Emory Report
September 28, 2009
Volume 62, Number 5



Take Care
On Sept. 10, the Take Care newsletter announcing the benefit changes for the 2010 plan year was mailed to the home addresses on record for faculty and staff.
To view a copy of Take Care or to learn more about the 2010 changes, go to
www.hr.emory.edu.


Where do
Emory’s health
care dollars go?
In 2008, Emory spent $140.4 million on its health plans.

This cost is divided into several categories:

Outpatient services: $67.5M (48%)

Inpatient services: $30.9M (22%)

Pharmacy: $30.3M (22%)

Administrative: $8.6M (6%)

Mental health: $3.1M (2%)



    

Emory Report homepage  

September 28, 2009
Economic trends cause changes to benefits

By Katherine HInson

Health care costs continue to see a double-digit increase nationally and Emory is no exception. Emory’s cost in 2008 for active employee health coverage increased about $15 million from 2007; this equates to the salary and benefits costs for about 280 full-time employees (FTEs). Based on the current annualized trend rate, Emory expects to see an 8 percent or nearly $12 million cost increase from 2008 to 2009 — the equivalent of 181 FTEs. (For a breakdown of Emory’s health care cost in 2008, see: “Where do Emory’s health care dollars go?”)

“Reducing the rate of the annual expense increase is important for the overall sustainability of the plans. Additionally, for 2010, our goal was to have minimal increases to employees’ premiums as a way to offset the lack of salary increases,” says Vice President for Human Resources Peter Barnes.

Emory is also committed to providing a benefits program that includes choices to meet the needs of its diverse faculty and staff population that are also competitive, thoughtful and sustainable. In order to achieve these goals, Emory identified several changes that will save an estimated $11 million of benefits expense in calendar year 2010.

The changes for 2010 include the consolidation of the health, dental and the behavioral health plans under one vendor, Aetna, and streamlining the core network to include only Emory affiliated facilities. These changes will lower plan costs by about $9 million. Meanwhile other changes, such as the spouse/SSDP medical charge and the part-time rate will potentially save Emory an estimated $2.4 million.

Other cost saving measures include “Going Green” for Benefits Annual Enrollment which will save an estimated $130,000 in print and mail costs. As such, the 2010 Benefits Annual Enrollment Guide will be e-mailed to faculty and staff as a link to an interactive PDF file on the MyBenefits Web site and attend the
Annual Enrollment meetings held across campus..