Annual Open Enrollment
November 1 - 12
Once a year, full-time employees have the opportunity to make changes in medical, dental, and Personal Accident Insurance coverages and to enroll in Tax Saver Benefit (TSB) pre-tax reimbursement accounts.
If an employee does not make enrollment changes during Open Enrollment, participation in medical, dental, and Personal Accident Insurance will remain the same at the 2011 contribution rates. If an employee does not enroll in the TSB reimbursement account, he/she will not be a participant in 2011.
The Open Enrollment period takes place during November of each year, with enrollment changes becoming effective on January 1. This is an opportunity to:
- Enroll in or drop medical and/or dental coverage.
- Add or drop dependents.
- Add, drop, or change Personal Accident Insurance.
- Allocate contributions for pre-tax reimbursement of health and/or dependent care expenses (TSB).
- Change contributions to the HDHP Health Savings Account.
An Open Enrollment packet with additional enrollment instructions will be sent to employees in mid-October through campus mail. Employees are encouraged to use Benefits Self Service in OneStart to initiate or change enrollments. The deadline is November 12, 2010.
Eligibility rules for enrolling dependents in IU-sponsored medical and dental plans are available at hr.iu.edu/benefits/needknow.html.
Clarian Quality Partners Exclusive Provider Medical Plan
New Plan for 2011
A new medical plan option for 2011 is the Clarian Quality Partners Exclusive Provider Medical plan.
- Provides comprehensive medical benefits through an exclusive set of providers, the Clarian Quality Partners (CQP) provider network.
- Members designate a primary care physician for routine care and coordination of overall care from the CQP network.
- Services are exclusively provided by CQP providers (except emergencies away from home); eligibility is limited to employees residing in these counties: Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Clinton, Delaware, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Johnson, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Putnam, Shelby, Tipton, and Tippecanoe.
- Preferential prescription drug copays when Clarian Pharmacies are used.
- Low copays; no copay for preventive services at a CQP provider.
- Medical case management and disease management are provided by Clarian Health; claim administration is by HealthSmart; and prescription drug benefits are administered by PerformRx.
Additional information will be available in the Open Enrollment packet.
HDHP PPO & HSA Features and Enhancements
Two years ago, the University introduced a new medical plan called the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) PPO and Health Savings Account (formerly called "Medical Savings Account"). This plan includes a unique account with significant preferential treatment of taxes—no income taxes on healthcare expenses. Hundreds of IU employees and their families are now taking advantage of this plan and its unique features.
IU Contributions and Preventive Services with No Copay
Employees should consider this plan. Enhancements for 2011:
- IU's contribution to the Health Savings Account (HSA) will increase to $700 for employee-only coverage and $1,400 for family.
- In-network preventive services consisting of routine screenings and preventive medical care will now be covered at 100 percent. Preventive prescriptions are not subject to the deductible.
Flexibility of Health Savings Account
- The employee and IU both contribute to the HSA. IU's contribution is made to the employee's account in early January, so the funds can be used immediately if needed.
- HSA contributions can be used to pay the deductible, as well as other healthcare expenses.
- Employees can change HSA contributions at any time—even after Open Enrollment.
- When the account balance reaches $1,000, it can be invested it in a variety of mutual funds.
- The account balance carries over to future years, even into retirement.
- The account balance can be used by the spouse in the event of the employee's death.
Triple Tax Savings
The HSA offers these tax savings:
- The employee's and IU's contributions go into the HSA before taxes are withheld. This reduces the employee's taxable income.
- Money withdrawn is not subject to taxes as long as it is used to pay for eligible healthcare expenses.
- Interest earned on the HSA is tax-free.
About the Plan
The IU HDHP PPO and HSA:
- Uses Anthem/BCBS networks and covers the same services (office visits, hospitalization, emergency room) as other IU plans.
- Comes with a Health Savings Account where the employee and IU set aside dollars to pay healthcare expenses in 2011, or someday in the future. This account is the employee's to decide how and when to use it.
- Is convenient because it comes with a debit card to pay for healthcare services with funds from the HSA.
The HDHP PPO & HSA has a higher deductible than other plans. This is required by the IRS to obtain the preferential tax treatment of the HSA.
Employee Raises Due in November
New salary rates for Indiana University employees will take effect November 1.
Employees paid bi-weekly will see the new rates in their November 24 paycheck. Academic and professional staff employees, who are paid on a monthly basis, will see the new rates reflected in their November 30 paycheck.
The IU Board of Trustees voted in August to approve an average 3 percent increase in employee salaries for the 2010-11 fiscal year.
According to Neil Theobald, vice president and chief financial officer, employees can expect to be notified of their new individual salary rate during the first week of November. The new rates will also be accessible to employees online through OneStart by mid-November.
