HEALTH & DENTAL CARE BENEFITS AND RESOURCES

SUMMARY:     

If you are a member and have at least $50 in a savings account, you are eligible to receive  free  discount cards for  prescription drugs;  MRIs, x-rays, & lab work 

Outside administrators offer health & dental plans to CFFCUers in most states. Some plans: have more permissive medical screening and include chiropractic, acupuncture, etc.

You may be eligible if you:  are the primary owner of a Cal Feminist savings account with $50+; are up to & including age 65; employed or self-employed at least 20 hours/week

                It’s easy to understand why you would want to know, before you join us, what your health plan options are and how much your premiums would be. Alas, we’re not health insurance experts; nor are we qualified to pre-screen you or quote rates. 

You may want to:

o         Talk to other Cal Feminist members—if you know any—to ask them about  their experiences with these administrators.  (We  can tell you that many members have been pleased, some disappointed.)  or

o         Consider whether there might be other Cal Feminist benefits you could make use of—or be willing to support—with your $9 account-opening fee while you contact these administrators & await their replies

o         Remember, even if our outside administrators can’t help, we can offer you resources for discounted prescriptions and—for Californians—info on clinics & state-sponsored/subsidized plans.  You may also request a questionnaire you can use when shopping for health insurance.  It will help you compare apples to oranges and figure out why some insurance companies' premiums are so much lower than others.

Q: Who is eligible to ask outside Administrators for quotes & eligibility?   a Cal Feminist member who is a primary owner of a Cal Feminist savings account.  To qualify—and keep the insurance--maintain the minimum savings balance, currently $50 ($250 to avoid semi-annual low balance fees or average of $300 to earn dividends).  See the back of your savings account statement or Truth-In-Savings Disclosure on this Web site for account fees, etc.         

Q: Enrollment forms?  Answers to Questions?  As soon as you join Cal Feminist you may ask us to give or send you contact info for the various administrators.   (see dental plan info below)

MORE ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE FOR CALIFORNIANS

      In addition to  the health insurances summarized above, our staff & volunteers have gathered information on:

• New:  free prescription drug discount card, good for 10% to 40% off at Rite-Aid, Sav-On, and many other pharmacies
• New: free discount card for lab work, MRIs, x-rays, etc.
• other  sources for  prescriptions  at below-retail prices.
•  subsidized clinics 
•  group plans with reduced health-screening requirements for those who, for at least 20 hours a week, are self-employed   or  employed (but their employer doesn't offer health insurance) 
• health insurance alternatives for:  sole-proprietors;  small  businesses with 2 or more co-owners, or 2 employees or 1 owner and one employee; those with  pre-existing conditions; employees who work at least 20 hours per week whose employers don't offer health insurance; companies whose employees want to use different insurance companies; women who are pregnant; not eligible for COBRA; quick and/or temporary insurance; low or limited income; those whose assets disqualify them for other insurance programs; families who can't afford medical care fo children with serious medical problems; those who receive too much income to qualify for Medi-Cal

If you decide to join us, once you have $50+ in your Cal Feminist savings account, you may ask us to send you:

• contact information for the Administrators who sell health  insurance to our members.  This information sheet includes a list of questions to ask when talking with insurance agents and administrators.  It also lists:  an article you can look up to expand your knowledge; resources Californians can use to do a "check up" on HMOs and health insurance providers

• a detailed list of prescription resources

• fact sheets about other items mentioned above, such as subsidized insurance plans, clinics, and so forth.  

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DENTAL PLAN OPTIONS FOR CAL FEMINIST  MEMBERS  

Enroll 4/15/2005 through 6/10/2005 for the 7/1/2005 through 6/30/2006 period

GENERAL  INFO ON  CIGNA  DENTAL PLANS:

Cigna Dental offers 2 basic categories of plans, summarized below.  To find out  which  Cigna  programs your  dental office uses, ask your dentist’s office.  

A. Cigna Dental HMO:  "A dental HMO plan utilizing participating dental offices that provide reasonable and customary dental care subject to certain co-payments."    

B.  Cigna Dental Preferred Provider Option (PPO):  "This program provides maximum benefits when participants visit one of the 53,000 Cigna PPO dentists nationwide.  Coverage is like a traditional fee-for-service plan."  

An outside Administrator makes these dental plans available to members of Cal Feminist.    They are designed for credit union members who do not have access to employer group plans.  

Which dental plan is best for you?  To find out, you need to ask questions.  We’ve prepared a list of Dental Plan Questions for you.  If you’re a Cal Feminist *member-in-good- standing, contact us to request the list.  Using the questions, make a chart.  Use it to determine which plan is most appropriate to your needs. (Dentals plans are not "one size fits all".) 

Cigna Dental HMO Premiums (rounded to nearest dollar) 

for 7/1/2005 through 6/30/2006

for members in 35 states** 

**Excluded States:  There are no Cigna HMO office in these states:  AK, DE, HI, ID, ME, MT, ND, NH, NM, NV,  RI, SD, VT, WV, WY 

Cigna Dental Preferred Provider Option (PPO) nationwide Premiums 

(rounded to nearest dollar) for 7/1/2005 through 6/30/2006

Once you join  Cal Feminist  --or if you're already a member-in-good-standing*--contact the credit union to request contact information for our Dental Administrator.  You may also request a list of questions to ask about  any  plan to help you determine which plan best suits your particular needs  

Note:  the outside administrators mentioned above--the ones who offer health insurance--may have some additional dental insurance plans of their own.  Once your join us--or if you area already a member--please contact them with your dental plan questions.  

© 1998 - 2005 California Feminist Fed'l Credit Union