New Duke Health Plan

Among your choices for health care plans in 2004 will be a new option, Duke Basic. Employees should carefully review plan provisions of Duke Basic and compare them to Duke's other plans prior to enrolling, as the new plan differs in several key ways, including:

' Lower monthly premiums - $19.88 per month for individual, $194.66 per month for family coverage

' Higher co-pays, deductibles and co-insurance, including:

' $20 primary care physician visit co-pay per visit

' $50 specialty care physician visit co-pay per visit

' $100 per person prescription deductible per year

' $100 contributed to a Health Care Reimbursement Account by Duke for each participant, following the completion of a health questionnaire.

Is Duke Basic Right for You?

Employees should take care when comparing Duke Basic to the other Duke health plans. The monthly premiums for Duke Basic are lower, but the overall cost for coverage will depend on other factors such as co-pays, deductibles and co-insurance, which are higher than in the other plans.

Duke Basic may be the best choice for you if:

' You typically only visit the doctor for preventive services such as annual physicals, ob/gyn exams, immunizations and well baby visits, or;

' You are not currently covered by health insurance and you or family members would benefit from a basic level of coverage.

Earn $100 for Practicing Prevention

"As with all of our health plans, we want to encourage participants to take an active role with their health care," said Lois Ann Green, director of benefits. "In many cases, more expensive treatments and procedures can be avoided through preventive care, such as regular visits to a primary care physician, a healthy diet and exercise."

Under the Duke Basic plan, $100 will be deposited into a health care reimbursement account for each participant covered by the plan following the completion of a health questionnaire - an online or paper questionnaire that can be used by participants to take a look at their health. If they choose, they may share the results with their physician to gain greater awareness of conditions they may currently have or are at risk of developing.

The $100 contribution made by Duke can be used to pay for any eligible health care expense under the health care reimbursement account incurred during calendar year 2004 that are not covered by insurance, including co-pays, deductibles and co-insurance, as well as glasses or contact lenses.

Pharmacy Benefits

As with Duke's other health plans, pharmacy benefits are provided for participants in Duke Basic. Co-payments for Duke Basic's pharmacy benefits are the same as with the other health plans; however each participant in Duke Basic must satisfy a $100 prescription drug deductible before the plan begins to pay benefits toward the cost.

In addition, mail order is mandatory for maintenance medications, which are those that a doctor has prescribed for regular use, such as heart pressure medication or birth control pills. Authorization may be required for some prescribed medications before they can be covered.

For additional information about Duke Basic, please attend one of the information sessions or contact the Duke Open Enrollment Service Center toll-free at (877) 371-9963. Customer service representatives will be available Monday - Friday, Sept. 29 through Oct. 10 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturday, Oct. 4, and Saturday, Oct.11, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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With Health Costs Rising, Duke Adds New Coverage Plan