University of Oklahoma
EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS COMMITTEE
NEL 215
May 21, 2015
Present:
Committee Members:
Don Clothier
Vincent Leseney
Tricia Rahal
Joel Burcham
Others:
Angela Hawpe
Jessica Cadotte
Stephanie Marfurt
Debbie Copp
Mary Ann Pascucci
Renda Passek
Jannie Porter
Suzanne Harrell
Terri Lunday
Meghan Stalling
Michael Kramer
Breion Rollins
Lindsay Mitchell
Les Hoven
Approval of Minutes
(Clothier) Correction to be made for spelling and attendance.
(Copp) Motion to approve minutes with correction.
(Passek) 2nd the motion
Motion passed. Minutes approved.
Health Insurance Update
(Hawpe) Experience from January – March has the PPO running at 2.6% and the HMO running at 11.6%.
The plans are currently running as expected and will continue to watch them closely. Claims are
expected to be higher in the month of June.
The Benefits Office will be looking at options that will enhance the plan, drive value and save money
overall. The contribution strategy will continue to be evaluated however there are no models drafted as
of yet. Removal of the waiver subsidy is being considered for 2016 and the $25 tobacco surcharge is
being reevaluated as well. A claims audit will be considered to ensure that claims are being paid
correctly.
The Benefits Office is also evaluating potential savings in the pharmacy plan. Being a self-funded plan
makes it possible to carve out the pharmacy benefit which will provide more options for savings.
(Lunday) Have mail ordered prescriptions been considered?
(Hawpe) It is definitely an option that we may be able to consider and utilize.
The High Deductible Plan currently utilizes an HRA and we are looking at possible options to redesign
the plan to qualify it for an HSA. An HSA would allow employees to save money to offset current and
future healthcare costs. The HSA would also allow employees approaching retirement to set aside
money to pay premiums after they retire. Funds in the HSA are fully portable in the employee leaves the
University.
2016 RFP’s
(Hawpe) Benefits is working with Segal to determine how to proceed with Long Term Care, after the
current CAN group plan terminates.
An RFP for Flexible Spending will be released soon. PayFlex is the current vendor in 2015. There has
been a high volume of turnover with account reps and an increase in documentation requests by
customer service to campus. There has not been a bid for Flexible Spending in 5 years.
Dependent Tuition Waiver
(Hoven) All communications on the Dependent Tuition Waiver have gone out to employees for the
summer sessions that began May 15, 2015. There have been several requests for exceptions.
(Rollins) Have any exceptions been considered?
(Hoven) We would consider an exception if a student does not meet the full-load requirement because
there are only 1-2 classes left for degree completion.
Student Health Plan
(Hawpe) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is still reviewing the plans to affirm that they
comply with the Minimum Essential Coverage guidelines. Implementation of the plan renewal will begin
next week. There are no plan design or rate changes. The only change taking place is the transition at
the Health Sciences Center. The Student Health Facility will move from the Family Medicine Center to
OU Physicians.
Retirement Update
(Rollins) The Retirement Services Office is actively providing education on voluntary plans to university
employees. New data also shows that most new employees are no longer electing OTRS for their
retirement benefits.
Retirement Services is also working on an educational campaign to inform people on how to plan for
your retirement. Because TIAA-Cref still holds a large amount of OU retirement money, they will begin
coming to campus for one on one appointments as well as Fidelity. There will also be education
provided through the website with retirement calculators and “quick checks”.
Wellness Update
(Mitchell) The online Full Plate course had 88 people participating with 51 actual completions. Wellness
received positive feedback and plan to offer it again in late September.
The annual Fun Run is set for September 26th and is projected to have at least 2,000 participants
registered. Due to the anticipated growth volume, different route options are being considered for the
run.
Health Screenings are set for late June and August on both the HSC and Norman campuses. There is also
a potential to add Delta Dental screenings to the August date.
The Staff Week events with the Health and Information Fair went well. Catapult had a table and
information was distributed to employees about the screenings.
Planning for intermural sports is underway. Faculty team participation has been higher in all offered
sports.
Wellness is also looking into a possible “Activity Tracker” to be offered to employees. This is in the very
early stages, but some examples would be products like the Fitbit and/or Apple Watch.
Update from Director
(Hoven) Benefits is looking at identifying what the priorities are for 2016. There will be continued
updates each meeting on the Strategic Plan. A benefit survey is being considered to assess employee’s
views on health care services, delivery options, cost sharing, and other topics.
Managed Care Benefits from BlueCross will be shared with the committee at the next meeting.
Other business
None.
The meeting adjourned at 2:47pm.