Blue Advantage for Local Government Retirees
Great news: Blue Advantage is here!The State Employees' Insurance Board is introducing a new plan, effective January 1, 2009, called Blue Advantage, for all Medicare retirees and Medicare dependents of retirees. Blue Advantage is designed to provide better benefits at a lesser cost to retirees who currently have Medicare Parts A and B. See Summary of Benefits or Hand book for more details.
- List of Covered Drugs
- Find a Blue Advantage Provider
- Out of Network Information
- Evidence of Coverage
Here is a brief comparison of both plans.
| LGHIP Blue Advantage | LGHIP Blue Cross | |
| Premium-Medicare Retiree | $246 | $315 |
| Physician | Member pays 20% of the allowance or $30 per visit, whichever is less | Member pays 20% of the allowance or $30 per visit, whichever is less |
| Inpatient Deductible | $100 | $100 |
| Outpatient Surgery | Member pays 20% of the allowance or $100 per visit, whichever is less | Member pays 20% of the allowance or $100 per visit, whichever is less |
| Prescription Drug Copays |
$5-Tier 1
$20-Tier 2 $50-Tier 3 $2500 annual out-of-pocket copay maximum |
Covered at 80%, subject to $200 Major Medical deductible |
| Skilled Nursing Facility | 100% of allowance, no deductible | Not Covered |
| Home Health | 100% of allowance, no deductible | Not Covered |
| Outpatient Diagnostic Labs & Pathology | 100% of allowance, no deductible | 100% of allowance, subject to $3 copay per test |
| Dental | Included | Optional |
How to Enroll: Return a completed enrollment form, along with a copy of your medicare card, to your payroll personnel during the month of November. Your enrollment form must be received in the SEIB Office no later than November 30. Your effective date of coverage will be January 1, 2009.
Your new Blue Cross Blue Shield identification care combines your LGHIP and Medicare coverages, allowing for one Blue Advantage ID card to be used for all your medical needs. To ensure that your claims process correctly, please remember to show your new Blue Advantage ID card to your health care provider, pharmacy and/or dentist and allow them to make a copy for their office files.
If you have questions regarding your Blue Advantage plan, please call Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama at 1 877 233-3795 (TTY/TDD users should call 1 800 257-3384), 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and a Customer Service Representative will be happy to assist you.
Important Note: The benefit plan (Group 30000) for non-Medicare retirees and dependents will not change. Any members on your contract who do not have Medicare will not be affected. If you have any questions, please call the numbers listed above.
