Agenda - 10-03-2006-5e - Laserfiche WebLink

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O Mr. John M. Link, Jr. - 2 - February 9, 2006 Orange County was trained by NCACC and given access to Manager Self Service (MSS}. MSS gives the Human Resources Department at each member County a portal into our eligibility system to make changes, .terminate, and add employees and dependents. Should your staff wish it, we are more than happy to schedule a refresher on MSS. Our consultant on the benefits transition, Mercer, is working on a drug formulary comparison between Merck and Caremark. However, we do not expect too much division of placement of. drugs between the two formularies. The Pool's intention is to replicate the plan designs currently in place with Merck, so there is as little disruption as possible. The crucial reason we chose to move the Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) to Caremark is so the Pool can receive better rebates, improve plan design flexibility and provide a more attractive mail order program. I understand there may be some concern about transitioning employees from BCBS disease management programs to those offered by Cigna. CIGNA does not have the same exact programs or employ the same techniques as BCBS. However, there are several programs that are similar, such as smoking cessation, heart disease and prenatal care. Currently, neither the Pool nor Orange County has a high number of employees participating in the BCBS disease management programs, so their efficacy is tough to measure. CIGNA's programs are "opt out" programs, so the employee is automatically enrolled in a pertinent program unless they have themselves removed. The CIGNA nurse call center frequently reaches out to employees to monitor their progress and compliance. As a result, we believe disease management will significantly improve under CIGNA. It is the Pool's intention to encourage more employees to participate in managing their illnesses and improving their health,. and we are confident CIGNA is the best partner to help us achieve this goal. The Group Benefits, Pool and Cigna are happy to work with Orange County by providing a letter the County may use for employee packets, if it is arranged ahead of time. In addition, our Board of Trustees is provided with an update on the transition every quarter. We will provide you with copies of these updates so you can stay current on the transition. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact NCACC Director of Customer Service Carolyn Meiners at 919-719-1111. The NCACC has enjoyed along-standing relationship with Orange County, and we look forward to continuing that relationship for many years to come. Sincerely, } C~4 . r ~ ~/ David F. Thompson Executive Director cc: Susan W. Klalcoff, NCACC Assistant Executive Director of Risk Management Michelle Love, NCACC Marketing Representative . r '~ '"~ S ~~~. Tc~ 1~ = ~ G ~• s S