As part of the health care reform legislation, employers are required to provide employees with a Summary of Benefits & Coverages (SBC) for each available health plan. These documents summarize important information about the available healthcare options and are designed in a standardized format to help you compare across all options.

Login to view the SBC’s for each of the available plans. Links to the SBC’s are located on your personal homepage for easy reference. Paper copies are also available by contacting the HR Department.

The PPO plan allows you to direct your care and decide where to obtain most services. PPO costs more in monthly premiums but offers lower annual deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums and co-insurance at the point of service. If you use the plan’s in-network providers, you pay less than if you use providers who are not contracted with the plan.

The HDHP plan or High Deductible Health Plan offers lower monthly premiums but comes with higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. The accompanying Health Savings Account (HSA) is designed to help pay for medical services prior to meeting the deductible. Costs can also be contained by using in-network providers.

Choosing the right plan…

Both medical plan options provide you with quality coverage for your healthcare needs. As you review your coverage options and determine what is best for your situation, here are some questions to consider:

• What matters most to me – keeping more of my paycheck or paying less when I receive services?
• How often do I anticipate needing medical services during the upcoming year?
• Am I expecting any life changes in the new year?
• Am I considering or facing a planned surgery or service that may cause me to reach my out-of-pocket maximum?
• How are prescription drugs covered? Behavioral health benefits?
• Should I cover a spouse or other dependents under my plan, or do my dependents have access to other coverage options that our family should consider?
• Do I need access to doctors who are not in certain networks?

Go to Health Insurance to review all the options in plan design and costs.

If you are signing up for medical or dental coverage for the first time or you will be covering new dependents this year under these plans, you will need the social security numbers and birth dates for you and any dependents you wish to cover. In addition, proof of dependent eligibility is required to cover dependents under the medical or dental plans. Please provide copies of documents as they will not be returned to you.

• spouse:   copy of marriage certificate or most recent joint tax return 
• children: copy of birth certificate or recent tax return claiming named dependent or court document awarding custody
• common law spouse: copy of document or certificate validating the partnership

Login for more information on Open Enrollment 2015!