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Focus
on Wellness...and Your Health Care Choices
Today through Thursday, April 1, Penn
invites you to Focus on Wellness as we present Wellness
Fairs, Workshops, and Fitness Presentations. As detailed
in last
week's Almanac and on the Human Resources
website (www.hr.upenn.edu/news), the next three days
provide you with the opportunity to get more information
about how you can become happier, healthier, and more productive
at home and at work.
As you think about your own personal wellness,
you should also take some time to examine your health care
choices. The annual Open Enrollment period provides you with
the opportunity to review your choices and make changes to
your health care elections. Open Enrollment this year begins Monday,
April 12 and runs through Friday, April 23. You
will receive a personalized enrollment kit at your home address
within the next week.
An Open Enrollment Fair will be held next Tuesday,
April 6 from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in Houston Hall, Bodek
Lounge. Stop by the fair to speak directly with the health
care vendors, ask questions, and see what they have to
offer.
Important Dates
Tuesday, March 30-Thursday, April
1: Focus on Wellness activities
Tuesday, April 6: Open
Enrollment Fair
Monday, April 12-Friday, April
23: Open Enrollment |
To give you
a preview of what you will see in your Open Enrollment
materials, the chart below lists
the important changes you'll see for the coming plan year.
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Change
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What This Means For You
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You
may elect to go ñpaperlessî
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You
may elect to stop receiving paper enrollment materials
via U.S. mail as of July 1, 2004. If
you make this election, you will simply receive one-page
notifications when you are eligible to make benefit
changes, and full materials will be available online
for you to view or print. You can make this election
using the online enrollment system.
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Increase in premiums
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Both you and the University may pay
more for your current medical coverage; the new rates
for full-time faculty and staff are shown below.
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Mental health in-network provider
changes for UPHS POS and PENNCare/Personal Choice plans
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The Penn Behavioral Health network
will provide all in-network mental health services
for the UPHS POS and PENNCare/Personal Choice plans;
complete details will be included in your Open Enrollment
materials.
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Increase in annual out-of-pocket maximum
for prescriptions
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The maximum amount you may be responsible
to pay out of your pocket for prescription drugs each
year is increasing to $1000 per individual / $3,000
per family.
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Penn Faculty Practice dental plan
changes
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There will be several changes related
to the Penn Faculty Practice dental plan:
Three Penn Faculty
Practice locations will be closing as of July 1, 2004:
Chestnut Hill, Curtis Center, and Northeast.
The
maximum benefit amount the Penn Faculty Practice
dental plan will pay per plan year
will be $3,000.
There
will be a maximum of 2 implants covered per lifetime.
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Over-the-counter medicines are eligible
under the Health Care Pre-Tax Expense Account
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You may use the Health Care Pre-Tax
Expense Account to pay for many over-the-counter drugs
and medicines with pre-tax dollars
(note that this change is in effect
already).
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All of the changes above as well as any changes
you decide to make to your health care elections will take
effect as of July 1, 2004. The new premium rates shown below
will take effect with your first June paycheck (rates shown
are for full-time faculty and staff).While health care costs
continue their steady upward trend, the University continues
to pick up an average of 80% of the total medical premium
for full-time employees.
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Weekly
Paid (per pay period)
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Employee
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Employee +1
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Employee + 2 or more
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Medical
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Keystone HMO
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$ 6.00
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$ 13.73
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$ 17.31
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Aetna HMO
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6.92
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16.04
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20.19
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UPHS POS
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11.19
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25.85
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32.54
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PENNCare/ Personal Choice
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24.58
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56.54
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71.31
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BC/BS Plan 100
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50.77
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116.77
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147.23
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Dental
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Penn Faculty Practice
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$ 3.63
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$ 14.42
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$ 16.04
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MetLife
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3.12
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12.23
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13.73
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Vision
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OptiChoice
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$ 0.76
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$ 1.52
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$ 2.28
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Monthly
Paid (per pay period)
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Employee
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Employee
+1
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Employee
+ 2 or more
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Medical
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Keystone HMO
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$ 26.00
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$ 59.50
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$ 75.00
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Aetna HMO
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30.00
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69.50
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87.50
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UPHS POS
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48.50
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112.00
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141.00
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PENNCare/ Personal Choice
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106.50
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245.00
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309.00
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BC/BS Plan 100
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220.00
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506.00
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638.00
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Dental
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Penn Faculty Practice
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$ 15.75
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$ 62.50
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$ 69.50
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MetLife
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13.50
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53.00
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59.50
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Vision
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OptiChoice
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$ 3.29
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$ 6.57
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$ 9.86
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During
this important time of year, take a few moments to really
look
at your health care options
and think about what's best for you and your family. Your
personal wellness and your health care go hand in hand. We
encourage you to take advantage of the wellness and Open
Enrollment activities and information that we are providing. For
more information, visit the Human Resources website at www.hr.upenn.edu/news or
call the Penn Benefits Center at 1-888-PENNBEN (1-888-736-6236).
--Division
of Human Resources
Almanac, Vol. 50, No.
27,
March 30, 2004
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