Eduardo J. Padrón
President
Office of the President
300 N.E. Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33132-2297
305-237-3316
epadron@mdc.edu
Message From the President
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Insurance Benefits Update
I am pleased to inform you that today, Oct. 21, 2008, the District Board of Trustees approved the College’s final recommendations regarding health insurance benefits for 2009, retaining Aetna as the College's health insurance carrier.
Facing an initial premium increase of approximately 7.3 percent (which would have cost the College an additional $1.5 million), MDC was able to negotiate a renewal rate of 2.5 percent (or an annual increase of nearly $387,000) for Aetna's HMO plan, while maintaining the same coverage as in 2008. Employees enrolled in the HMO plan and electing full dependent coverage (spouse and children) will experience an increase of less than $8.00 per pay period. The College will continue to pay the full premium for employees without dependents in the HMO plan.
Employees electing full dependent coverage under the POS plan (freedom of choice), with comparable benefits, will pay an estimated average increase of $55.00 per pay period, or an 8.3 percent increase. Employees without dependents will experience a slight increase in the POS plan.
CIGNA Dental will continue as the College's dental insurance carrier, with no premium increase for the 2009 plan year.
The Online Open Enrollment Period is scheduled for Oct. 23 to Nov. 7, 2008. Please take advantage of the information that will be provided by the Division of Human Resources during the next several weeks.
I would like to thank the members of the Insurance Benefits Committee, which includes representatives from faculty, staff and administrators across the College, for their continued commitment to the College’s efforts in providing convenient and affordable access to quality network providers.
Thank you.
Eduardo