The February District Newsletter is ready for you to download. Thanks to Anna for putting this together each month.
Archive for From The District Office
Important Report Day Information: Please Read ASAP
First Download This Report Day File
There is a “blue box” on Line 216. This is the last line of the report and is the Signature Line. You must enter something in this blue box or it will not consider the data entry step ever completed. In the attached I suggest using “OK” but anything will work.
It reminds you that the data entry person now has an approval step required that they did not have last year.
Also, to allow Vital Signs entry to be done on year 2010 items, the default “Start” and “Stop” dates of the Vital Signs entry area are set to start with October 1, 2010 through 12/31/2011 instead of 1/1/2011 through 12/31/2011. This keeps the last 3 months of the prior year visible so the end of year can be done without having to reset the start and stop dates and reload.
I got a question about that messing up the report day carry over, but it does not cause problems. Both the Transformation survey and Report Day report pull from Vital Signs, but each report knows it’s start and stop date for it’s reporting period and uses that to pull the correct data regardless of what you have displayed in Vital Signs entry. If they want to know what is being transferred to the report, they will need to set the display of Vital Signs to be 1/1/2010 to 12/31/2010 and do the “Reload Data” to see what is actually being transferred to the reports. Right now the default covers 15 months of vital signs and the totals at the bottom are for the full 15 months but that is not what the reports receive, the reports pull the correct calendar year entries that apply to the report. If the report did not know what to pull, we would not be able to go back and display a report from an old year and show correct numbers.
If any of this leads to any questions, please call.
Report Day Instructions
Report Day for 2010 end of year reports is Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at Ore City FUMC from 9:00-11:30 a.m. Please download the Report Day 2011 packet to find the best way for you to submit your Report Day information.
Open House and District Christmas Party Information
December 11 will be the Open House at new District Office: Longview Location 10am-12PM and the Clergy Christmas Party will be at Greggton UMC from 12PM to 2 PM.
Do You Have Unclaimed Property
If each church will go to www.claimittexas.org and enter the name of their church and or members, they might just find a lot of money residing with the state comptrollers office in the Unclaimed Property section. I’ve found thousands of dollars for folks this way and just this morning, I find that FUMC Longview has $75.11 and FUMC Marshall has $209.56. There were unclaimed funds for 125 churches named First United Methodist Church. There are many more listed under United Methodist Church. So, If the churches will just do a little checking, they can get some unknown funds for the price of a postage stamp. Thanks, Dave Avis
Advantages Added to TAC Group Health Plan
Pastors
If you are having a procedure please email Lydia (fay1@methodists.net) the following information.
Name of employee.
Name of the individual having the procedure.
Name of Hospital.
Date for the service.
This will help in providing ETMC the information and also our participants can get the benefits TAC and ETMC have agreed on.
Thank you,
Lydia
Important Deductible Information from ETMC and TXAC
The Group Health Benefits Committee is pleased to announce that the East Texas Medical Center Hospitals have agreed to support The Texas Annual Conference by not collecting deductibles and coinsurance from actively-at-work clergy (and their dependents) enrolled in the Group Health Benefits Program1. This arrangement applies to both inpatient and outpatient claims with admission dates of February 1, 2010 or later.
To find the hospital closest to you in East Texas, go to your PPO Web site (the PPO listed on your identification card) and search for the ETMC hospital participating in your PPO. Please note that the ETMC hospital in Tyler is not in either PPO.
Below are the PPO Web sites―check your identification card to determine which PPO you participate in:
HealthSmart – www.healthsmart.net 800-687-0500
Multi-Plan (Previously PHCS) – www.multiplan.com 888-719-7427
Please note that hospital bills and doctor bills are separate. While the Hospital has agreed not to collect deductibles and coinsurance, doctors will still collect deductibles and co-insurance. This arrangement is similar to the arrangement that the Texas Annual Conference has enjoyed with The Methodist Hospital for years. The big difference is ETMC facilities are located throughout East Texas.
If you choose to use an ETMC hospital, there is nothing you need to do except identify yourself as a Texas Annual Conference Group Health Plan participant. When the hospital receives payment from Boon Chapman, the hospital will simply not collect the deductible and out of pocket amounts from you. (The benefits office has already provided the ETMC participating hospitals with a copy of the Boon Chapman EOB).
The Group Health Benefits Committee hopes you find this arrangement helps you minimize your cost on the PPO program.
1 Retirees are not eligible due to Medicare rules and regulations.
Texas Annual Conference 2010 Pre-registration
Attention clergy, clergy spouses and laity delegates to the Texas Annual Conference. (Guests and non delegate laity do not need to register)
Pre-Registration is now open for Annual Conference 2010. Register early to indicate your preferred format of the Pre-Conference Journal.
To Register:
1. Contact the district office to obtain our district password. (Contact info)
2. Go to this link and when asked enter the password.
3. Follow the rest of the steps on the site.
The deadline for pre-registration will be May 15th at 12:00 noon (central time). After this point the system will be closed and cannot be reopened.
For additional information about this year’s event, lodging, and relevant forms, please go to www.txcumc.org/2010acforms.
RSVP Needed for District Clergy Retreat Meals Also
We originally posted that you only needed to RSVP with Lonna if you were staying overnight at the retreat. For planning purposes, however, we also need a count for meals. If you will be attending the Clergy District Retreat either overnight or coming for the day please let Lonna know so she can have a correct count for meals as well as overnight accommodations. 903-794-6231
Register for District Clergy Retreat
District Clergy Retreat at Lake View Baptist Retreat Center in Lone Star, Texas. February 1 at 9 am through February 2 at noon. Guest Speaker wil be Gil Rendle. There will be $75 fee for overnighters and a $40 fee for commuters. Flat rates. No breakdown for meals or anything else. Please RSVP for overnighters with Lonna Nunn in the Texarkana Office 794-6231.
