Measuring UNLV’s Health: Faculty and Staff Tell Us Their Story August 24, 2004 Faculty Senate Health Plan Study Committee

Overview  Committee charges  Employee Utilization & Satisfaction Survey Survey objectives & implementation Survey results  Committee recommendations Next steps Intermediate strategies Collaboration

Committee Charges  Collect data on impact of health plan changes on faculty and staff  Collect data on what faculty and staff want to see in their health plan  Collect data on other state university systems with similar configurations

Committee Charges (cont’d)  Identify successful health plans  Make recommendations for health plan changes  Recommend methods of improving communication of changes in advance of implementation

Survey Implementation  Survey instrument Online and paper  Funding provided by President’s Office  Cannon Center for Survey Research Dr. Tom Lamatsch, Director Programming Beta testing Analysis

Survey Objectives  Survey objectives Basic demographics Self-funded vs. HMO Satisfaction Out of pocket costs Personal strategies Tell us your story

Survey Results  Response Rate – 41% 778 online surveys 200 paper surveys  Demographics 45% academic & administrative faculty 55% classified staff 58% male; 42% female 66% were 41 or older 51% at UNLV 5 years or less; 31% 11 years or more

Survey Results (cont’d)  Self funded vs. HMO 65% chose PPO 35% chose HMO  Deductible Levels 82% chose $500 14% chose $1,000 4% chose $2,500

Reasons for Choosing Plan  Cost Very important for 60% of respondents 84% of HMO 50% of Self funded  Choice of Doctors Very important for 72% of respondents 91% of Self-funded 44% of HMO

Satisfaction  Most satisfied (6=excellent) Choice of doctors (4.54) Access to medical care (4.43) Choice of Primary providers (4.09)  Least Satisfied (1=very poor) Vision coverage (2.42) Prescription Drug coverage (2.79) Obtaining out-of-state care (3.10)

Benefit Planners  Ratings on a scale of 1 to 6 (excellent) Claims processed in timely manner (3.74) Timely response to telephone inquiries (3.63) On-line claims history (3.41) Website navigation (3.33) Clarity of claims calculations/explanations (3.31)

Benefit Planners (cont’d)  Issues Incompetent handling of PPO list Misinterpretation of claims Physicians not paid in timely manner Dysfunctional claims review process Failure to record changes in coverage Claim representatives cannot answer specific questions about plan Do not respond to correspondence or provide “canned response” letters

Importance of Health Benefits  How important were your health benefits in your decision to come to UNLV? 41% - important/very important  How important are your health benefits in your decision to stay at UNLV? 46.6% important/very important

Loss of Medical Providers  Have any of your physicians dropped out of the plan? 41% said yes 39% of self funded respondents 44% of HMO respondents  Why? Claims not paid in timely manner Burden of providing additional treatment information to Benefit Planners

Communicating Health Benefits  Does the currently provided health benefit information explain your coverage well enough? 57% said no  How well do you understand your benefits? 61% answered not at all 15% answered somewhat 24% answered very well

Out of Pocket Costs  Actual and Anticipated Doctors Visits Hospital Visits Dental Vision Prescriptions  Flexible Spending Account Awareness Participation

Personal Strategies and Stories  Delay needed medical care Cannot afford deductible & copays Pay off one medical commitment before making next appointment  Prescription “management” Dosage management Purchase prescription drugs from Canada Preferred vs. non-preferred drugs

Personal Strategies and Stories  Inability to obtain follow-up care  Delayed surgeries  Inappropriate specialist referrals  Credit collection agencies

Affordability Factor  In the past three years, State subsidy increased 56%  Accompanied by substantial increases in deductibles Medical Deductibles: $250 to $500 Pharmacy deductible: 0 to $50 Dental deductible: 0 to $50 (individual) 0 to $150 (family)

Affordability Factor (cont’d)  And other additional costs PPO out of pocket maximums increased from $1,500 to $3,500 PPO specialist copay doubled from $15/visit to $30/visit Vision plan: $125 materials every two years benefit eliminated

Next Steps  Complete evaluation of other health plans  Explore reasons for difference in cost and benefits of other plans  Explore viability of adopting UCCSN plan  Refer report to ACR 10 Committee

Intermediate Strategies  Promote Accountability Identify appropriate strategies for Greater oversight by PEBP (Public Employees Benefit Program) of Benefit Planners Legislative oversight of PEBP

Intermediate Strategies (cont’d) Recommend ongoing evaluation measures to assess employee satisfaction with Benefit Planners and PEBP

Committee Membership  Diane Muntal, Institutional Analysis (Chair)  Pat Alpert, Nursing  Sam Connally, Human Resources  Rhonda Groce, Student Enrollment  Kathy Lauckner, Harry Reid Center  Tom Pierce, Special Education  Robert Wysocki, Art