Silver Tracks Spring 2015
Save the date!
Retiree Homecoming 2015, Tuesday, June 2, Wells Conference Center
Benefits News
From Tony Richard, Director of Employee Benefits and Payroll, UMS
The University of Maine System (UMS) provides Medicare eligible retirees, widows/widowers, and former employees receiving Long Term Disability benefits (hereafter referred to as retirees) with a Medicare Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plan through Aetna.
The UMS requires that a retiree enroll in Government Medicare A (hospital) and B (Physician/out-patient) when it first becomes available in order to retain their UMS retiree medical coverage. UMS also believes that with government Medicare A and B and one other group health plan, like your UMS retiree medical coverage, you do not need to purchase any other health insurance coverage.
Claims must be submitted to Aetna under the Medicare Advantage plan. Aetna will process and pay what Medicare would have paid and what they (Aetna) would pay as the secondary insurer. If a medical provider sends a claim directly to Medicare, it will be denied because you are in a Medicare Advantage plan. If you have questions regarding the Aetna Medicare Advantage PPO program, please contact Aetna directly at 1.855.320.6555. If you have questions about EBPA, UMS’s third party administrator who bills and collects retiree health premiums, please contact EBPA at 1.888.232.3203. For any retiree who is NOT Medicare eligible call CIGNA at 1.866.269.9635.
When you are an Aetna member, you get online tools and resources to help you easily manage your health and your benefits on your Aetna Navigator member website. Go to the Aetna website to see a preview of what Aetna Navigator has to offer an Aetna member.
UMaine Celebrates 150 Years
The University of Maine is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2015 with events on campus and statewide, and an interactive website to encourage community engagement by the many constituents of the state’s land and sea grant university.
In a Jan. 23 letter to the community, UMaine President Susan Hunter noted the significance of this anniversary for the state and its many constituents — an opportunity to celebrate UMaine’s legacy and to understand how that history informs the university’s future.
UMaine’s 150th anniversary events began with the School of Performing Arts benefit production, “150 Years of American Song: A Celebration of the University of Maine,” Jan. 23. University of Maine Day at the State House in Augusta was celebrated Feb. 24 — the date 150 years ago that the Maine legislature passed the bill creating the Maine State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.
Other 150th celebration events during this anniversary year include:
- Women in Leadership Week, March 23–27, featuring a Presidential Installation on March 26, Collins Center for the Arts
- Maine Day, April 29
- Commencement, May 9
- Open University Day and Homecoming, Oct. 17–18
More information about these and other anniversary events will be on the 150th website.
UMaine nondiscrimination notice: The University of Maine does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including transgender status and gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies: Director, Office of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, 207.581.1226.