The meeting was called to order by President Traci Mitchell, who welcomed the guests and introduced the guest speaker. The guest speaker was Sharon Kavorik, Benefits Specialist from the state Insurance Office, who outlined upcoming changes in our health insurance coverage. Ms. Kavorik stated that the reason for these increases is that there have been major increases in the cost of drugs.
Some new drugs are very expensive and there have to be changes to keep the plan solvent.
The alternative would be to have large rate increases. This is strictly for wellness, and will not apply when there is a diagnosis as a result of the doctor visit. This allowance will count toward the deductible. In response to a question about doctors receiving a schedule of services to be covered under the wellness allowance, Ms. Kavoric advised that this would depend on how an insurance claim is filed. If filed as a routine exam, a claim would be considered wellness coverage.