SPOTLIGHT >
HOW ASSOCIATES
IN STORE 473
WORKED TOGETHER
TO KICK THE HABIT!
TOBACCO USERS:
QUIT NOW AND PAY
LESS FOR MEDICAL
COVERAGE IN 2011
CHECK OUT
NEW ASSOCIATE
DISCOUNTS
MAKE A PLAN FOR
A HEALTHIER 2010
TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF FREE PROGRAMS
TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH:
SCHEDULE YOUR PHYSICAL EXAM TODAY
DON’T JUST MAKE A RESOLUTION,
MAKE A PLAN
Have a healthier, happier New Year by
making a plan to:
• Take charge of your health
• Get control of your money
This special New Year’s issue of ORANGE
LIFE highlights a few of the many Home
Depot benefit plans and programs that
provide the expertise you need to
transform your resolutions into a plan.
Feeling fine? Even if you believe you’re in good health, here are two good reasons to schedule
your physical exam today.
First, your physical exam and many health screenings are FREE when you see an in-network doctor.
Second, you may not be aware of health issues until you receive those FREE in-network screenings:
• High blood pressure and high levels of cholesterol usually have no symptoms. In fact,
more than 33 percent of people with high blood pressure don’t know they have this condition.
• People with high blood sugar, which can lead to diabetes and kidney disease, may
have mild symptoms or no noticeable symptoms.
• Cancer gives most people no symptoms or signs that exclusively indicate the disease.
Make a plan to get your check-up soon and take charge of your health in 2010.
(Health information from emedicinehealth.com.)
TOBACCO USERS: QUIT NOW AND PAY LESS FOR MEDICAL COVERAGE IN 2011
Tobacco use results in high costs to society and to companies that provide
medical insurance:
• Tobacco use results in an annual cost of more than $96 billion per
year for medical care. (Centers for Disease Control)
• Smokers cost companies about 25 percent more than nonsmokers for health care. (Hewitt Associates)
Because tobacco use increases health care costs for all associates and the
Company, beginning January 1, 2011, tobacco users—associates
and spouses—covered under a Home Depot medical plan will pay
more for coverage. Under The Home Depot medical plans, a tobacco
user is someone who has smoked cigarettes, pipes, or cigars or used
smokeless tobacco products in the six months before the medical coverage effective date. This means that if you use tobacco today, you
must quit by July 1, 2010 to avoid the tobacco rate for medical
coverage that will take effect on January 1, 2011. A good first step
for tobacco users: call Quit for Life.
PLAN TO BE TOBACCO FREE BY JULY 1. CALL QUIT FOR LIFE TODAY.
To help you kick the habit, The Home Depot offers the Quit for Life™ Program
FREE to you and to your spouse if he or she is covered under a Home
Depot medical plan. Quit for Life participants can receive coverage for
prescription smoking cessation drugs, free one-on-one coaching services,
free nicotine patches and more. Call Quit for Life at 1-866-QUIT-4-LIFE
(866-784-8454) or visit www.quitnow.net/homedepot today.
COVER STORY:
THE QUIT FOR LIFE PROGRAM WORKS
FOR ASSOCIATES IN STORE 473
When Sherman Yerkes, from Store 473 read about the Quit for Life
Program in the Benefits quarterly newsletter last summer, he immediately
called Quit for Life and told as many people in the store as he could about
his goal, making himself accountable to his coworkers. Sherman said the
nicotine patches and telephone support he received from Quit for Life
coaches were essential.
Today, Sherman has been smoke-free since August 8. And he has shared
his success with fellow associates—12 associates at his store, including
Rose Marie Petroff, have started the Quit for Life Program.
Read more about how Sherman, Rose Marie and others at Store 473 are
kicking the habit on www.livetheorangelife.com.
SHERMAN YERKES
STORE 473
ROSE MARIE PETROFF
STORE 473
KNOW WHERE TO GO IN ADVANCE
TO FIND THE CARE YOU NEED
When you need medical care, the best place to start is with your in-network primary care physician.
But sometimes, you can’t wait for an appointment or you have medical issues after office hours or
during the weekend. If you can’t wait to see your personal doctor, you need to have a plan in place
to get care where it is most time and cost-efficient for you.
The emergency room at your nearest hospital may not necessarily be your best option. Emergency
rooms usually involve long wait times and expensive care in crowded conditions with many other
sick people. Why put yourself or a family member through that—if you don’t have a true emergency
—when it could be faster, more comfortable and less expensive to go to a walk-in clinic or an
urgent care center?
WANT TO KNOW MORE
ABOUT STRETCHING YOUR
HEALTH CARE DOLLARS?
WATCH BENEFITS BASICS 2.
Being treated in the most appropriate
facility will not only give you the best
possible care but it also will save you
money. Find out more by watching
the Benefits Basics 2 video on
www.livetheorangelife.com.
Take a few minutes to do a little research and:
1. Find the Medical Care Options Chart on www.livetheorangelife.com. Using steps 2 and 3,
fill in the information on the chart and put it in a prominent place. When you have a medical issue,
you’ll be glad you know exactly where to go quickly.
2. Find the facilities nearest you. On www.livetheorangelife.com, click Find a Provider on
the left side of your screen. Then go to Medical > DocFind > Enter DocFind > Provider Category
and click Facilities.*
3. Call the facilities or visit their Web site to learn more about the services they provide
and get their hours of operation. Think about the services you might need for an illness or
injury. For example, if you or your children play weekend sports, check to see if the urgent care
center has x-ray equipment and can treat a sprain or broken bone.
*Depending on where you live, you may not have access to certain facilities at an in-network level. If this is your situation, it’s
still important to locate your out-of-network options for the most cost-effective way to get treatment for non-emergency care.
MAKE A PLAN TO REACH A HEALTHIER WEIGHT
START AN AETNA HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM TODAY
If you need to lose weight, you are not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control,
66 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. Those extra pounds mean extra health risks—
for heart disease, diabetes and many types of cancer, just to name a few. The good news is that
as an Aetna medical plan participant, you can get professional help to reach a healthier weight,
and that help is FREE.
HEALTHY BODY, HEALTHY WEIGHT PROGRAM:
DEVELOP A STRATEGY WITH YOUR PERSONAL COACH
Based on your answers to the Health Assessment, you could receive a call from an Aetna health
coach inviting you to participate in the Healthy Body, Healthy Weight Program. If you agree to
participate, a world of resources will open up to you, including monthly one-on-one sessions with
a personal health coach. Your coach is a registered nurse or specially trained health educator who
can refer you to a registered dietician or weight-loss therapist, depending on your individual needs.
He or she will work with you to identify any psychological barriers to losing weight and develop a
personalized strategy that sets achievable goals and specific steps to reach those goals.
If you are invited to participate, don’t hesitate to say yes. The Healthy Body, Healthy Weight Program
is free and completely confidential. And, it will help you feel better and look better.
FREE ONLINE HEALTHY LIVING PROGRAMS ON AETNA.COM
You can participate in an online Healthy Living Program any time at your convenience. Aetna’s online
programs are personalized for your specific needs based on your responses to the Health Assessment.
Along with nutrition, topics include weight management, stress management, depression, sleep
issues and more. Visit www.aetna.com and log in as a member for more information.
CARLENE NOTO
STORE 405
MORE SAVING. MORE PROTECTION.
THESE NEW HOME DEPOT ASSOCIATE DISCOUNT PROGRAMS CAN SAVE YOU MONEY ON A VARIETY OF GOODS AND SERVICES.
GET AN 80 PERCENT DISCOUNT
FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ON
DEBIX IDENTITY PROTECTION
Imagine your bank account cleaned out and your
credit wrecked. Then, imagine the hours and
hours you would have to spend trying to restore
your lost funds and deal with creditors. That’s
the reality of identity theft, and it affects more
than 8.2 million people each year. Debix Identity
Protection provides one year of OnCall Credit
Monitoring Alerts, Triple Bureau Credit Monitoring,
up to $1 million of identity theft insurance and
identity restoration services for only $20 per year
per enrolled adult ($18 per year for each enrolled
child)—that’s more than 80 percent off Debix’s
normal price of $120 per year. The discounted
coverage is available to associates and their
extended family members.
MAKE TAX TIME EASIER
WITH A DISCOUNT ON TAX PREPARATION
Leave the tax forms to the experts—and pay less.
As a Home Depot associate you’ll receive a $20
discount through H&R Block or a $30 discount
through Jackson Hewitt when you have your
return prepared at one of their participating
locations and show your coupon (see below).
Discounts on online and software tax products
also are available. More than 70,000 Home
Depot associates used one of these companies
to prepare their return in 2008. Note that these
offers expire on April 15, 2010. Additionally,
discounts for online and software tax products
also are available.
Sign up at www.debix.com/homedepot
using the promotion code “orangelife” or
call 1-866-979-2595.
For Jackson Hewitt coupon and discounts, visit
www.jacksonhewitt.com/homedepot or call
1-800-234-1040. In-store coupon code: JMKE3
For H&R Block coupon and discounts, visit
www.hrblock.com/Partner/homedepot
or call 1-800-786-3429.
Relationships established with H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt and Debix exist directly between the associate and the vendor, not
through The Home Depot.
DISCOUNT ON BROOKS SHOES
AND FOOT ORTHOTICS
Whether you need comfortable, supportive shoes
to serve customers in our stores or to walk or run
through your neighborhood, you’ll find the right
shoe at www.shopTHDgear.com. And now,
as a Home Depot associate, you’ll receive a 40
percent discount on Brooks shoes. To make you
even more comfortable on your feet, take advantage of a free clinical evaluation by a practitioner
at a Hanger Patient Care Center and a 30 percent
discount on most custom and off-the-shelf foot
orthotics purchased at a Hanger facility.
Find the Brooks shoes discount at
www.shopTHDgear.com > Brooks Shoes and
enter Promo Code PROBROOKS at checkout.
To find the Hanger facility nearest you, call
1-877-4Hanger (1-877-442-6437) or visit
http://www.hanger.com/PatientCareCenters.
GET CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE:
SAY “YES!” TO FREE MONEY IN FUTUREBUILDER
IN 2009, HOME DEPOT CONTRIBUTED MORE THAN 142 MILLION
TO ASSOCIATES’ FUTUREBUILDER 401(k) ACCOUNTS
Join thousands of your fellow associates who receive help building their financial futures
through matching contributions in their FutureBuilder 401(k) accounts.
Once you have completed one year of service (at least 1,000 hours in a 12-month period),
the Company contributes:
• $1.50 for every $1 you contribute up to the first one percent of your pay; and
• 50 cents for every dollar you save from the next two to five percent of your pay.
For an associate earning $28,000 a year and contributing five percent of pay—$1,400—
that’s an additional $980 in Company matching contributions.
Get the full power of the Company’s matching contribution by saving at least five percent
of your pay in the FutureBuilder 401(k) Plan. To change your contribution percentage, visit
the Your Benefits Resources Web site at http://resources.hewitt.com/homedepot.
CECILE SEW GETS THE FULL POWER
OF THE COMPANY FUTUREBUILDER
401(k) MATCH
Cecile Sew of Store 903 knows that she can’t
rely solely on her Social Security check when
she retires, so this 10-year associate is getting
the full power of The Home Depot’s FutureBuilder 401(k) Plan by contributing at least five
percent of her pay to the plan. When the stock
market became challenging last year, Cecile
took advantage of another FutureBuilder feature
—professional investment advice through
Merrill Lynch Advice Access.
That’s the power of The Home Depot.
“The Company matching contribution is free
money.” Cecile said. “I am extremely lucky that
our Company provides this. And, I have had a
good experience diversifying my investments
using the experts at Merrill Lynch Advice Access.”
The Benefits Department
The Home Depot
2455 Paces Ferry Road, C-18
Atlanta, GA 30339
IN MARCH, YOUR BENEFITS
RESOURCES WEB SITE WILL
GET EVEN BETTER
In March, the Your Benefits
Resources Web site’s “makeover”
will be complete. The new look
will feature key information clearly
highlighted to allow you to find what
you need at a glance. The site will
offer quicker, easier navigation
as well. Make a point to visit the
improved Your Benefits Resources
Web site where it will be easier than
ever to manage your FutureBuilder
401(k) account, check your spending
account balance, take advantage
of associate discounts and more.
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