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June 28, 2007

BENEFITS BUZZ

Mercy Hospital Printing Error

Mercy Hospital was inadvertently listed under the Advantage Network Hospitals in the most recent Summary Guide to Benefits brochure that was distributed with the Open Enrollment materials.

As you know, the Advantage Network Hospitals are those that are owned by UPMC. Recently there have been discussions about UPMC merging with Mercy Hospital, but as of the time of this writing, this has not occurred. As a result, at this time Mercy is NOT an Advantage Network Hospital. They will remain affiliated with UPMC, thus Panther Gold participants will still have the option to utilize Mercy, however coverage will be at the lower benefit level (i.e. deductibles and co-insurance will apply). At this time, only emergency services obtained at Mercy Hospital would be covered at a higher benefit level.

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Fitness Center Discounts

"Does the University offer discounts for health clubs?" is a question that the Benefits Department frequently receives. The answer is "yes" if you are currently subscribing to the UPMC Health Plan as UPMC has obtained discounts for many health clubs as well as other fitness related retailers.

Discounts generally range from 10-50% off of the advertised initiation and membership fees.

A sampling of the discounted health club arrangements include:

Curves

Club One

Downtown Athletic Club

Fitness Weights and Aerobics

Jewish Community Center

Nautilus Fitness and Racquet Club

Three Rivers Fitness and Sports Medicine

Waist No Time

To find out more about the available discounts, follow these steps:

1. Visit www.upmchealthplan.com

2. Click on "For Members" and enter your username and password. You can obtain these on-line if you have not previously registered.

3. Once you are on the member Web site, you will see the familiar Fitness for Life logo. On the left side of this panel, there is a heading titled "My Benefits." Within this section, there is a link titled "Exclusive Member Discounts." Click on this link to find discounts in your local area.

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Travel Insurance

Another question the Benefits Department receives periodically involves the subject of travel insurance.

The University provides Business Travel Accident Insurance coverage for all full-time employees. The amount of Accidental Death and Dismemberment protection under this policy is payable up to $100,000 per employee, with an aggregate of $4,000,000 per single accident involving more than one employee.

This coverage is in force when your required duties necessitate traveling or working on University business away from the University's premises in your city of permanent assignment. This coverage does not include commuting between your home and the University or personal activities during business trips.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment protection is provided 24 hours a day while traveling on University business as described above, and includes accidents involving a commercial aircraft, bus, taxi, or a fall. This explanation is an overview of the coverage; the Business Travel Accident Insurance is subject to all provisions of the insurance contract between the underwriting insurance company and the University of Pittsburgh.

Questions concerning this coverage may be directed to the Risk Management Office at (412) 624-0621.

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Receive UPMC Health Plan Updates Online

UPMC Health Plan sends quarterly updates to the home address of its members. You can obtain updates online by registering your request on the UPMC Health Plan Web site at www.upmchealthplan.com. Once on the site, you will need to click on the link "Sign up for one of our eNewsletters." You may then select the topics that are of interest to you. An e-mail will then be sent to you to confirm that your request has been processed.

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New Insurance Cards

All faculty & staff will receive new UPMC insurance cards by the end of June for the new plan year. The new cards will reflect the few changes to the Panther Gold plan and they will reflect the new prescription drug co-payments for all of the medical plans. Please be certain to shred any old medical insurance cards. If you have added or made any changes to your dental and/or vision elections, you should receive new insurance cards before July 1 as well.

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Reminder of July 1 Benefit Changes

The following is a summary of the July 1 benefit changes for the plan year of July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008:

Medical:

Panther Gold ER visits for adults will now be $50

Panther Gold outpatient surgical services will now have a $50 co-payment

Prescription Drugs:

Co-payments for a 30 day supply of Preferred medications will now be $28, Non-Preferred medications will be $56. Generics remain at $10. 90 day supplies are double these amounts.

Dental:

A third checkup and cleaning will now be a covered expense for pregnant women.

Flexible Spending Accounts:

Parking maximum monthly contributions will increase to $215, Mass Transit will increase to $110.

The reimbursement filing period for eligible expenses will now be six months after the end of the plan year as opposed to a year now that claims may be filed electronically.

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School's out for the summer! Looking for something fun to do with the kids?

The University of Pittsburgh is a member of the Pittsburgh Employees Activities Association (P.E.A.A.). As such, any discounts that are offered through that organization are then extended to University of Pittsburgh faculty and staff. A number of discounts are being offered for the summer including: Cedar Point, Hershey Park, the Carnegie Museums, the Pittsburgh Zoo, and many more. To obtain these discounts:

Visit http://www.hr.pitt.edu/empservice/default.htm,

Click on "Additional Discounts" and then the P.E.A.A. link.

Once on that page you can visit the "Event Tickets and Order Forms" page to access information about these discounts.

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UPMC Member Services

Did you know that the University of Pittsburgh is UPMC Health Plan's second largest client? The University has a dedicated unit within the UPMC Member Services department that handles questions, comments and complaints specifically from University faculty and staff members as well as dependents. During business hours, there are a minimum of 10 UPMC staff members dedicated to the University's line. The number of staff on the University's dedicated line increases if they experience heavy call volume.

The staff members can assist you with questions related to benefit coverage, claim status, primary care physicians and prescription drug coverage among many more. All of the staff members are trained and briefed frequently on the plan details, as well as any possible changes to the University's plans by the management at UPMC. UPMC strives for a "first call resolution" goal with each and every call that is placed into the Member Services line. In other words, the staff members make every effort to resolve any and all issues during that initial phone call.

The UPMC Member Services line typically rates higher than the average for quality customer service. On average, UPMC handles roughly 6,800 calls a quarter. The average speed to answer these calls is 12 seconds, compared to the national average of 30 seconds.

The dedicated UPMC Member Services line for the University of Pittsburgh is: 1-888-499-6885. This number is also listed on the back of your insurance card.

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New dedicated telephone number for MetLife

MetLife handles FMLA, short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) for the University of Pittsburgh. They have recently added a customer service phone number that is dedicated solely to the University of Pittsburgh.

The telephone number is: 1-888-777-7418.

NOTE: The benefits of employees covered by collective bargaining agreements will be governed by the terms of those agreements.

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Important Contact Information

Benefits Department

Office Hours: 8am-5pm EST

200-B Craig Hall

(412) 624-8160-Main Line

(412) 624-3485-Fax

www.hr.pitt.edu/benefits

Please visit our Web site for FAQ's, downloadable forms and other benefits information.

Filed under: Volume 39 Issue 21

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