Eugene Education Association

2815 Coburg Road • Eugene, OR 97408 • Phone 541-345-0338

For patient safety, you will need to be seen at least once annually to refill your prescription(s).  If you have a prescription you would like to refill, please plan to schedule an appointment if you have not been in recently.  When you need a refill, contact your pharmacy and they will forward the prescription to the Wellness Clinic electronically, which helps eliminate errors.  Remember to allow 48 – 72 hours for your prescription refill request to be processed.

INDIVIDUAL MANDATE

Beginning January 1, 2014, the Affordable Care Act includes a mandate for most individuals to either have health insurance or potentially pay a penalty for noncompliance.  Individuals will be required to maintain minimum essential coverage for themselves and their dependents.  Some individuals will be exempt from the mandate or the penalty, while others may be given financial assistance to help them pay for the cost of insurance.

OEBB coverage is considered minimum essential coverage.  If you enroll in an OEBB plan during open enrollment, you will satisfy the requirements of the individual mandate provision.  You may not enroll in an OEBB plan outside of open enrollment unless you experience a qualifying event – the individual mandate effective date will not be considered a qualifying event under the OEBB rules.

If you’d like information about the health insurance exchanges in Oregon, visit the Cover Oregon website:  http://coveroregon.com/.  The site is a work in progress and information is updated on a regular basis.

OEBB PLAN DESIGN CHANGES

This fall, all OEBB members will need to participate in a mandatory open enrollment process to enroll in, opt-out of, or waive OEBB medical, vision, and dental coverage for the 2013-14 plan year.  Your current OEBB enrollments (including waivers and opt-outs) will end September 30, 2013.  You will need to take action during open enrollment to update your OEBB account and ensure that you have continuous coverage.

4J licensed active employees and retirees will have four medical plans to choose from:  Moda Health (formerly ODS) Medical Plans C, D, E, and G.   Plan C will have an individual deductible of $500, Plan D $750, Plan E $1,000, and Plan G $1,500.  The OEBB Board has approved several plan design changes to both the medical and pharmacy plans, so things will look a bit different in the fall.  You will receive detailed plan information prior to open enrollment, but you’d like a sneak peak, you can download the OEBB Plan Comparison document from the Moda website for OEBB members:  https://www.modahealth.com/pdfs/oebb/summaries/2013/oebb_benefit_changes.pdf

Licensed employees and retirees will not see any plan design changes to the vision, dental, or EAP plans – 4J will continue to offer Moda Vision Plan 3, Moda Dental Plan 4 (with orthodontia), and the Employee Assistance Program administered by Reliant Behavioral Health.

The new rates are not available at this time as bargaining has not yet concluded.  4J will mail open enrollment materials in early August, and rates will be included in that mailing.  You will also receive information from OEBB prior to open enrollment, either via US Mail or electronically, depending on the preference you indicated in the MyOEBB system.  You can update your preference with OEBB at any time by logging in and selecting the Add/Update OEBB Benefits Communication Delivery option:  https://myoebb.org/oebb/!pb.main

STAY COOL DURING YOUR SUMMER WORKOUT

To keep the summer heat from melting you during your workouts, the American Heart Association has this advice:

• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.  Maintain salt-water balance by drinking plenty of fluids (preferably water) before, during and after physical activity.  Avoid alcoholic and caffeinated beverages.
• Exercise smarter, not harder. Work out during the cooler parts of the day, preferably when the sun’s radiation is minimal — early in the morning or early in the evening.  Decrease exercise intensity and duration at high temperatures or relative humidity.  And don’t hesitate to take your exercise inside, to the gym, the mall or anyplace else where you can get in regular physical activity.
• Ease in to summer.  Allow your body to adapt partially to heat through repeated gradual daily exposures.  Acclimatization, an increase in the body’s circulatory and cooling efficiency, generally occurs in only four to 14 days.
• Dress the part.  Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing in breathable fabrics such as cotton.  This allows your sweat to evaporate into the atmosphere, which helps keep your body cool.
• Team up.  If you can, exercise with a friend or family member. It’s safer, and could be more fun.

Because vigorous exercise in hot and humid conditions can lead to heat stress, heat stroke and related complications, you should know the signs of danger to keep an eye out for.

Symptoms of heat exhaustion:

• Headaches
• Heavy sweating
• Cold, moist skin, chills
• Dizziness or fainting
• Weak or rapid pulse
• Muscle cramps
• Fast, shallow breathing
• Nausea, vomiting or both

Symptoms of heat stroke:

• Warm, dry skin with no sweating
• Strong and rapid pulse
• Confusion and/or unconsciousness
• High fever
• Throbbing headaches
• Nausea, vomiting or both

Take steps to cool down and get medical attention immediately if you experience any of these symptoms.

SUMMER BREAK

This is the last issue of the Benefits Newsletter for the 2012 – 2013 school year.  Like all teachers, I will be out of the office beginning June 12th.  However, I will be periodically checking voicemail and e-mail during the summer.  If you need to reach me, please call or send an e-mail, and I will get back to you as soon as I am able (wenzl@4j.lane.edu / 541-790-7682).

For questions regarding benefits or claims, contact Moda Health:

• Moda Medical Customer Service – 866-923-0409
• Moda Dental Customer Service – 866-923-0410
• Moda Pharmacy Customer Service – 866-923-0411
• https://www.modahealth.com/oebb/members/

For questions regarding eligibility, contact OEBB:

• OEBB Information – 888-469-6322
• http://www.oregon.gov/OHA/OEBB/

To access the Employee Assistance Program:

• Reliant Behavioral Health – 866-750-1327
• https://www.myrbh.com/

For questions regarding life or long term disability insurance:

• The Standard – 1-866-756-8115
• http://www.standard.com/mybenefits/oebb/#The_Standard_Insurance_Company

For questions regarding a Flexible Spending Account:

• PacificSource Administrators – 541-485-7488
• http://psa.pacificsource.com/PSA/

For general plan information:

• 4J Employee Benefits Hotline – 541-790-7667
• benefits.4j.lane.edu

The 4J Wellness Clinic will be open this summer!

• Hours:  9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (closed for lunch 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.)
• Closed:  July 4, 2013 & September 2, 2013
• Quarterly fasting drop-in cholesterol screening July 10, 2013, 7:00 – 8:00 a.m.
• 4J Wellness Clinic – 541-686-1427

INSTANT BERRY SHERBET

The June issue of Nutrition Action Newsletter offers up the following recipe for a sweet treat.  Combine in a blender: 

• 1 cup frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and/or raspberries)
• 1 frozen chopped banana
• ¾ cup of plain, fat-free Greek yogurt

Process until completely smooth to yield two cups of pure summer!