May 18, 2009

CSSAC elects vice chair, hears about new medical plan

Deborah Luedtke will serve as vice chair of the Clerical and Service Staff Advisory Committee next year.

Luedtke, a secretary in chemical engineering, was elected at the group's May 12 meeting.

On Sept. 1, she will succeed the current vice chair, Matthew Marks, who will become chair. Maggie Grogan is the current chair.

Also at the May 12 meeting, John Beelke and Mike Hanson of Human Resource Services gave an overview of a new medical insurance plan that will be offered to employees next year.

Hanson, medical benefits administrator, said the plan is similar to a PPO, but it will have a high deductible, co-insurance and a health savings account (HSA). The HSA will include contributions from employees and from Purdue. Purdue's contribution level has yet to be determined.

The health savings account can be rolled over from year to year, Hanson said. Any money in the account belongs to the employee, including the money Purdue contributes.

Hanson said the money in the HSA is tax-free and interest-free as long as it is spent on health care. There will be no minimum requirement of money for the account.

There will be an out-of-pocket spending maximum in the plan, Hanson said.

Beelke, director of Human Resource Services, said the plan is being offered as an option and will not replace any current plan.

Beelke said the goal of the plan is to help people who have to pay for more of their health care with their own money and to give them the tools to do that.

"The idea is to help people be better consumers and customers of health care services," he said. "For example, the cost of procedures such as colonoscopies and knee replacements can vary, depending on where you go. If you look at more than one place, you might be able to find a better price for a procedure."

He said the HSA is an option that has become available in the past few years. Indiana University and the State of Indiana offer similar plans.

Hanson said detailed presentations on the HSA plan will be offered to all Purdue employees over the summer.

In other business, Grogan reported that 18 applications for CSSAC membership have been received. There have been five applicants in District I, two applicants in District II, six applicants in District III and five applicants in District IV.

The application deadline was May 15. There are six positions available. Members serve three-year terms starting Sept. 1.

CSSAC's membership subcommittee will interview applicants the week of June 8-12.

Grogan said a vote on emeritus members will be held at the June meeting, which will be on the Calumet campus.

Candidates for emeritus members are outgoing CSSAC representatives. Outgoing members this year are Emily Branson, Gary Carter, Cynthia Dalton, Randall Luff, Doris Wilkinson and Maggie Grogan.

Emeritus members are non-voting and provide knowledge to newer members, assist with continuing or ongoing projects, and assist CSSAC in representation on University committees.

They serve a one-year term, which starts Sept. 1.

Jaylene Nichols of the Purdue Employees Activity Program, a CSSAC subcommittee, said four tickets remain for the July 26 bus trip to Chicago for the Cincinnati Reds-Chicago Cubs baseball game. Cost of the trip is $65 per person, which includes the bus ride and a ticket to the game. The bus will leave the Freehafer Hall parking lot at 9 a.m. and arrive back at Freehafer around 7 p.m. For more information, contact Kelly High, SCHL, at 49-40602 or kjhigh@purdue.edu. Registration deadline is June 26.

Nichols said several tickets remain for the June 20 bus trip to Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Buses will leave Freehafer parking lot at 9 a.m. and return to Freehafer at 7 p.m. Cost is $20 for adults and $18 for children to ride the bus and parking. The zoo is free. For more information, or a registration form, visit www.purdue.edu/cssac/Employee_Trips/. Registration deadline is June 5.