| SCDA Member Benefits Group E-news
May 15, 2009 |
| Insurance Rates DROPPING!?!? |
Believe it or not, that is not a typo! How often do you see insurance companies actually lower their rates? The South Carolina Patients Compensation Fund (SC PCF) has recently dropped their rates on most of their coverages and the decrease goes up to as much as 8.6%! The South Carolina Joint Underwriting Association (SC JUA) recently reviewed their rates for the upcoming year as well and will have no rate increases themselves.
The SC JUA and SC PCF are the two companies your dental association has teamed up with to bring you Professional Liability coverage for not only you, but your staff and practice as well. You may have heard me discuss in the past the many reasons we partnered with these companies such as the more than 30 years experience they have operating within our great state or perhaps you've heard me mention that fellow SCDA members sit on the boards of both groups.
"My professional liability insurance has been provided through the SCDA for years now, for many reasons ranging from cost to service, but the primary reason is my knowing that I can focus on the profession of dentistry while resting assured I'm in good hands." - Lee Gardner, Past President
"When researching malpractice insurance, I asked myself, "Who can I trust with this important coverage?" Once I learned that the SCDA offered this coverage and that fellow association members sit on the boards of the carriers they worked with, I knew my best interest would be of foremost importance." - Jill Colson, Committee on the New Dentist Chair
This rate reduction is great news especially considering our current economy. If you do not presently have your malpractice insurance through the SCDA, call us at 800-327-2598 to see what we can do for you. This coverage renews for most dentists during the months of May - July, so now is the best time to see how much you can save. You can also send Deanna an e-mail at ski@scda.org | |
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| Credit Card Processing Fees - REMINDER |
If you are processing credit cards with TransFirst Health Services within your practice you will notice an extra charge on your May statement and future statements. You may recall seeing a notice referring to these fees on your March and April statements. This charge is to extend to you $50,000 in security breach coverage to help protect your practice against expensive fines and associated costs in the event of a data security breach. The monthly fee for this is $6.95 and you can opt out if you already have this coverage through an insurance policy or some other form of coverage. You can also opt out if you simply would prefer not to have this coverage in place by contacting TransFirst at 1-800-543-5327. |
| Why You Should Travel With MedjetAssist |
This year more than 405 million Americans will embark on journeys. They will take 25 million flights and more than 590 million vehicles to get there. They will arrive in 77 countries and 6.5 million cities, eat in 8.1 million restaurants, and sleep in more than 40 million hotels.
Among those who are traveling internationally, one out of every 30 of these journeys will be tragically interrupted. Additionally, domestic and international medical emergencies will hospitalize an estimated 13.5 million travelers. The majority of these travelers will find themselves unprepared, frightened and alone. But the lucky ones, those who are members of MedjetAssist, will find a calm path through the chaos.
As a member of Medjet you have a global network - available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - all working together to counter the odds of catastrophe. With its hospital of choice air-medical evacuation and repatriation membership program, Medjet provides the utmost in peace of mind protection for travelers.
Medical emergencies can strike anytime, anywhere. If one should interrupt your next journey make sure that you have a plan in place that will get you back to your home hospital, friends, family; make sure that you have a Medjet membership.
Medjet is a worldwide medical evacuation and repatriation membership program operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on an annual membership basis. If a Medjet member is hospitalized more than 150 miles from their primary residence, either in the U.S. or abroad, they will be medically transported to the hospital of their choice. To accomplish this, Medjet utilizes a global fleet of authorized affiliates who provide medically equipped & staffed aircraft, permanently configured as mobile intensive care units. The services are completely bedside to bedside and inclusive of all medical care including ground transportation. A Medjet membership also includes ongoing monitoring of members' medical condition, status communications & translation assistance for foreign medical reports.
What makes Medjet unique in comparison to the medical evacuation portion of most standard travel/medical insurance, typical assistance plans or platinum card benefits? Here are the key answers:
· Medjet provides medical evacuation and transport services to the member's home hospital or hospital of their choice virtually anywhere in the world...NOT just to the "nearest appropriate hospital."
· Medjet transport criteria does not have requirements stipulating critical or life-threatening illness or injury. The protected member merely requires inpatient status.
· Medjet is an annual membership program with no monetary limit to its benefits. Domestic medical evacuation services normally average $20,000 to $35,000 while international transports can easily exceed $100,000. As a Medjet member, the membership fee is the only expenditure to the member for complete domestic and international protection.
· Medjet has no health questions up to age 75 and no pre-existing condition exclusions.
· Medjet has no claim forms, co-payments, deductibles or waiting periods.
As an SCDA member, Medjet's already affordable peace of mind comes at a significant discount. With your SCDA discount, Medjet's Short-Term Memberships start as low as $85 and Annual Memberships start as low as $190 (normally $250). Sign up for your membership today at www.medjet.com/scda.
"I have had a Family Membership with Medjet since April of 2006. Fortunately I have never had to use their services thus far; however, the peace of mind that the membership gives us when we travel has been invaluable. It truly is a good feeling knowing that Medjet is there if an unexpected medical emergency should arise while we are far from home."
- Thomas Edmonds, SCDA Secretary-Treasurer Elect |
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Swine Flu...What's Next? |
Illness in the workplace can cause your office plenty. From lost productivity, to absent employees, germs can affect your bottom line. Keep your office healthy and strong. Protect your employees from germs and illness by providing disinfectants, sanitizers, and soaps. Staples is ready to help you invest in your employees' wellness and improve your office efficiency. Staples offers SCDA Members thousands of products at discounted rates including products such as janitorial, maintenance and break room supply products to help keep common office areas clean, sanitized and protected and to keep your break room areas stocked with all of the essentials. In addition, all of these products can be purchased and billed with your normal office supply order when you order on StaplesLink.com or through your Staples Business Advantage representative-Kristina Octaviano-803-394-0814. Check out their website at http://www.staplesadvantage.com/scda/ | |
As always, contact me at 1-800-327-2598, ext. 100 with any questions or visit us at www.scda.org
Sincerely,
Mark K. Brown
SCDA Member Benefits Group Manager |
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