MESILLA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION
S E P T E M B E R - O C T O B E R
WITH
WITH
2016
V O L U M E
1 4 . I S S U E
“WAKE UP
DETERMINATION . GO TO BED
SATISFACTION . ”
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1 4 .
Employee News
S E P T E M B E R - O C T B E R .
V O L U M E
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE: Insider Letter
2
Health Benefits
6
Halloween
8
SmartWay
10
Golf Tournament
12
Foghat Concert
14
Border Brew News
16
MVT Store
18
Speedway
20
Editor Letter
21
Steve York
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4
Melissa Sneed -
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I S S U E 5 . 1 4
VOLUME
14
ISSUE
14
Written by Emily Roof
Steve York, You’ll Always PAGE
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PAGE 4
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s Have a Place in MVT’s Heart
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Steve York, We EMPLOYEE
NEWS
you!
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MVT is committed to providing a competitive and comprehensive benefit package to our employees. We continually look for benefits that support our employees, reflect the latest legislative requirements, and keep us competitive in the marketplace. We are pleased to provide this preview of our 2017 Benefits changes so be sure to read about the changes in greater detail in the benefits communications coming your way in the next few weeks. As an organization, we are fortunate that the costs of many of our benefits operated at the insurer’s expected levels and below national trends. This means that there will be no premium or out-of-pocket expense increases for Dental, Vision, Supplemental Life Insurance, or Supplemental AD&D Coverage. Unfortunately, our medical costs did not fare as well. We all know that health care costs are rising, and with the addition of government mandated health benefits, MVT has been forced to reevaluate our current health insurance package. Our Medical Base Plan has been the cornerstone of our benefits plan, but the costs to continue providing this important benefit to all employees has required some plan changes. After reviewing many options, we decided to increase copays for office visits and prescription drugs, by $5 each. We have also adjusted the Emergency Room copay and InNetwork deductible by $500. We will also be increasing Employee premiums by 10% beginning in 2017. Making these changes allows MVT to off-set the skyrocketing costs. Given all these challenges, I am pleased to announce a new Medical plan that will give you a powerful option to off-set these increases. Beginning in 2017, we will begin offering a new High Deductible Plan with substantially reduced premiums. The costs for Employee Only coverage will be $10 per week. We are also introducing a new Health Savings Account to allow you to take control of your Health Insurance needs. We are also moving the Medical Plans to a 4 tier premium structure. The current plan only offers Employee and Employee+Family options. Beginning in 2017, MVT will offer additional premium tiers for Employee+Children and Employee+Spouse. PAGE 6
This year, our annual Open Enrollment will begin Monday, October 31st and end Friday, December 2nd. Your opportunity to make changes to your elected benefits will not begin until this date. Enrollment in or changes to all benefit plans will be completed using our Colonial Partners. Please watch for additional postings about the dates and times for your location. As a reminder, Annual Enrollment is the one time each year you are allowed to make changes to your MVT benefits. It is also the designated time to make elections under the new Health Savings Account. Once Open Enrollment ends, you are not allowed to make mid-year changes to any benefits other than your 401(k) contribution percent without proof that you have experienced a qualified change in family status. If you elect to enroll or continue coverage in the MVT Health plan, you will receive a new identification card in the mail by early January, 2017. Please make sure your address information is current in the system to ensure this important information reaches you timely. We will be publishing a comparison of all the election choices for this Open Enrollment in the next few weeks.
Thank you,
Greg Ginger HR Director
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PUMPKIN CARVING
CONTEST
at
MVT Las Cruces Office &
MVT EL Paso Office
First Place: $50 gift card
Second Place: $25 gift card Third Place: $15 gift card
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Tuesday, November 8th
PAGE 12
2016 Golf Tournament “Fore our Homeless Heroes” Thank you!
Written by Alex Valenzuela
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...take it easy
The Foghat concert has come and gone
but it has left me with an unforgettable experience!
Written by Cassidy Lee
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NEWS
2701 W Amador Ave. #2, Las Cruces, NM 88005
Book of the Month
The
Corner
Reviewed by Alexandra Valenzuela
Joann Ortiz PAGE 16
BORDER BREW
NEWS
NEWS
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11
2701 W Amador Ave. #2, Las Cruces, NM 88005
New Season: New Flavors
REVIEWS
“Stopped in this morning. Best Caramel Macchiato ever!!”
-Kelly MorrisGonzales
“Great Spot!! Customer Service is awesome. :-)” -Ara Ramirez
COME VISIT! -
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Store
9525 Escobar Drive El Paso, TX
Monday-Friday
9:00am-3:00pm PAGE 18
915.791.4000 EXT. 2295
PAGE 20
Letter from the Editor
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VOICE
ECHO
Cassidy Lee
Making the Difference Everyday
The MVT Way