November 10, 2008
MGEC Elections are Underway – If you have not received a notification of how to vote on-line contact Rhonda Bauer at: Rhonda.Bauer@MGEC.org or 651-774-1038. The deadline for voting is 11/20/08, 11:30 a.m.
Congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama and Vice President-Elect Joe Biden! MGEC looks forward to their support of science and engineering education (Science Debate 2008) as well as adequate funding for the safety of our nation’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges, dams, natural resources, hospitals, and workplace safety. The Minnesota Government Engineers Council (MGEC), along with the National Association of Highway Transportation Unions (NASHTU) and the Council of Engineering and Scientist Organizations (CESO), represent 250,000+ scientists, engineers, land surveyors, and engineering specialists throughout the United States of America.
Insurance Open Enrollment – Open enrollment is currently underway -- November 5–18, 2008. The Employee Insurance Division staff can be reached at 651-355-0100 or 800-664-3597. As in prior years, employees wanting co-pays reduced by $5 will need to complete the Health Assessment and agree to a follow-up call by a health coach. To do so:
Log onto www.advantagehealthadvisors.com
Click on Take My Personal Health Assessment to go to JourneyWell.
Once at JourneyWell, find the resources you need to get started (i.e, employee id number, record of recent blood pressure levels, cholesterol levels).
Click Register for an account.
Start by entering your company name. Enter the name: stateofminnesota
Follow the instructions to register your account and get started.
Be sure to write down your user name and password.
Once you’ve successfully logged on to your account click on Take my personal health assessment to begin.
Print a copy of the page stating you’ve successfully completed the assessment, just in case you need to prove later you’ve taken it.
SEGIP & Advantage Health continue diabetes pilot project - The Medical Therapy Management (MTM) for diabetics program is to continue for an additional year. Communications will be going out to participants explaining the program has been extended. Because the original member authorization was for 18 months, participants will need to sign a new agreement form. Since SEGIP does not know who is participating in the program, this information will be sent by administrators of the MTM program. Many components of the five key diabetic indicators have shown improvement. Members who achieved all five measurements improved by 15% as compared to the control group.
Contract Issue: Safety Equipment Reimbursement - Have you requested the State reimburse you for necessary safety equipment and been denied full reimbursement? The MGEC contract (Article 16, Section 2, Employee Safety) requires the employer to provide employees with needed safety equipment and does not place a cost limitation on such reimbursement, as does the AFSCME contract. At the same time, employees are expected to be reasonable in their choice of equipment and should discuss their needs with the employer before making such purchases. If your safety needs have not been adequately addressed or if limitations have been applied on necessary purchases, please inform Dana Wheeler at Dana.Wheeler@MGEC.org of the specifics (Date of Request, Item, Cost of Item, Amount of Reimbursement, etc….)