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| Volume 3, Issue 13: June 27, 2008 |
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Caremark® Offers Online Health-Management Tools Members with questions about their prescription drugs, medication costs, or related issues have a great online resource through our contracted pharmacy benefits manager. The CVS/Caremark Web site enables PacificSource members to quickly and easily identify accurate prescription coverage information specific to their pharmacy benefit. This tool delivers comprehensive price and savings information, and helps members manage their prescriptions. There is also a “Cool Tools” area with health and wellness calculators, guides, quizzes, health diaries, and polls, as well as a nutrition tool box for information on foods. On the Caremark site, members can:
Members simply need to register on the Caremark Web site at www.caremark.com. A link to Caremark is included in the For Members section of our Web site. In addition to entering basic information such as their name and date of birth, members will need their Participant ID Code (PacificSource Member ID Number) and Group Code (V154 or V222) as shown on their PacificSource member ID card. FSA/HSA Substantiation Easier Thanks to New Technology For FSA and HSA plan participants, claims paperwork can be a nuisance. In recent years the availability of prepaid debit cards has eased that burden by giving participants an easy, automatic way to pay for qualified healthcare expenses at the point of purchase. Our TPA, Manley Services, offers the Benny®, a special-purpose MasterCard®, to its FSA and HRA plan participants. When members use their Benny® at health-related businesses, the amount of the qualified purchases is deducted automatically and the pre-tax dollars are electronically transferred to the provider for immediate payment. Although the IRS still requires participants to retain documentation to substantiate their purchases, new claim matching technology is approving more services automatically. This automatic substantiation has significantly reduced the number of follow-up documentation requests needed by Manley Services. Already this year, we've seen a significant increase in automatic substantiation, from 59 percent to 73 percent. This year, retailers are required to begin using the Inventory Information Approval System (IIAS). This technology approves prescription and over-the-counter items at the cash register, eliminating the need for follow-up documentation. Most major retailers already have this system in place. This technology is similar to that which Walgreens has had in place for some time. All pharmacies will be required to use this technology beginning in 2009. The system should increase automatic substantiation for pharmacy claims to 100 percent. Evolution Benefits, the company that administers the Benny® MasterCard® program, uses group claim and benefit information supplied by insurance carriers to match services and copay amounts paid using the card. In addition, once an expense has been manually substantiated, it will be approved for 12 months as a recurring expense match. Some of the expenses that have historically required follow-up documentation include:
As more retailers and pharmacies implement the IIAS technology, and more claims can be automatically substantiated, members will benefit from quicker turnaround times and smoother claims processing. Manley Services Welcomes Leslie Fox On May 5, our subsidiary, Manley Services, welcomed Client Service Representative Leslie Fox to our Portland office. Leslie is quickly settling into her new role and learning the details of third party benefits administration. Some of you may have met her already. Since starting work, she has attended several benefit meetings with Service Representative Barry Pyle and joined Sales Manager Dave Richie in meetings with agents and groups. |
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Before joining Manley Services, Leslie worked as a regional manager for a coffee company. Although working in the coffee industry had its perks, she was very interested when Dave Ritchie mentioned the opening at Manley Services. She had heard good things about PacificSource and Manley Services, and she thought that, of all the companies she could work for, they would be the best. “They demonstrate that customer service is the key to good business,” she says. “I’m grateful this opportunity came my way.” Outside of work, Leslie, her husband, and their 17-month-old are still settling into a new home. She jokes that she now has a farm—a big vegetable garden, three cats, and a large German shepherd. In addition to “farm” work, she loves to be outside biking, swimming, hiking, and camping. It’s easy to see that Leslie lives her motto: Love your work and love your life. ”I love talking to people and helping them,” she says. “I’m contributing to their welfare, and at the same time I'm just doing my job. What’s better than that?” We will be closed on Friday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day. Our offices will reopen at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, July 7. Our Customer Service Department will reopen at 7:00 a.m. PST. Best wishes from all of us at PacificSource PacificSource Sponsors CE Classes in Medford July 15 Classes in Medford (Six credit hours total)
Invitations will be e-mailed with class and registration details. Class space is limited, so be sure to register as soon as you receive your invitation. Please e-mail Marketing Agent Coordinator Candice Wilkins to register or for more information. For details, check our 2008 schedule in the For Agents/Prof’l Development section of our Web site. East Cascades Association of Health Underwriters (ECAHU) will host the sixth annual OAHU Golf Tournament on June 30 in Bend. For more information and to register for these events, visit www.ecahu.com and select Upcoming Events. PacificSource is proud to sponsor Northwest community events that support healthy communities and health-focused organizations. We hope you will join us in supporting these events: Main Street Mile Annual Walk for Men’s Health 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field Waterfront Blues Festival Light of Liberty Celebration Music on the Halfshell Grants Pass Concerts in the Park Alive After Five Summer Concert Series Munch & Music Concert Series |
“Customer service is the key to good business.” |
Questions? You’re always welcome to contact us! |
Eugene Bend Boise Medford |
Portland Manley Services Select Benefit Administrators |