• PayFlex: Improving the AlaskaCare Member Experience
• Delta Dental: Improving the AlaskaCare Member Experience
• EGWP Enrollees: What Do You Need to Know About IRMAA?
• Please Join Us for Future Town Hall Events
• News from the Retiree Health Plan Advisory Board
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Health Benefit Contact Information

PayFlex announces a new dedicated customer service number for AlaskaCare members.

After receiving feedback on the PayFlex process, a new dedicated customer service number was created—just for AlaskaCare members! This will improve services to members and simplify the Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) and the Health Flexible Spending Account (HSFA) set-up and reimbursement process.

Call Today!

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Easier to Read Explanation of Benefits, starting July 1!

Understanding your explanation of benefits (EOB) is one way to help make managing your healthcare simpler. With that in mind, Delta Dental has redesigned their EOB to be more informative and easier to read. Be on the lookout for the new EOB format starting in July 2019.

Also available as a PDF. 

For more information on the new EOB, check out this newsletters FAQs section!

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Certain high-income retirees who are Medicare-eligible and enrolled in the AlaskaCare enhanced Employer Group Waiver Program (EGWP) pharmacy plan are required to pay a premium surcharge associated with Medicare Part D plans, known as an Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA. This is required by Medicare and is the same type of surcharge that high-income enrollees already pay for a Medicare Part B plan. If you are an individual earning more than $85,000 per year or a married couple who earns more than $170,000 per year, you will be required to pay the IRMAA; retirees enrolled in EGWP and whose household income is below this threshold will not be subject to the IRMAA premium surcharge.

If you are required to pay the IRMAA premium surcharge, the Division will reimburse you for the amount you are charged each month through a tax-advantaged health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) account, so the EGWP plan has no additional cost to you!

Each November, Medicare-eligible individuals receive a letter from Social Security that outlines their Medicare premiums, please submit the most recent letter you’ve received from Social Security regarding the IRMAA surcharge, and the amount, to the Division.

You can provide a copy of your letter to the Division by:

• Emailing a copy or a photo of the letter to: doa.drb.irmaa@alaska.gov
• Faxing a copy to: (907) 465-3086
• Mailing a copy to:
  Alaska Department of Administration
  Division of Retirement and Benefits
  P.O. Box 11023
  Juneau, AK 99811-0203

Once the Division receives a copy of your annual letter sent from Social Security, we will establish an HRA for you through PayFlex, Aetna’s subsidiary that administers the HRA on behalf of AlaskaCare.

Setting up Your IRMAA Reimbursement
PayFlex will send you a letter that outlines how to access your HRA account information and how to set up claims for reimbursement. We encourage you to set up reimbursement on an automatic recurring basis, but you may elect to request reimbursement manually. Reimbursement can be made by check or through electronic funds transfer.

New enrollments are processed weekly after they are received by PayFlex, with follow-up to the member within 10 business days. If you have submitted your information more than two weeks ago, but have not yet received a welcome kit, please contact PayFlex at (800) 416-7053. You can also email the Division at doa.drb.irmaa@alaska.gov to check on your paperwork.

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What is a Town Hall Event?

Town Hall Events are group calls hosted by the Alaska Department of Administration, Division of Retirement and Benefits for all interested AlaskaCare retirees and families to ask questions about the AlaskaCare health plans. You can join the call to learn more about your health plan and ask Division staff any questions you have about your benefits. This format gives retirees a chance to connect directly with Division staff to hear the latest news on all things AlaskaCare, raise questions, share comments, and learn more about the health plans.

We want to hear from you! The next Town Hall Event will be on:

Thursday, July 18, 2019 | 10 to 11 a.m. AKDT (1 hour)

Pre-register now online. If you can’t attend, but would like to catch up later, or if you missed any of the past events, you can find written summaries of the discussion and recordings of the calls on the AlaskaCare website.

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The Retiree Health Plan Advisory Board (RHPAB) is tasked with facilitating engagement and communication among the Commissioner of Administration, the Division of Retirement and Benefits, and the community of AlaskaCare retirees. The seven-member board meets four times per year, with additional meetings of the modernization committee each quarter.

Next Quarterly Board Meeting: August 2019

The full board met on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. The agenda included updates and in-depth discussion about the modernization project, a collection of initiatives and proposed changes to the health plan under consideration by the Division to provide updated and improved benefits for all retirees.

We invite you to join us at the next meeting in early August! Members of the public are always welcome to attend and observe the meeting or listen in via phone. Each RHPAB board meeting includes time on the agenda for public comment, and written comments may be submitted to the board at AlaskaRHPAB@alaska.gov. If you want to be sure that your comments are included in the agenda packet for the next quarterly board meeting, please submit them at least thirty days in advance of the next scheduled meeting. Please see the RHPAB public comment guidelines [PDF] for more information and what to expect in a board meeting.

For more about RHPAB and upcoming meetings, including meeting locations, teleconference information and meeting materials, please visit AlaskaCare.gov/retiree/advisory.html.

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We are updating the FAQs regularly, please keep checking back for new information! Here are some recently asked questions:

What is an EOB? 

An EOB is a statement from your health insurance plan describing what costs it will cover for medical care or products. The EOB is generated when your provider submits a claim for the services you received.  EOBs are a tool for showing you the value of your health insurance plan. You see the cost of the services covered by the plan, the amount you are responsible for, and the savings your plan helped you achieve.

What is different with the new Dental EOB?

The new Delta Dental EOB format helps clarify:

• how much of the annual deductible and out of pocket maximum has been met;
• the annual total billed, total paid and total member responsibility;
• the details about the most recent services received.

Have more questions? Please visit our FAQs page.

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Health Benefit Contact Information

Division of Retirement and Benefits
DRB Call Center: (907) 465-4460 |Toll Free: (800) 821-2251

Medical Benefits: Aetna
Member Services: (855) 784-8646

Long Term Care Benefits: CHCS Services, Inc.
Member Services: (888) 287-7116

Dental Benefits: Moda/Delta Dental
Member Services: (855) 718-1768

Pharmacy Benefits: OptumRx
Member Services: (855) 409-6999

Specialty Pharmacy: BriovaRx
Enrollment Services: (855) 427-4682

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