Get Ready for Annual Enrollment

University Human Resources wants to ensure that employees can make informed choices about their benefits during annual enrollment, which will take place Oct. 10-28, 2022, for the 2023 plan year. We want to prepare you for that 18-day period by sharing some preliminary information with you now, so you’ll be ready to make benefit selections for you and your family in October. To start getting ready, carefully read the information below. Also, be sure to read our Howl You Know newsletter next month, when we’ll share more information about annual enrollment.

State Health Plan

State Health Plan premiums will not increase in 2023, and there won’t be any major changes to the plan’s benefits.

Tobacco Cessation

Both users and nonusers of tobacco can reduce their State Health Plan premiums by $60 per month in 2023. Employees who are not tobacco users will simply need to attest to that fact during annual enrollment to get the premium reduction. Employees who are tobacco users don’t have to wait until annual enrollment to earn the $60 credit. They can take action now by completing a required tobacco cessation session for free at a CVS MinuteClinic or a primary care provider’s office.

Tobacco users have until Nov. 30, 2022, to complete a tobacco cessation session. If you combine your tobacco cessation visit with another service, you may have to pay a copay.

After you finish your tobacco cessation session, your provider will submit a claim on your behalf. To ensure you receive credit for your visit, you may request a copy of your office visit summary and then upload it to the online benefits portal. To do so, go to MyPack Portal and click the “Benefits Details” tile. Select “My State Employee Benefits” on the left side of the page, and you’ll be taken to the benefits portal. To upload your summary, select “Document Center” on the left side of the page.

Dental Plans

If there are changes to premiums or benefits related to the dental plan, UHR will communicate those changes to employees when that information becomes available.

Health Care and Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Accounts

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which Congress passed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, temporarily removed the $550 rollover cap on health care flexible spending accounts. As a result, any amount of money left in your health care FSA in 2020 and 2021 rolled over to the upcoming plan year. The $550 cap will be reinstated for the 2023 plan year, meaning if you have more than $550 in your account at the end of 2022, only $550 will roll over for use in 2023.

The act also provided an extended period to use funds in day care spending accounts. UHR will provide information about the use of funds in day care spending accounts when it becomes available.

UHR also will share the maximum annual amount of money you can have in your health care and day care FSA spending accounts for 2023 when that information is available. To view your FSA account, log in via the P&A Group website.

Annual Enrollment Webpage

The UHR benefits team is currently gathering comprehensive information to post on this year’s annual enrollment webpage. The team will inform employees when the page is complete.

Information Sessions

The benefits team plans to host annual enrollment information sessions via Zoom. When dates and times for those sessions become available, the team will post them on the annual enrollment webpage.

Annual Enrollment Assistance

For questions regarding enrollment and eligibility, call the State Health Plan enrollment phone line at 855-859-0966. The enrollment line typically has extended hours during annual enrollment. The benefits team will post those times on its annual enrollment webpage when they are available.

This post was originally published in University Human Resources News.