|
From The
University Record, September 10, 2001
By Kate Kellogg
Benefits Office
The Prescription Drug Work Group 2002 completed its study
of prescription drug benefits in the University’s medical
plans and presented its findings to the executive officers
in April 2001. As they consider options presented in the
Work Group’s report, the executive officers will seek
input from the University community.
A
focus group will be held 10:30 a.m.–noon Sept. 26 in
Suite 18, Wolverine Tower, for active employees and retirees
who frequently use the prescription drug benefit. The focus
group will capture concerns and relate them to the options
presented by the Work Group.
Registration
is required for this session, which will be limited to 30
participants.
University
medical plan members who fill about 40 or more prescriptions
per year for themselves and their households comprised about
18 percent of participants in focus groups held last year
on U-M campuses. Anyone who is on three maintenance medications
would fill three prescriptions each month, or 36 each year.
Anyone who is using the prescription drug benefit at that
level should consider participating in this focus group.
To
register, send e-mail to pharkiew@umich.edu
and include in the message a name and a daytime phone number.
To register by phone, call Patty Harkiewicz in the Benefits
Office, (734) 936-0952.
In
addition to the frequent users focus group, a series of
18 focus groups for University employees and retirees will
be held throughout the month of September. The groups will
meet at various times and locations around the central and
regional campuses. Participants will be selected at random
and notified by e-mail or U.S. Mail.
“Now
that the Work Group has presented some options for changes
in prescription drug benefits, the Executive Officers want
to hear what the University community has to say about them,”
said Scott Olson, a principal with Ovo Partners Inc., the
Benefits Office consulting firm that facilitates the focus
groups and reports findings.
“In
this second round of focus groups, we will go over the alternatives
the Work Group has presented and the reasoning behind each.
We’ll gather feedback through discussion on each area.”
Faculty
and staff who are not included in the random selection but
who would like to share their comments on the options presented
in the Work Group’s report can send their thoughts
by email to prescription.drugs@umich.edu.
|
