We want to improve grad employees' access what they need to improve their health and well-being during the pandemic. Toward that end we've made the following changes:

 

• Equipment Purchases will now be eligible for reimbursement up to the existing plan year (10/1/19-9/30/20) maximum of $190. Equipment must have been purchased after March 11, 2020 and be used to support health and well-being during the pandemic. Final approval is per the decision of the Trustees. Clothing and shoe purchases continue to be ineligible for reimbursement, as do massage, acupuncture, health costs, spa treatments, facials and family members’ receipts. If you already submitted a receipt for an equipment reimbursement prior to this email that was rejected as ineligible, please resubmit.

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       The Trust Fund already accepts receipts for the following eligible activities/devices which you may still be able to access during             the pandemic: weight loss programs, workout program DVDs, personal coaching/fitness tracking devices (excludes accessories             and only 1 per person per plan year), fitness apps, state & national park passes and camping fees.

 

• Special Circumstances: Individuals who have special medical or disability needs and have requested that certain adaptive programs are deemed eligible may submit requests on a case by case basis. Documentation supporting the request must be provided and final approval is per the decision of the Trustees.

 

• Extended deadline: The deadline for submission of 2019-20 receipts has been extended to July 10, 2020. The most efficient and trackable way to submit receipts is to upload them directly into your account at hwtrust.geouaw.org from the dashboard.

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• Prepaid Wellness Programs (Healing ZONE): Due to COVID‐19, the Trust Fund will offer the accommodations below to those who accepted a prepaid Healing ZONE (THZ) membership in lieu of the wellness reimbursement during 2019‐20. If the THZ membership is completely unused or only 1 session has been used, and the member has extenuating circumstances that prevent them from using it, the Trust Fund will handle each request on a case by case basis and 

i. Attempt to pass on the THZ membership to another eligible employee for either 2019‐20 or 2020‐21 per THZ agreement. 

ii. Offer the member accommodations in the following order: 

(a) Six‐month Daily Burn membership

(b) Reimbursement eligibilityᅳ$190 if the THZ membership can be used for someone else (see above)

(c) Partial Reimbursement eligibilityᅳ$95 if THZ membership cannot be used for someone else 

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• New Prepaid Memberships: Due to COVID‐19, the Trust Fund has purchased 250 prepaid 6‐month memberships to the online fitness platform, Daily Burn. The distribution policy for these memberships will be as follows: 

i. The first wave of distribution will prioritize those who have not collected any 2019‐ 20 wellness reimbursement to‐date as of May 2020. 

ii. Once that list is exhausted, the second wave of distribution should allow any eligible member to receive a prepaid Daily Burn membership if they have at least $25 remaining in their available wellness reimbursement dollars for 2019‐20. At this point, the acceptance of the Daily Burn membership will be considered as a $25 reimbursement against any total reimbursement eligibility the member has. 

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Other than the changes outlined above, all other provisions and guidelines regarding wellness benefits remain unchanged and are summarized here.