PUBLIC EMPLOYEES BENEFIT TRUST (PEBT) BENEFITS REPORT
March-April 2007

Notify PacFed Within 30 Days When You Have a Baby or New Child

Starting a family is a part of life and your medical benefits are designed to keep your young ones healthy until they are mature.

If you family is expecting a baby or adopts a child (including placement for adoption), give PacFed a call at 1-800-753-0222.

A PacFed representative will be happy to assist you in completing a new Add/Change Enrollment Form which should be filled out and returned with a copy of the birth certificate or adoption papers to the PacFed office.

You must contact PacFed within 30 days of the birth of a new baby in order to assure that they are covered. Don't wait and don't assume PacFed will find out from someone else.

By notifying PacFed yourself, you will assure that your child is properly added to your existing medical plan.

Don't assume that after the blessed event, your doctor or hospital will report the birth of your child to your health plan. It doesn't always work that way.

Your new baby is automatically covered by your medical benefits fort the first 30 days only.

On day 31, if you have not notified PacFed or your health plan of the new addition to your family, your new child will not be covered - not for well-baby care, not for sick-baby care, not for immunizations, not for anything.

Your and your family have wonderful medical benefits. Just take the one simple step of informing PacFed that there's a new member of your family and all of you will be covered.

Alcohol is a drug. It is the one drug that is generally acceptable today as part of our way of life.

Because it is widely available and drinking is a legal social custom, the potential for abuse and dependence is high.

Signs of a drinking problem include:
• Compulsive alcohol consumption;
• Continued use despite adverse consequences (such as the repeated concerns of loved ones, the loss of a job, credit problems, etc);
• Loss of control and an increase or decrease in tolerance for alcohol.

More than 10 million Americans are problem drinkers. Anyone can be an alcoholic. More and more regular people are diagnosed with the serious condition of alcohol dependence every day.

Pregnant women should be particularly concerned. The U.S. Surgeon General Advises pregnant women not to consume any alcohol whatsoever. That's because the alcohol passes through the placenta and into the fetus. If the mother gets drunk, so does the developing child.

Drinking among teenagers and young adults presents a serious mental health risk to that age group as well as posing a grave physical risk. A recent study by the National Highway Transportation Administration found that alcohol related crashes are the number one cause of death in the 15-25 age group.

Denial is a major symptom of alcoholism. Others, who are close to those affected, are often the first to notice behavior changes and suspect something is wrong.

If alcohol is interfering with your life, there are things you can do to get help. The first step is to call your doctor for referral information. There are several organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous, among others, that can help. Be sure to seek help.