Retiree Questions from the Conference Calls for Healthcare CenturyLink

Transcription

1 Retiree Questions from the Conference Calls for Healthcare CenturyLink Miscellaneous Questions 1. If I have a pre-existing condition, such as Parkinson s, will I have trouble getting insurance? No, not if you are at least age 65 and enroll during this Special Enrollment Period between Feb. 1 and April 30, All plans that are available to you must accept you during this period and cannot drop you due to a medical condition later. 2. I live in a small town, but my doctors and hospital are in a larger town. Which zip code should I use? You have to use the zip code for your physical address where you live. 3. How do we know if our doctor will take the plan Extend Health suggests? Extend Health will check this for you. 4. What is underwriting? Health care questions from the carrier to determine what kind of risk you are for them to cover along with all their other participants. 5. Why was there no mention of CenturyLink on the Extend Health envelope I almost threw it out? They use the same envelope for all clients. Our logo should be in the window. 6. Why can I not enroll now, why wait until February? Medicare has a rule of no more than 90 days prior to effective date which is May 1 for this group. The enrollment period for this group is February 1 through April So on May 1 st you won t take my premium out of my pension check? No, it is actually your June pension check that pays for the May premium. 8. What does guaranteed issue mean? You are guaranteed to be issued a policy without any health questions or pre-existing condition limitations. 9. What age do we go onto Medicare? Age 65. However, it is the first of the month in which you turn 65 (if birthday is any day May you are eligible May 1.) But, if your birthday falls on the first of a month it is the previous month (if you birthday is June 1 you re eligible May 1.) You may also be Medicare eligible younger than age 65 due to a disability. 10. Do these plans have anything to do with the government plan? If you mean the Affordable Care Act No, that has nothing to do with Medicare plans. 11. Are we involved in the Affordable Healthcare? No. See previous Q&A. 12. Is Aon Hewitt the group handling the HRA? Everyone seems to think its Extend Health. Yes, it is administered by Your Spending Account (an Aon Hewitt company)

2 not Extend Health. Extend Health is doing the enrollments and ongoing advocacy for those that enroll through them. 13. How long will we have health insurance? Once you are enrolled in the Medicare individual policies, you can continue them as long as you make your policy s premium payments. 14. Will there be more information at the face-to-face meetings than there has been on this call? A little more explanation is provided directly from Extend Health. 15. What do I do if I did not receive my packet? You do not need it. They will take you through everything on the call that is contained in the packet. Their Getting Started Guide is also on their website. However, you should call and make sure that they have your correct address for future mailings. You can get the CenturyLink letter from your local union/chapter. 16. I will be moving out of state-how do I find out what doctors and pharmacies I can go to? It will depend on what plan you are enrolled in. Ask Extend Health about this. 17. How long are our benefits guaranteed for? These Benefits are good through the end of the bargaining agreement (2017). 18. Do I have to renew my plan every year like we do today? There will be Medicare enrollments now that are October 15 through December 7. Once you are in an individual Medicare plan, you do not have to reenroll if you want to keep what you have. However, you should look at the Prescription Drug plans available to you every year as they can change the drugs they cover from year to year. 19. How do I maintain Medicare Part A & B? Continue to pay the Part B premium through your Social Security check. 20. How can union locals and chapters help? They can answer questions, provide information and help us locate the retirees who do not contact Extend Health by April. Provide new phone numbers if available. 21. Who authorized my social security be given to Extend Health? See answer below. 22. Who authorized releasing SSN's to Extend Health? See answer below. 23. I m concerned about security of my personal information. After reading the security statement in an earlier letter. For questions above: CenturyLink has engaged Extend Health as our preferred vendor for the transition of retirees to the Medicare Exchange. Extend Health is HIPAA compliant, has secure systems in place and they do not sell your information to anyone. Participation in the CenturyLink plan, which includes the HRA, continue to require the use of your SSN.

3 Non-Medicare eligible and Surviving Spouse Coverage 24. My husband is on Medicare I am not; do I have to do anything? Not until you are Medicare eligible. Then you will go through this same process of enrolling in an individual plan. You will need to enroll the month prior to becoming Medicare eligible. 25. If I am going to be Medicare eligible in December, what should I do? You will receive several mails from CenturyLink, Extend Health and YSA prior to December. You can call Extend Health up to 90 days prior, and should enroll in the month of November. Make sure you have your Medicare Parts A and B in place by November to be effective December How do people who become Medicare eligible in 2015 enroll? You will start receiving information 90 days or more before your birthday month. Please also refer to the answer in the previous question. 27. I have CDHP. In July, I will be Medicare eligible. What happens to my CDHP HRA? If you have a balance, it will follow you to the Medicare Exchange HRA in about 90 days after you go over. The CDHP is only good for medical related expenses and will be a separate account from your Medicare HRA. 28. Explain the HRA rollover when I go from CDHP to Medicare. See previous Q&A. 29. If the retiree dies how long will the HRA stay open for the spouse to use? This depends on the Surviving Spouse benefits at the time you retired. We will be mailing more information about this late March. Extend Health 30. Is Extend Health given money for each call they complete from CenturyLink? No, they may conduct several calls with the same person without an enrollment and would not be paid anything. They are paid as a company on commission when they enroll someone however, the people that enroll retirees are salaried and do not have any reason to enroll or suggest one plan over another. There is a commission paid wherever you enroll (carrier, broker, etc.) that is how insurance works. 31. How do I find out which doctors take the plans Extend Health suggest? Extend Health will be able to answer this. 32. I m moving can Extend Health help me with the plans in the state I m moving to? Yes. 33. Do we have to make our decision at the time when we have our appointment with Extend Health? No. Extend Health understands that you may need some time to consider their information. However, do not wait too long deadline is by April 30 no matter who you are going to enroll with!

4 34. How does Extend Health select which plans they will offer? The plans determine if they will be offered by Extend Health. Some plans like Kaiser, will not allow any Exchange to offer/enroll them only their own brokers employed by Kaiser can do that. 35. Why doesn t Extend Health offer all plans? See previous Q&A. 36. MUST we enroll with Extend Health? No, you may enroll directly with a carrier or a local broker of your choice. However, Extend Health s advocacy assistance ongoing is very valuable. 37. Is it better to wait until after the meetings next week to call and make an appointment with Extend Health? You should call and schedule your appointment as soon as possible. 38. What is the phone number I call to make an appointment? CenturyLink sent a letter that says if I miss a payment I will lose my insurance and will never be able to get it again. Is this true? You are purchasing an individual policy; therefore, the payment is between you and the carrier. If you miss a payment, like any other insurance, they can drop your coverage and may not reinstate you. You could possibly have to wait until the next Medicare Annual Enrollment period to enroll again. 40. How is Extend Health paid? Please refer to the answer in the first question in this section. 41. If I don t enroll through Extend Health, can I still call them if I have problems after I enroll somewhere else? No, their advocacy services are only for those who enroll through them. Dental Coverage 42. Can I keep my dental with CenturyLink? Yes, the group dental is still offered, and will be available during CenturyLink Annual Enrollments. If you elected it for 2014 and want to keep it you do not have to do anything. The dental is not impacted by the medical plan going away. 43. How much are we paying for CenturyLink dental plan? The 2014 monthly rate is $17.20 single, $ for retiree and spouse. 44. Can we opt out of CenturyLink dental on May 1 st? Yes, we will consider this time period a Qualified Life Event because you may enroll in other dental when looking at your Medicare medical plans. Just call the CenturyLink Service Center and let them know that you want to drop it as of May 1.

5 Medical Plan and Prescription Drug Plans 45. What happens if you go onto an Advantage plan and hospital or doctor stops accepting during the year? You will have to find a new doctor/hospital. (Just as if this happened in the CenturyLink plans doctors and come and go). 46. Can I stay with the company drug plan? No, the CenturyLink drug plan is attached to our medical plans. Both types of coverage under the medical group options (medical and prescription drug) are terminated May You indicated no underwriting with an Advantage plan? True, they will not ask you health questions from year to year during the Medicare annual enrollment period. So you can change from one to another at that time. 48. Will we have to renew our healthcare each year? Not if you want to stay in the individual policy you enroll in however, it is wise to always shop Prescription Drug plans if you are enrolled in a Medigap medical plan. You don t get your choice of drug plans if you are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan. 49. Clarify the drug plan what is out there? This is why you call Extend Health they will take you through the plans after they get your profile information. 50. What if I am in the hospital on April 30 th? What happens? The plan you are under at the time of the hospitalization will apply until you are discharged. Care after that will be under your new plan. 51. On the drug plan do we have to go to a broker? Or will Extend Health help? Extend Health will help. 52. What happens if my drug is not on any of the plans offered in my state? Discuss this with Extend Health. 53. Where can I go to read more about Medigap plans versus Advantage plans? The Medicare & You book is a good resource as well as the Extend Health web site or just discuss more with Extend Health on your appointment call. Also the website is another great resource. 54. What do all those plans mean? A, B, D, F, G, M, N, They are Medigap plan types with different levels of benefits. The Medicare and You book is a good resource or talk to Extend Health (Plan F is the richest plan). 55. How do I get reimbursed for my prescription costs? Depending on which plan you enroll in, IF you have any prescription drug copays, you turn them in to your HRA for reimbursement. See the HRA section below. 56. What happens if I miss or am late making my payment? Is there a grace period? This will depend on the carrier you select ask Extend Health about this before enrolling. 57. Will I still get the discounts for prescriptions that I have today? No, you will not have the same discounts. Each prescription drug plan will have its own discounts that the

6 insurer negotiates which will be different than the discounts offered through CenturyLink drug plan. 58. What are the reasons I may not be eligible for a Medicare plan? There are only a few: Possibly because of ESRD, Living out of the country, no plans available or if Extend Health determines there are extenuating circumstance. They will report this to CenturyLink for review. 59. I got a letter that says I have to decide if I want Part D coverage by March. I am confused about what to do. You will be getting Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage through your enrollment for May 1 so you do not need to get something in addition to what you will enroll in. You will either have drug coverage within a Medicare Advantage plan or you will select a Medigap plan and a prescription drug plan to go with it. You currently have creditable coverage under the CenturyLink plan through April Do all prescription drug plans use mail order? Extend Health will take you though the drug plans and benefits as the mail order will vary by plan. 61. Retiree talked with Extend health and they said she could sign up now and make changes up to April 30th. Does that include cancelling if she changed her mind about the carrier she picked? Yes. They can cancel and switch plans until the April 30. HMO Coverage 62. I am not Medicare eligible but my wife is. I was able to stay with my HMO but now have to move to another plan. What happens now? You will get a packet from the CenturyLink Service Center in early April with a Confirmation Statement that will show you defaulted to the CDHP (Consumer Driven Health Plan) under the CenturyLink group medical options. If you would rather be in the new CenturyLink PPO or HDHP benefit plan option, you just call the Service Center and tell them you would like one of those plans effective May 1 instead. Health Reimbursement Account 63. Will the caps increase? The cost cap will remain the same during the life of the current contract through Many questions on how the HRA will be set up, can I talk to them yet? No, they will not have you in their system until right before the account is activated. It is set up for you automatically; you do not need to do anything. You will get the letter from YSA mid-to late April with instructions. 65. Is there a website for the YSA? Information will be in the April YSA letter.

7 66. Who is the HRA YSA through? YSA is Your Spending Account, the HRA administrator. 67. How will I be able to access my HRA account? Online or via the phone. Please refer to the materials sent to you in April. 68. How will I pay for my premium out of the HRA account? You can t pay it directly out of your HRA. You must pay your premium first, and then submit for reimbursement out of your HRA. 69. What if I paid my account 6 months in advance? Will I get my money back? Yes, you can submit your receipt for the 6 months and be reimbursed up to the available funds. 70. Who and how do we enroll in the HRA? You don t it will be set up for you. 71. Is the HRA taxable? No. 72. When the money is put into HRA on Jan 1 st will the interest grow in that account? No. 73. When can we look at the HRA and see what we have in there? Will it be on line? Yes. You can also call them to get your balance. 74. Explain auto reimbursement? Auto-reimbursement requires you to first pay your insurance premium (via check, banking account, etc.) directly to the carrier in order to be reimbursed. Once payment is received by the carrier, the carrier will notify Extend Health (recently renamed to OneExchange) (who notifies YSA) that you have paid and that will initiate the reimbursement process. Auto reimbursement is only available if you enroll through Extend Health. You must advise them that you want this feature when you enroll, if the carrier you selected participates in this process. This process can take up to several months for the initial set up and again at the beginning of each year. (Note: Most carriers notify of payments on a monthly basis. Premiums that are deducted from your Social Security checks are not auto-reimbursable. You can file for the first few months via manual form during this time.) 75. Is auto reimbursement only good if I sign up through Extend Health? Correct. 76. Explain what I can pay for out of my HRA? Any allowable expenses are determined by the IRS. You will be able to get the list from YSA or you can go to for the 213(d) list. 77. What is 213(d) IRS form? This is an IRS regulation that lists the allowable expenses. 78. Does YSA have a website yet? Or a phone number? Refer to the April YSA letter when it arrives. 79. What does YSA stand for? Your Spending Account 80. How long will we get the HRA dollars? At least through the current union contract. 81. Will the HRA dollars increase each year as healthcare goes up? No.

8 82. I am the retiree if I die can my wife keep using my HRA to help pay for her HC? This depends on the Surviving Spouse rules you retired under. We will be sending more information out about this in March. 83. How do I get reimbursed for my prescription costs? Turn your receipts in to YSA for reimbursement from you HRA. 84. How do I access my HRA? Refer to the April YSA letter when it arrives. 85. Does my HRA roll over? Yes, it will roll over from year to year. 86. What does YSA do? They administer the HRA. 87. If I sign up for a plan do I have to turn in receipts for the plan or just for my prescriptions? You control what expenses you turn in to your HRA. You can use it for premiums, copays, deductibles, and other eligible out of pocket expenses. 88. What are survivor benefits? Do they get unused HRA money in the deceased's account? This depends on the Surviving Spouse benefits in place when you retired. We will be sending more information out about this in March. 89. Can I use my HRA for a state-sponsored plan? If this is a retiree plan that you pay after-tax premiums for, it should be allowable. (Without knowing more details this is difficult to say for sure.) 90. Can I get a state plan and still get HRA dollars? If you are referring to the State Plans being advertised for the Affordable Care Act those are not available to Medicare Eligible retirees so could not be used with the HRA. If your question is about a retiree plan, see the previous question. For specific employee benefit plan information, refer to the respective Plan Documents, including the applicable Summary Plan Description and Summaries of Material Modifications, if any. If there is any conflict between the terms of the Plan Documents and this correspondence, the terms of the Plan Documents will govern. The Plan Administrator has authority, discretion and the rights to interpret and resolve any ambiguities in the Plan or any document relating to the Plan. Plan Administrator, may adopt, at any time, rules and procedures that it determines to be necessary or desirable with respect to the operation of the Plan. CenturyLink reserves the right to amend or terminate all of the Plans and the Benefits provided-with respect to all classes of Participants, retired or otherwise-and their beneficiaries, without prior notice to or consultation with any Participants and beneficiaries-subject to, applicable law, collective bargaining as applicable, the terms of the respective Plan documents, and with respect to the Health Plan, the written agreement specific to Pre-1991 Retirees and ERO'92 Retirees.