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Health Service Board approves Aug. 14 minutes; Director Dodd outlines staffing, wellness and benefits issues
Summary
At its Sept. 11 meeting the Health Service Board approved the Aug. 14 minutes, recognized Director Catherine Dodd and heard her report on new hires, open enrollment readiness, analytics findings about retiree benefit eligibility under Prop B and Prop C, and an expanded wellness rollout including 16 flu clinics and more than 120 wellness 'champions.'
The Health Service Board approved the minutes of its Aug. 14, 2014 meeting and heard Director Catherine Dodd’s report on staffing, open-enrollment preparations and wellness initiatives.
Director Catherine Dodd introduced two new hires, Anthony Gann and Gabriel Jones, who will join the benefits analyst team ahead of open enrollment, and said recruiting for benefits positions drew several hundred applicants. She told the board operations and analytics have been working to ensure address and eligibility data are accurate for open enrollment.
Dodd described recent analytics work on retiree eligibility tied to two charter amendments. "We were looking at how long they had worked," she said, summarizing staff findings that analytics identified roughly 13 retirees who do not meet employer-sponsored benefit eligibility thresholds and that "about 25 of our retirees" may be affected in some way under the dependent-coverage changes tied to Prop C. She cautioned the board these are narrow, date‑dependent cohorts tied to when employees were hired and when the propositions took effect.
On wellness, Dodd said the department has trained more than 120 wellness "champions" across city departments and confirmed 16 flu-shot clinics that retirees can access. "So, we're taking this seriously here in San Francisco," she said, noting a planned well‑being assessment kickoff and a wellness-center schedule timed around open enrollment.
Dodd also reviewed comparative premium rates between Kaiser and Blue Shield in the board packet and said the department continues to work with unions and outside consultants to keep rates competitive. She reported the department submitted its fiscal year 2013–14 closeout to auditors and continues to work with KPMG on the audit.
The board asked clarifying questions about the retiree‑eligibility analysis and about how the department will present related materials to members. A commissioner reminded colleagues that recent Board of Supervisors transparency legislation asked HSS and the director to establish contractor disclosure guidance, and the board agreed to work with staff on language that will be returned in a future packet.
The meeting moved on after the report; the board will reconvene in November.
