Open enrollment period for health care benefits begins with new dental plans, other plan enhancements

salvetoday Posted On October 14, 2020
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Salve Regina’s open enrollment period for health care benefits, including dental, vision, AFLAC supplemental insurance and flexible spending and health savings accounts, is underway Oct. 15 through Nov. 13.

Participants can enroll in coverage, change healthcare plans, add or delete family members or drop coverage. Please note that there are new dental plans, and everyone must sign up for a new dental plan for 2021. All enrollments and changes must be received in the Office of Human Resources by Friday, Nov. 13. Enrollment deadline for AFLAC is Friday, Dec. 4.

For full details on the benefits open enrollment period, visit salve.edu/document/benefits-open-enrollment.

There will be small increases to 2021 employee biweekly healthcare contributions beginning with the first pay in January. The new biweekly rates are listed on page nine of the benefits document. Please also remember there was a change to the Wellness Program this year. In order to receive the healthcare “Wellness Rate” in 2021, employees must obtain four points on the Tufts Healthcare portal before December 15, 2020.

There are several plan enhancements and highlights for 2021:

Healthcare:

  • Tufts members have access to a Teledoc doctor 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to treat nonemergency, general medical and skin conditions and/or receive behavioral health support. Currently, due to the pandemic, Teledoc visits are available at no cost. Register at tuftshealthplan.com/teladoc.
  • Coverage for acupuncture with a participating Tufts provider has been added, effective Jan 1, 2021.
  • A new $75.00 copay for specialty medications has been added to all plans.
  • The emergency room copay on the Advantage PPO 250 Plan has changed to $150.00, which is waived if admitted.

Dental:

  • Current dental coverage for all employees will end Dec. 31, 2020. Eligible employees must enroll in a new plan for 2021 or waive coverage.
  • Employee contributions for dental will now include an “individual-plus-one” option.
  • Coverage has been added for dependent orthodontia up to age 19.
  • There are two new plans to choose from: Base or Enhanced. As of Jan. 1, 2021, only the Enhanced Plan will accumulate carry-over dollars. Delta Dental’s carry-over provision is a unique benefit that allows you to “carry over” up to $350 of unused portions of your annual maximum (ortho benefits excluded) to the following plan year provided you use your preventive care benefits. Employees who earned carry-over dollars in 2020 and enroll in the Enhanced Plan will receive them in 2021 and, as a one-time exception, Delta Dental will also carry over amounts into the Base Plan.

Flexible spending:

  • Employees interested in either the medical and/or dependent accounts, must re-enroll in the plan each year – elections do not “roll over.” With the IRS change this year, funds can, once again, be used for over-the-counter medicines and drugs.

Health savings accounts:

  • Employees enrolled in the Tufts Saver High Deductible Health Plan are encouraged to open a Health Savings Account (HSA). Some of the advantages of an HSA include:
    • Funds are deposited into the account on a pre-tax basis.
    • Funds rollover and accumulate year to year if they are not spent.
    • There are many qualified medical expenses the funds can be used for.
    • Funds in your account can be invested and earn compound gains tax free.
    • You own the account, so the money is yours even if you leave employment.
  •  For 2021, the University will once again contribute $500 to an individual HSA and $1,000 to individual-plus-one and family HSAs. Half the amount will be funded mid-January and half mid-July 2021.

In lieu of the traditional, annual employee benefits fair, Human Resources staff will be available outdoors on the Ochre Court Terrace on Wednesday, Oct. 21, and Thursday, Oct. 22, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with benefit information and to answer benefit questions for Benefit Open Enrollment, which runs now through Nov. 13.

For more information, call Claudia Cavallaro, associate director for human resources and benefits, at (401) 341-2332 or cavallac@salve.edu, or Amanda Stamatis, office and benefits coordinator, at (401) 341-2165 or amanda.stamatis@salve.edu.