State benefits plan offers improvements for 2005

The state's Public Employee Benefits Program did well enough in 2004 to offer several key benefit improvements for the coming plan year.

Executive Director Woody Thorne said improvements include cutting the deductible in half to $250, the major medical deductible in half to $1,000 and raising dental coverage from $1,500 a year to $2,000 .

The benefits will be provided to all members of the plan as soon as they fill out a health-risk assessment form.

Thorne said improved benefits were possible because plan expenses decreased 8 percent in fiscal 2004.

He said an estimated $13 million needed to pay for the plan enhancements will leave total plan expenses 3 percent down from the previous year.

He said a health-risk assessment survey is designed to help plan managers get a better handle on the health status of members. The assessment will be followed by a disease-management program he said is designed to get people to have more frequent checkups for known health risks and to take better care of themselves.

That means increasing the wellness benefit from $600 to $2,500.

"We're looking to encourage people to get the normal health screenings so that any problems can be dealt with before they become serious issues," he said.

The plan also adds up to four cleanings a year to the dental benefit and a lens-frame allowance of $125 every two years to the vision benefit.

Reduced expenses - particularly in major medical categories - resulted in a total cash balance of $46.8 million for fiscal 2004. That is the first time since 2001 PEBP has finished a plan year in the black.

n Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at nevadaappeal@sbcglobal.net or 687-8750.