September 2004

VOL. 15 NO. 2

HEALTH INSURANCE OPEN ENROLLMENT

Once each year, during the months of October and November, CCASAPE holds a health insurance open enrollment period. This is the time for you to review your benefit election to ensure that it meets the needs of you and your family. During the open enrollment period, you will have the opportunity to make the following changes to your benefit election:

• You can add eligible dependents.
• You can drop covered dependents.
• You can join the CCASAPE / CCSD Health Insurance Plan if you are currently an active administrative employee and receiving your health insurance from CCEA, ESEA, or from another provider.
• You can join the new, stand-alone HMO plan. This health care option is new and will provide an alternative to the more expensive Point of Service plan. The current POS plan will continue to be available to ALL administrators and covered retirees.

The changes will be effective on January 1, 2005. The Benefits Office at 799-5418 will assist you with these changes. A series of health insurance information meetings have been established to provide administrators an opportunity to discuss the changes in the benefit levels and rates for the CCASAPE / CCSD Health Insurance Plan. Additionally, at each of the meetings, CCASAPE staff and representatives from Sierra Health will discuss

the new HMO product that will be available for retirees and administrators with dependents beginning in January, 2005. This insurance plan will result in a significant reduction in out-of- pocket costs for participants. Meetings are scheduled as follows:

CCASAPE / CCSD HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN
2004 OPEN ENROLLMENT MEETINGS

An unmarried child who is under the age of 27 and enrolled in an accredited school is eligible to receive health benefits as a dependent on the CCASAPE / CCSD Health Insurance Plan. Students must be enrolled in 6 credit hours and must submit, annually, a letter from the registrar’s office verifying that the student is enrolled in a minimum of 6 credit hours. Verification from the registrar’s office must be sent to Nick Venturini in the Employee Benefits Office in the Education Center by the end of September, 2004, to continue health coverage for the 2004-2005 school year.

On September 9, 2004, the CCASAPE Representative Council held its regular monthly meeting. The major items discussed and/or actions taken during the meeting included the following:

1. The revenue, expenditures, and balances within the CCASAPE Association and Trust Fund Accounts;

2. President Joe Murphy reported that volunteers are being sought for a number of CCASAPE committees, as well as, CCASAPE appointments to district committees. Ken Fowler was appointed to fill the vacancy on the Representative Council created by Cathy Conger’s election as CCASAPE president elect;

3. Old Business:

A. Officers’ and Directors’ Insurance – The proposed Officers’ and Directors’ insurance policy from Allegany Insurance Holdings was reviewed. The Representative Council approved payment of the one year premium in the amount of $10,925;

B. 2004 Member Survey – Issues related to the member survey were discussed; and

C. 401(a) Plan – The current status of the 401(a) Plan was outlined. The plan is fully implemented and allows eligible retiring administrators to avoid the Medicare tax and to postpone and possibly reduce federal income tax. Support and assistance to plan participants is being provided by the AIG-VALIC staff. The schedule of member orientation meetings was outlined;

4. New Business:

A. School Administrators’ Welfare Trust Actuarial Review – The Representative Council authorized an actuarial review of the retired medical and unused sick leave accounts in the School Administrators’ Welfare Trust Fund. The actuarial review is completed every two years and is necessary to ensure the current contribution levels to these accounts will allow for the continuation of benefits for retiring administrators. CCASAPE staff is currently in the process of securing the needed information to complete the actuarial review. The review will be completed by Lebenson Actuarial Services;

B. Association Account Audit – A general operating fund account audit was recently completed with the incoming and outgoing CCASAPE presidents (Joe Murphy and Jerry Boles) and the CCASAPE treasurer (Bart Mangino). All accounts in the general operating fund were found to be in order;

C. Paragon Asset Management Company – The Paragon Asset Management Company has served as the investment manager for the CCASAPE Welfare Trust Fund and the general operating fund since the fall of 2000. Paragon was recently sold to Mellon Financial Corporation. Mr. Bob Kasner, former senior vice president of Paragon, will continue as the investment manager for the CCASAPE accounts in his new capacity with Mellon Financial Corporation. The Representative Council approved a resolution to authorize Stephen Augspurger to sign and execute the necessary documents to make the transfer of trust funds from Paragon to Mellon Financial. Approval was also provided to authorize Stephen Augspurger to give payment orders or instructions to purchase, sell or transfer securities on behalf of CCASAPE;

D. Administrators’ Advisory Council Meeting The first Administrators’ Advisory Council meeting of the 2004-2005 school year will be held on October 26, 2004. Tentative agenda items were discussed. The advisory committee consists of the CCASAPE executive board (Joe Murphy, Cathy Conger, Jerry Boles, Barbie Holmes, and Bart Mangino) and the elementary, secondary and professional-technical representatives to the Representative Council (Marilyn Miks, Beth Howe, and Jeff Hafen). It was decided by the Representative Council that since the first advisory meeting will not be held until October, that a meeting will be scheduled with Dr. Rice to review administrator concerns with the teacher selection procedure (HRMS), lack of substitutes for support staff and teachers, and the current procedure for flying support staff positions;

E. Legislative Activities – CCASAPE staff continues to monitor all bill drafts submitted in advance of the opening of the 2005 legislative session. To date, over 600 bill drafts have been submitted;

F. Professional-technical Employees – An update was provided on the status of current support staff positions which have been identified for professional-technical status in the CCASAPE bargaining unit. Eighteen current support staff positions representing 59 employees have been identified. All new positions require a four year degree to be included as a professional-technical employee in the CCASAPE bargaining unit; and

G. CCASAPE Retreat – The Representative Council approved the annual all day business meeting to be held in February in Mesquite, Nevada. CCASAPE staff was authorized to make the necessary arrangements for the activity.

5. Committee Reports:

A. CCAESP - Cathy Conger reported that the focus will continue to be on increasing the number of elementary assistant principals and announced that an elementary advisory meeting has been scheduled with Dr. Orci;

B. CCASSP – Beth Howe, President of the Clark County Association of Secondary School Principals, reported that planning is underway for a fall social; and

C. Legal Committee – Cathy Conger, CCASAPE President-elect, reported there was no legal activity for the Legal Committee.

6. Executive Director’s Report – Stephen provided a review of the accountant’s report, the membership report, and the various CCASAPE activities and the types of assistance provided to CCASAPE members.

Note: The term administrator as used throughout the newsletter refers to administrators and professional-technical employees.

All administrators are reminded that the CCASAPE / CCSD health benefits plan is a customized plan that is negotiated with five separate providers; Sierra Health, Humana Dental, Vision Services Plan, UNUM (long term disability) and Standard Life Insurance Company.

Occasionally, CCASAPE is notified of a member’s concern which is later determined to have occurred as the result of confusion or a misunderstanding of the benefit level by the medical provider’s office staff. This confusion occurs primarily with the medical benefit provided by Sierra Health. It is important that all administrators realize that Sierra Health insures approximately 300,000 individuals in the Las Vegas area. The majority of these individuals are insured by Sierra using standard “off-the- shelf” insurance plans.

However, the CCASAPE / CCSD medical benefit is a customized plan for administrators that has been developed during lengthy negotiations between CCASAPE staff, the CCASAPE broker (Tim DeRosa), and Sierra Health officials. This customized plan is VERY DIFFERENT than “off- the-shelf” plans which are typically offered and provided to other Sierra customers. The customized CCASAPE plan provides medical benefits to approximately 1,300 active and retired administrators and their dependents. However, as you can see, the large majority of Sierra customers receiving health care and doctor services do so through “off-the-shelf” Sierra plans that are significantly less rich in benefits and covered services. Because of this, it is easy to see why there may be confusion in the billing and scheduling departments of the various medical providers in the Las Vegas area.

It is strongly recommended that every administrator become familiar with the benefit levels and covered services provided in the customized CCASAPE / CCSD Health Benefits Plan. If there is a question over billing or covered services, the administrator should contact the dedicated member services number on the back of the health insurance card (562-8077) or the CCASAPE office at 796 9602. If the medical provider does not understand your medical benefits, ask them to call the member services number at Sierra Health, 562-8077.

As you may recall, Humana Dental was selected to replace Delta Dental as the provider of dental services for administrators effective January 1, 2004. While the transition to the new Humana plan has been relatively smooth, some difficulties have occurred. The Humana plan, negotiated by CCASAPE staff, specifies that preventative procedures are covered at 100%. However, there have been instances reported to CCASAPE in which the patient has been balance billed by the provider dentist because Humana did not cover the preventative service (cleaning) at the agreed upon 100% level. CCASAPE has been working with Humana to make this correction in the instances that we are aware. We believe that this problem has been resolved. However, if you have been balance billed by a dental provider for preventative services or if you experience balance billing in the future for preventative services, please contact the CCASAPE office for assistance in correcting your claim.

Additionally, CCASAPE recently discovered that Humana initially rejects the claim for oral surgery and requests that it be submitted to the medical provider, Sierra Health, for payment as a medical procedure. If the claim is rejected by Sierra, Humana will provide payment as a covered service. THIS PRACTICE BY HUMANA IS NOT CORRECT OR REFLECTIVE OF THE CONTRACT BETWEEN HUMANA AND CCASAPE. Oral surgery is a covered procedure and is to be processed by Humana Dental. CCASAPE is currently working with Humana to resolve this issue. If you or a covered dependent has had an oral surgery claim denied by Humana, please contact the CCASAPE office immediately.

Please be reminded that any administrator planning to retire on or before December 31, 2004, must schedule a meeting with the CCASAPE staff and complete the form to participate in the retiree unused sick leave payout, retiree health insurance payout, and retiree life insurance / retiree long term care programs. THE FORM MUST BE COMPLETED AND FILED WITH THE CCASAPE OFFICE PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 1, 2004, IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE JANUARY 2005 PAYOUT.
Also, as a reminder, any retiring administrator who is 55 or older or who will turn 55 in the calendar year of his/her retirement will automatically have the final vacation payoff deposited in the 401(a) qualified tax deferred plan at Bencor, Inc. CCASAPE has joined with staff at AIG-VALIC to schedule quarterly administrator information meetings regarding the 401(a) plan, related investment options, and other qualified tax plans. The first quarterly information meeting was held on Wednesday, September 15, and was attended by approximately 10 administrators. Additional meetings for this school year have been scheduled for December 15, March 9, and May 11. All meetings will be held at 3:45 p.m. at the Desert Research Institute located at 755 E. Flamingo Road.
Please call the CCASAPE office at 796-9602 if you have any questions regarding retirement issues or the 401(a) Plan.

As you know, the Clark County School District requires that all professional organizations communicate with their members through the U.S. Postal Service rather than the CCSD mail. In order for CCASAPE to ensure that you receive its communications, it is critical that we be notified when you have a change of address. If you have moved recently, please call Debbie or Sadie in the CCASAPE office (796-9602) and provide your new address. The District should also be notified since we purchase labels from the District for our large group mailings.

In the April 2004 Unifier, CCASAPE reported the resolution of the grievance filed by CCASAPE against the District for failure to follow Article 20, Reclassification. As resolution to the filing of the grievance by CCASAPE, the District provided written agreement that the contractual requirements regarding reclassification will be followed. However, the District has continued to demonstrate its noncompliance with the Negotiated Agreement between the Clark County School District and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees. Additional contract violations of Article 20 (Reclassification) have occurred and have resulted in the filing of three additional grievances since September 8, 2004. In addition to the filing of the three grievances, CCASAPE has notified the District that continued failure to follow the Negotiated Agreement may result in the filing of an unfair labor practice by CCASAPE against the District.

CCASAPE prefers not to file an unfair labor practice. However, to avoid this costly and time-consuming action, the District must follow the Negotiated Agreement, an agreement that was bargained in good faith by your association.

Joe Murphy, CCASAPE President, is seeking volunteers to serve on various CCASAPE and CCSD committees. If you are interested in serving on a CCASAPE committee or as a CCASAPE appointment to a CCSD committee, please call the CCASAPE office at 796-9602 or Joe Murphy at 799-7660.

Just a reminder that the annual NASA fall conference will be held at the Orleans Hotel on Thursday, November 8, and Friday, November 9, 2004. Registration begins on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. with the final session concluding on Friday at 2:00 p.m. Also, a NASA LAW WORKSHOP FOR ADMINISTRATORS will be held on October 7, 2004, at Canyon Gate Country Club beginning at 7:30 a.m. and ending at approximately 3:00 p.m. Call Ralph Cadwallader at the NASA office at 233-6623 to reserve your seat.

Article 20-11-5 in the Negotiated Agreement between the Clark County School District and the Clark County Association of School Administrators and Professional-technical Employees outlines the process and procedure for the required annual review of each principal position in the District. The review occurs annually, after count day (September 17 for the 2004-2005 school year). It is anticipated that Human Resources will complete the analysis of all required data for each principal position and will notify those principals who have changes in their classification by October 8, 2004. Any change in classification factors which results in a salary increase will be paid beginning on the October 25th pay date and will be retroactive to the first day of the contract (July 1 or August 1). Reclassification point factors for principals, including the revisions which were reported in the August Unifier, can be viewed on the CCSD web site. The classification system for non-school based administrators may also be viewed on the District’s web site.