Medical Plan SMMs Available April 1
If your cooperative offers the NRECA Medical Plan, you will receive a Message Center notification early next week directing you to the quarterly medical plan summary of material modifications (SMM).
The SMM reflects changes to the NRECA Medical Plan’s Performance Drug List made by CVS Caremark, NRECA’s pharmacy benefit manager, that are effective April 1, 2020. An article in the February 26, 2020 issue of NRECA Employee Benefits Weekly listed the changes.
The SMM also includes coverage changes to the medical plan for coronavirus evaluation and testing due to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which was effective March 18, 2020 and is explained in this week’s companion article on the topic.
Deliver the SMM to current plan participants and acknowledge distribution as soon as possible, but not later than June 1, 2020. Also give the SMM to new plan participants along with the medical summary plan description (SPD) no more than 90 days after they become covered.
Updated drug lists available
The current Performance Drug List is available to participants on the Checking Coverage page of the NRECA Employee Benefits website. Note that the Performance Drug List will reflect the changes described in the SMM on April 1. Participants can also visit the Manage Your Prescriptions page to check coverage and drug costs.
Distribution instructions
Enter your co-op’s name, REA and subgroup number on the SMM before distributing it to employees.
Visit the Employee Benefits website to review the electronic distribution rules. Department of Labor regulations allow employers to give out SMMs electronically (usually via email) only to certain employees who can access the documents through computers that are an integral part of their work duties. Participants who do not meet these criteria (for example, a line worker or meter readers who may not have a computer or laptop) must receive paper copies.
For additional questions
Participants with questions about prescription drug coverage or about these changes can call CVS Caremark Customer Care at 888.796.7322.
If you have questions about downloading and distributing this SMM, call the Member Contact Center at 866.673.2299 or contactcenter@nreca.coop.
For all other questions about this SMM, call the benefits compliance team at 866.673.2299, option 7, or at group.compliance@nreca.coop.