The meeting was called to order by Adam Goldstein at 4:03 p.m.

 

A motion was made by Gregg Elder and seconded by Susan Lindsey to adopt the agenda as written. The motion passed unanimously.

 

Sean welcomed the Aetna team to the meeting and introductions were made. Aetna representatives included Matt Sherrill, Public and Labor Regional Vice-President; Debbie Dexter, Public Sector Senior Account Executive; and Kristen Rohde, Public Sector Account Manager. Randi also introduced new Wellness Coordinator Shelly Henderson to the Trustees.

 

Matt thanked the group for allowing them to present and provided handouts. They shared the history and culture of the company. Matt explained why Aetna might be a good fit for Everett Public Schools and shared their proposal. For all customer service needs Aetna provides a concierge member service. This service offers a variety of ways to communicate (phone, email or text) and offers a virtual assistant for after-hours calls. The concierge member service also provides information regarding support for the member and will take the time to connect the member with whom/what they may need. The concierge member service has a 93% satisfaction rating in the ability to provide a personalized experience and a 91% satisfaction rating in the ability to answer questions and resolve problems. For this option, Aetna will work with the district to implement customized messages for first time callers. Another feature Aetna offers is the member payment estimator. This tool pulls real time data from contracts and is available via the web or mobile app.

 

Debbie talked about the account management team structure and implementation. She explained she would work with the Trust to develop a plan specific for district employees. Kristen shared her experiences with other school districts. Some of the school districts mentioned were Yelm, North Thurston, Tumwater, Anchorage, Tukwila, Highline, and Snoqualmie Valley. Other clients include the City of Seattle and Costco.

 

The team reviewed the evolution of Aetna’s care management approach and their In Touch Care program which offers members support and assistance to personalized care and guidance. They also talked about their provider networks in Snohomish County, across Washington and nationally. The group discussed how to look up providers on their website. Sean mentioned that Aetna has been more inclusive for its members. They have taken a very strategic approach which will accommodate staff north and south of Everett.

 

They shared the wellness resources that would be available to members. They noted that if their wellness program doesn’t work for the district, they can apply the money they would allocate to wellness in another area.

They also shared information regarding their reporting and analytics options and talked about online reporting tools. This data could help the Trust to make strategic decisions regarding member benefits.

 

The Trustees discussed the information provided and asked questions related to current district practices, such as employee double coverage and fourth quarter carryover. The Aetna representatives stated they cannot match the double coverage by employees working for the same district; however, they can cover employees who work for different districts. The fourth quarter carryover option is also not available through Aetna. They did offer a 15% first year renewal cap.

 

The group discussed pharmacy options. The Aetna team noted that in comparing top pharmacy drugs, the results included more improvements than downgrades. Aetna offers mail order prescriptions as an optional offering. They also have a dedicated pharmacy team unit that does specialty medications.

 

The Aetna team thanked the group again for allowing them to present. They noted Everett Public Schools is ahead of their peers and that is exciting. They think we would be able to use the tools they are offering and that they would be really excited to work with the district. The Trustees thanked the Aetna team for the presentation.

 

Debrief presentation

Sean provided and reviewed with the group an updated cost comparison of United Health Care and Aetna renewal rates and annualized costs. He noted that a move to Aetna would save the Trust approximately $700,000 and in general, would not be a huge disruption in service. The group discussed the fact that Aetna would not be able to accommodate the current use of fourth quarter carry over and dual coverage. Cris noted that it is a small number of employees who use these options.

 

The Trustees asked Sean for his experience with Aetna’s customer service. He said he has several other clients with Aetna including Nordstrom and REI. In his experience, he has not seen an epidemic level of customer service issues with Aetna. Sean shared the history of the concierge model approach with other clients. He said this is a significant enhancement that Aetna is including in the package. The Trustees discussed whether it would be worthwhile to move to Aetna.

 

Also discussed were the ongoing customer service issues with UHC. The Trustees talked about the new customer service phone number that UHC provided and asked if there had been any feedback regarding the change. Cris and Angie noted they have received a few questions from staff, but also that UHC did not provide information to employees as requested. They noted the same misquotes that have been standard with UHC from the beginning are the same misquotes that employees are consistently getting with the new number.

 

Sean will go back to UHC to provide them another opportunity to offer revised rates. UHC had also asked for a chance to present to the Trust. The Trustees discussed this option but felt UHC had already had the opportunity to present. They agreed that the Trust had been very fair with UHC but that the issues experienced by employees have been above the norm.

 

The Trustees discussed reaching out to the association representatives with information about the proposals and giving them the opportunity to attend the next meeting to provide feedback. Randi will reach out to the association representatives.

 

 

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