Page 17 - Work Force July-August 2019

Some fun — and facts — from the CSEA Employee Benefit Fund
Westchester Medical Center reaches agreement with Empire Blue Cross
Empire Blue Cross and Westchester Medical Center Health Network have reached
a contract agreement that retroactively reinstates the network status of the Westchester Medical Center Health
Network to June 1, 2019
(no interruption in participation). The Westchester Medical Center Health Network consists
of the following facilities:
• Westchester Medical Center
• Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital
• Bon Secours – St. Anthony’s Hospital
• Bon Secours – Mercy Community Hospital
• Bon Secours – Good
Samaritan Hospital
Empire Plan claims for services received at these facilities on
or after June 1, 2019 will be processed as in-network and
will be subject to in-network co-payments, if applicable. It may
take approximately two weeks to update files
and process claims. This was a tough
negotiation and both sides stood firm on their principles. We
are grateful that it is resolved and
our membership continues to have
access to these facilities as participating hospitals.
Should members have any questions, they can reach out to the Empire Plan at 1-877-769- 7447 and select option 2 for the Hospital Program.
All of us at CSEA Employee Benefit Fund (EBF) wish you and your family a safe, happy and healthy summer!
The EBF is proud to provide comprehensive and competitive dental plans to CSEA members at the state and local government level. New York State employees, Unified Court System employees and several hundred local government units (counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts) have negotiated valuable EBF dental benefits into their contracts.
Check with your employer, refer to your contract or visit cseaebf.com and use our Benefit Search Tool to find out
exactly what benefits you
may be eligible for.
The following is a little lighthearted summer, dental- themed fun — and facts.
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Dishes.
Dishes who?
Dishes how I talk since I lost my teeth.
Q: Why did the deer need braces? A: He had buck teeth.
Did you know close to 3 million miles of dental floss is purchased each year in the United States?
Q: What do you call a bear without teeth?
A: Gummy bear.
Snails have the most teeth of any animal. The garden snail has about 14,000 teeth arranged in rows on its tongue. Other species can have up to 20,000 teeth.
Q: Why did the cell phone go to the dentist?
A: It was having trouble with its bluetooth.
The teeth of an aquatic snail, known as the limpet, are the strongest known biological material on Earth, even stronger than titanium!
Hippopotamuses have sharp canine teeth, or tusks, that are three feet long. A hippo can bite right through a small boat!
Q: At what time do people go to the dentist?
A: At tooth-hurty.
The largest teeth of any animal are an elephant’s tusks which are actually modified incisor teeth. Only
two-thirds of these teeth are visible because they are
deeply imbedded in the elephant’s skull.
The heaviest tusks ever known belonged
to the Colombian Mammoth Mammuthus columbi, weighing in at
just under 500 lbs.
Q: What does the orthodontist do on a roller coaster?
A: She braces herself.
Despite being the largest mammals in the world, blue whales have no teeth. They filter out small shrimp called krill with bristle-like baleen.
The Orca, or killer whale’s, big jaws apply an extremely powerful grip of an estimated 19,000 lbs. per square inch. A human bite exerts about 150-200 lbs. per square inch.
Be kind to your dentist. He or she has fillings, too!
Security Incidents Involving Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp
Quest and LabCorp recently reported two separate privacy incidents involving their
collections vendor, American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA).
AMCA, a third-party vendor used for patient debt collection, may have been the victim of
a malware attack, resulting in exposure of certain personal information. This information is reported to include Social Security numbers and financial data,
such as credit card information. Laboratory test results were not provided to AMCA.
This issue is limited to only those Quest and LabCorp patients who had a past due balance for lab services that were sent to AMCA for collection where the security incident occurred.
Quest and LabCorp have stated they are working closely with AMCA to determine the facts and understand which health plan members are affected.
Although these two incidents did not directly involve NYSHIP, we will continue to seek updates as additional information becomes available.
July-August 2019
The Work Force 17