRA/Anthem 100% Management Analyst II Helen Georgeson Participant Services/JLMBC 100% Management Analyst II Theodore Vasquez Wellness Program Assistant 100% Benefits Specialist Adriana Beltran-Herrera Supervisor-Member Services Section 100% Senior Administrative Clerk Mayra Martinez Member Services Rep: A-F 100% 4

5 Senior Administrative Clerk Tameekah Ford Member Services Rep: G-I / K-M 100% Senior Administrative Clerk Vincent Pacheco Member Services Rep: N-V 100% Administrative Clerk Maria Lopez Member Services Rep: J, W, Z, Sworn 100% City Attorney Assistant City Attorney Curtis Kidder Board Counsel 25% Submitted by: Reviewed by: Approved by: Paul Makowski Jenny M. Yau Steven Montagna 5

6 Joint Labor-Management Benefits Committee COMMITTEE REPORT JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT BENEFITS COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Employee Organizations Date: March 2, 2017 To: From: Subject: Joint Labor-Management Benefits Committee Staff Projects & Activities Report Cheryl Parisi, Chairperson Paul Bechely Chris Hannan David Sanders William Violante JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT BENEFITS COMMITTEE Management Wendy G. Macy, Vice-Chairperson June Gibson Rich Llewellyn Tony Royster Matthew Rudnick RECOMMENDATION That the Joint Labor Management Benefits Committee (JLMBC) receive and file the following projects and activities report regarding informational items, projects update and summary, meeting calendar, and staffing summary. DISCUSSION A. Informational Items ATTACHMENT A Anthem Mail Order Pharmacy Update As reported to the JLMBC at its meeting on February 2, 2017, staff worked with Anthem to develop a communication to Anthem members who previously were utilizing mail order pharmacy with Blue Shield. The communication in letter format (see Attachment A) informs members of Anthem s mail order pharmacy provider, Express Scripts and provides instructions on how to set up a member s mail order pharmacy account online to ensure there is no disruption in receiving prescriptions via mail. The communication was mailed to about 502 affected Anthem members, including dependents, by February 17, Mercer Dallas Field Office Closure Mercer informed the City on January 25, 2017 that it will be closing its Dallas field office after conducting a review of its US operations locations. Third party administration services, including the Benefits Service Call Center, are primarily provided out of the Dallas location. Affected employees, including call center representatives working on the administration of the City s account daily will allowed to work remotely only if they meet the requirements of Mercer s Work from Home policy. Mercer will continue to have a Dallas consulting office open for any required in-person meetings, training, team building, or client visits. Mercer indicates that quality control measures are in place to ensure that work product and quality remain consistent with the terms of the City s contract and that there is no service impact on the City or its members. The current benefits administration account team at Mercer that City staff works with on a daily basis will not change; they have been approved to work from home. Mercer anticipates the full transition to be completed by June 30, Staff will continue to monitor the situation closely and report back to the Committee if necessary. New Employee Orientation Sessions Employee Benefits Division staff provided a benefits briefing and overview for 74 newly hired employees at LAPD and Public Works, Bureau of Engineering on January 25-26, 2017 and February 8 and 23, 2017.

7 The briefing was an interactive session aimed at providing the new employees with an overview of the City s LAwell Civilian Benefits Program. Key topics covered included the benefits enrollment process and health, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, and other benefits programs. Staff will continue to provide benefits orientation sessions to City departments upon request. B. Projects Update Affordable Care Act Tax (ACA) Reporting Update Under the ACA, the City is required to provide Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1095-C (Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage) to employees that received an offer of health insurance coverage through the City s LAwell Civilian Benefits Program (formerly Flex benefits) during the 2016 calendar no later than March 2, 2017 (extended from January 31, 2017). The City has been working with an external vendor, Benelogic, to generate and mail these forms. As reported during the last JLMBC meeting on February 2, 2017, the final electronic files required to populate and generate the tax forms were delivered to Benelogic on January 19. The City completed its review of the tax forms and approved Benelogic to move forward with mail fulfillment on February 8, The tax forms were mailed to employees on February 21, 2017 in advance of the March 2, 2017 deadline. It is important to note that IRS Form 1095-C does not provide proof of coverage for employees or their dependents. That information is provided on IRS Form 1095-B (Health Coverage). Under the ACA, fully-insured health plans such as Kaiser and Blue Shield are required to provide IRS Form 1095-B to demonstrate whether an individual and their dependents had health insurance coverage during the calendar year. Both Kaiser and Blue Shield have completed mailing of Form 1095-B to City employees. To provide informational resources to City employees on the different tax forms they will receive from both the City and health care carrier, staff has completed work on the following communications materials: a) Postcard and Citywide communication to remind City employees that the City will issue and mail IRS Form 1095-C to their home address by March 2 and that the form is not required to file a tax return. Mailing of the postcard to about 41,000 civilian and sworn employees was completed on February 17, Additionally, a Citywide communication was sent on February 14, b) Staff worked with the City Attorney and finalized an ACA Health Care Reform FAQs to answer commonly asked questions. The FAQs has been posted to the Personnel Department, Employees Benefits Division landing page at and is now available for viewing and download. The link to the FAQs was also provided on the City ACA that was sent on February 14 and the postcard that was mailed by February 17. c) Staff developed and approved a final phone script for the Benefits Service Center call center service representatives to use to answer questions from City employees related to their tax forms. The phone script, postcard, and FAQs were provided to the Benefits Service Center on February 8, 2017 ahead of the of the tax forms 2

8 being mailed to ensure proper coaching and training is provided to the call center representatives. C. Projects Summary Following is an update on key projects and a summary project log which reflects project activity for the month of February Legend: G = Governance C = Communications O = Operations A = Administration BENEFITS COMPLETED PROJECTS: February 1 to 28, 2017 # STATUS PROJECT Completed G JLMBC Report: 2017 Benefit Service Provider Procurements EAP, Life- Disability-AD&D, and Tax- Advantaged Spending Accounts Completed G JLMBC Report: LIVEwell Wellness Program Review & Updates Completed G JLMBC Report: Employee Benefits Trust Fund Wellness Reimbursements Completed G JLMBC Minutes - Meeting of January 5, 2017 Special Meeting Completed C ACA Communications: Call Center Script Provided to Benefits Service Center Completed C ACA Communications: Citywide ACA Completed C ACA Communications: Health Care Reform FAQs Posted to City Website Completed C ACA Communications: Postcards Mailed to Sworn and Civilian City Employees Completed C Anthem Pharmacy Mail Order Communication Sent to Affected Anthem Members DATE COMPLETED 2/2/17 2/2/17 2/2/17 2/2/17 2/8/17 2/14/17 2/14/17 NOTES 2/17/17 Mailed approximately 41,00 postcards 2/17/17 Completed O Vision Pop-Up Clinics 2/21-24/17 2/26-27/17 Completed A ACA IRS Tax Reporting Production Data Completed A ACA IRS Tax Forms Generate and Mail IRS Forms 1095-B and 1095-C 2/21-24/17 City Hall East 2/26-27/17 City Hall East 2/8/17 Completed quality assurance review of approximately 41, C forms 2/22/17 Mailed approximately 41, C forms Completed A Request for Proposal for Life- Disability-AD&D Program Services Completed A Request for Proposal for Tax- Advantaged Spending Accounts Program Services Completed A JLMBC Appeals February total completed in EBD Completed A Catastrophic Illness Cases February cases processed 3 2/2/17 2/2/17 2/17/17 2/17/17

9 ONGOING PROJECTS # STATUS PROJECT DUE DATE NOTES 1 PENDING A Sr. Personnel Analyst I Position Selection 2 PENDING A Sr. Administrative Clerk Position Selection 3 PENDING A Kaiser Contract PENDING A Anthem Contract PENDING A Delta Contract PENDING A Eyemed Contract PENDING A ACA Ongoing Eligibility, Tax Reporting Corrections, and Communications 8 PENDING A Preparation and Planning for Open Enrollment PENDING A Request for Proposal for ACA Tax Reporting Services 10 PENDING A Request for Proposal for Benefits Third Party Administration Services 11 PENDING A Request for Proposal for Wellness Services 12 PENDING A Mercer Third Party Administration Contract Extension 13 PENDING A Benefit Services RFP (EAP, Life-Disability-AD&D, Tax- Advantaged Spending Accounts) Response Evaluations 14 PENDING A LAwell Summary Plan Document 15 PENDING C Member Survey 16 PENDING C New Hire Guide 17 PENDING C Revisions and Updates 18 PENDING O Benefits Trust Fund Member Refunds 19 PENDING O ASD Coordination of Benefits/Direct Billing Draft being completed D. JLMBC Meeting Calendar MEETING DATE 6-Apr-17 ITEMS CALENDAR JLMBC Report: Request for Proposal for Benefits Third Party Administrator JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update Benefit Service Provider Presentation: Anthem 4-May-17 JLMBC Report: Request for Proposal for Wellness Services 18-May-17 Benefit Service Provider Presentation: EyeMed 4

10 JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update 1-Jun-17 JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update 15-Jun-17 JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update E. Staffing Summary Following is a summary of staff positions supporting the LAwell Benefits Program: Position Authority Staff Member Function Est. % Allocated to LAwell Program Personnel Chief Personnel Analyst Steven Montagna Division Chief 60% Senior Personnel Analyst II Jenny Yau Section Manager 100% Senior Personnel Analyst I Vacant TPA/Payroll/Kaiser 100% Senior Personnel Analyst I Paul Makowski Communications/Audits/COBRA 100% Senior Personnel Analyst I Neil Malabuyoc Wellness Program Coordinator 100% Management Analyst II Russell Escueta Administration/Budget/Blue Shield 100% Management Analyst II Helen Georgeson Participant Services/JLMBC 100% Management Analyst II Theodore Vasquez Wellness Program Assistant 100% Benefits Specialist Adriana Beltran-Herrera Supervisor-Member Services Section 100% Senior Administrative Clerk Mayra Martinez Member Services Rep: A-F 100% Senior Administrative Clerk Vacant Member Services Rep: G-I / K-M 100% Senior Administrative Clerk Vincent Pacheco Member Services Rep: N-V 100% Administrative Clerk Maria Lopez Member Services Rep: J, W, Z, Sworn 100% City Attorney Assistant City Attorney Curtis Kidder Board Counsel 25% 5

11 Submitted by: Paul Makowski Reviewed by: Jenny M. Yau Approved by: Steven Montagna 6

12 ATTACHMENT A Important information about your prescription drug benefits Welcome to Anthem Blue Cross! As you re aware, the City of Los Angeles changed health plan providers to Anthem effective January 1, We re contacting you with important information about your prescription drug benefits. Open home delivery prescription refills Our records show that you or a covered family member may have received maintenance prescriptions through your prior plan s mail order (home delivery) pharmacy. To make your switch to Anthem as easy as possible, any remaining open refills may have automatically been transferred to Anthem s Home Delivery Pharmacy, operated by Express Scripts. What you need to do Before you can start receiving your refills Member Log In by mail, you ll need to register at anthem.com/ca/cityofla. Choose Member Log In and Register Now in the upper-right-hand corner of the page (you ll need your Anthem member ID or Social Security number to complete the registration process). FIND OUT MORE To learn more about your new Anthem benefits, go to anthem.com/ca/cityofla and log in as a member CAMENABC 02/17

13 Start New Prescription Once you re logged in, choose Prescription Benefits in the Useful Tools box on the right side of the page, then select Start a New Prescription. Manage Prescriptions This will take you to the Express Scripts website, where you ll find a link to Manage Prescriptions on the dashboard at the top of the page. Choose Order Prescriptions.

14 Prescriptions order Any remaining refills you had with your prior plan s mail order pharmacy should be shown in the box labeled Prescriptions you can order today. You ll also see the estimated cost and number of refills left for each prescription. Simply select the prescription, Add to Cart, and Proceed to Checkout to complete your order. Anthem s Home Delivery program offers flexible payment choices: check, e-check, PayPal, and debit or credit cards. You can also choose to receive automatic refills, refill reminders and notifications about ways to save money on prescriptions. If you don t see your refill, please contact Anthem for help. Our contact information is below. Questions? We re here to help! Here s how to contact us: By phone: Call the number on your member ID card, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., PST In person: Visit Anthem s onsite Member Advocate at the Employee Benefits office in Los Angeles City Hall, Room 867, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., PST Your health and well-being are our priority and we re happy to serve you. Thank you for being an Anthem member. Anthem Blue Cross is the trade name of Blue Cross of California. Anthem Blue Cross and Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company are independent licensees of the Blue Cross Association. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross name and symbol are registered marks of the Blue Cross Association.