Medical and Prescription Insurance
- Felicity Hanks, Management Trustee
- Chris Sterman, Labor Trustee
- Teledoc - Reach a doctor 24/7 by phone or video
- Healthcare Blue book - find a fair cost facility for a procedure and earn $$$
- Asset Health - commit to wellness and earn Amazon gift cards
*IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR JULY 1, 2020 PREMIUM RATES:
Projections for our medical claims for the 20-21 school year show an increase of 4.7%. Projections for prescription claims increased substantially, by 16.8%. At the time of this final budget projection, the overall increase in rates for the 20-21 school year would be 7.1% which equates to over $1 million dollars in increased costs for medical and prescription insurance. The School District has a contingency fund balance thorough the Bucks Montgomery County Healthcare Consortium and the decision has been made to apply $1 million of that fund balance to reduce this increase for the 20-21 school year. You may recall that in 16-17 this method was used to reduce the rate increase from 9% to 4.5%. During 18-19 and 19-20 (coming in May) we used over $1 million each year to provide a one-month premium holiday.
This means that your rates for the 20-21 school year (effective July 1) will only see a very small increase. However, you must understand that this rate reduction is superficial. We are self-insured which means that the cost of your claims –every time you use your insurance-is paid in full by the District with the costs shared by you. While the rates for 20-21 are flat, all employees must understand that our medical and prescription claims still increased 4.7% and 16.8%, respectively. If those claims continue to increase throughout the 20-21 school year, the rate increase for the following 21-22 school year could be very high. Please read letter below from Consortium Trustees explaining the rate suppression. We all have to do our part.
Open Enrollment Memos and Enrollment Forms Medical/Rx
Medical Rx
BMCS Point of Service (POS) 10/15 or 10/15/30 (Depending on Bargaining Unit)
BENEFITS SUMMARIES - click arrow to right to expand
Lab Work Cost Comparisons:
Know before you go: All members should be aware of the costs associated with lab work. Members on the Open Choice 3 should especially be cognizant of the different costs that may be incurred based solely on where the work is done.
Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp. are Aetna’s preferred lab vendors which allows Aetna members to receive low contracted rates. Check out these comparisons showing that the same test at an area in-network hospital may be a thousand ($1,000) dollars more than at a Quest lab.
Remember to use the member payment estimator tool located in Navigator (Aetna’s secured member portal) to research lab services as well as many other lower cost options for MRIs, CT scans, etc.
A “PAW-FECT” New Perk: Prescription Drug Savings for Your Pets
If you are a pet parent, you know nothing can replace the love of our furry family members. However, just like humans, health care costs for pets can be expensive. Especially if you are dealing with expenses for prescriptions treating chronic conditions such as diabetes, anxiety, arthritis, or heart disease, it can be a real burden to your budget.
That’s why, as a new perk for you, we have partnered with Inside RxSM Pets, a prescription savings program to provide pet parents discounts on brand and generic human medications prescribed for pets at 40,000 participating retail pharmacies.
Inside Rx Pets provides you with:
- 77% average savings on the cost of generic medications*
- 15% average savings on the cost of brand medications*
- Easy access to savings at one of 40,000 participating retail pharmacies.
We are providing this perk to our “pet parent” employees as a value-add support, with no cost or obligation for you.
If you are interested, you can benefit from Inside Rx Pets savings right way. Simply present the card along with the prescription from your veterinarian at a participating pharmacy to save!
Click below to get started today!
https://insiderxpets.com/rxsave2
* Savings based on cash price for eligible users of Inside Rx Pets card. Over 50% of purchasers receive stated discounts. Actual savings will vary. See Insiderx.com for eligibility information, terms and restrictions. Currently, the Inside Rx Pets card can be used with human medications for pets. It cannot be used to purchase medications that are prescribed exclusively for animals, such as certain types of parasiticides or vaccines.
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The Inside Rx Pets card is not insurance and cannot be used with any insurance benefit or copay assistance programs. Only for use with prescriptions written and dispensed for animals at a participating pharmacy (see website or call no. below for pharmacy listing). You are responsible for the cost of your pet’s prescription(s) when using the card. Inside Rx is not offering advice, or recommending or endorsing any prescription drug, pharmacy or other information. Use of card is subject to additional terms and conditions at www.insiderx.com. Inside Rx does not make payments to providers. The Inside Rx card is administered by Inside Rx, LLC, 100 Parsons Pond Drive, Suite 300D, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
HEALTHCARE BLUEBOOK: Did you know that in-network prices for the same procedure can vary by over 500%, depending on the facility you choose? Join the effort to reduce costs without impacting care by using Healthcare Bluebook and you may qualify for rewards! Healthcare Bluebook allows you to compare facility costs for certain services. You can search by location, procedure, doctor or facility. If you have a qualifying service performed at a fair cost facility you will receive a check in the mail. Please watch the Healthcare Bluebook Introductory Video to learn more about this valuable resource for members.
Sign up at healthcarebluebook.com/cc/bmshc or through their mobile app, code bmhsc