September 25, 2018
I. Important Correction to Friday, September 21 Round-Up
II. Important Conference Sessions: Public Safety and Public Health
I. Important Correction to Friday, September 21 Round-Up
The e-mail version of the League’s Friday Round-Up included a factual error in the item below. This has been corrected on the League’s website and please note the corrected copy below with emphasis on the correction.
State Health Benefits Plan Rate Renewal Recommendations Announced (Corrected)
AON (the independent auditing experts) has recommended, to the State Health Benefits Plan (SHBP) Board of Trustees, Local Government SHBP overall premium rate adjustments for Plan Year 2019. They are recommending for Active Employees a 1.7% increase, for Early Retirees a 37.1% decrease, and for Medicare Retirees a 36.9% decrease. In the aggregate, the recommended rates represent an overall 7.6% decrease for the Local Government Group.
The plan design changes adopted by the SHBP Plan Design Committee for plan year 2017 have been reaffirmed for plan year 2019. These changes include an out-of-network reimbursement change for physical therapy services in PPO plans, mandatory generic for prescription drugs, and prescription drug copay change. The SHBP Plan Design Committee also approved the continuation of the alternative prescription drug formulary for plan year 2019.
We anticipate that the actual rates for the various State Health Benefits Plans will be released shortly as open enroll typically begins in October. We will continue to keep you posted.
Contact: Lori Buckelew, Sr. Legislative Analyst, lbuckelew@njslom.org, 609-695-3481 x112.
II. Important Conference Sessions: Public Safety and
Public Health
This is our fourth Conference Preview letter, written to help you to prepare for your Annual League of Municipalities Conference. The sessions listed below will provide you with important insights into public safety and public health issues in your municipalities.
Tuesday, November 13th
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Session: Bringing Wellness to Your Community With the Mayors’ Wellness Campaign
Room 307
Time: 3:45 p.m.
Session: Schools and Municipalities: Working Together for Student Safety
Room 312
Wednesday, November 14th
Time: 10:45 a.m.
Session: Improving Population Health in New Jersey
Room 312
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Session: Resources Available to Municipalities Fighting the Opioid Epidemic
Room 301
Thursday, November 15th
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Session: Police-Community Relations: Avoiding Conflict and Assuring Cooperation
Room 411
For more information on these and other sessions, visit the League’s website at www.njslom.org/conference. For more information on the approved Continuing Education Credits (CEU) please visit the CEU Tracking Page on the Conference Website. Follow Conference updates on the League’s Facebook and Twitter using #njleague. Also, be sure to read more about these sessions and the Conference in the October and November editions of our magazine, NJ Municipalities.