OLA#: 016-03E

LEGISLATIVE ANALYST REPORT

TO: Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors

FROM: Office of the Legislative Analyst

DATE: June 6, 2003

SUBJECT:Employee Suggestion #188: Eliminate Publication of the Total Wellness Newsletter

EMPLOYEE SUGGESTION

Enrollees in the City Health Plan receive a monthly newsletter titled Total Wellness. The employee suggests, in an effort to reduce city expenditures that the newsletter be discontinued.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Total Wellness newsletter is authorized under the City Charter and mandated by the Health Services Board. The City Health Plan trust account and not general funds support the newsletter, therefore, eliminating this activity would save no general funds. However, the Board representative to the Health Services Board, Supervisor Daly, may wish to have the board review the value of the newsletter and/or consider reducing the size or the frequency of distribution. In addition, the department could allocate the $65,000 in funds to improve existing services.

ANALYSIS & RECOMMENDATION

The City Charter states in Section 8A423 Revisions in Schedules and Compensation, that the "The health service board shall have the responsibility to obtain and disseminate information to its members with regard to plan benefits and costs thereof." With this authority the Health Services Board has instituted a monthly newsletter titled Total Wellness as a communication tool that is mailed to each enrollee in the City Health Plan. The newsletter is contracted out to Rutherford Publishing, of Waco,Texas to publish 8,500 copies and mail an eight page, color newsletter per month to City Health Plan enrollees. Two pages of the newsletter are reserved for department usage, the other six pages are industry related health information provided by Rutherford Publishing. The Total Wellness newsletter is funded from the City Health Plan trust account (contributions from enrollees and the city) at a cost of $65,000 per year or .526 cents per each issue.

The Total Wellness newsletter is authorized under the City Charter and mandated by the Health Services Board. The City Health Plan trust account and not general funds support the newsletter, therefore, eliminating this activity would save no general funds. However, as a member of the Health Services Board Supervisor Daly may wish to have the board review the value of the newsletter and/or consider reducing the size or the frequency of distribution. In addition, the department could allocate the $65,000 in funds to other services.