The Campus CONNECTION

Issue 11 January 2015

In this issue

The Affordable Care Act P.1

Now You Know P.1

Campus Life P.2

Employee Corner P.3

Reminders & Updates/ New Hires P.4

Now You Know

Current Staff Openings

Alumni Relations Coordi-

nator

Director of Communica-

tions

IT Business Analyst

Director of Financial Aid

and Veteran Services

Compliance News

Under the Texas Public Infor-

mation Act (Texas Govern-

ment Code 552), formerly

known as the Open Rec-

ords Act, each person is

entitled to complete infor-

mation about the affairs of

government and the offi-

cial acts of public officials

and employees, unless ex-

pressly provided otherwise

by law.

For more information regard-

ing Public Information Re-

quests or questions re-

garding this procedure,

contact Charlotte Banks,

Director of University

Compliance, at x6755.

The Affordable

Care Act:

What’s New for

2015?

The new year will bring a few more changes from the Affordable Care Act.

Out-of-Pocket Maximum (OOPM) In 2015, the most you will pay out of your pocket for medical care can’t be more than $6,600 for individuals and $13,200 for families.

The OOPM amount is for one year. When you renew your plan for 2016, you start back at zero.

The premium you pay each month to have health insurance isn’t included as part of your out-of-pocket costs, so it does not count toward the OOPM.

What you spend may only count toward reaching the max when you see a provider in your net-work. If you use a doctor who is not in your plan’s network, the money you spend won’t count toward the OOPM.

While the OOPM amounts above are the most you can be re-quired to pay in a year, you may be able to find a plan that offers a lower out-of-pocket maximum. That’s something to look for when picking a plan.

Preventive Services Most health care plans now pay for (fully cov-er) wellness exams, screenings, shots & other types of care meant to prevent or find health problems.

This means the total cost is paid by your plan. You won’t have to pay a copay or other out-of-pocket charges when you visit a doctor in your network for preven-tive care.

Some over-the-counter drugs may be cov-ered if you have a prescription from your doctor.

You may have out-of-pocket costs if the doc-tor also sees you for other health problems while you are there for preventive care. Ask if you have any questions about your bill.

Minimum Essential Coverage Most people now must have a basic level of health insurance, called minimum essential coverage (MEC).

You may have to pay a tax penalty if you don’t have a health insurance plan. A family of 4 that doesn’t have MEC could face a tax penalty of at least $975 in 2015. And the penalty increases each year.

CAMPUS LIFE

The Campus Connection Issue 11 January 2015

Classes start back on

January 20th!

The University will be

closed January 19th for

Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Hope everyone had a good

and safe break!

Employee Corner

James Scogin

Loren Surratt

Carmen Shurtleff

Art Stiner

Ashley Morrow

Sara Power

Jana Boatright

Caitlin Snyder

Parag Lala

Trevor Smith

Roderick McKnight

Ashley Brown

Christie Pinnell

Vivian Holmes

Don Peterson

Christopher Parker

Angela Sikorski

LeAnne Wright

Charlotte Banks

BIRTHDAYS

Employee of the Month

October

Ed Emilia

The October Employee of the Month is Police Of-ficer Ed Emilia. Ed’s nominator said “I have had the pleasure of working with Ed for some time now and I am impressed. Ed has stepped up to the plate to help me in many cases. He has become a First Aid and CPR instructor to help me train others on cam-pus. He has volunteered to be in the Professional Development Committee and will become a FISH! Facilitator. Ed went out of his way to pick up my slack when I was out of town for a conference. Ed taught my portion of the new hire orientation in my absence. He is always so kind, fun and willing to help.”

Employee of the Month

November

Keith Beason

The nominator said “Keith put together a busy week with over 11 community service projects in 5 days! We had 120 students volunteer (which was more than double what we had for last year’s event) & logged over 320 community service hours in one week. Keith attended almost every single project him-self! Keith has always been dedicated to community service & that is evident in his participation in Lead-ership Texarkana, he sits on the board for a non-profit organization, & was recognized as one of Four States Living Magazine’s “Fabulous Under 40” this year.”

REMINDERS & UPDATES

The Campus Connection Issue 11 January 2015

Employee Recognition Luncheon

The Employee Recognition Luncheon is scheduled for January 29th, 2015. Come celebrate our retirees and employee’s service from 11:30am to 1:30pm in Eagle Hall. Please mark your calendars.

Remember to RSVP to Tina Tindal if you plan to attend the Luncheon so enough food is ordered.

This year we’d like to recognize some personal milestones of ALL our employees by showing off photos of newborn (grand) babies, new marriages, graduations, retirements, and any other major life events that happened in 2014. If you would like to share a photo with us, please email it to Tina Tindal with a short description of who’s in the picture, their relation to you, and the month and/or day in 2014 that it was cel-ebrated.

Darlene Shaver

Secretary III Success Center

Lorie Jones

Secretary III at NTCC

Rachel Grant

Financial Aid Loan Counselor

New Year’s Resolutions

Have you been thinking about living a healthi-

er lifestyle or trying to stop smoking? There

are lots of through resources available your

health plan benefits that can help. Check

them out as you’re considering your options

for reaching your goals this coming year.

Well on Target – Provided by BlueCross

BlueShield of Texas, Well on Target provides

health assessments, online courses and educa-

tion, wellness trackers, and even coaches,

available through phone or e-mail, who can

help you achieve your goals. Programs are

available to manage cholesterol, nutrition,

weight, blood pressure, activity, stress or to-

bacco use.

Get started by logging into Blue Access for

Members (BAM) on the www.bcbstx.com

website, select the My Health tab and visit the