Wellness Pledge Program Extended

If you still have not completed your pledges and are having difficulty scheduling appointments or screenings in September, now you have a bit more time!

• Complete the four wellness pledges/actions by October 31 and your paycheck credits will begin with the first pay cycle in 2015. 
• Complete the pledges in November/December and you will receive your 2015 paycheck credits, but they will be delayed 4-8 weeks (or the first few pay cycles in January). These credits will not be retroactive, so do your best to complete all four pledges by 10/31!

Wellness All Year Long
The pledge extension has been opened up through December because the health system wants you to consider your preventive care routine all year long.

Give it Time!
If you are constantly checking your Wellness Summary to review the status of your pledges, remember it takes time for the providers to send in the claims, and it takes time for the claims to feed into the Wellness Summaries.

United Healthcare sends the claims to us the third Monday of every month so if you choose to do the Physician Wellness Visit in early August your date of service should be marked on your Summary after September 22 (remember September 1 was  legal holiday and did not count as the first Monday of the month).

If you took the time to take care of yourself, we'll take the time to take care of you!

Wellness Pledges for 2014 New Hires and Those New to the Plan in 2015

Are you considering enrolling (for the first time) in North Shore-LIJ's 2015 Value or Buy-Up medical plan through United Healthcare during Open Enrollment? Or perhaps you were recently hired and are looking at your benefit options in 2015. Either way, note that you have six months to complete these pledges. 

Wellness Pledge deadline for employees hired in 2014:

If you were hired in 2014 and currently enrolled in the 2014 Value or Buy-Up medical plan through United Healthcare you may have noticed four paycheck credits in your pay statement. That's because you we want your health experience at North Shore-LIJ to be a positive one. Now it's time for you to prepare for your health in 2015 by complying with the rest of the North Shore-LIJ family and complete your 2015 Wellness Pledges on time. Here's what you need to know:

• You have six months to comply with the 2015 Wellness Pledge Program starting from your benefits eligibility date
• Your benefits eligibility date is the first day of the month 32 days after your date of hire
• Example:-Your first day at North Shore-LI was June 16
  -You are eligible for benefits enrollment on August 1
  -Your 2015 Wellness Pledges are due in six months from August 1 - that would be January 31, 2015
• Up until that date of January 31 you will have received those first few paycheck credits in 2015
• If you do not complete your pledge actions by January 2015 - your credits will cease with the February pay cycle
• You are not expected to pay the health system back for those credits

Wellness Pledge deadline for employees who plan to enroll for the first time in the North Shore-LIJ Value or Buy-Up medical plan

Attention Lenox Hill Hospital Nurses:

• You have six months from the day your benefits become effective with North Shore-LIJ's medical plan to complete the four pledges - that would be June 30, 2015
• Up until that date of June 30 you will be receiving the paycheck credits each pay cycle
• If you do not complete your pledge actions by June 30 - your credits will cease with July's pay cycle
• You are not expected to pay the health system back for those credits

The health system hopes this newly designed Wellness Pledge Program will help to keep your preventive care at top of mind - not just when selecting your benefits - but all year long!

For more information about the Wellness Pledge Program, stay logged in and search "2015 Wellness Pledge Program" in the SEARCH THIS BLOG box in the upper right corner
or
visit HealthPort>Human Resources>Benefits>2015 Wellness Pledge Program>Wellness Pledge Toolkit for New Hires.

Wellness Summary on Employee Self Service

You are now able to view your Pledge compliance on ESS. Notice that the online Health Assessment is listed first and in bold due to the mandatory completion requirements. If you do not complete and submit the online Health Assessment Pledge prior to December 31, you will not receive any paycheck credits for you other pledges.

The summary shows the pledge action choice on the left and the date of service you complied on the right.

As you can see none of the employee's pledges have been loaded into the Wellness Summary yet.

Please note: When you take action on one of your Wellness Pledges it takes at least one month for that information to load into your summary.

Below is the schedule of file uploading into the North Shore-LIJ platform from our carriers:
Health Assessment: 3rd Monday of month
United Healthcare claims: 3rd Monday of month
Cigna Dental claims: 1st Monday of month
Davis Vision claims: 1st day of month

How Your Information Loads
Let's give some examples:
Your annual exam was on February 4, 2015. You should see your visit as complied the following month on the third Monday, March 16. United feeds their files on the 3rd Monday of the month.
Your dental cleaning was sometime in January and again in July. You should see your dental visit as complied on the January date of service. Your second visit will not override your first.
Your eyes were examined on January 26. To view your date of service on our Wellness Summary you will have to check back March 1, first day of the following month.

Still Don't See Date of Service?
Please keep in mind your physician's office may delay filing the claim with the carrier, which will further delay the capturing of your visit. Not to worry - as long as you complete your four wellness pledges/actions before December 31* you will receive the paycheck credits in 2016.

Check on the Status of Your Pledges
If you want to check up on the status of your pledges visit Employee Self Service - Personal Information - Self Service - Benefits - Wellness Summary.

*To receive your credits beginning with the first pay cycle of 2016, finish all pledges before October 31!

There's Still Time to Do Wellness Pledges

Did you know over 8,000 benefit participants did not file a healthcare claim in 2013? That means 8,000 of our employees/dependents were not proactive with their health in 2013! So while there is still a few good months before winter hits us what better way to celebrate than to Pledge to Be Well. 

If you are planning on enrolling in the 2015 medical plan with North Shore-LIJ, and have not had the chance to review or act on the 2015 Wellness Pledge Program in exchange for your paycheck credits in 2015, the time to act is NOW -  the deadline for the pledge program has been extended through the end of the year.

Deadline Dates

• October 31 is the deadline to remember if you want those paychecks starting with the first pay cycle in 2015.
• Pledge compliance in November/December will still get you paycheck credits in 2015 but they will be delayed by 4 to 8 weeks. These credits will not be retroactive, so do your best to complete all four pledges by October 31.

Who is Eligible?

Full-time and eligible part-time non-union employees and Lenox Hill nurses who are enrolling or re-enrolling in the 2015 medical plan through North Shore-LIJ.

Here's the quickest way to complete your pledges:

One:  Submit Your Mandatory Online Health Assessment 
Complete the online Health Assessment (HA) on myuhc.com (which is a mandatory pledge). Visit HealthPort for detailed instructions.

Two: Watch the Wellness Video on iLearn
Take 2 to 3 minutes to watch this informative video about your preventive care on North Shore-LIJ's Learning Management System's iLearn (refer to this blog post for more on the video). If the Wellness Video Pledge is not loaded on your module and you know you have not viewed it, contact hrit@nshs.edu for help.

Three: Schedule a Dental Exam
If you are up to date on your dental hygiene you should be scheduling your second dental exam/cleaning for the calendar year. If so, note you have complied as of the first, since the dates of eligibility are January 1 through December 31. If you have not had any dental exam in 2014 and have no dentist, search Cigna Providers.

Four: Schedule An Eye Exam
Schedule an exam even if you have no problems with your vision. Vision issues can arise as we age. Search Davis Vision for a location near you. Keep in mind you need to be currently enrolled in the Vision Plan for your visit to be recorded.

What Else?
Another valuable Pledge is the HA for your Covered Spouse - just keep in mind your spouse can only participate if he or she is currently enrolled in the health system's medical plan with United. Visit myuhc.com. 

Visit HealthPort or tool around this Blog, to learn more about the other pledge choices available to you.

Here's to a happy healthy you - all year long!

Schedule Time for a Brighter Future

With the official kick off to summer happening on June 21 what better way to celebrate the season than to think smart about all those sunny skies ahead.

Here to Help

In conjunction with North Shore-LIJ, the retirement experts at Transamerica Retirement Solutions is now offering one-on-one half hour retirement planning sessions with one of its' four on-site retirement consultants. These qualified experts will help you to analyze your current financial situation and help you to get on track for a bright and secure financial future. There are no fees or sales associated with these meetings, they are offered to you as part of your Total Rewards Package at North Shore-LIJ. Sign up today and:

• Learn more about saving and investing
• Enroll in the plan, if you have not done so yet
• Determine how much you should be contributing
• Understand the investment options offered to you through North Shore-LIJ
• Get familiar with the interactive investment tools on nslij.trsretire.com

Contact Information
For your convenience you can choose a time and place that best works for your by scheduling directly on the Transamerica website: nslij.trsretire.com.

To contact the reps directly:
For Franklin, Southside, Plainview, Syosset and Huntington hospitals, contact Paul Joseph at paul.joseph@transamerica.com or 914-268-8787

For Lenox Hill and Staten Island University hospitals and MEETH, contact Diane Aurelio at diane.aurelio@transamerica.com or 347-918-7693

For North Shore University, Forest Hills, Glen Cove and Zucker Hillside hospitals, and LIJ and Cohen's medical centers, and Corporate offices, contact Paul Darata at paul.darata@transamerica.com or 201-249-3380 or Steve Israel at steve.israel@transamerica.com or 516-459-3150.

What to Expect from the Clinical-Based Pledges

If you are a non-union, benefits-eligible employee, who just happens to be reading your emails from the Department of Total Rewards, you know by now there is a new design to the 2015 Wellness Pledge Program. In close collaboration with the Wellness Team, the Program was rethought to encourage employees to better engage in their health care routine, by proactively scheduling exams and screenings that are tracked through North Shore-LIJ's carriers, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna Dental and Davis Vision. You are recognized for your preventive care pledge compliance with $260 for each pledge, credited to your paycheck beginning January, 2015.

Choices
As mentioned in the previous post - you now have choices - in fact you have nine of them! Out of those nine pledges, seven need scheduling on your part. Take the time to review your options carefully, as they were designed to give you the opportunity to act proactively on your health and preventive care - long before enrolling in your 2015 benefit plans.

What to Expect at Your Visit or Screening
Some of you may have never scheduled a physician wellness visit before, or perhaps it's your first time to the dermatologist. Whatever your level of knowledge is - it's always good to know more. For more information about the seven clinically-based wellness pledges read more on HealthPort - HR - Benefits. 

2015 Wellness Pledge Program Starts Now!

Your wellness should be top of mind all year round. That's why the health system has redesigned the Wellness Pledge Program for all benefits-eligible employees who plan to enroll, or re-enroll, in the North Shore-LIJ Value or Buy-Up medical plans with UnitedHealthcare in 2015.

Available Now
Unlike previous years, the Wellness Pledges are available to you now through September 30, 2014. In conjunction with Employee Wellness, the Benefits Team is hoping by offering you these opportunities well in advance of Open Enrollment you will  be more prone to take positive action about your health early on.

Here's How it Works
You have from January 1 to September 30, 2014 to complete four Wellness Pledges in exchange for four paycheck credits in 2015. Each pledge is worth $260 annually, totaling $1,040 in savings to your pockets in 2015.
Step One: You must choose to complete and submit your health assessment in order to proceed with the other three out of nine pledges offered. The reason for this HA requirement is so you take accountability of your health.

• Visit myuhc.com
• If you have not registered yet: register, login, then click the blue button on the right side of the screen "Health Assessment" - this will take you to another registration and login screen where you will use the same username and password you used for myuhc
• If you are already registered from last year: Simply login and click on Health Assessment and begin the assessment
• Once complete hit submit, and save your confirmation statement.

Keep in Mind

• You cannot resubmit your HA until six months have passed since your last Health Assessment
• If you were unable to complete your 2014 HA until January 2014, your HA is then good for 2015 Wellness Pledge compliance

Step Two: Choose to complete three of the nine pledges listed below before September 30, 2014. Each pledge will be tracked by one of three carriers: UnitedHealthcare, Davis Vision or Cigna. There is nothing for you to track. Choose to act on three of the following Wellness Pledges now, in exchange for paycheck credits in 2015:

1. Physician Wellness Visit
2. Dental Exam 
3. Vision Exam 
4. Breast Cancer Screening
5. Skin Cancer Screening
6. Colorectal Cancer Screening
7. Cervical Cancer Screening
8. Wellness Education Video (not active - you will be notified once live)
9. Health Assessment for a Covered Spouse

For more information and instructions about the 2015 Wellness Pledge Program, visit HealthPort-HR-Benefits.