The Annual Benefit Enrollment (It's Your Choice) period is coming October 6-31, 2014
September 15, 2014
The open enrollment period begins October 6 and ends on October 31 for all participating plans. If you do nothing, your current insurance coverage will continue in 2015, except that you must re-enroll in Employee Reimbursement Account (ERA ) Flexible Spending Account (FSA) program every year. All changes made during the open enrollment period take effect on January 1, 2015.
The big news for 2015 is that a new type of health insurance plan will be available to most employees who participate in the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS). The new plan is a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with a Health Savings Account (HSA).
The HDHP/HSA will be offered in addition to the current health plans and you will still choose a health plan for the HDHP (such as Physicians Plus HDHP or Humana HDHP). If you choose to enroll in an HDHP, you will pay a lower monthly premium but will need to satisfy a deductible before benefits are payable. The deductible for single coverage will be $1,500 per year and $3,000 per year for family coverage.
The HSA is a tax-advantaged savings account that you will establish to help you pay for expenses that fall under the deductible and may also provide a an important tool for saving for future medical expenses. The HSA belongs to you, even if you leave employment with the UW. You must enroll in the HDHP to have an HSA and vice versa.
In addition, during this year's open enrollment period, you may enroll in or make changes to the following plans:
Employees who are enrolled in the Individual and Family Group Life Insurance may increase their existing employee, spouse/domestic partner and/or child coverage through the Annual Increase Option.
There are multiple benefit changes to learn about this year. Please join us at the 2014 UW-Madison Employee Benefits & Resources Fair on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Additional information about the fair is available at: http://go.wisc.edu/lmoq7h.
Source: UW Service Center
Categories: Annual Benefits Enrollment (ABE)