Editor's note: The Nevada System of Higher Education Office of Human Resources sent the following message on Monday, Nov. 7.

Dear Colleagues,

The Public Employees Benefits Program (PEBP) met yesterday for their regular board meeting.  Renee Yackira, NSHE Executive Director for Government Relations, and Bart Patterson, Interim NSC President made public comment regarding the challenges experienced by NSHE employees related to the changes to the Health Insurance Plan. 

These included:

• Lack of information regarding provider cost under the Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP)
• Lack of predictability of costs for medical and prescription services under the CDHP
• Challenges in recruiting and retaining faculty due to reductions in benefits

The PEBP Board instructed staff to bring forth the following items for FY13 plan change consideration at the December 15th Board meeting:

• Proposal for a middle tier, traditional PPO Plan with lower deductibles and co-pays for services
• A recommended schedule for when PEBP will be depositing seed money into participant's HSA/HRA accounts for those on the CDHP.  PEBP Executive Officer, Jim Wells, indicated that PEBP staff will likely recommend depositing the seed money on a semi-annual basis rather than the current plan which deposited the seed money at the beginning of the plan year
• A proposal to exclude the preventive dental cleanings from the plan year maximum dental benefit.  Currently, the cost of preventive dental care is charged to a participant's annual maximum benefit ($1000), which reduces the amount you can use for other dental benefits. By excluding the preventive dental cost from your annual maximum benefit, you would be able to use the full $1000 maximum benefit for other dental services (i.e. fillings, crowns, root canals, etc). It is anticipated that preventive dental cleanings would remain available four times each plan year.
• For participants with the HRA (those individuals who do not qualify for the HSA because they have other coverage that is not a high deductible), PEBP staff will be making two recommendations regarding rollover of funds to the following year.  Employees with HSAs will NOT be subject to these carry-over limits.
• • HRA maximum carry-over of $5,850 from one plan year to the next for participants in the PPO High Deductible plan
  • For retirees in the Medicare Exchange program with an HRA - maximum carry-over of $4,800 from one plan year to the next

The December 15th PEBP Board meeting will be held in Carson City but will be available via video-conference at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building located at 555 East Washington Avenue, Room 4100. The meeting will start at 9:00 a.m. PEBP covered employees and members of the public can voice comments during the Board meeting. You may also submit your comments directly to the PEBP Board at board@peb.state.nv.us.