What's New for 2008
Important Changes
It is SAIC's intention to make health care as affordable as possible for employees and their families. Employees in the SAIC PPO plans will see no increase*. For employees in the regional fully insured plans, a majority will see no increase. In some cases, we have received rate increases significantly higher than others. In those cases it will be necessary to pass some of that increase on to employees. Employees are encouraged to carefully consider all of their plan options. A careful evaluation will show that in many cases, the same or better benefits are available at a lower cost.
It is critical that you log onto the SAIC Benefits Online Enrollment site to review potential changes in your benefit plans even if you do not plan on making any changes for 2008. Please ensure that you review the 2008 benefit summaries and interactive plan comparison charts on the SAIC Benefits Online Enrollment site for more specific plan changes.
Medical Changes
The following explains the changes to the medical plans for 2008.
SAIC Self Insured Plans (MedPlus, MedBasic, Catastrophic and Out-of-area plans)
- No increase* in employee contributions for those enrolled in the SAIC self insured plans
- Lifetime limit increasing from $1 to $2 million
- Co-pay increase for specialists
- SAIC MedPlus $15 Generalist/$25 Specialist
- SAIC MedBasic $25 Generalist/$35 Specialist
- New ID cards will be mailed
- Carrier Network Changes
- Rhode Island residents** – Medical coverage will be administered by Anthem/Blue Cross instead of Aetna
- Puerto Rico residents – Medical coverage will be administered by Anthem/Blue Cross instead of Aetna
Fully Insured Plans (Regional HMOs, PPOs and POS plans)
- For those enrolled in the fully insured plans contributions will increase 0-15 percent
- Plan Eliminations (Employees enrolled in these plans will default to SAIC Med Basic if they do not make different elections)
- Health Net N.Y./N.J.
- Group Health Plan/St. Louis
- Anthem KeyCare 15 PPO – Standard (EMA/SSI Only)
- Anthem Healthkeepers HMO (EMA/SSI Only)
- Plan Additions
- Aetna HMO/St. Louis Area
- Anthem Keycare 10 PPO – Premium (EMA/SSI Only)
- Plan Expansion - Aetna N.J. plan now includes N.Y.
- The plan designs for the following medical plans have been modified
- Harvard Pilgrim – Massachusetts
- Kaiser – Hawaii
- Aetna – New Jersey & New York
- Anthem BC/BS – Ohio
- Cariten Healthcare – Tennessee
Summaries of all fully insured plan design changes are provided on the SAIC Benefits Summary Plan Description site and the SAIC Benefits Online Enrollment site.
TRICARE Supplement
As a result of Congressional legislation, SAIC is unable to offer the current TRICARE Supplement medical plan as of January 1, 2008. This means employees currently enrolled in the TRICARE Supplement plan will default to WAIVE medical coverage for 2008. Employees will have the option of independently purchasing the TRICARE Supplement plan on their own or electing an SAIC medical plan. Please read the Open Enrollment Guide for more details.
Voluntary Short-Term Disability Insurance (VSDI)
The employee contribution for VSDI has been reduced from .9 to .7 percent of payroll. The savings to an employee earning $80,000 per year and paying into VSDI about $160 per year.
Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)
SAIC is increasing the number of face to face visits available for each member of the household from three to up to five per issue. This allows members to take greater advantage of the many benefits provided. EAP benefits and work/life services are designed to help members cope with a wide variety of challenges including:
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Members can choose from a variety of delivery methods and be assured that all services are completely confidential. They can start with taking a self assessment, reading topical articles, talking to a counselor by telephone and/or meeting with a counselor face-to-face. Confidential EAP services, including face to face visits are open to all benefits-eligible SAIC employees and family members regardless of whether they’re enrolled with any of SAIC's other health coverage.
Voluntary Accidental Death & Dismemberment (VAD&D)
Several changes have been made to the VAD&D plan:
- The maximum allowable benefit has increased from $750,000 to $1,000,000
- The plan design will be changing to a factor times salary benefit. Employees will be able to elect a coverage amount that best fits their needs in increments beginning at ½, and increase in whole increments to 10 times salary
- When employee reaches age 70, benefit amount will be reduced to 65 percent
- Employees enrolled in VAD&D will automatically receive Identity Theft protection*** at no additional cost
Please note that there will be no increase to the VAD&D rates in 2008. Single and family coverage will still be available.
Comprehensive Leave Cash Payout
- Employees wanting to cash out a portion of their 2008 accrued comprehensive leave are required to make an election via the SAIC Benefit Online Enrollment site
- Employees may elect the payout only from the comprehensive leave that is accrued in 2008
- Cash payouts will be made in June and December
- A minimum of eight hours can be elected for each payout period
- Cash payouts will be taxed at the supplemental tax rate
- Elections are irrevocable
Automatic Cash Payout
There are a maximum number of comprehensive leave days that employees can accrue in their comprehensive leave bank. This maximum depends on an employee’s comprehensive leave accrual rate. If an employee’s balance exceeds the maximum number of hours as of December 31, 2007, then the employee will receive an automatic cash payout for hours that exceed his/her limit and the balance will be reduced to the maximum. This payment will be made in January 2008, and the dollar amount will be based on the employee’s rate of pay at the time of the automatic payout.
Important Things to Remember
- An employee of SAIC may not be covered as both an employee and a dependent. Additionally, dependents may not be covered by more than one SAIC employee
- 2008 eligibility for medical and dental programs will continue to be determined by the employee's home zip code. Home state will determine eligibility for either the Aetna or Anthem Blue Cross PPO network (under the MedPlus, MedBasic or Catastrophic plans)
- There are NO plan design changes to the following benefit plans in 2008:
- Dental
- Vision
- Basic or Supplemental Life
- Long Term Disability (LTD)
* Part-time employee enrolled in the SAIC self-insured plans will experience an increase.
** Network administrator change only applies to employees who reside in Rhode Island. Residents of neighboring states that work in Rhode Island and who are enrolled in SAIC PPO plans will have no change to their plan’s administrator.
*** Identity Theft protection is an additional benefit provided by CIGNA Life, our VAD&D insurance provider.
