Vision health is an important aspect of your overall health, and it’s particularly important if you are spending a lot of time in front of your electronic devices!

If you are spending too much time staring at a blue screen, it can cause serious eye strain.

When you spend too much time looking at your device screens, you tend to blink less, and the screen movement and text size cause your eyes to strain as our eyes work to focus.

According to WebMD, “experts think digital eyestrain, or computer vision syndrome as the condition is now referred to, affects about 50% of computer users.” ¹ This does not only apply to those who work in front of a computer, but to those who spends a great deal of time staring at their devices for too long, including children.

The symptoms of computer vision syndrome include dry, irritated eyes and blurred vision.

According to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, “there is evidence that shows that blue light can cause permanent vision changes and may increase the risk of macular degeneration, a disease of the retina.” ^{2, 3}

It’s recommended if you spend a lot of time in front of your device screens to take certain steps to protect your vision and give your eyes a rest to relieve any strain you may be placing on your vision.

Consider the following tips from eye experts:

• Adjust the lighting on your screens. Make sure that your device screens are not brighter than the surrounding light so that your eyes do not strain to see.
• Give your eyes a break. “The American Ophthalmological Society recommends using the 20-20-20 rule to reduce eye strain. Take a break every 20 minutes by looking at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds.” ⁴
• Keep your eyes moist. Consider using eye drops to lubricate your eyes when they feel dry.
• Keep your distance. Keep your screen at an arm’s length distance from your eyes and adjust the angle of the screen if you need to move your focus slightly downward.
• Reduce glare. Adjust your screen so that there is no glare from sunlight or internal light, as glare can further aggravate your vision.
• Use blue light filters. Blue light filters can decrease the amount of blue light emanating from a screen to your eyes to prevent eye fatigue.
• Annual eye exam. Getting an annual eye exam to determine if any chronic eye conditions are developing is crucial to your vision health. ⁵

The IBT’s vision plan benefit, offered through VSP, provides our members excellent service and access to eye doctors, affordable well vision care and quality eyewear and products, including:

• Annual eye exam fully covered after $10 copay
• Access to the VSP doctor network
• $150 frame allowance on top brand eyeglasses and/or $150 allowance for contact lenses
• 20% savings on additional glasses and sunglasses
• 15% savings on contact lens fitting exams
• Reduced prices on LASIK

If you are already enrolled in the IBT’s sponsored VSP insurance plan, using your VSP benefits is easy! Just create an account at vsp.com and view your available benefits, file a claim to request reimbursement and find a network or out-of-network doctor in your area. No ID card is necessary to schedule an appointment, but if you prefer to have an ID card, you can print one online. Visit vsp.com for other special offers and savings!

All retired PORAC RAM members and active employees whose associations are enrolled in the IBT’s sponsored VSP plan are eligible for vision insurance benefits. New subscribers must enroll during the annual open enrollment period. For additional information, contact the Insurance and Benefits Trust of PORAC at (800) 655-6397 or visit our Vision page.

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Featured in the May 2022 issue of PORAC Law Enforcement News.

<sup>1. Helmer, J. (2020, October 03) “Seeing Blue: How Blue Light Can Affect Your Health” WebMD. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/blue-light-health ↩
2. Ibid. ↩
3. “Ultra-violet and Blue Light Aggravate Macular Degeneration.” American Macular Degeneration Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.macular.org/ultra-violet-and-blue-light ↩
4. UPMC Susquehanna. (2019, January 6) “Is Screen Time Really Bad for Our Eyes?” UPMC HealthBeat. Retrieved from https://share.upmc.com/2019/01/screen-time/ ↩
5. Ibid. ↩</sup>

There’s an old saying: “Needing insurance is like needing a parachute – if it isn’t there the first time, chances are you won’t be needing it again.”

While most people don’t consider life insurance until later, the best time to buy it is early on. Life Insurance can be confusing, and it’s hard to know what you really need or want. But there are three very good reasons why you need life insurance.

As we grow older, get married and build families, we come to realize more and more that life insurance is a fundamental part of having a sound financial plan. Depending on your type of policy, life insurance is fairly cheap, which means there’s no excuse not to get coverage now. Plus, over the years, you’ll find comfort in knowing money will be available to protect your loved ones in the event of your passing. Here are a few other reasons why having life insurance is important.

TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY AND LOVED ONES

If your loved ones depend on your financial support for their livelihood, then life insurance is a must because it replaces your income when you die. This is especially important for parents of young children or adults who would find it difficult to sustain their standard of living if they no longer had access to the income provided by their partner. You will also need to provide enough money to cover the costs of hiring someone to cover the day-to-day household tasks, like cleaning, laundry, cooking, childcare and everything else a growing family may need.

In addition to providing income to cover everyday living expenses, your family needs insurance to cover any outstanding debts, like the mortgage, credit cards and car loans. Other expenses include funeral and burial costs that can easily run into the tens of thousands of dollars. You don’t want your spouse, parents, children or other loved ones to be left with any extra financial burden in addition to the emotional burden they’re already suffering.

TO ADD MORE FINANCIAL SECURITY

Like most parents, you probably want to know your kids will be well taken care of when you’re gone. You not only want them to get a quality college education, but you also want to provide for other life ventures like getting married or starting a business. For this reason, additional coverage is absolutely essential while your kids are still at home.

TO BRING PEACE OF MIND

We can’t know when we’ll pass away. It could be today, tomorrow or 50 years from now, but it will happen eventually. No amount of money could ever replace a person, but more than anything, life insurance can help provide protection for the uncertainties in life. Without a doubt, having life insurance coverage will bring you and your family peace of mind. It’s one thing you can be sure of, and you’ll no longer have to question whether they’ll be taken care of when you’re gone. Life insurance protects your loved ones from the unknown and helps them through an otherwise difficult time of loss.

The Insurance and Benefits Trust of PORAC’s Group Life Insurance Program is provided to assist you in financially protecting your loved ones and to give you the peace of mind of knowing that should something happen to you, they will be taken care of. For more information, please contact our Plan Administrator, Myers-Stevens & Toohey at (800) 827-4695 or PORAC@myers-stevens.com.

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Featured in the April 2022 issue of PORAC Law Enforcement News.

The Insurance and Benefits Trust of PORAC (IBT) sponsors specialized supplemental insurance plans through Aflac, providing members with access to coverage such as Accident Advantage, Cancer Protection Assurance, Aflac Hospital Choice, and Critical Care Protection. These plans are available to PORAC members to assist with unexpected expenses not covered by major medical insurance plans. All these plans will pay cash benefits directly to the member to assist with out-of-pocket costs.

Aflac’s Accident Advantage plans help cover accidental injury related expenses like emergency treatment, hospital stays and physical therapy, and follow-up visits, as well as other expenses like transportation and lodging, should a member be away from home when treatment is needed.

Aflac’s Critical Care Protection plan provides peace of mind should you experience a serious health event or need hospitalization. This plan provides financial assistance should you experience a serious health event, such as a heart attack or stroke. This plan pays subscribers a lump-sum benefit upon diagnosis of a covered event, with additional benefits payable for things such as a hospital confinement, intensive care unit confinement, ambulance, transportation, lodging, and therapies.

The Cancer Protection Assurance plan was developed to provide members with cash benefits during covered cancer treatments and can help protect members’ income and savings from expenses that are not covered by major medical insurance, including deductibles and co-pays, experimental cancer treatments, and transportation and lodging, to name just a few of the 30 separate ways this plan can help during a cancer illness.

The Hospital Advantage Plan is a hospital-confinement indemnity insurance policy that provides cash benefits to members. Benefits are paid regardless of any other insurance members may have. This policy is customizable based on individual or family needs and is compatible with other AFLAC plans.

In 2021, Aflac paid a total of 5,037 claims to PORAC members with paid benefits totaling $1,311,484. For more information on Aflac-sponsored products, call (858) 344-4331 or visit the website at Aflac.com/PORAC to review detailed plan information and enroll in any of these products.

If you are interested in any other benefits provided by the IBT, such as the health plan (Anthem Blue Cross PPO), dental, vision, short-term disability, life insurance and AD&D insurance or home and auto coverage, please contact Customer Service at (800) 655-6397.

As always, the Insurance and Benefits Trust of PORAC remains committed to providing quality products and services to all members through our business partners.

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Featured in the March 2022 issue of PORAC Law Enforcement News

People across the nation are getting a shock when they open up their annual auto or home insurance renewal letters – rates are going up. Some are seeing modest increases while others are seeing a significant jump in rates. Premiums are going up even if you haven’t had an accident, moving violation or claim.

So, what’s up (besides rates)?

New technology has also escalated the cost of repairs, even in minor auto accidents. It used to take a few hundred dollars to fix a bumper or a back hatch after a rear-end collision. But now, thanks to cameras and driving sensors, the same repair can cost thousands of dollars. Add to that the lack of availability and increase cost of materials, along with the rise in legal, labor, and medical costs, and many insurers have been forced to raise their rates to make up for the losses.

Here are seven things you can do that may lower your auto insurance premiums:

1. Keep a clean driving record. Insurance companies look at your driving experience and how well you drive. The fewer tickets and accidents that you have, the better rate you are likely to receive.
2. Increase your deductibles. Sure, the amount you will pay will be a little more if something happens to your vehicle, but the amount you’ll save each month could be substantial, especially if you are incident-free for a number of years. Just make sure you have an emergency fund to cover that higher deductible.
3. Check for good driver/good student discounts. If you’ve been accident free, most insurance companies will give you a good driver discount, but make sure you tell them. The same goes for students with good grades.
4. Check insurance costs when buying a new vehicle. If you are planning on purchasing a new car or truck, research what it could do to your insurance. Depending on numerous criteria, including the power of the engine, the model’s safety rating and the loss history of that particular vehicle, your rates could change. A good place to check is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety – Highway Loss Data Institute’s vehicle safety ratings. It’s also a good idea to contact your insurance company and ask them what buying that dream car, SUV, or truck will cost you in future insurance premiums.
5. Cut your driving. Ride a bike, take mass transit or move closer to where you work. How many miles you drive each year can affect your auto insurance rates; the less you drive, the greater the possible discount.
6. Get a policy review. Has your commute changed? Did you install a security device? Did you get married? Did a traffic ticket come off your record? All of these can lower the rate you pay for insurance. Talking with your insurance advisor at least once a year is the best way to make sure you get the discounts you’re entitled to.
7. Compare your current insurance to California Casualty. They are a 108-year-old policyholder-owned company. California Casualty offers auto and homeowner/renters insurance with competitive rates, award winning service, and policies that reflect your professional lifestyle with benefits through your PORAC membership not available to the general public:
• Reduced deductibles for vandalism or accidents that occur when your vehicle is parked at work
• Personal property damaged or lost in a collision, fire or taken from your car is covered up to $500
• Rates guaranteed for a full year (not six months)
• Free identity theft protection with each policy
• Multiple payment options including EZ Pay and holiday or summer skips
• Superior customer service –with high satisfaction ratings, seen here.

You might be surprised at the savings and all the benefits that you qualify for. Contact a California Casualty advisor today by calling toll-free at (833) 989-0551 or vising California Casualty.

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Featured in the February 2022 issue of PORAC Law Enforcement News.

Information for this article was sourced from the Insurance Information Institute, seen here.

The Trustees and Staff of the Insurance and Benefits Trust of PORAC (IBT) want to take this opportunity to wish all members and their families a very healthy and prosperous New Year!

On November 20, 2021, the Board of Trustees of the IBT held its annual meeting in conjunction with the PORAC Board of Director’s meeting in Monterey. The newly elected Trustees were sworn into office, and congratulations go to Trustee Dave Wilson of Region I, Trustee Steve Latham of Region II and Trustee Dustin Bruzee of Region IV on their election to the Board of Trustees! In addition, congratulations are extended to the Trustees on their newly elected seats on the Board: Trustee Richard Buss of Region IV is the new IBT Chairman, Trustee Bryan Hubbard of Region II is the IBT Vice Chairman and Trustee Roger Garcia of Region III is the IBT Treasurer. Trustee Franco Vado of Region I remains on the Board of Trustees as the newly appointed Retired Associate Member Representative. Damon Kurtz and Gary Frace also remain appointed Trustees by the President and PORAC Board of Directors. Congratulations to you all! The IBT thanks you for your hard work and dedication!

The trustees all look forward to serving the IBT and are committed to continuing the work of the IBT in providing exceptional benefits to our PORAC members. 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 are affordable for our members.

As we move ahead into the New Year, the IBT’s sponsored Police & Fire Health Plan also announces its much anticipated move into a joint administrative arrangement with Anthem Blue Cross. In this arrangement, all claims processing will now be done in-house, starting January 1, 2022. Processing claims in-house will ensure a higher level of customer service with added savings to the Plan and will allow the IBT to further control administrative costs.

The IBT’s Health Plan Department is now fully staffed with personnel who will be fully trained to process claims, and the entire Health Plan Department is available to assist members with any Health Plan issues.

The IBT is very excited to enter into this new arrangement to enhance the Police & Fire Health Plan’s services. The Police & Fire Health Plan provides major medical insurance for PORAC members whose employers have contracted with CalPERS for health coverage. Offered through Anthem Blue Cross, it is a comprehensive 80/20 PPO health plan.

As always, the IBT remains committed to providing quality products and services to all its members through their business partners, and will continue to find ways to enhance these products and services to best suit members’ needs.

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Featured in the January 2022 issue of PORAC Law Enforcement News.