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The Midwestern Higher Education Compact strives to maintain communication with all of its member states. This newsletter provides higher education institutions and agencies timely information about MHEC programs and policy research and analysis. |
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| October 14, 2011 MHECare Update
The fourth in a series of articles about the new Midwest Student Health Collaborative - MHECare
Now that MHECare’s standard high and low preferred provider organization (PPO) options have been finalized, MHEC is ready to accept requests from institutions for quotations for MHECare. Plan design options available to institutions and the process to obtain a quote are explained below. The standard MHECare high or low PPO plans can be selected by institutions with less than 300 students enrolled in the plan and by institutions that do not currently offer a program. Rates for these plans will depend on whether the plan is voluntary or mandatory with waiver, but the rates will not be based on an institution’s claims experience. Institutions with more than 300 students enrolled have more options, including one of the standard MHECare high or low PPO plans, a quote for the institution's current plan, or a plan with design features tailored to the institution's student population. The cost for the plan will be underwritten based on the institution’s claim experience and utilization. To receive a quote, the first step is to obtain the Request for Quote form via Jennifer Dahlquist, MHEC's assistant vice president for cost savings and chief financial officer, at jenniferd@mhec.org. Additional information will be required if quotes are requested for more than the standard high and low plans. The additional information may include a copy of the current plan design, requested benefits, and claims experience. In addition, there is a MHECare confidentiality statement to complete. Once all of the information is received, UnitedHealthcare StudentResources will send the quotation within 10 working days. MHECare questions may be addressed to Jennifer at 612-626-1602. Register for MHEC’s annual policy summit by October 21
MHEC's 7th annual policy summit, Ready or Not Here They Come: Ensuring the College Success of All Students, will be held November 14-15 in Iowa City, Iowa. There is no registration fee for the summit, but attendance will be capped due to space limitations. Registration and the full agenda are available online. The summit will focus on three core dimensions of college readiness: academic preparation, financial literacy, and non-cognitive variables such as awareness, aspirations, motivation, and resilience. Jason Glass, state director and chief learner in the Iowa Department of Education, has been invited to welcome attendees and speak to the governor's efforts to ensure that alll Iowans are ready for postsecondary education and training upon high school graduation.
A generous grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has enabled MHEC to devote funds toward a limited number of scholarships for high school teachers and guidance counselors from the 12 MHEC states who would like to attend the summit. The scholarships will include reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses and funding for the individual’s school to help cover the costs of hiring a substitute for the two days of the summit. Individuals who are interested in the policy summit scholarship should contact Leah Reinert, MHEC policy research assistant, at leahr@mhec.org.
The Gates Foundation joins ACT, Dell Inc., Iowa Student Loan, and REL Midwest as sponsors of the policy summit. Please direct questions about the summit to Chris Rasmussen, MHEC’s vice president for research and policy analysis, at chrisr@mhec.org or 612-625-2431.
New video highlights potential savings in the area of pharmacy benefits through MHEC’s partnership with National CooperativeRx
Earlier this year, MHEC awarded National CooperativeRx a competitive bid to help higher education institutions in the compact’s member states with their pharmacy benefit costs.
As part of MHEC’s exploration into implementing regional initiatives to improve higher education productivity for universities, colleges, community colleges and technical schools that continue to face increasing costs in employee and student health care, National CooperativeRx has been selected to help control prescription drug costs. A successful pharmacy collaborative, National CooperativeRx, has been selected to administer a program to provide Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) services through a contract with CVS Caremark. Greg Horstman, CEO of WisconsinRx | National CooperativeRx, has created a short yet informative video to describe the cooperative's value and history. To view the video, click here. You'll be directed to the cooperative's website, where you can view it on their homepage.
If you or someone on your campus is looking to reduce costs in the area of pharmacy benefits, please contact Jennifer Dahlquist, assistant vice president for cost savings and chief financial officer, at 612.626.1602 or jenniferd@mhec.org; or contact National CooperativeRx directly at 1.866.679.9479 ext. 230 or mborland@wisconsinrx.com to speak with Mary Borland. MHEC welcomes 50th participant to the Master Property Program
On October 1, Washburn University officially joined MHEC's property insurance program. The program, which annually renews on July 1, welcomed the Kansas university as the 50th participating institution. Washburn University and Johnson County Community College are the two Kansas institutions currently participating in the program.
This premiere property insurance program saved participating institutions in FY11 $9.54 million in the Midwest alone and is covering more than 100 campuses with total insured values exceeding $79 billion.
The program was developed to broaden property insurance coverage, reduce program costs, and encourage improved asset protection strategies among higher education institutions. If you would like more information, please contact Rob Trembath at robt@mhec.org or at 612-624-1812.
eIQnetworks now provides security event and information management through MHEC contract
 MHEC conducted a Request for Proposals for Security Event and Information Management (SEIM) and has awarded a contract to eIQnetworks. For more information on the new contract visit http://www.mhectech.org/eiqseim. Questions may also be directed to Grant Crawford, MHEC CIO, at 612-626-6383.
MHEC Commissioner News
MHEC welcomes new commissioners: Sen. Michelle Fischbach (MN) and Dr. Steven Rosenstone, chancellor of Minnesota State Colleges. Also, MHEC welcomes Commissioner Alternate Rep. Sharon Steckman (IA).
MHEC Staff News
Administrative Assistant: MHEC is pleased to announce that Tiffany Williams-Virden joined the MHEC staff as administrative assistant on September 25. Tiffany is a student at the University of Minnesota and will complete her degree this December. She previously worked for Minnesota Senators Patricia Torres Ray and Ken Kelash.
Graduate Research Assistants: Three part-time graduate research assistants have joined the MHEC staff following the departure of full-time research associate Amber Cameron. All three are doctoral students in educational policy and administration at the University of Minnesota. Aaron Horn is a graduate of St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN (B.A.) and the University of Minnesota (M.A.). He was an English and psychology instructor in Columbia for two years before embarking on graduate studies in higher education. Leah Reinert earned bachelor and master’s degrees from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. At SIU she was a graduate assistant in the College of Education dean’s office, where she assisted with event planning, including conferences for graduating student teachers. Brad Weiner is a graduate of the University of Kansas (B.A.) and Vanderbilt University (M.Ed.). He was a graduate assistant for new student and first-year programs, and later a full-time assistant director of admissions, at Vanderbilt.
Please welcome Tiffany, Aaron, Leah, and Brad!
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To sign up for MHEC e-News or update your contact information in our database, please click HERE. Midwestern Higher Education Compact | 105 Fifth Avenue South, Suite 450 | Minneapolis, MN | 55401 Tel: (612) 677-2777 or Toll Free: 1-855-767-MHEC (6432) | Fax: (612) 767-3353 | www.mhec.org |
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