MINUTES
EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS COMMITTEE
January 16th, 2014
Members Present
Don Clothier - Chair
Debbie Copp
Suzanne Harrell
Will Wayne
Vince Leseney
Renda Passek
Terri Lunday
Stephanie Marfurt
Mary Ann Pascucci
David Vishanoff
Krista Pettersen
Members Absent
Jannie Porter
Karen Rupp-Serrano
Ex Officio Members
Les Hoven
Nick Kelly
Angela Hawpe
Tricia Rahal
Breion Rollins
Sarah Millsap
The meeting was called to order by Don Clothier at 1:32 pm.
I.
Approval of Minutes
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II.
The November 2013 minutes were approved as written.
Enrollment Update
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Annual Benefits Open Enrollment took place October 28th through
November 8th.
After reviewing the preliminary numbers, there was a surprising jump in
enrollment from the PPO to the HMO. The numbers will be presented at
next committee meeting.
III. Strategic Plan Update
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The Executive Steering Committee meeting took place prior to the holiday
break and the Working Committee will meet February 6th. In the Working
Committee meeting, there will be discussion over tobacco regulations and
possibly implementing a wellness incentive/differential for tobacco users.
A second discussion point will be a pilot program that is in the beginning
phases, which revolves around the university utilizing the onsite health
centers.
A third discussion point will be the university’s contribution strategy and
whether changes are necessary to the salary tiers and/or the dependent
coverage contributions.
IV. Affordable Care Act (ACA) 30-hour Compliance/Measurement Period
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Currently, the biggest concern of the university in regards to the ACA is
the requirement to offer coverage to anyone that works an average of 30
hours per week within the measurement period.
Strict tracking will be necessary, which many departments do not currently
have in place. A committee has been formed in order to design a tracking
and monitoring system.
Students and adjuncts are currently ineligible for benefits. However, if they
work 30 hours per week on average, they will become eligible.
Fortunately, the penalties set forth in the ACA have been delayed until
2015.
Some alternative options include lowering the maximum hours worked for
part-time employees or using temps through an outside source. The
university would then not be held responsible for the insurance for those
employees. However, PEAK would be in jeopardy.
Another difficulty the university has encountered is regarding FTE and
how to track the hours – in the classroom plus prep time – specifically for
adjuncts.
Human Resources will continue to review the ACA and any applicable
changes that may come forth.
V. Wellness Update
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Vapor/E-Cigarettes are now banned on all state property, which includes
public universities. The wellness team is in the process of preparing
material and signage in order to get the word out.
The wellness team’s WIG (Wildly Important Goal) is to reduce chronic
conditions by 10%. In response to this, they have created a pilot program
across all three campuses, which will include one-on-one health and
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wellness coaching for a number of employees. The pilot program will be
semester-long. More feedback will be provided as the program continues.
The vendor has changed to Catapult for the health screenings offered oncampus. The screenings will be more thorough and will be offered more
often. The wellness team is also working on some incentives for
participants.
VI. Director Comments
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Les states that simplification and communication are both key, which goes
hand in hand with further education. We need to focus on learning what is
important to employees in regards to benefits. With this information, we
can ensure any changes we may make are valuable.
Some additional data will be provided at the next committee meeting
regarding the exchange plan options, costs, and subsidies.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:05 p.m.