BENEFITS.SURVEY

Benefits Survey: Rx Drugs, Dental and Communication are Key

The Welfare Fund member benefits survey conducted in November 2009 was proposed at the fall 2008 meeting of the Welfare Fund Advisory Council as a way of finding out what Fund members know about the Fund’s benefit programs, the extent to which they are taking advantage of them, and their degree of satisfaction and/or dissatisfaction with the programs.

About 35% of all active full-time and retiree Welfare Fund members were asked to participate through random sampling. As many retirees do not use the Internet, a paper questionnaire went out to the retirees. Full-timers and adjuncts were e-mailed a link to an online questionnaire. All 1,300 adjuncts were sent e-mail links in an effort to avoid under-sampling this group.

The survey results showed that the Medco prescription drug plan is the most highly regarded and most used benefit among full-time actives and retirees who responded to the survey; they feel the dental benefit is skimpy (though they like their dentists), and they want more regular benefit communications from the Welfare Fund. Here’s a summary of the most significant survey results:

Participation

The total number of survey respondents was 1,246--about 8% of all Fund participants.

31% of retirees responded (538 out of 1,750 invited participants)

18% of full-timers responded (635 out of 3,475 invited participants)

5.6% of adjuncts responded (73 out of 1,300 invited participants)

A probable factor in the lower adjunct response rate may be that many part-timers do not regularly use campus e-mail accounts, the only e-mail addresses available to the Fund.

Demographics of Responders

Gender: 56% of full-timers and 59% of adjuncts were women, while 67% of retirees were men.

Age: The median age of full-timers was 52 years, adjuncts 54, and retirees 75.

Years of Service: Full-timers had 17 years of service on average, adjuncts 16, and retirees 30 years of service.

PSC or Management status: 15% of full-timers responding to the survey were or had been in management positions, as had 21% of retirees. (The Welfare Fund serves both management and PSC union members.)

Responders’ Knowledge of the Welfare Fund Benefits Program

As the Welfare Fund staff and Advisory Council members regularly receive inquiries from members unaware of, or confused about, their benefits, the survey asked members to rate their own understanding of the Welfare Fund (WF) programs:

34% rated their knowledge as Good or Very Good

42% rated their knowledge as Fair

24% rated it as Limited or Poor

While 41% of retirees considered their knowledge Good or Very Good, only 27% of full-timers and 21% adjunct faculty were as confident. The overall results in this area indicate the need for a renewed effort to disseminate benefits information to Welfare Fund members.

Members’ Primary Sources for Benefits Information

39% rely on printed materials

26% contact the Welfare Fund Office

23.5% go to the Welfare Fund website, psccunywf.org

20% use their campus benefits office

It was no surprise that most retirees prefer printed materials and that only 22% of them have used the Fund website. Half of all full-timers, however, chose the website as their preferred source for information; 54 % have used the website.

Which Fund Benefits Are Used Most Often?

72% regularly or frequently use the Medco Rx drug plan

40% regularly use the Guardian or Delta dental plans

22% regularly use the optical benefit

4.7% regularly use the Extended Medical Benefit attached to GHI

As might be expected, 84.5% of retirees indicated they often use the Medco plan; however the same was true for 59.3% of full-timers.

What Fund Benefits Are Most Valuable?

66% rated prescription drugs as first or second most valuable.

54% rated the dental benefit as first or second most valuable.

Only 25% rated the optical benefit as first or second most valuable, but fully 56% rated it as the third most valuable.

There was general agreement between full-timers and retirees on the relative value of the programs offered by the Fund. Although the prescription drug program was rated as more valuable than the dental program, the dental plan is clearly an important benefit.

What Fund Benefits should be Targeted for Improvement?

67% chose dental as first or second priority.

46% chose Rx drugs as first or second priority.

36% chose optical as first or second priority.

Again full-timers and retirees agreed. It is significant that the program considered most valuable, prescription drugs, is cited as less in need of improvement than the dental plan by both groups.

What Optional Benefits should be Prioritized for Improvement?

63% chose Long Term Care as first or second priority

59% chose Catastrophe Major Medical as first or second priority

41% chose Term Life Insurance as first or second priority

37% chose Extended Disability as first or second priority

Comments from Members

The survey questionnaire included room for written comments. As might be expected, criticism significantly outweighed compliments among the 1,319 comments that survey participants registered. Those who were relatively satisfied with their benefits (a plurality as indicated by the ratings in answer to the survey questions) were less likely to add written comments than those with specific grievances. However, these critical comments are valuable in pointing out problems.

Some trends were expected, others less so. While dissatisfaction with the dental benefit is well-known, and was borne out by the comments, it was the optical plan that took the most heat. Members disparaged the quality of the lenses and frames available under the plan, the amount of the discount offered through the participating vendors, and accused particular business outlets of misdirection, i.e., pretending to offer a discount to PSC members without reducing charges at all.

The other common thread running through the comments was the desire for better and more regular communication from the Welfare Fund on what the benefits are and how to make use of them. One of the practical suggestions was for the Fund to send out e-mail notices to members anytime significant changes are made to the benefits programs. The Fund intends to act on this proposal, and will be offering members an opportunity to be placed on a mailing list for e-mail news releases in the near future.