Happy New Year from the IBT of PORAC!
The Trustees and staff of the Insurance and Benefits Trust of PORAC (the “IBT”) wish to take this opportunity to wish all of our participants and their families a very healthy and prosperous New Year!
On November 15th and 16th of 2022, the Board of Trustees of the IBT, held its annual meeting in conjunction with the PORAC Annual Conference and Board of Director’s meetings in San Diego, CA.
Our re-elected Trustees were sworn into office and we congratulate Trustee Bryan Hubbard of Region I, Trustee Michael Boyd of Region II, Trustee Roger Garcia of Region III and Trustee Rick Buss of Region IV on their elections to the Board of Trustees! In addition, we congratulate our Trustees on their re-elected seats on the Board: I, Trustee Richard Buss of Region IV will remain as the IBT Chairman, Trustee Bryan Hubbard of Region II will remain as the IBT Vice Chairman and Trustee Roger Garcia of Region III will remain as the IBT Treasurer. Trustee Franco Vado of Region I remains on the Board of Trustees as the re-appointed Retired Associate Member Representative. Trustees Damon Kurtz and Gary Frace also remain re-appointed Trustees by the President and PORAC Board of Directors. Congratulations to you all on your re-elected seats and appointments!
We would also like to thank outgoing Trustee Patrick Martin of Region II for his three years of hard work and dedication to the Board of Trustees and wish him the very best. Thank you, Patrick!
For years now, the IBT has been providing PORAC members with exceptional benefits designed by peace officers for peace officers. These benefits provide comprehensive coverage and affordable insurance products for our member participants.
As we move ahead into the New Year, the IBT’s sponsored Police & Fire Health Plan is happy to have survived its first year under the much-anticipated Joint Administrative Arrangement with Anthem Blue Cross. All Police & Fire Health Plan claims are now being processed in-house, ensuring a higher level of customer service with added savings to the Plan and allowing the Plan to further control administrative costs. This conversion was not without its difficulties, but the Health Plan worked closely with Anthem in resolving the hurdles encountered with taking on such an arrangement, involving the over 24,000 covered lives it insures. We thank our participants for their patience as we worked to resolve these issues.
The IBT’s Health Plan Department is now fully staffed with personnel who are fully trained to process claims and the entire Health Plan Department is available to assist members with any Health Plan issues.
The Police & Fire Health Plan provides major medical insurance for PORAC members whose employers have contracted with CalPERS for health coverage. The Police & Fire Health Plan, offered through Anthem Blue Cross, is a comprehensive 80/20 PPO health plan.
Dental and vision coverage are also offered through Delta Dental and VSP. The vision plan is available for active employees and a dental/vision package is available to our Retired Associate Members. Delta Dental offers retired members both an HMO and a PPO plan.
In addition, the IBT has also partnered with California Casualty to provide auto and homeowners insurance plans to our members. We are proud to partner with California Casualty who have been a big presence and of great assistance to our members over the years, particularly during the devastating wildfire seasons.
The IBT also provides a variety of supplemental insurance plans administered by AFLAC. These supplemental plans are designed to assist in offsetting the costs of medical expenses and pay benefits directly to the employees. The plans include Accident Advantage, Cancer Care and Hospitals Advantage plans.
As always, the IBT remains committed to providing quality products and services to all its members through our business partners and we will continue to find ways to enhance these products and services to best suit our member’s needs.
Featured in the January 2023 issue of PORAC Law Enforcement News.