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1099-R Mailing
Each January, you will be sent a 1099-R showing the benefit payments and federal income tax withheld from your checks during the previous calendar year. The 2023 Form 1099-R was mailed out to Retirees on January 22, 2024. Your Form 1099-R will also be available online through myRnB by the end of February 2024. For more information regarding your 1099-R, please visit our website, or download our 1099-R Newsletter below. For instructions on logging into my RnB, please read the next article.
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1099-R Newsletter
Our 1099-R Newsletter describes different situations that could apply to the many retirees and beneficiaries who received distributions in 2023. Not all of the situations described in the newsletter will apply to you.
For assistance contact the Member Education Center at (907) 465-4460 in Juneau or toll-free at (800) 821-2251 Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Alaska Time
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Find Doctors and Clinicians Enrolled in Medicare
Are you looking for a doctor — or specialist — and not sure where to start? Medicare.gov makes it quick and easy to find and compare doctors and other providers in your area.
Here's how:
- Visit gov/care-compare. Select "Doctors & clinicians," and enter your location. You can also search by specialty, like general practice or internal medicine.
- Review details about the doctors you're interested in, like their contact information, practice locations, hospital affiliation, or if they offer telehealth services.
- You can also select the "Compare" button for a side-by-side comparison of up to 3 different doctors.
Once you're ready to schedule a visit with a new doctor, be sure to call ahead to verify general information, like office location, if they're accepting new patients with Medicare, and if you need a referral.
For more information about Medicare, please visit their website.
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| Getting to Know Your Benefits: Travel |
The Retiree Defined Benefit Medical Plan pays travel and ambulance costs within the contiguous limits of the United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. This includes:
Transportation to the nearest hospital by professional ambulance
Round-trip transportation, not exceeding the cost of coach class commercial air transportation, from the site of the illness or injury to the nearest professional treatment (treatment must be received for travel to be covered).
X Travel does not include reimbursement of airline miles to purchase tickets, the cost of lodging, food, or local ground transportation such as airport shuttles, cabs, or car rental.
X Travel benefits do not apply to the dental, vision, or audio plans.
Contact the Aetna Concierge at (855) 784-8646 for pre-certification before you or your dependent travel.
| Travel Coverage* |
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✔
Travel is covered for emergencies
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Travel is covered if you have an emergency condition requiring immediate transfer to a hospital with special facilities for treating your condition. Precertification is waived if you are immediately transferred in a ground or air ambulance; you do not need to call Aetna before this occurs.
An emergency condition is a recent, severe medical condition, including but not limited to severe pain, which would lead a prudent layperson possessing an average knowledge of medicine and health to believe their condition, sickness or injury is of such a nature that failure to get immediate medical care could result in:
- Placing the person’s health in serious
- Serious impairment to bodily
- Serious dysfunction of a body part or
- In the case of a pregnant woman, serious injury to the health of the fetus.
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✔
Travel is covered for treatment not available locally
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Travel is covered for you to receive treatment which is not available in the area you are currently located in. Treatment is defined as a service or procedure, including a new prescription, which is medically necessary to correct or alleviate a condition or specific symptoms of an illness or injury. It does not include any diagnostic procedures or follow-up visits to monitor a condition. Treatment must be received for travel to be covered. Benefits for travel to receive treatment which is not available locally are limited during each benefit year to:
- One visit and one follow-up visit for a condition requiring therapeutic treatment;
- One visit for prenatal or postnatal maternity care and one visit for the actual maternity delivery;
- One pre-surgical or post-surgical visit and one visit for the surgical procedure;
- One visit for each allergic condition
You are responsible for pre-certifying your travel expenses. If precertification of travel expenses was not requested, maximum reimbursement for travel expenses will be limited to $500 per round trip travel claim, not to exceed eligible travel costs.
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✔
Travel is covered for second surgical opinions
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Travel is covered if you require a second surgical opinion which cannot be obtained where you are currently located. If you require transportation for a second surgical opinion which cannot be obtained locally, you must contact the claims administrator prior to traveling. |
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Travel is covered for surgery in other locations if less expensive
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Travel is covered if you have surgery which is provided less expensively in another location. If the actual cost of surgery, hospital room and board, and travel to another location for the surgery is less expensive than the recognized charge for the same expenses at the nearest location you could obtain the surgery, your travel costs may be paid. The amount of travel costs paid cannot exceed the difference between the cost of surgery and hospital room and board in the nearest location and those same expenses in the location you choose. Travel costs include round trip coach airfare or ground transportation if the most direct route exceeds 100 miles. Precertification from the claims administrator is not required for this situation but is recommended. |
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X
Travel is not covered for diagnostic purposes.
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Travel is not covered for diagnostic purposes. |
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Travel is not covered for co-travelers.
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Travel is not covered for co-travelers.
If the patient is a child under 18 years of age, a parent or legal guardian’s travel charges are allowed.
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What you will need for claim submission after you travel:
✔ Medical Benefit Request Form (claim form)
✔ Precertification Acknowledgment Letter
✔ Boarding Passes and Passenger Receipts
✔ Proof of expense such as receipts or bank statements.
✔ Any other supporting documentation you would like to provide
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Contact the Aetna Concierge at
(855) 784-8646 for pre-certification before you or your dependent travel.
*For complete benefit information, see the Retiree Health Plan Information Booklet Section 3.3.18 Travel.
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Travel claims can be submitted to:
Aetna
P.O. Box 14079
Lexington, KY 40512-4079
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| Fresh Start Program for Alaskans |
Alaskan adults can join free programs to lose weight, lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar and/or stop smoking or vaping. Many programs match you with a coach so you don’t have to do it alone. These programs can be completed online or over the phone and at your pace—wherever you are.
For Weight Management, Omada runs Alaska's 12-month free program to lose weight or prevent diabetes. Hundreds of participating Alaskans have lost more than 10,600 pounds in total. After being matched with a coach for support, you can create a plan to improve sleep, move more, eat healthier, lower blood sugar, and manage stress. This program is all online so you can do it from wherever you are. You receive weekly online lessons, and may be eligible for a free bathroom scale.
Click here to check if you're eligible. Don't worry when the enrollment form asks if you have an employer or insurance. In Alaska, the program is free for all eligible adults.
All information you enter on an enrollment form is confidential. It will not be shared with anyone outside the health program, including with State of Alaska staff.
You can also join programs to lower your blood sugar to manage diabetes as well as lower your blood pressure. Like the above program, you are matched with a coach and other participants for support. You work with a certified specialist. It's all online, and you may be eligible to receive a free blood sugar monitor and blood pressure cuff. Alaska also offers in-person programs to prevent diabetes, but only in select communities and some programs come with a cost. You can find out more about those in-person programs online.
Fresh Start also offers programs online and by phone to stop smoking, vaping and chewing tobacco. Alaska's Tobacco Quit Line can help, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Thousands of Alaskans have signed up over the years to help them quit for good. You don't have to quit alone. This service provides free quit coaching over the phone or online. You can get free nicotine replacement therapy, like patches, lozenges, and gum. You can call the Quit Line as many times as it takes to quit.
Learn more or sign up by:
- Calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669)
- Texting READY to 34191
- Visiting AlaskaQuitLine.com
Thousands of Alaskans have joined these available programs. Are you ready? Visit the Fresh Start website here. Contact doh.freshstart@alaska.gov with questions
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Women and Heart Disease
The term heart disease refers to several types of heart conditions, including coronary artery disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States, killing 310,661 women in 2021—or about 1 in every 5 female deaths. Despite this, only about half (56%) of women recognize that heart disease is their number 1 killer.
- About 1 in 17 women age 20 years and older (5.8%) have coronary artery disease, the most common type of heart disease in the United States.
Sometimes heart disease may be “silent” and not diagnosed until you have other symptoms or emergencies, including:
- Heart attack: Chest pain or discomfort, upper back or neck pain, indigestion, heartburn, nausea or vomiting, extreme fatigue, upper body discomfort, dizziness, and shortness of breath
- Arrhythmia: Fluttering feelings in the chest (palpitations)
- Heart failure: Shortness of breath, fatigue, or swelling of the feet, ankles, legs, abdomen, or neck veins
What You Can Do for Heart Health
To lower your chances of getting heart disease, it’s important to:
- Manage your stress levels. Find healthy ways to lower your stress levels. Learn more about coping with stress.
- Know your blood pressure. High blood pressure has no symptoms, so it’s important to have your blood pressure checked regularly.
- Check for diabetes. Talk to your healthcare provider about whether you should be tested for diabetes. Having uncontrolled diabetes raises your risk of heart disease.
- Know your cholesterol status. Knowing your cholesterol status can help you stay in control of your health. Learn about getting your cholesterol checked and why it is important.
- Quit smoking. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you do smoke, learn about how to quit.
- Be physically active. Try to get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of physical activity each week. Not getting enough physical activity can lead to heart disease. Learn more about physical activity.
- Choose healthy foods and drinks. Be sure to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and eat fewer processed foods. Learn more about healthy eating.
- Limit how much alcohol you drink. Women of legal drinking age should either avoid alcohol or drink one or less alcoholic drink per day. Learn more about alcohol use.
For additional information, please visit the CDC's website.
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