Cortland County Outlines Proposed Retiree Healthcare Plan and Upcoming Public Sessions

Jack Eves: X101 Always Classic, Jack here in the studio, and joining me in the studio today is Madlyn Allen, personnel officer for Cortland County. Madlyn, thank you for coming in and wonderful to meet you!

Madlyn Allen: Yes, thank you for having me! It’s nice to meet you as well.

Jack Eves: Yes, so some big changes are proposed in the health benefits for retirees in Cortland County. And obviously, when there’s a change proposed like this, there’s always going to be misconceptions and misinformation, especially being spread through social media, and you’re here to give the facts and reassure those listening that may be impacted by this proposed change—what’s actually going to happen?

Madlyn Allen: Yes, absolutely. We have some changes happening for our Medicare-eligible retirees that concern their health insurance. This past week, the county administrator and I presented on retiree health insurance to the county legislators. We also had our Excellus representative there, and really focused in on what the proposed changes are compared to the current benefit structure that our Medicare-eligible retirees have today.

Some of those changes are being looked into. We also have education sessions coming up to explain to our retirees what is proposed and what the differences will be if this change is to go through when the legislature votes at the end of the month.

Jack Eves: Exactly. And you know, you said it right there, that these are proposed changes. It’s not saying right then and there that we’re coming in and changing it. It was just a simple presentation, especially to get the legislators for Cortland County familiar with what’s going on. But what’s amazing too, besides the upcoming public educational sessions, is there’s also an FAQ page you guys have right on the county website.

Madlyn Allen: Yes, and that FAQ is a living document. We are making changes to it as more questions come in directly from the retirees or their spouses. We also are going to continue to provide more information as it becomes available, including our summary plan descriptions for the plan, more presentation documentation from both Excellus, from the county administrator, and myself. We really want to use that as a hub and a central resource for retirees and the outlying community to be able to look in to see what these proposed changes are.

Jack Eves: Yeah, proposed changes. And noting online too, the plan includes no annual deductible, $0 copays for primary care and specialist visits, as well as $0 copays for many hospital emergency and urgent care, diagnostic, rehabilitation—very important things, especially as adults get older. Healthcare is a priority for them, too, and it’s understandable, whenever they hear change or proposed change, they’re going to get worried. But looking at this, this coverage is beneficial in two ways essentially for the county: one, it’s still keeping a plan that is going to benefit retirees through Medicare, but it’s also going to help the county look at their financial stability.

Madlyn Allen: Yes, definitely. It is very comparable coverage, equal to really truly what they carry today, which is that original Medicare primary as their insurance, and then secondary, our retirees still carry the county-sponsored health insurance plan. So that really just picks up claims that Medicare does not accept or does not pay in full. Like we’ve said in the materials and in our presentation to the legislature and to the public, there really is not a loss of coverage here. The benefits are comparable, and we really believe that this is a great option for our Medicare-eligible retirees.

Jack Eves: And I think one of the big questions too for retirees who are probably still in the Cortland area: are Guthrie, Cayuga Health, Upstate University Hospital, and other regional providers still covered under this proposed plan?

Madlyn Allen: They are still covered. We have an excellent resource in our FAQs to really describe and explain all of those typical answers that a retiree or someone may have. The wonderful thing about our FAQ is, especially for those three specific places, we have a link to the insurance carriers that those facilities use and have in-network or out-of-network. It’s an important distinction that we want to make: out-of-network benefits are applicable in this plan, and there’s no additional cost because there’s no out-of-network penalty.

Jack Eves: Okay. And obviously, if the proposed change does go through, is there going to be an impact to retirees? Are they going to have to get a new insurance card? Are they going to have to do any type of new paperwork for that process?

Madlyn Allen: So there would be a new insurance card, and that would be important for retirees to make sure they have with them. Another part of this proposed change is including a new prescription drug coverage, which would be administered through what’s considered an EGWP, or an Employer Group Waiver Plan. That has a pharmacy card which our Medicare-eligible retirees—I want to make sure that we make that distinction, our Medicare-eligible retirees—would use either at the retail pharmacy or online with their mail-order pharmacy prescriptions to ensure that they get their prescriptions at the correct copay cost.

Another part of your question there was enrollment. Our team here at the personnel office—Tori, the benefits manager, who our retirees know and have known—is here to help every step of the way. We will ensure that we are in communication with our retirees. We have begun mailing out information as it becomes available, and we’re also utilizing social media and our education sessions to answer any questions and provide all the paperwork that they’ll need.

Jack Eves: So they’ll definitely be staying in the loop. And too, on the FAQ page, if they see the questions that are already posted there, but see something that’s not there, they’re also welcome to submit a question they might have.

Madlyn Allen: Yes, and we really encourage questions. There is a button on there to submit a question; it brings up a form. We ask that you have a part of your contact information—either phone number, email, or both—and either Tori or I will get back to you via email or phone as soon as we get an answer to your question. There are no silly questions, there are no questions that won’t be helpful, and if we see a trend in questions that are very similar, we’ll continue to post them to our FAQs and expand that.

Jack Eves: Yes, and that’s great. And also upcoming on Wednesday, the 16th, two sessions in person at the County Office Building auditorium—which, if people aren’t familiar, you just go in through the main entrance as usual, and then you just follow the signage upstairs to that auditorium. First one’s going to be at noon, where additional information, education, and questions will be asked that will hopefully be answered for some of these people that might have concerns, right?

Madlyn Allen: Yes, we’re hoping for a great attendance. We have an option at noon for lunchtime and then again at 6:00 PM for after the workday. An Excellus representative will be there, alongside county administration, either the Personnel Department and/or the county administrator himself, there to answer questions and alleviate any concerns.

Again, we’re happy also if there are complex questions or if folks have pre-planned medical care that they know is happening in the beginning of the year—please let us know as much information as you’re willing to share with us, because we can take that to Excellus and find out what the difficulties will be, if there are any. Insurance right now, our Medicare-eligible retirees are utilizing Medicare first, but anything that’s not covered is billed to the county-sponsored Excellus plan. With this being an Excellus plan as well, we don’t anticipate a large disruption in services or covered services, but we will help you walk through this transition individually as much as we can.

Jack Eves: That’s good to hear, individually too, because that’s going to be important for some. When people hear “change,” especially when retired with a set plan, that’s always going to raise some concerns. But to be reassured, changes are not impacting your healthcare coverage, it’s going to be a benefit, and like you said earlier, changes are very subtle. For those who can’t attend in person, the following week you are going to have a virtual session as well, right?

Madlyn Allen: That is correct. We’re going to have a virtual session at noon on the 23rd. Again, another opportunity to listen to more presentation material, ask questions that you would like answers to, and listen to the questions that other folks have for myself, our benefits manager, and the Excellus representative.

Jack Eves: That’s great to hear. Again, these are all proposed changes, no final action has been taken. This is the discussion and learning period for it, and a lot of information the county has posted on their website, cortlandcountyny.gov, right on the homepage, so you won’t struggle to find it. There will also be information on when those in-person and virtual sessions are taking place, including frequently asked questions, an opportunity to submit questions, and even view the plan documents. Madlyn, is there anything else you’d like to add?

Madlyn Allen: I really just want to encourage folks to reach out to the Personnel Department as much as possible, ask the questions, and please look over the website. It’s going to be a wealth of resources and knowledge. There will be links to plan documents that you can take to your providers today and see what that coverage looks like and how, if any, impacts will be made as we look to these proposed changes.

Jack Eves: Awesome. Madlyn, thank you so much for coming into the studio, always appreciate it, and wonderful to meet you, too. For X101, I’m Jack Eves.