Special Member Services
Member Services is a merger of three key services: Enrollment, Election, and Per-Capita Departments. Member Services will now provide assistance in all three areas from one office. The office is located at the PBPN Government Center on the upper level.
There are currently 4,825 enrolled members of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. Enrollment has declined considerably since a May 2000 amendment to the constitution which made it necessary for members to possess at least 1/4 PBP Nation blood.
Applications for enrollment are available through the Member Services Department. All applications reviewed for enrollment must be complete. All incomplete applications will be returned to prospective members with 30 days to make revisions before the application goes before the Enrollment Review Committee to determine eligibility.
The Election Board can be contacted through the Member Services Department. The goal of the Election Board is to conduct orderly elections in accordance with the provisions of the Election Ordinance. The Election Board requires 75 working days to prepare for a national election. The schedule includes a start-up date, date to mail announcement of upcoming election to adult nation members, deadline date to file for candidacy, cut-off date to register (if not already registered prior to an election), set-up date to mail ballots to registered voters and the scheduled election date. Nation members who are not registered to vote are encouraged to register.
Per Capita services are handled through the Member Services Department. Member Services will be responsible for distributing shared Casino Revenue payments to all enrolled Tribal Members per the eligibility guidelines and to report those amounts to the Internal Revenue Service.
For additional information contact Member Services Department.
(785) 966-3912 or Toll Free 1- (866)-277-3722
Burial Fund
The Burial Fund was established to help ease the financial burden of funeral expenditures at a time of a family member's death. The Burial Program is derived from interest off the Nation's share of judgment funds in Dockets 15-K, 29-3, 217, 15-M, 29-K, and 146. The initial principal amount was $165,000 and in 1994, $400,000 was added to the principal. This principal was approved for use by the Act of October 19, 1973 (93-134, Stat. 466).
The burial benefit will pay up to $ 6,000 in burial costs per eligible individual. All burial allowance applications and statements must be filed with the Tribal Council within one year from a member's date of death. The Burial Plan may be amended or terminated only by a vote of the General Council, with a quorum present, and approval by the Secretary of the Interior.
For additional information contact Member Services Department.
(785) 966-3912 or Toll Free 1- (866)-277-3722
Per Capita Fund
In 1998, the Per Capita Fund was established as a benefit to all enrolled Nation members including minor children. The National Indian Gaming Act requires an allocation plan for expenditure of all casino revenues. As a result, the General Council vote established that 48 percent of the net gaming revenues from Prairie Band Casino and Resort be allocated for Per Capita payments to be disbursed on a quarterly basis. This taxable benefit will continue until changed by a General Council vote. The per capita fund amount varies with fluctuation of casino profits and number of enrolled members. The Per Capita Office is within the Membership Services Department. For more information call (785) 966-3993, (785) 966-3994, or toll free (866) 277-3722 , Monday thru Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Vision Service Program
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is proud to announce a vision insurance plan that is available to each of our enrolled tribal members.
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation is pleased to offer tribal members opportunities to help with their financial security by offering this very important benefit.
Participation Rules:
- An eligible participant must be an enrolled member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation.
- You may enroll at any time, however; your vision insurance will not take effect until the first day of the following month.
- The eligible participant must complete a vision insurance enrollment form. This form must be turned into the Human Resources Department.
- Enrollment can be done over the phone as long as you have the necessary information for the person(s) being enrolled, to include: tribal enrollment number, date-of-birth, social security number, mailing address, daytime phone number, and emergency contact information.
Plan Design:
VSP enrolled members will be entitled to a standard eye exam once every 12 months from the last date of service, spectacle lenses once every 12 months from the last date of service, and a frame once every 24 months from the last date of service. There is NO co-payment for tribal members enrolled under this plan.
Eye Exam:
- Visual functioning: Tests check everything from visual clarity to eye focus and coordination.
- Eye component assessments: Important elements of the eye are analyzed, including the retina, optic nerve, cornea and lens.
Not only are these tests important for fitting eyewear but they can also allow for early detection and referral for diseases such as glaucoma or diabetes.
Eyewear:
Frame: Members receive an allowance toward frames once every 24 months. VSP’s frame benefit fully covers more than half of the 42,000 frames currently available. Due to this large selection and the fact that buying habits and tastes differ from one region to the next, frame inventories may vary from office to office. When deciding on a frame, members should ask their doctors which ones are covered in full.
Lenses: VSP covers single vision, bifocal, trifocal or other more complex lenses when necessary for the patient’s visual welfare once every 12 months.
Contact Lenses: Contacts are covered in full up to $105.00 when medically necessary. If the patient chooses contact lenses for cosmetic reasons, professional services are discounted 15 percent and the plan pays an allowance for professional fees and materials every 12 months. Contact lenses are instead of complete pairs of prescription glasses.
Options: This plan is designed to cover the patient’s visual needs rather than cosmetic materials. If the patient selects any special features that are not medically necessary but sometimes chosen for cosmetic reasons, they will be responsible for the additional charge. Optional items may include (but are not limited to):
- Blended lenses
- Contact lenses (except as noted elsewhere)
- Oversize lenses
- Progressive (no-line) multi-focal lenses
- Photo chromic or tinted lenses
- Coated or laminated lenses
- A frame that exceeds the plan allowance
- Certain limitations on low vision care
- Cosmetic lenses
- Optional cosmetic processes
- UV protected lenses
The following items will NOT be covered under the Plan:
- Orthopics or vision training and any associated supplemental testing
- Plano lenses
- Two pair of glasses in lieu of bifocals
- Lenses and frames furnished under this program, which are lost or broken, will not be replaced except at the normal intervals when services are otherwise available
- Medical or surgical treatment of the eyes
- Any eye examination, or any corrective eyewear, required by an employer as a condition of employment
- Corrective vision services, treatments, and materials of an exceptional nature
Procedures to Access VSP's Services:
- When members are ready to use the plan, they simply call a VSP doctor. Members can call VSP at 1-800-877-7195 for help in finding a VSP participating doctor. They can also use the VSP website (www.vsp.com) to find a nearby doctor for general information about their vision coverage.
- When making an appointment, the patient tells the doctor's office that he or she is a VSP member, provides their identification number (Social Security number), and the name of the organization that has contracted with VSP for vision benefits (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation). The doctor then obtains an authorization to provide services and materials from VSP.
- At the appointment, the VSP doctor provides an eye exam and, if necessary, orders eyewear form a VSP contract laboratory. Tribal members do not have a co-payment. The patient will pay any additional costs resulting from cosmetic options or a non-covered service. VSP will pay the participating doctor directly for covered services and materials.
- Services obtained through non-participating doctors are subject to the same limitations as services through VSP participating doctors. (The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation will not be responsible for these claims. It is the member’s responsibility.)
- If a member receives services from a non-participating doctor, they must pay the full amount of the bill.
- Request a copy of the bill that shows a detailed list of the services received including amount of the eye examination, lens type and frame.
- The itemized bill must be sent to VSP along with the member’s name and mailing address, social security number, and date of birth. This information must be mailed to Vision Service Plan, Attn: Non-Member Doctor Claims, P.O. Box 997105, Sacramento, CA 95899-7105.
- Claims must be filed with VSP within 6 months after seeing the doctor.
If you have any questions or comments, please call:
Tracy Rogers, Vision Service Agent
Toll Free 1-866-694-3937 or (785) 966-3966