Medical Plan Details to Dominate Open Enrollment

By VIC COX

Though UC will continue to pay full premiums for employees' dental and vision plans, medical plan costs in 2003 will draw more heavily from participants' pocketbooks than in previous years, according to systemwide's Office of Human Resources and Benefits. As a result, administrators have come up with more plan choices and a new way to pay for some of the costs.

The UC Office of the President has described the medical plan premiums on average as "jumping 16 to 22 percent" in 2003. To lighten that burden somewhat for the lower-paid or single-income employees, the University decided to restructure service options and increase its premium support for those earning $40,000 a year or less.

There are four configurations of medical coverage for 2003, and the lowest cost ones are for a single adult or an adult with a child or children. If the enrolled employee is making under $40,000 and chose to insure herself and her children, she could pay 40 percent less a month for the same coverage as that purchased for two adults and their child or children.

Health Net, for example, will charge $17.36 a month to cover a lower-paid adult with children while the plan would charge two adults and family $27.95 for the same services. If you were in the $40,000-plus salary range and looked at the same family configuration as in the example, Health Net's monthly employee cost would be $31.76 and $51.15, respectively.

Blue Cross, the replacement option for UC Care, and PacifiCare of California also reflect a similar spread of premiums between the salary levels and between the family configurations. In the case of the Blue Cross Preferred Provider Organization option, the higher paid employees will pay between $156.21 and $251.66, depending on the family option chosen. For more details, go to <http://atyourservice.ucop.edu> and, under "Open Enrollment," click on "plan rates."

Another device that may assist some in cutting taxes is the new Health Care Reimbursement Account, which allows pre-tax deductions from your paycheck to cover certain forms of medical costs, like prescription drugs. The account, which is managed by an outside agent, reimburses valid expenditures after a receipt is submitted for services rendered. One consideration is that any funds left in the account at the end of the year are not refunded to the account-holder. The UC "At Your Service" Web site has details.

Health and benefit plans available to UCSB employees will be discussed in workshops held between Nov. 6-21 in the Human Resources Office. The aim is to present various options and allow Human Resources staff to answer questions that will help employees decide, said Tricia Hiemstra, benefits manager.

The 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. meetings are scheduled for SAASB 3101 on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 6 and 7; Nov. 12, 14, 19, and 21. Call HR (x2489 or x2042) for schedules; no appointments are accepted.

Starting on Friday, Nov. 8, the Student Health Service plans to open its flu clinic to campus employees on Friday mornings for an hour. From 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. employees can come to classroom two in the SHS center and for $10 become vaccinated against influenza. There will be no appointments and the service will end on Dec. 13, said Alesia Pfau, spokeswoman for SHS.

Other venues, such as departments or offices, can be arranged, she said. If interested in such a visit, contact Trish Katje (x5768) to make arrangements.