MEDICAL

SmartCare Plus Option (legacy ADVO associates only)

SmartCare Plus, a consumer-driven health plan, allows you to be a partner in making informed decisions regarding your health care in an effort to control costs for both Valassis and you. Your per pay period associate contribution is low, meaning you pay primarily for health care services that you utilize.

There are three levels of coverage under the SmartCare Plus plan: A health reimbursement account (HRA) that is funded by Valassis, a deductible, and base medical benefits. Preventive care and prescription coverage are covered separately.

The SmartCare Plus Plan will be re-designed as a Health Savings Account Plan for 2009 and offered to all Valassis associates.

The HRA Fund

• At the beginning of each plan year, Valassis allocates a fund to help you pay for medical expenses covered by the plan ($500 for individual coverage, $1,000 for associate plus one and family coverage).
• Use your fund to pay for eligible health care expenses, up to the fund amount.
• Stretch your fund dollars by shopping for the most cost-effective care and services, just as you manage your own budget.
• Fund money left at the end of the year is added to the next year's fund balance, allowing you to save for future expenses, as long as you remain in the plan and with Valassis.

The Deductible

• Your plan includes a deductible ($1,500 for individual coverage, $3,000 for family coverage. Both are in-network amounts, please see the comparison for the out of network deductible amounts).
• The deductible is a set amount of expenses you pay each year before your medical plan begins to make payment.
• If your fund is spent before the deductible is met, you pay for remaining expenses until the deductible is satisfied.
• Important advantage: When expenses are paid from your fund, your deductible is automatically reduced by the same amount, so you pay less out of pocket to meet your deductible!
• Over time, your fund may grow larger than the deductible. When that happens, the fund applies towards your coinsurance (a percentage of the provider's charges). When the fund is gone, coinsurance is paid by you.

The Base Medical Benefits Plan

• If you spend all of your fund and meet the deductible, remaining eligible expenses are paid by your base medical benefits plan.
• You are free to seek covered services from any recognized health care professional without a referral.
• Visit an in-network health care professional or facility and pay co-insurance for each visit.
• Visit an out-of-network health care professional or facility and pay a higher coinsurance for each visit.

When you enroll in the SmartCare Plus Plan, you will want to log on to www.bcbs.com to find an up-to-date listing of the providers near you. If you have questions, call Blue Cross at 866-262-1180. English or Spanish speaking staff will help you find a PPO doctor in your area. For maximum plan benefits, you should select doctors and health care providers who participate as PPO providers. If you use a PPO provider when you get medical care, you can save money because:

• The benefit level is greater.
• The PPO provider generally charges less (based on negotiated fees).

Since rates are negotiated, usual and customary limits do not apply. (If you see a non-PPO provider, plan benefits are limited to usual and customary charges in your geographic area, as determined by Blue Cross.)

PPO providers must meet certification standards for quality, accessibility and costs. In addition, they are monitored by network managers on an ongoing basis for quality assurance, patient satisfaction and clinical and office management standards.

Note: When you use non-PPO providers, you receive a lower level of benefits.

If you live outside the PPO network service area, you may either:

• Travel and use PPO providers in a nearby network and get the higher level of benefits, or
• Use non-PPO providers and receive the lower level of benefits.

Covered Expenses Under the Buy-Up Plan

Here are some of the medical procedures that are covered under the Buy-Up Plan. For a more detailed look at what’s covered, see a comparison of what’s covered under all your medical plan options for 2008. For details on the pharmacy (prescription drug) benefit, see Prescription Drug Coverage.

Hospitalization and Surgery
You are covered for referred inpatient and outpatient hospital care for medical conditions. This coverage includes x-rays, laboratory testing, diagnostic services and medications required during your hospital stay. Your hospital benefits cover an unlimited number of days when medically necessary. Certain services (e.g., nonemergency inpatient hospital care) require precertification by Blue Cross.

Emergency Medical Care
If you need emergency care, you’re covered anytime, anywhere in the world. Be sure to call your provider as soon as possible after emergency treatment to report the emergency and coordinate proper follow-up care.

Expenses Not Covered
Services and supplies that are generally not covered include, but are not limited to:

• Care and services available at no cost to you in a veteran's, marine or other federal hospital or any hospital maintained by any state or governmental agency
• Medically necessary services received on an inpatient basis that can be provided safely in an outpatient or office location
• Custodial care, rest therapy and care in nursing or rest home facilities
• Dental surgery other than for the removal of impacted teeth or multiple extractions when the patient must be hospitalized for the surgery because a concurrent medical condition, such as a heart condition, exists
• Treatment of temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJ) and related jaw-joint problems by any method
• Any medical care, hospitalization or service provided before the effective date of coverage or after the coverage termination date
• Routine hospital outpatient care requiring repeated visits for the treatment of chronic conditions such as diabetes
• Hospitalization principally for observation, diagnostic evaluation, physical therapy, X-ray or lab tests, reduction of weight by diet control (with or without medication), basal metabolism tests or electrocardiography
• Items for the personal comfort or convenience of the patient
• Psychiatric services after determination that the patient's condition will not respond to treatment
• Psychological tests for vocational guidance or counseling
• Routine premarital or pre-employment exams
• Services and supplies that are not medically necessary according to accepted standards of medical practice
• Services provided through a medical clinic or similar facility provided or maintained by an employer
• Treatment of occupational injury or disease that the employer is obligated to furnish or otherwise fund
• Care and services received under another certificate offered by BCBS
• Care and services payable by government-sponsored health care programs, such as Medicare or TRICARE, for which a member is eligible. These services are not payable even if you have not signed up to receive the benefits provided by such programs
• Cosmetic surgery solely for improving appearance, except as specified in the certificate
• Treatment of a condition caused by military action or war, declared or undeclared
• Services, care, devices or supplies considered experimental or investigative
• Services for which a charge is not customarily made; services for which the patient is not obligated to pay
• Dialysis services after 30 months of end stage renal disease treatment
• Services that are not included in your employer's coverage documents
• Charges from a nonparticipating provider that are in excess of the BCBS approved amount
• Charges for hospital room accommodations over and above the hospital's regular charges covered by your medical benefits
• Transportation and travel except as specified in this handbook
• Eyeglasses or contact lenses and vision examinations for prescribing or fitting them (except for Aphakic patients) or for soft contact lenses or sclera shells intended for use in the treatment of diseases or injury or as specified following cataract surgery (may be covered under an additional freestanding program)
• Professional fees for injections given by anyone other than a physician
• Injections for cosmetic purposes
• Charges for examination required by school, camp, licensing or for any other regulatory purpose
• Charges for services rendered during an office visit by anyone other than a physician
• Therapy or hospital admission for weight control
• Therapy for smoking cessation
• Testing more frequently than necessary
• Dental care and dental appliances except those as specified in the certificate (may be covered under an additional freestanding program)
• Reversal of sterilization procedures
• Specified Oncology Clinical Trials
• Bariatric surgery
• Infertility testing and/or treatment procedures
• Radial Keratomy, LASIK, PRK
• Wigs except with a chemotherapy diagnosis

	Highlights Eligibility, Enrollment & Cost Buy-Up Option Basic Option SmartCare Plus PPO Option (Legacy ADVO Associates Only) Cigna CT HMO Option (CT Residents Only) Making Changes Plan Comparison Chart 2008 Prescription Drugs Participating Under Special Circumstances Other Information Numbers, Addresses & Links

Summary Plan Description
The legal summary of this benefit will be included in the 2008 Benefits Handbook.