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Specialty Lines
It's budget time! I know you share my "excitement" about this - I've already submitted a draft 2018 budget to one of our program actuaries so rates can be calculated for January 1, 2018. Nothing makes the years go by quicker than the annual things on the "to do" list.
Many members ask for projections for insurance costs for the upcoming year, and here are my thoughts for 2018.
Health Alliance
- our partners at the Delaware Valley Health Trust note that healthcare trends have moderated slightly from the volatile spikes of recent years, yet remain several times higher than the general inflation rate. Medical trend factors vary by plan type and range from seven to nine percent while prescription drug trends are projected at 12 to 15 percent. These trends tend to be regional and individual group renewals can vary. Individual group renewals are based only in part on the applied inflation factors. Other factors impacting the development of health insurance renewals include: administrative expenses as a percentage of premiums, loss ratios and plan design. For CCAP members participating in the CCAP Health Alliance program, final renewals will be provided by mid-October. As of this date, we expect the 2018 average increase to be within the range of DVHT's historic average of 5.5 to seven percent before the application of Rate Stabilization Fund (RSF) credits.
CCAP UC Trust
- the board meets in October to make a decision on rates, but experience has been good. I'd suggest you budget for a flat renewal, noting that your costs might go up if your payroll increases.
PCoRP
- CCAP's largest pool is seeing an average year in losses at this point, but since the renewal is June 1, 2018 there is a lot of time left. To be safe I would suggest budgeting a four percent increase, especially if you have any new buildings or any large increase in payroll.
PComp
- workers' compensation remains a very high claims generator, and our hope is to renew at year end with little or no increase in rates, but it is hard to tell until the actuary's report comes in. For now I would suggest a two percent increase to be safe, and check back with me in November to see what the board submitted to the state for a rate request for January 1, 2018.
PELICAN
- nursing home liability claims are trending upwards, which means rates for 2018 might also go up. PELICAN's members renew March 1, 2018 and at this point I would suggest budgeting the same as 2017. Claims activity of our member is increasing but it is early in the policy year. Let's hope it settles down!
COMCARE PRO
- the members of this program have renewals throughout the year, and each member's rate is very much based on claims experience. So if your county has had lots of claims costs, budget for an increase.
In closing, here's a handy-dandy cheat sheet to explain each of our insurance programs:
COMCARE PRO - a Vermont based insurance company started by COMCARE to provide state required HealthChoices stop loss insurance for inpatient MH and DA care.
DVHT - Delaware Valley Health Trust, the pool sponsored by the CCAP Health Alliance for health
insurance.
CCAP Health Alliance - health insurance and other employee benefit insurances.
PELICAN - a Vermont based insurance company started by PACAH and CCAP with a state grant, insures county owned and non-profit nursing homes for general and professional (malpractice) liability, in PA and in Maryland.
PCoRP - property, liability, auto and crime insurance pool.
PComp - workers' compensation insurance pool, regulated by PA.
UC Trust - unemployment compensation insurance.
Make sure you contact us when you need help with something,
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Hot Topics
Equipment Breakdown Coverage
This coverage used to be called "Boiler and Machinery" coverage, now it is known as Equipment Breakdown coverage. It covers certain accidents to covered equipment, such as HVAC systems, water systems, EDP equipment, copiers and more. Covered accidents would include things such as electrical arching/surge and mechanical breakdown. "Covered Accident" and "Covered Equipment" are both specifically defined terms in the coverage provision. A "Covered Accident" must occur to "Covered Equipment" for Equipment Breakdown coverage to apply. Within the PCoRP Coverage Document, this coverage is included within the property coverage section. When a claim is submitted we always review whether it falls under property coverage or equipment breakdown. Many of the coverages provided by Equipment Breakdown are excluded under the standard Property coverages. We also often ask our reinsurer, Travelers, to determine which coverage applies. The deductibles differ, it is $1,500 for equipment breakdown, and member deductibles for property insurance vary.
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COMCARE PRO SAC Meeting Update
By: Desiree Nguyen, Deputy Director, Insurance Pool Operations
An annual meeting in Vermont is a requirement under the regulations for the COMCARE PRO Subscribers' Advisory Committee (SAC). The SAC, along with COMCARE PRO staff members from CCAP, packed their bags and headed for beautiful Burlington, Vermont for the annual meeting, held on August 23.
The SAC (which is the board of directors for COMCARE PRO) was pleased to receive a clean annual financial audit, as well as confirmation that rate setting has been on point for the past five years. In a climate where behavioral healthcare costs are on the rise and often unpredictable, the SAC's actuary, John Vataha, has been on target with his recommendations.
The election of officers is conducted at this annual meeting. In a unanimous vote, all current officers were reelected to their respective positions: Scott Suhring, President; Allison Frantz, Vice President; John Sallade, Treasurer and Desiree Nguyen, Secretary. The SAC also adopted rates for the members who renew on January 1.
The rollout of the new Risk Notification Reporting template was a success, as the program's actuary stated he received more consistent and thorough reporting from the subscribers than ever before. The subscribers were introduced to the new template through a webinar conducted by CCAP Staff who work for the program.
In addition, the transition to working with AIG's captive management firm over the past year has been seamless. The team from AIG worked diligently to get themselves acclimated to the program and have delivered a high level of service since inception. The SAC and CCAP Staff would like to thank them for their service this past year.
COMCARE PRO is a stop loss insurance program for behavioral health inpatient MH and D&A costs. Questions about COMCARE PRO should be directed to Desiree Nguyen.
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Fall 2017 Workshops
September is the start of the fall workshop season sponsored by the CCAP Insurance Programs. We have a great training season lined up! Topics include defensive driving, best practices for job descriptions, workplace culture, avoiding employment related lawsuits and always popular Excellent Supervisor Seminars and Prison Personnel Workshop.
If interested in attending any of the training sessions please
register online
. By now you should have received your copies of the GLIMPSE training catalog. If you need additional copies
please let me know
! Session descriptions, dates, times and locations for the educational sessions can also be found on the
GLIMPSE Online
section the CCAP website.
As a reminder, most of the workshops are FREE to attend if your county is a member of the sponsoring Insurance Programs. To check on your county's membership, please refer to the
CCAP Insurance Programs Member Listing
.
The CCAP Insurance Programs continues to collaborate with the
Academy for Excellence in County Government.
Please refer to our website for additional information on co-sponsored events. These workshops are FREE to current Academy participants.
Here is a quick look at the upcoming fall workshop season. Mark your calendars!
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact
Linda Rosito
at (800) 895-9039 x 3328 or (717) 736-4728.
I hope to see you this fall!
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Save Your County Money with U.S. Communities' New NARCAN Supplier!
U.S. Communities is the leading nationwide purchasing cooperative founded by public agencies for public agencies. Today, counties are challenged with limited resources and tight budgets for clinical needs. Premier, a U.S. Communities supplier, designed a comprehensive program to provide counties with access to a wide-range of medical supplies at a discounted price. Narcan®, a newly-approved treatment to help reverse an opioid overdose, is just one of the medications available through Premier. Learn more about Premier's Narcan® program.
Opioid abuse in the United States has reached epidemic proportions, with deaths due to opioid overdose killing Americans every day. There is a broad consensus that increased access to naloxone is a critical component of the emergency treatment of opioid overdose.
NARCAN Nasal Spray is the first and only FDA-approved naloxone nasal spray. This medication is used along with emergency medical treatment to reverse the
life-threatening effects of opioid overdose. NARCAN requires no assembly or priming prior to use.
Public Interest Pricing is available to U.S. Communities participating agencies. This discounted program is an effort to provide affordable access to NARCAN for entities that serve the public interest with limited funding.
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Does it Matter if You're Tired at Work?
Sleep affects how we look, feel and perform on a daily basis, and can have a major impact on our overall quality of life. It is a risk management issue because it directly impacts employee work performance.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, healthy adults should get a range from seven to nine hours of sleep per night to feel rested. During sleep, physical and mental processes take place to clear our minds and restore our bodies. Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory; hormones are secreted to help regulate metabolism and weight; cell repair occurs; the immune system is boosted; the heart and cardiovascular system slow to reduce blood pressure, to list a few.
Sleep deprivation occurs any time that you get less sleep than your body needs. Studies reveal that 40 percent of Americans averaged less than six hours per night. When sleep is cut short, the body doesn't have time to complete all of the processes. Chronic lack of sleep can lead to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. The ramifications range from minor to major, depending on your accumulated sleep debt.
Sleepiness and an overall decreased ability to think clearly are the biggest complaints and effects of not getting the required number of Z's. For employers, this may lead to errors on the job, including an increased risk for on-the-job accidents and motor vehicle accidents.
Often ignored, these are real dangers associated with a sleep-deprived employee:
- Performance deterioration, including slower response time and decreased productivity
- Increased risk of becoming distracted, difficulty maintaining focus and poor memory
- Increased risk for near miss and motor vehicle accidents
- Increased number of errors
- Decreased communication
- Poor mood appropriate behavior
- Greater risk taking behavior
Sleep education is often a missing link in a wellness program. There are plenty of things you can do to support a well-rested workforce:
- Offer education about sleep deprivation. Many people do not know the health and accident risks associated with lack of sleep.
- Mild to moderate dehydration may cause sleepiness. Use water bottles with your logo to encourage employees to stay hydrated at work by drinking at least one bottle of water while at work.
- Offer protein snacks in the vending machines. Encourage employees to avoid sugary, high fat snacks such as pastries and donuts which promote sleepiness.
- Encourage employees to get up and move and stretch every 90 minutes.
- Start a walk group and walk during the lunch break. Exercise is an excellent way to ward off an afternoon slump.
- Offer an outdoor area for staff to go outdoors to get a breath of fresh air.
- Utilize wellness rooms for employees to take a short 10 to 15 minute nap to dispel daytime drowsiness.
It's never too late to begin developing good sleep habits. Encourage employees to make the time to sleep, restore for another day and stay safe. For information regarding PComp grants to help fund your wellness initiatives, including sleep education, contact your Risk Control Specialist.
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CCAP Cyber Security Forum, October 2
PCoRP Members Receive Free Registration!
CCAP is holding its second annual Cyber Security Forum on Monday, October 2. The mission of the Forum is to raise awareness, educate and engage key county stakeholders in short and long-term strategies for cyber prevention.
The Forum will be held on Monday, October 2 at the CCAP Office in Harrisburg. Registration is $50 per person, but officials and employees of the 51 PCoRP member counties receive free registration due to PCoRP's sponsorship of the Forum.
This year's Keynote Speaker is Morgan Wright, an internationally recognized expert on cybersecurity strategy, cyber terrorism, identity theft and privacy. His landmark testimony before Congress on Healthcare.gov changed how the government collected personally identifiable information. He has made hundreds of appearances on national news, radio, print and web, and has spoken to audiences around the world. Morgan is a highly decorated former state trooper, police officer and detective.
Other topics and speakers include Erik Avakian, CIO for the Commonwealth of PA, Cyber Case Studies, a PhishMe Update, and Security and Elections. An exhibit hall and time for networking with vendors will also be available.
Click here
to access the website for the Forum, with more details and to register.
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PCoRP 30th Anniversary Dinner
Please join us for the PCoRP 30th Anniversary Dinner held at The Hotel Hershey on Monday, November 20 beginning at 6 p.m. This invitation is extended to county commissioners, chief clerks, solicitors and their home rule equivalence in counties that are members of PCoRP. PCoRP Local Producers are also invited to attend.
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New Associate Members
Northwoods Consulting Partners
Consulting, Technology
Northwoods' only focus is helping state and county human services agencies increase client service levels and productivity while cutting costs - allowing them to do more with less. By providing all the right tools in the office and the field, Northwoods' solutions eliminate duplicative work and reduce stress. Time-consuming tasks are automated, helping social workers have more time to accomplish their mission: protecting families.
Pro Tech Auto Glass
Other
Mobile auto, truck and bus glass replacement and heavy equipment glass fabricating - WBEC Certified, PA Department of General Services Certificated, Business Partner 011309 DBE PA Certification.
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Avoid Headline-Driven Investment
Thanks to 24-hour financial news channels, the Internet and the mobile devices we all seem to have these days, there is so much more news and information about the markets available to us. While you might expect that it would help us get better investment results, the opposite is true for many investors. This is because our emotions can take over and negatively affect our investment decisions. We want to help you understand why this happens and what you can do to make better choices for your portfolio.
Why do these decisions happen?
Media interest in the financial markets rises in times of market stress
Business models are driven by attracting more viewers or subscribers, and for a financial media platform, nothing attracts individual investors more than bad news. All of that noise may push your emotional buttons, leading you to make hasty decisions and buy or sell your investments too quickly.
Individual investors often underperform market indexes
This is often a result of a vicious chain of events. News headlines drive their emotions, which can cause irrational investment decisions, which then may lead to poor performance.
And this is a significant performance reduction.
- Major stock and bond indexes returned between 5% and 8% on average over the last 20 years
- Individual investors earned just half of that over the same time period
Source: Morningstar; Source for average investor data: Dalbar, Inc. QIAB study, 2015.
Maintain your discipline and remember these principles:
- Tune out the noise from the financial news media and if you feel like you taking action in response to news events, seek out professional advice. Nationwide offers both an Investment Advice and a Managed Account program. Contact your local Nationwide Retirement Specialist for details.
- Stay focused on your plan. Remember, you are investing for the long term.
- To help lessen the impact of market fluctuations, maintain a diversified portfolio that's suitable for your retirement goals and risk tolerance.
- Take advantage of opportunities to invest when others react based on emotion; consider buying when they are selling in falling markets.
Please click here for more information on Nationwide Retirement Solutions.
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Watch Your Step - Distracted Walking and Talking
As a member of CCAP's insurance programs, we provide you with Watch Your Step posters at no additional cost. We invite you to join in this effort to prevent slips, trips and falls by using the Watch Your Step resources for awareness and training activities. Contact us at
[email protected] for more information or to request additional posters.
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Annual Kane Foundation K-9 Car Cruise
PELICAN had a blast participating in the 1st Annual Kane Foundation K-9 Car Cruise on August 12, 2017!
Maureen McMahon, Senior Risk Control Specialist; Dennis Biondo, Executive Director, Kane Regional Centers
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Staff Updates
We are pleased to welcome Danielle Horanic to the CCAP staff. She joined the staff on August 21, and is a Claims Representative 1, working on the PCoRP program. Danielle comes to CCAP from Nationwide Insurance, where she handled auto, bodily injury and other medical claims. She is attending Central Penn College graduate working on a degree in Criminal Justice Administration. Danielle can be reached via email at [email protected], or by direct line at
(717) 736-4745.
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Upcoming Events
PCoRP Board Meeting
September 8, 2017
CCAP Office, Harrisburg
PComp Board Meeting
September 22, 2017
CCAP Office, Harrisburg
Prison Medical Management Workshop
September 29, 2017
CCAP Office, Harrisburg
UC Trustees Meeting
October 13, 2017
CCAP Office, Harrisburg
PIMCC Board of Directors Meeting
October 20, 2017
CCAP Office, Harrisburg
CCAP Health Alliance Board of Directors Meeting
October 25, 2017
CCAP Office, Harrisburg
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Quote of the Month
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."
- Steve Jobs
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