Conference 7.286::digital

    get BAYSTATE or another HMO.  Most cover eye-exam for about $3.00
    and also give you 15% discount on glasses!
    
    jb

    My question was directed toward John Hancock for a reason - that's who
    my current insurance carrier is.  I tried an HMO and I didn't like 'em.
    If I want to go to the doctor, I'll go to who I want, when I want.
    None of this who/where/when they want sh*t.  Besides that, the people
    I dealt with were very unprofessional.  There are other reasons as
    well, but I'd really rather not go into them here.  Let's stick to the
    topic. 

    Sorry for flaming.
    
-Andy

John Hancock is hired by Digital to ADMINISTER our health plan.  The 
plan is funded by DIGITAL, and DIGITAL decides what is covered.  You 
may wish to direct your suggestion to Corporate Benefits.

    RE: .0, .2
    
    I agree with you. As someone who just spent $60 for my annual
    complete opthamological exam only to be told again that my
    eyes were healty but I was suffering from a bad case of eye strain
    most likely due to staring a a CRT, I'd also like an answer to that
    question. At least in prior years I could roll this amount in with
    my annual medical bills and deduct it from my taxes but with the
    new tax laws I don't have enough to deduct. I'm concidering getting
    some anti-glare glasses just for work but I really resent haveing
    to pay for them out of my pocket. And before someone flames at me
    and tells me to join an HMO, I don't want to for the reasons described
    in .2 as well as the fact that the list that was sent to me contained
    none in my city.
    
    Deb
    

   Re: .4
    
   I believe that DEC WILL pay for glasses that are specifically for
   CRT viewing. Check with your PSA.
   				Steve

        DEC certainly paid for a pair of glasses worn by a friend of
        mine because the quality of the lighting in his office required
        them. They were yreated as job-related safety galsses.
        
        JimB. 

  I checked with a member of my personnel and he said the only eye
  examination expense that DEC will cover are for those individuals 
  who repair laser printers.  Apparently it's required to become a 
  certified laser tech or some such.

  I still cannot understand why DEC doesn't have comprehensive eye 
  coverage included in their insurance with John Hancock.  It must 
  cost too much.  :-(

-Andy (who hasn't had an eye exam in over 15 years...)

       DEC may not cover eye exams, but they WILL cover the expense
       of a pair of glasses specifically for work use if that's
       different from one's regular prescription.
       					Steve

	Concerning eye strain, that may be considered an on-going condition.
I have eye problems which must be periodically inspected by an opthamlogist
and a retinal expert. These are covered by the plan since they are to monitor
an on-going condition. The key I think is for the Doctor to indicate in the
diagnosis that the exam is to monitor the eye-strain condition. 

	Diagnosis is the key to payment. If the diagnosis indicates a routine
exam, typically it is not paid for. If it indicates that there is a treatable
condition, it should be paid for.

     I agree, if it is a medical condition, DEC will pay.  I have regular 
examinations to monitor the progress of glaucoma and have no trouble 
getting payment.

Jack

  Would an Astigmatism be considered a medical condition?  Somehow, I
  think not.  
  
-Andy  

    I doubt astigmatism, or any other condition routinely treated by
    an optometrist would be covered.  I expect that conditions that
    require treatment by an opthalmologist would be covered, the same
    as any other condition treated by an M. D.
    
    A primary motivation for insurance is to share the risk of
    unpredictable and possibly catastrophic events.  Most optometric care
    is very predictable: an exam every year or two (depending on age), and,
    for people who need it, a new pair of glasses every year or two.  The
    costs are quite reasonable (~$25-50 for the exam), plus a minimal
    contribution towards the glasses.  (I presume that most plans that
    cover eye care don't cover expensive frames or contact lenses for
    purely cosmetic purposes.)  So we're really talking about very little
    money -- why not just give everyone a $50 or $100/year bonus and avoid
    all the paperwork  (or just view it as part of our salary, which is
    what it is now). 
    
    I'm all for as many benefits as we can get, and I'd be most happy
    to get optometric care, but I wouldn't give it the same priority
    as medical or dental care.
    
       Gary

The reason why someone who fixes laser printers needs special glasses
is that the laser is an eye hazard and the glasses protect him/her
from the hazard. 

    re:-.1
    
       Are you sure? Being one of the first folks that has had to get one of
    these exams, I think they are to protect DEC in case of unexpected
    exposure and damage. I do not wear glasses, nor am I required to, to
    work on equipment that contains lasers. The exam maps the back of your
    retina for future referance (ie. "that was there before, not caused by
    a DEC related activity/accident). 
       It is also not a DEC requirement, it is a federal requirement.
    
    
    	Mass storage CSSE,
    	(VDP50, RRD50, and others),
	    				John
    

    The insurance Digital contracts for ends up convering whatever the
    company contracts for it to cover, I suppose.
    
    Still, anyone who thinks that periodic dental examinations are more
    important than periodic eye examinations has worse teeth than I
    do, and better eyesight (i have progressive myopia, but I haven't
    had anything done by the dentist in several years except cleanings
    and a couple of replacements of very old fillings).

    RE: .5
    
    Steve, I agree that they SHOULD pay, but getting them to can be
    a bit of a hassle. A couple of years ago I took this up with my
    PSA (no longer with DEC, thank goodness) who spent half an hour explaining
    to me that I was misreading the policy, and that they would only
    pick up "Safty glasses", and that safty glasses are only something
    protects the eye from letting forigen matter in (like one would
    wear when using a power tool). Petty burecrats sometimes think that
    it is *THEIR* money that they are disbursing. It sounds to me like
    the plan is being interpreted in different ways in different places.
    
    Someone mentioned that if the prescription is different from the
    regular eyeglasses that would be covered. Would the plan cover just
    the aditional cost of a putting an anti-glare tint (or what ever
    it is they do) on a pair of perscription glasses, or are people
    that wear glasses that need this option out of luck?                                           

    Deb

    
    re .16
    
    

    
    oops,  sorry about that.
    
    re:  .16:	"Petty bureaucrats think it's * their * money they're
    		disbursing".
    
    
    If they're stockholders,  it * IS * their money they're disbursing.
    And yours.    And mine.
    
    -monty-

  Re:  .9 and .10
  
  Did you pay for the initial exam or did you submit it to DEC once it
  was determined the prognosis meant ongoing medical treatment?  
  
  Also, .9 indicated that he went to an ophthalmologist (as opposed to an
  optometrist).  Can we assume that treatment by an ophthalmologist is
  covered under medical while treatment by a optometrist is not?
  
-Andy  

Treatment for an eye disease or injury is covered.

Refractive disorders are not considered diseases and are not covered.

It's that simple, except for the determination of whether a special refraction
is required for job purposes and therefore covered -- sort of like whether your
boss will buy you a calculator or not.

/john

    RE: 18
    
    My point was that it sounds like there are inequities in the
    administration of the policy from site to site. As far as whose
    money it is, it is either a benifit of my employment or not, and
    if it is a benifit that I am entitled to, it is MY money. That is
    one of the reasons I work for DEC. If a PSA is discouraging a person
    from using a benifit that they are entited to in a misguided effort
    to save the company money then the PSA is not doing his/her job.
    If PSA doen't know the answer, then they should find out, not take
    it upon themselves to interpret the policy.
    
    Deb
    

I know that vision care is available through John Hancock.  We have to 
alert our personnel reps to inquire about it.  I recently came to DEC
from a major utility company who offered vision care free to their
employees.  Spouse coverage was about $3.00 a week.  Granted the
allowable dollars is low (their's was $150.00 for contacts, $30.00
for the exam and $40.00 for frames and lenses) but when you add up
what you spend for an exam by a competent doctor and glasses that 
don't look like you bought them at a thrift shop, any savings is 
worth it.  Any ideas on how we can push the vision care issue?

 

    3 * 52 = $156 /yr!  With the limit of $150.00 for contacts and $30
    for examination, how does it make any sense?
    
    - Vikas

< Note 315.23 by SERPNT::SONTAKKE "Vikas Sontakke" >
                                 -< Confused >-

    3 * 52 = $156 /yr!  With the limit of $150.00 for contacts and $30
    for examination, how does it make any sense?
    
    - Vikas


Sorry, this is the actual breakdown of payments for benefits.

	2.20	health
	3.44	dental
	 .29	vision care

That is for spouse coverage only.  employee coverage was paid by the 
company.  By the way, I found out something interesting last night.
A friend of mine is an insurance agent and told me that he couln't
understand why DEC's health insurance costs were so high because
they are self-insured.  Hancock merely, administers the plan.  Well
lets have some answers guys!

    	You can switch to Harvard Community Health Plan, which provides
    a standard optometric exam for the usual $3 service charge.  Any
    *medical* problems with your eyes are covered, too.
    
    	No insurance plans cover glasses or contacts, for a very good
    reason.  Insurance exists to spread the cost of occasional, expensive,
    and unanticipated events (such as death, illness, auto accidents)
    over a larger group, in order to keep people from having major
    financial problems when one of those events occurs.  When something
    is relatively inexpensive, predictable, and has a cost which depends
    on personal taste, such as glasses or contacts, then trying to cover
    it via insurance only adds another layer of administrative cost.
    That's why dental insurance isn't much of a bargain, because most
    dental costs are not terribly expensive and can be predicted over
    a lifetime, e.g., checkups, fillings, braces, wisdom tooth extractions,
    and the dreaded root canal.
    
    	A major medical problem, such as a heart attack, which can run
    a hospital bill well into five figures, has no comparable event
    in vision or dental care.
    
    			David

I have Harvard Plan, and have found that their "standard optometric
exam" was next to useless for my specific needs (I have had contact
lenses for over almost 30 years).  I now use a contact lens specialist,
who offers "insurance" for about $100/year (including whatever office
visits are necessary).

Martin.

>No insurance plans cover glasses or contacts, for a very good
>reason.

Your reason may be good enough for some companies, but not all.  A large
blue computer company with three letter initials covers glasses for all
regular employees, but I guess you could argue that it's not "insurance".
							Larry

    It seems to me that I have a different view of the 'benefits' plan
    than others.  I look at my benefits as part of my job compensation;
    therefore since I retired from the Navy with 20/15 eyesight and
    have since had it deteriorate to a fuzzy blur from reading maps
    at 2 A.M. on standby and trying to count out pins on a PDP15 backplane
    to do an FCO I think that by including annual eye exams and a decent
    pair of frames and lenses in my 'benefits' package my next payraise
    could be considered appreciable.
    
    Jim
    

Another company besides the Blue One has a Vision Service Plan (VSP)
that provided the employee with 2 free visits per year, plus $150 for
toward glasses and/or contacts.
    
    

    Really now gang, don't you think getting regular eye exams and then
    treating any negative (astigmatism, short/near sightedness) condition
    a basic principle of good health?  A gynecological exam every
    year is covered by insurance and is vital in maintainin/promoting
    good health in women...same preventitive maintenance should be utilized
    in eye care considerations.
    
    I think DEC via John Hancock should offer this benefit under their
    available policies, therefore, can someone suggest how one should
    pursue making such a request?
    
    As a side note.  Certain personnel may get "well-paid" and can afford
    the $100 once a year for their eye exam and glasses (though $150
    is more like it) but there are many people in DEC that do not make
    alot of $$$ and have families to support.  Any insurance coverage
    is not only welcomed but necessary.
    
    Lydia

    I agree that eye care would be wonderful - Maybe DEC could make
    it an option on the policy - if you want it, you pay for it?  Also,
    John Hancock DOES NOT pay for gynecological exams - it is considered
    a routine checkup and as such is not covered by the policy.

        Re: .30 -- Why don't you start with the Corporate Benefits Manager
        in CFO2, DTN 251-1335 or 251-1014?  That's the number listed in
        the classified section of the Digital Telephone Directory.  If
        that isn't the person who makes the decision, then he or she
        should be able to direct you to the right place to get more
        information.  If you really think it matters, then work to get the
        current system changed. 
        
        Tom

Re: .31 


> Also, John Hancock DOES NOT pay for gynecological exams - it is
> considered a routine checkup and as such is not covered by the
> policy. 


It is true that John Hancock will not pay for a routine
gynecological exam.  However, they will pay for an exam if a Pap
Smear is done at the same time.

Remember, the "John Hancock" plan is defined and funded by the
Corporate Benefits department at DIGITAL.  They hire John Hancock
purely to administer the plan.  

       I belong to Fallon HMO. For $2 per visit they pay for ALL 
    'routine exams' Gyno. included. They also cover eye exams for dependent
    children.
                                                    Denny