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The South
Dakota Bankers Large Group Health Plan continues providing
health, vision care, life and disability insurance for bank
employees and their families. By forming the Multiple Employer
Trust (MET), we are able to negotiate large group rates for
our products.
If you are
not part of our current plan, we encourage you to take a few
moments of your time to look at your current benefits and
rates and compare them to the SDBA benefits. Being part of the
SDBA benefit plan supports the South Dakota Bankers
Association, which continues to work with and for the banking
industry of South Dakota. We are committed to your interests,
and with your participation in this unique health plan we are
able to better meet your bank’s needs.
Another added
benefit to being part of a large group plan, is that is
provides a cushion when your individual bank has greater than
average claims. Health insurance is a cyclical business; there
may be years where your claims are catastrophic. The SDBA
health benefit is designed to provide rate stability,
especially for those years. In 2009 we experienced a
higher-than-normal utilization; the initial 2010 rate increase
came in at 22 percent. Through diligent work with Wellmark and
a few minor changes to coverage, we were able to lower the
increase to 12.43 percent average.
SDBA offers
the following products:
Wellmark Group Health Plan: This plan is designed to
provide flexibility to the employer and employee. The employer
may allow their employees to choose from five different
deductibles. The employee can choose the deductible that fits
their needs and budget. Please contact Mike Feimer or Michelle
Guthmiller at (800) 221-7551 to see the rates.
Early
Retirement Option: Another outstanding benefit for all
the SDBA health plans is the early retirement option. This
benefit allows employees with five-plus years of employment in
their bank and attained age of 60 and over (along with their
spouse) to remain on the health plan until they reach Medicare
eligible age.
BluesEnroll: In 2008, we rolled out BluesEnroll to our
banks. This system allows our banks to manage their benefits
online and eliminates the transfer of paperwork back and
forth. Our banks can now enroll new employees, add dependents
and terminate employees online in real time. BluesEnroll
encompasses not only the Wellmark health benefit plan but also
life, AD&D, short-term disability, flex savings accounts and
Delta Dental.
Life
Insurance and Accident Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) benefit:
Along with the health plan, each employee will have a minimum
of $5,000 of life insurance with a matching AD&D coverage. The
bank can elect the amount of coverage for all employees up to
1 ½ times salary up to $150,000 of life with $150,000 AD&D.
This is one of the least expensive benefits that an employer
can provide.
Vison
Care: We are in our third year of offering VSP Eye
Care, and the reception has been very positive. The SDBA VSP
Vision Plan offers three coverage options to employees. All
employees and their families are covered with the $2.10 Plan A
that covers an eye exam and offers discounts on frames and
lenses. Employees can upgrade to Plan B at $19 per month that
pays for lenses every year and frames every other year. Plan C
at $26 per month pays for lenses and frames every year.
Delta
Dental: SDBA offers dental coverage through Delta
Dental. Delta Dental has the largest dentist network in South
Dakota and spans nationwide. They offer no balance billing, it
is easy to use and they provide great coverage for a great
value, with rate stability. Delta Dental has also been
interfaced with BluesEnroll.
Our SDBA plan
continues to grow and bring new benefits. Please contact Mike
Feimer at (605) 660-2341 or
mfeimer@sdba.com for more information. The combination of
these plans are exclusive to SDBA and not available from any
other source, so you can be confident with your selection
because you will be working directly with people you know and
who are focused on serving the needs of all the SDBA members
first.
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