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Disability Insurance Cheaper For Employees In 2012

Rates to drop between 6 to 13 percent

As a nurse case manager for Medicaid patients, Shannon Wade sees plenty of patients suffering from long-term illnesses and injuries. That's one of the reasons she signed up for disability benefits when she joined Duke in September. "I just wanted to be prepared in case I had an illness or something unexpected happened," said Wade, who works in Henderson with Community Care of North Carolina, which is managed by the Duke Division of Community Health. Beginning in January 2012, the cost of providing financial protection through Duke's voluntary disability benefits will become an even better value with rates dropping between 6 to 13 percent. Duke offers a voluntary short-term and long-term disability plan that helps protect an employee's income in the event of a disability, providing a measure of financial security for employees and their families. Short-term disability provides up to 60 percent of an employee's weekly base salary to a maximum weekly benefit of $2,885 after being out on a disability for four weeks, time which can be covered with accrued sick leave or time off. The maximum benefit period for short-term disability varies for university and health system employees.     Duke's voluntary long-term disability plan provides financial support for a more extended period for employees with less than three years of full-time continuous service. The plan replaces up to 60 percent of an employee's base salary to a maximum monthly benefit of $12,500. After an eligible employee has three years of continuous service, he or she automatically qualifies for the Duke Disability Plan, which provides the same monetary benefit and is funded entirely by Duke. Premium rates for the voluntary disability plans are adjusted annually each year based an individual's age as of January 1 and any changes in annual base salary as of November. Specific rates, worksheets and additional information about Duke's disability benefits can be found on the Duke Human Resources website.     Employees with questions about these premium changes or enrollment should contact MGIS, Duke's plan administrator, at 1-800-969-6447, ext. 175, or call the Human Resources Information Center at 919-684-5600.