AlaskaCare retirees can ask the state about dental, vision coverage Thursday

AlaskaCare retirees and their dependents can put questions to the Alaska Division of Retirement and Benefits on a call Thursday, Oct. 15, at 10 am. It is the last of the division's four retiree town hall calls this year, and it covers the Dental-Vision-Audio plan and open enrollment.

The plan, which covers dental, vision and hearing care, is voluntary and "funded entirely by member-paid premiums," according to the division's retiree FAQ. Those premiums rose Jan. 1. For a retiree in the defined benefit system on the plan's Standard option, coverage for the retiree alone went from $71 to $77 a month, and family coverage from $202 to $219, according to the division's enrollment page. Premiums on the Legacy option rose about 6% to 7%.

Only retirees who already have the coverage can take part in open enrollment, which lets them switch between the two options. The enrollment page lists no date for the next enrollment period. Retirees can cancel the coverage at any time, the FAQ says.

Registration for the call closes at 9 am Thursday. The division also streams the calls on its Facebook page and posts recordings about a week later.

The division cut the calls from monthly to four a year in January, Alaska News reported in August.