Member Update

December 23 , 2008 – We at the State Health Plan would like to wish all of our members a happy and healthy holiday season. The start of the New Year provides an excellent opportunity for all of us to focus on making the small changes that lead to better health: Eating a balanced, nutritious diet, committing to an exercise program and making sure we make routine preventive care a priority.

The State Health Plan continues to focus on cost savings initiatives aimed at lessening the budget shortfall, along with our ongoing commitment to improving member health status.

The October Financial Report is now available. Highlights include:

  1. The ending cash balance for October was $87.4 million, which exceeded the projection by $70.1 million. (See line 34, columns A, B and C of the financial status report for the recasted budget.)
  2. Although expenses continue to exceed income, the Plan’s year to date net loss at the end of October is only $52.3 million, compared with the projection of $122.4 million. (See line 28, columns D, E and F.)

Although much of the difference between the projected budget and actual experience is the result of the timing of various payments, overall the Plan’s financial results are slightly better than expectations, through October. The Plan will continue to closely monitor actual financial performance compared to projections in order to determine whether this trend is likely to continue.

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Be sure to review your copy of the 2009 Preferred Drug List and the PharmacyWise newsletter, which were recently mailed to all State Health Plan members. The convenient, pocket-sized Preferred Drug List details the copayments for prescription drugs, effective January 1, 2009. Please be sure to take your Preferred Drug List each time you visit your provider or pharmacy.

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On behalf of the State Health Plan, we wish you happy holidays and a healthy New Year.





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