Joint Labor-Management Benefits Committee COMMITTEE REPORT 16-36 Date: December 2, 2016 To: Joint Labor-Management Benefits Committee From: Staff Subject: Staff Report JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT BENEFITS COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Management Wendy G. Macy, Chairperson June Gibson Tony Royster Matthew Rudnick Miguel Santana Employee Organizations Cheryl Parisi, Vice-Chairperson Paul Bechely Chris Hannan David Sanders Gregory West Recommendation That the Joint Labor Management Benefits Committee (JLMBC) receive and file the following report regarding informational items, projects update and summary, meeting calendar, and staffing summary. Discussion A. Informational Items Open Enrollment Confirmation Statements There was a delay in the mailing of Open Enrollment confirmation statements. While the confirmation statements were generated and transmitted by the City s Third Party Administrator (TPA), Mercer to the TPA s printing vendor, Fiserv on November 8, 2016, staff was informed by Mercer that Fiserv processed the confirmation statements on the same date resulting in all confirmation statements having a postmark date of November 15, 2016. To ensure that members have sufficient time to review their confirmation statements and make corrections, the correction period was extended from November 18 to November 30, 2016. Mercer TPA has agreed to process corrections through the end of the month at no additional cost. Third-Party-Administrator and Payroll Processing At the last JLMBC meeting held on October 6, 2016, staff reported issues related to life event change election and payroll deduction processing that had affected certain groups of employees. Staff has been reviewing the payroll data transmission process between the City and its TPA and identified a number of factors impacting the issues reported. Primary contributing factors include significant staff turnover at the TPA resulting in loss of institutional knowledge, work not being reviewed, and insufficient prior documentation and governance of transaction processing. Staff is working to address these matters with Mercer with the objective of improving performance and outcomes. Concurrently, staff has corrected records of affected employees. Wellness Program FUSE Fellow Placement Ms. Joan Centanno joined the Employee Benefits Division on October 3, 2016. Ms. Centanno brings more than 20 years of experience in business management and marketing to her new role JOINT LABOR-MANAGEMENT BENEFITS COMMITTEE www.keepinglawell.com
as a FUSE fellow. Her experience and leadership will be critical in establishing and promoting the City s new Wellness Program. Anthem Blue Cross Member Advocate Ms. Nannette Herrera is the new permanent Anthem Member Advocate assigned to the City of Los Angeles. Ms. Herrera started with the Employee Benefits Division on October 17, 2016. Ms. Herrera s primary duties include assisting members with PCP assignment and selection, plan coverage details and benefits, and resolving member issues related to benefits coverage, service, and claims. Ms. Herrera is available for drop-in appointments in City Hall, Employee Benefits Division, Room 867 Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM. New Employee Orientation Sessions Employee Benefits Division staff provided a benefits briefing and overview for 27 newly hired Librarians at the Central Library on November 29, 2016. The briefing was an interactive session aimed at providing the new employees with an overview of the City s LAwell benefits program. Key topics covered included the benefits enrollment process and health, dental, disability, life insurance, and other benefits programs. Staff will continue to provide benefits orientation sessions to City departments upon request. B. Projects Update Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services Data Match Staff is working to reconcile health plan coverage information for 1,596 former or current City employees as requested by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This data reconciliation is required by Federal law section 42 USC 1395y (b) (5), or https://www.ssa.gov/op_home/ssact/title18/1862.htm, to assist CMS in identifying when Medicare is the second payer for dual coverage healthcare payments. CMS requests data reconciliation every three years for prior health plan years, and has currently requested data pertaining to calendar years 2011, 2012, and 2013. It is anticipated that the CMS data match will be completed by the December 13, 2016 deadline. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for Life, Disability, and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance; Tax Advantaged Savings Accounts; and Employee Assistance Program Staff is in the process of developing RFPs for the balance of LAwell benefit service providers not including Health, Dental and Vision, which were completed in 2016. A report will be presented to the JLMBC at its January meeting; the RFPs are scheduled to be released no later than February 15, 2017. Request for Proposal (RFP) for Third Party Administration Services (TPA) Staff is in the process of developing the RFP for TPA services. As it has been more than eight years since the last RFP was issued, extensive work is required to update the Scope of Services and RFP questionnaire to capture changes since 2008 (e.g. size of City workforce, employee contribution structure, technology) and to incorporate new changes that affect benefits administration such as the provisions of the Affordable Care Act and related tax reporting. As such, it is now anticipated that the RFP for TPA services will be presented to the JLMBC and 2
released in the first quarter of 2017. Concurrently, staff is working on a recommendation for a contract extension, which requires Council approval, with the City s TPA, Mercer, to continue to provide TPA services through Open Enrollment and implementation of the 2018 plan year, as it will take at least six months for a transition period should a new TPA be selected. A full report will be provided to the JLMBC no later than its February 2, 2017 meeting. Affordable Care Act Tax (ACA) Reporting and Annual Reporting Update The Personnel Department executed a First Supplemental Agreement to Contract No. C-126528 with Benelogic, LLC to provide ACA tax reporting services in 2016. Benelogic was also used in 2015 to provide these services. Staff is currently working with Benelogic on implementation, mapping, and report set-up and establishing a secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site to transfer files between the City, Mercer TPA, and Benelogic. Test files were transmitted to Benelogic on November 21, 2016. Benelogic is currently reviewing the test files to ensure there are no issues with uploading the file into the Benelogic system to generate the tax forms. A second test file with year-to-date data is expected to be generated and transmitted to Benelogic in mid-december. Please note that the IRS has extended the ACA tax reporting deadline from January 31 to March 2. While the additional time will provide some relief, staff continues to move forward with the original project schedule to ensure there are no delays in providing the ACA tax forms to employees. Additionally, staff is working with Mercer TPA on annual reporting for determining ACA eligible employees for the 2016 stability period. C. Projects Summary Following is an update on key projects and a summary project log which reflects project activity for the period of October 1, 2016 through November 30, 2016. Legend: G = Governance C = Communications O = Operations A = Administration BENEFITS COMPLETED PROJECTS: October - November 2016 # STATUS PROJECT Completed G JLMBC Report: Employee Benefits Trust Fund Completed Completed G G JLMBC Report: Open Enrollment Implementation Update JLMBC Report: Wellness Update DATE COMPLETED 09/30/16 09/30/16 09/30/16 NOTES Completed G Minutes - Meeting of September 1, 2016 Special Meeting Completed A JLMBC Appeals October - 4 Total completed in EBD 10/01/16 10/31/16 3
Completed A JLMBC Appeals November - 10 Total completed in EBD Completed A Catastrophic Illness Cases October - 3 processed Completed A Catastrophic Illness Cases November - 2 processed 11/22/16 10/31/16 11/22/16 Completed A Benelogic Contract - 2016 Execution 10/27/16 Completed C Open Enrollment On-site Seminars 10/18/16 10/4/16 Harbor Department 10/6/16 Figueroa Plaza 10/13/16 LA World Airports 10/18/16 Piper Tech Building Completed C Open Enrollment Webinars and Join Us Today Reminder Emails Completed C Open Enrollment Transition Letter to 9/28/16 all Blue Shield Members Completed C Open Enrollment Targeted Blue 10/12/16 Shield Transition Letter Narrow Network Completed C Open Enrollment Targeted Blue 10/12/16 Shield Transition Letter Full Network Completed C Reminder Postcard 10/12/16 Completed C Open Enrollment Citywide Final Reminder Email Completed C Open Enrollment Confirmation Statements Completed C Open Enrollment Confirm Your Benefits Email Completed C ACA-Eligible Open Enrollment Kits (2) 10/26/16 10/4/16 LAwell Changes 10/5/16 Transition to Anthem 10/11/16 LAwell Changes 10/12/16 Transition to Anthem 10/19/16 Insurance Benefits 10/20/16 Flexible Spending Accounts 10/26/16 LAwell Changes 10/25/16 11/15/16 11/22/16 11/30/16 ONGOING PROJECTS # STATUS PROJECT DUE DATE NOTES 1 PENDING A Sr. Personnel Analyst I Position Selection 2 PENDING A LAwell Benefits Implementation: Anthem Transition, EyeMed Implementation 3 PENDING A Kaiser Contract 2017 4 PENDING A Anthem Contract 2017-2019 5 PENDING A Delta Contract 2017-2019 6 PENDING A Eyemed Contract 2017-2019 7 PENDING A ACA Eligibility and Tax Reporting 8 PENDING A Open Enrollment Recordkeeping Implementation for 2017 9 PENDING A First Draft of Request for Proposal for Benefits Third Party Administration Services 10 PENDING A Mercer Third Party Administration Contract Extension 11 PENDING A LAwell Summary Plan Document 12 PENDING C Member Survey 13 PENDING O Benefits Trust Fund Member Refunds 14 PENDING O ASD Coordination of Benefits/Direct Billing 15 PENDING O CMS Data Match 4
D. JLMBC Meeting Calendar MEETING DATE 5-Jan-17 AGENDA TOPICS Administrative Issues JLMBC Report: Requests for Proposal for Employee Benefit Service Providers (Life, Disability, AD&D, EAP, Tax-Advantaged Savings Accounts) JLMBC Report: Employee Benefits Trust Fund JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update JLMBC Report: Monthly Update Benefit Service Provider Presentation: To Be Determined 2-Feb-17 Administrative Issues JLMBC Report: Request for Proposal for Flex Benefits Third- Party-Administrator JLMBC Report: Requests for Proposal for Employee Benefit Service Providers (Life, Disability, AD&D, EAP, Tax-Advantaged Savings Accounts) JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update JLMBC Report: Monthly Update Benefit Service Provider Presentation: To Be Determined Administrative Issues 2-Mar-17 JLMBC Report: Wellness Program Update JLMBC Report: Monthly Update Benefit Service Provider Presentation: To Be Determined E. Staffing Summary Following is a summary of staff positions supporting the LAwell Benefits Program: Personnel Position Authority Staff Member Function Est. Percent Allocated to Employee Benefits Chief Personnel Analyst Steven Montagna Division Chief 60% Senior Personnel Analyst II Ana Chavez/Jenny Yau Section Manager 100% Senior Personnel Analyst I Leonor Gardere TPA/Payroll/Kaiser 100% Senior Personnel Analyst I Paul Makowski Communications/Audits/COBRA 100% Senior Personnel Analyst I Neil Malabuyoc Wellness Program Coordinator 100% 5
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 Vincent Pacheco Member Services Rep: N-V 100% Senior Administrative Clerk Mayra Martinez Member Services Rep: A-F 100% Senior Administrative Clerk Elvira Mendez Member Services Rep: G-I / K-M 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 6