News Update
Insert - Volume XXIX, Issue XI / XII
Go to our website for the
car dealership Membership
Pricing Program info.
The Diamond Palace
532 D Street, Marysville
743-1815
5% purchase discount
$2 off repairs
Enterprise Rent-A-Car – Offers 10% off
rates in Northern California. 673-7711
Signs
Granite
Marble
Bronze
Rocks
L & L Monuments
545 Bridge Street
Yuba City, CA 95991
530-755-2714
[email protected]
“Can’t Beat Our Prices”
5% discount to members
Photos
Laser Art
Pet Stones
Glass
FIVE STAR
CARPET CLEANING
Powerful Truck-Mounted System
Licensed & Insured
Se Habla Espanol
Owner - Peggy Vander Ploeg Sweeney
Manager - Robert Vander Ploeg
671-2468
Call for our latest
promotional pricing.
Casa Carlos
413 6th Street
Marysville
Great Food, Great Drinks,
Great Service
742-7793
Office Depot – Get 10% discount on school
and office supplies in Yuba City and Chico!!!
7 Days A Week
www.carpetcleaningyubasutter.com
(530) 315-3272
25% off for SYCEA
members
Cars, Trucks, Boats,
SUVs, RVs, Motorcycles
[email protected]
The Cookie Tree
441 Bridge Street
Yuba City
673-1246
News Update
Insert - Volume XXIX, Issue XI / XII
Sutter County Negotiations
By Gary Stucky, Executive Director
SCEA leadership has been actively involved in the County’s Employer-Employee Insurance Committee to consider alternatives to the
current TCSIG Health Insurance. The County issued notice of intent to withdraw from the current health insurance given TCSIG’s refusal
to provide the County with experience data related claims/premiums (after promising to provide this non-identifying information). The
County has also been concerned that the County’s membership in TCSIG was used to defer rate increases to fund utilization trends of school
district employees.
The fact that TCSIG reduced their reserves from $18 Million to around $500 K and that TCSIG is projecting a 10 to 16% increase in
premiums for fiscal year 2015-2016, also required a serious consideration of other options. The County retained Keenan and Associates
(Keenan) to develop options for consideration. Keenan sought bids on fully insured products from Blue Shield and Blue Cross, since
retaining access to current health care providers was essential. Blue Cross declined to bid on providing insurance coverage and Blue Shield
submitted a bid that would require a 30% increase in premiums.
Keenan then developed a County self-insured model that would retain access to current health care providers (through the Anthem Blue
Cross network of providers), have Keenan act as the claims administrator and only result in an 8% increase in premiums. However, this
option would not retain the Kaiser Plan options, but would have duplicated the current Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and High
Deductible PPO plans currently offered, except the Premier Plus Plan would not be offered either.
Initially the County self-insured model appeared to be the only viable option to the TCSIG coverage. Fortunately, another viable option
emerged that warranted careful and serious consideration. The San Joaquin Valley Insurance Authority (SJVIA) is a Joint Powers Authority
like TCSIG, but is solely composed of County and City agencies currently. SJVIA is open to Courts and Special Districts, but is opposed to
taking on School Districts, due to their higher claim trends.
The SJVIA option allows for retaining current providers, provides comparable PPO & HDPPO plans, retains the Kaiser Plan Options and
will result in an actual premium reduction (except for Kaiser Plans). Yes that is correct, a reduction in PPO rates that is guaranteed from
7/1/15 to 12/31/16. SJVIA also has Delta Dental and Vision Service Plan products available. The SCEA Negotiations Committee has
reviewed this option carefully and believes it is the best option for our members to consider.
The County’s withdrawal from TCSIG will take effect July 1, 2015, unless the County rescinds their notice before the end of this calendar
year. While we continue our negotiations with the County on a complete tentative agreement, the Committee felt it was important to
indicate our serious interest in the SJVIA option. The SCEA Committee has indicated tentative agreement to move to SJVIA effective
7/1/15. We have also proposed with moving to SJVIA that the County retain Delta Dental coverage through SJVIA as well.
Further detailed information is available on the SYCEA website at www.sycea.org and you can review additional information regarding
SJVIA and the plans they offer at their website at http://www2.co.fresno.ca.us/1010/sjvia/default.asp
Free Notary Services
for Members
Business Agent Marie Clark
530 674-0185
The Union offers free notary services for
members when you make an appointment. I will
not do signing documents (bank loans), but
retirement paperwork, power of attorney, and
requests for birth certificates are a few examples
of the documents that I will notarize.
Please contact Marie Clark at the S/YCEA office
if you would like further information or would
like to schedule an appointment to have
something notarized.
VOLUNTARY BENEFITS
Benefits Technologies Customer Service
Call : 888-941-9242 Fax : 760-477-6254 / Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm PST
To visit the Benefits Technologies website, go to sycea.org and click the
Benefits Technologies logo on the front page. Review benefit options,
download forms, or contact them by filling out the online form on the
“Contact Us” page. This is the fastest way to get answers to your
questions.
To request copies of your policies, you must contact the provider
directly. Go to the “Provider Info” page to call or email them.