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M-DCPS OFFERS UTD INSURANCE CHOICES WITH
BOARD-SUBSIDIZED
DEPENDENT PREMIUMS FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2004
October 3, 2003
The Miami-Dade County school district's labor negotiations
team has proposed to United Teachers of Dade (UTD) a health
insurance program for calendar year 2004 consisting of the
following enhancements:
Renewal
of the current healthcare contract with United Healthcare
of Florida, Inc., with the district continuing to pay 100
percent of the cost for employees, including the 9.75
percent rate increase;
An
opt-out provision for employees who can demonstrate that
they will be covered by another group health insurance
program, with the School Board paying $100 a month to
those employees;
An
increase in the subsidy the Board is currently providing
for employees who choose to enroll their eligible
dependents in the currently offered Point of Service
(POS) plan; and
A new
Health Plan choice, with an HMO option that would be
offered as well as the currently offered POS program,
with the Board subsidizing the dependent premiums for
children, spouse and family options, with money saved on
employee-only premiums.
The proposed
HMO program only requires a $20 copayment for either a
primary care physician or specialist, as well as for many
services such as blood work, x-rays, and mammograms
performed in doctors' offices and at contracted labs
prescribed by the physicians.
For other services, including in-patient hospitalization,
out-patient surgery, MRI's and CT Scan testing, an annual
medical deductible of $500 per person/$1,000 per family
would apply, with the plan paying 80 percent of eligible
expenses and the employee paying 20 percent. The maximum
amount an employee would ever have to pay in any calendar
year, after the deductible, is $2,000 per person/$4,000 per
family, after which the plan pays 100 percent of all
eligible incurred expenses. Employees who choose the HMO
plan over the POS plan can save at least $2,600 in
healthcare costs for the coming year, because the district
will pay for a large part of the family premium.
Under both the POS and the HMO plans proposed for calendar
year 2004, the current copayments for prescription drugs is
the same: $10 for generic, $30 for brand name preferred, and
$50 for brand name, non-preferred.
"The district has heard its employees and is devoting
significant money towards the cost of health insurance for
calendar year 2004," said Stierheim. "In addition to the $18
million annual cost of paying the employee-only premium for
all employees, the Board is offering to pay a large
percentage of the cost of dependent healthcare for both the
POS and the HMO plans, with the largest Board contribution
going towards the HMO product to help the lower-paid
employees afford quality healthcare."
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03-MV/047/JJS
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