4J Licensed Newsletter #218

OSBA/REGENCE RETIREE LETTER
FSA REIMBURSEMENTS
RETIREMENT & INSURANCE
MAGIC POTION FOR HEALTH – MENTAL, PHYSICAL & FINANCIAL
THERMOGRAPHY RATHER THAN MAMMOGRAPHY
INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS FROM MR. BENEFITS ANSWER MAN

OSBA/REGENCE RETIREE LETTER (back to top)
In late January or early February, all 4J retirees who currently have retiree insurance coverage through our OSBA plans received a letter from Regence BCBSO that has caused some confusion and resulted in a number of calls to both my office and the Employee Benefits Office. Regardless of your age at PERS retirement, you are considered, under the terminology of the OSBA Insurance Trust, an “early retiree.” This means that you are retired prior to Medicare eligibility.

Please be assured, that this letter in no way indicates any change in your insurance status. It’s purpose is to inform you that beginning the first of the month in which you become Medicare eligible, you are no longer eligible for coverage on the OSBA retiree plans. This is especially important if you become Medicare eligible due to Social Security disability prior to age 65 because although Regence and the District can easily track your age eligibility, the same is not true of a disability status. Should you fail to terminate coverage at Medicare eligibility, OSBA will terminate your coverage eligibility retroactively to the month you became Medicare eligible.

Again, to those retirees who are reading this -- you have OSBA retiree coverage through the last day of the month prior to your 65th birthday and Medicare eligibility. But in the case of Medicare eligibility prior to age 65 due to disability, it is your responsibility to notify OSBA/Regence of your Medicare eligibility and to contact Medicare and get your coverage in place to begin at your OSBA termination. At the same time, you should contact PERS Health Plans regarding PERS Supplemental Medicare coverage.

Please call me if you have questions.

FSA REIMBURSEMENTS (back to top)
With this being the last issue of the newsletter before the deadline, be reminded that if you have not already done so, you must submit requests for reimbursements from your 2006 Flexible Spending Account by Saturday, March 31, 2007. Any requests submitted after that date cannot be accepted. Qualifying expenses are those incurred between January 1 and December 31, 2006. Submit your requests directly to Manley Services, not to the 4J Employee Benefits Office.

RETIREMENT & INSURANCE (back to top)
Prospective retirees are frequently unclear about or unaware of what insurance benefits the contract guarantees them at retirement. So periodically, I review that information. I will do so here.

Any bargaining unit member hired prior to July 1, 1998 with at least 10 years of service in the district and eligible for regular service retirement from PERS (at least 55 years old or any age with 30 years PERS service) is entitled to a supplemental retirement stipend and a district contribution to his/her insurance. The stipend continues each month until the retiree turns age 62. The district insurance contribution continues each month until the retiree turns age 65.

The total amount, or whatever part of the stipend is necessary, can be applied to the payment of monthly insurance premium co-pay on a pre-tax basis. The district insurance contribution is only available to be used toward coverage under the retiree plan and cannot be accessed as a cash payment by the retiree.

The amount of the stipend and contribution is determined by the retiree’s age and years of service at retirement. If you have questions, give me a call (x3244).

MAGIC POTION FOR HEALTH – MENTAL, PHYSICAL & FINANCIAL (back to top)
Medical researchers have for decades touted the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle to ensure both a longer quantity and enhanced quality of years of one’s life. The more research that is conducted, the clearer those connections become.

In a past article in Nutrition Action Newsletter, JoAnn Manson of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston states, “If there were a magic potion that could make you feel great and could cut your risk of getting heart disease cancer, and diabetes in half, people would be willing to spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars for it,” “But it’s already available and virtually free: regular physical activity.”

Remember that the best medical care you can receive in an attempt to remediate a health problem is both less pleasant and more expensive than practicing an active lifestyle that might have eliminated its need.

THERMOGRAPHY RATHER THAN MAMMOGRAPHY (back to top)
Some controversy has surfaced during the last few years regarding the use of thermography (thermal imaging) rather than mammography for detecting breast cancer. A number of thermography centers and websites have made unsubstantiated claims that it (thermography) is more reliable than mammography.

Please be aware, after considerable study, the American Cancer Society reports, “no study has ever shown that thermography is an effective screening tool for early detection of breast cancer.” The American College of Radiology agrees thermography is not useful in detecting breast cancer. These results explain why insurance companies do not cover thermography for breast cancer screening.

The editors of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter report that, “The FDA has sent warning letters to companies who market thermography devices as stand-alone methods for detecting breast cancer.”

Michael Caley
Licensed-Staff Benefits Coordinator
Eugene School District 4J
200 North Monroe
Eugene, OR 97402-4295
Phone: W: 541-687-3244 H: 541-485-1493
fax: 541-687-3687 e-mail: caley@4j.lane.edu

4J Benefits and Wellness Newsletter