Posts Tagged: Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment closes Nov. 19
Open enrollment started Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, at 8 a.m. and ends Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, at 5 p.m. Please note the deadline is earlier than in past years.
UCPath will host several open enrollment webinars between Oct. 26 and Nov. 16. The UCPath team is introducing a few exciting changes based on your feedback from last year:
- Information about plan changes has been moved to a new online Benefits Open Enrollment 2022 course that includes a demonstration of the enrollment process on UCPath. Complete this online course prior to attending a webinar.
- The new and improved webinar will include a demonstration of Alex, the new personal benefits coaching tool.
- There will be more time to answer questions about information covered in the Benefits Open Enrollment 2022 course.
Note: This webinar will not include:
- A live presentation of open enrollment plan changes (replaced by the self-paced Benefits Open Enrollment 2022 course).
- Information for retirees. For more information, visit UCNet
- Questions about individual cases. For personal benefits questions, please contact the UC Davis Benefits office at benefits@ucdavis.edu or visit UCPath and select Ask UCPath to submit an inquiry.
For a list of webinar sessions and registration links, visit https://www.ucop.edu/ucpath-center/_files/mypath/oe/webinars.pdf
Open Enrollment: Thursday, Oct. 28 – Friday, Nov. 19, 2021
Open Enrollment is approaching, and you'll have more help than ever this year in choosing the right benefits for you and your family. In the meantime, we want to give you a heads up about a couple of important changes.
New Open Enrollment deadline this year
This year UC's open enrollment period will start Thursday, Oct. 28, at 8 a.m. and end Friday, Nov. 19, at 5 p.m. That's earlier than our usual Open Enrollment deadline of the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. You'll still have more than three weeks to make your benefits choices and our benefits professionals will have some needed extra time to ensure UC's systems are up to date for 2022.
New pharmacy benefit manager
Navitus Health Solutions (Navitus) is replacing Anthem IngenioRx as the administrator of prescription drug benefits for the following plans: CORE, UC Care, UC Health Savings Plan, UC High Option Supplement to Medicare and UC Medicare PPO. As the pharmacy benefit manager, Navitus sets clinical policy and guidelines for medications and for the processing of pharmacy-related claims.
UC regularly reviews the administrators of our health and welfare plans to ensure members receive the highest levels of service at the most competitive prices. After a thorough process, a committee representing faculty, staff and retirees determined that Navitus would offer significant advantages as the pharmacy benefit manager for these UC plans.
Continued focus on member service and convenience
Navitus offers convenient options for filling prescription drugs that members are accustomed to, including participating University of California Health pharmacies, a large retail network (Costco, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Safeway/Vons), mail order delivery through Costco and access to specialty medications through Lumicera and participating UC specialty pharmacies.
Navitus will also provide robust support to help you better understand and manage your prescription drug benefit, including:
- 24/7 customer care
- A pre-enrollment website (coming in October) with tools for finding participating pharmacies, checking drug prices at the pharmacy of your choice, and looking up drugs included in the formulary (the list of drugs that are covered by the plan)
- A mobile app (for non-Medicare members) and member portal, for easy access to all your prescription medication information
There are no changes to the standard cost-sharing amounts (copayments or coinsurance) for prescription drugs due to the transition to Navitus. However, every pharmacy benefit manager uses its own formulary. While the Anthem IngenioRx and Navitus formularies are similar, there are some differences, which could affect your individual medication costs.
More detailed information about the new prescription drug plan will be sent to you near the beginning of Open Enrollment. You will also receive information from UC later in the fall about any specific impacts to you or your medications because of the change.
Stay tuned for more Open Enrollment updates!
Open Enrollment begins; UC ANR employees get special rates
Open Enrollment will take place from 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, through 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24.
UC is offering the same high-quality health plans as last year, with minimal increases in premiums — ranging from $0 to $12 per month. There are a few important changes you should know about, including increases to some medical plan cost-sharing amounts, a new administrator for Flexible Spending Accounts and enhancements to legal insurance benefits.
Correct (and lower!) medical plan rates for UC ANR employees
Next week you can expect to receive information in the mail about UC's annual Open Enrollment. As you review the benefits information booklet mailed from UCOP, please note the health plan prices in the UCOP booklet aren't for UC ANR employees - the UC Blue & Gold rates for UC ANR employees are lower than those published by UCOP.
UC ANR and UC Davis are part of a pilot program for the next several years so UC Blue & Gold rates in the UCOP booklet are NOT the rates for UC ANR employees. The correct, lower rates for UC ANR employees are reflected in the UC online benefits portal (when you log in to sign up for your benefits) as well as the UC Davis Human Resources Open Enrollment website.
These pilot-program rates apply to employees in the ANR Business Unit, which currently doesn't include UCOP-based ANR employees and CE Specialists based at UC Riverside.
Explore the Open Enrollment website at https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/oe to find more information about the changes and your benefits plans.
Virtual benefits fair
UC's systemwide Benefits Fair opens online at http://ucal.us/benefitsfair on Oct. 27 and is available 24/7 until Open Enrollment closes on Nov. 24. Explore virtual booths with resources and videos, and representatives available to answer your questions.
UC welcomes all employees to UCPath
In a milestone for UC, all faculty and staff across the system will be enrolling for benefits on UCPath this year. Whether you're new to UCPath or a long-time user, check out an Open Enrollment webinar for tips on navigating the enrollment process and an overview of this year's choices and changes. Then, sign into your personal account at UCPath to make your changes. You have until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, to make changes.
2021 highlights
New administrator for Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
Discovery Benefits is the new FSA administrator, offering one account, one card and one mobile app for your Health and DepCare FSA — simply snap a photo with your phone to submit a claim or documentation.
Don't forget: unlike your other benefits, you need to re-enroll in your Health and/or Dependent Care FSA each year.
Legal Insurance
New Diversity and Inclusion services are being added to further support the needs of UC's diverse population, including domestic partnership agreements, funeral directives, hospital visitation authorizations, and gender identifier changes on government-issued documents.
Lower premiums for Supplemental and Expanded Dependent Life Insurance
Premiums for Supplemental and Expanded Dependent Life Insurance are decreasing an average of 7%.
Premium increase for Voluntary Long-Term Disability
Premiums for Long-Term Disability are increasing an average of $10.50 per month. Costs vary depending on age, earnings and date of hire.
Related news:
Survey respondents report high satisfaction with UC-sponsored health plans
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Regent Estolano, Senator Caballero tour UCCE Fresno
“UC ANR touches the lives of thousands of people in rural communities and urban centers alike,” said state Senator Anna Caballero, after meeting UC Cooperative Extension staff and stakeholders in Fresno County. Caballero joined UC Regent Cecilia Estolano for a tour Sept. 25 to see results of ANR's work with small-scale farmers, 4-H youth and UC Master Gardener volunteers.
“On my tour, I saw how ANR is a valuable partner across generations and communities for Californians who grow our food, and green our neighborhoods,” Estolano said. “From urban 4-H chapters to Master Gardeners to culturally connected crop advisors and nutritional instructors, ANR is keeping California on the leading edge of agriculture, health and healing.”
Joined by Vice Provost Mark Bell, UCCE Fresno County Director Karmjot Randhawa, and Anne Megaro, government and community relations director, Caballero and Estolano began the tour with a visit to the Thao family farm, where they learned about specialty crops – such as jujubes and moringa – grown in the area by Southeast Asian farmers. UCCE farm advisor Ruth Dahlquist-Willard described growing and marketing moringa and her work to help bring resources to disadvantaged farmers to help improve their prosperity. Michael Yang, UCCE Hmong agricultural assistant, talked about delivering UCCE information to farmers in Hmong via his radio program.
Next, they visited Street Saints, a program of the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission, and learned how they created an afterschool program to keep low-resource youth in Southwest Fresno safe. The Street Saints, who partnered with 4-H, described for the senator and regent how they promote healthy choices to deter young people from engaging in gang activity in their urban setting. Using 4-H's evidence-based curricula, Street Saints offers a safe place for youth after school where participating youth develop employment skills through 4-H activities such as sewing classes, STEM Teen Teachers, “Mindful Me” to improve physical and emotional health, and working in a community garden.
“It was exciting to see the interaction between the senator and regent with the UCCE stakeholders,” Randhawa said. “Both seemed really engaged in the work and asked questions. It's vital for them to see how we engage with the community and how the community amplifies the research and support we provide. They met small farmers and 4-H members who have built businesses based on their work with 4-H and Cooperative Extension. They met with Master Gardeners. It was fantastic for them to experience, rather than be told, how we deliver ANR's mission.”
Megaro got the impression Caballero and Estolano enjoyed meeting some of the Californians who have bettered their lives by participating in ANR programs.
“I think they both knew us mostly for our rural agricultural work, but this tour really showed them how we're active and present in urban communities to effect change and how we partner with community-based organizations to further our reach.” Megaro said. “We also talked about how the sites we visited were just one example of the programs and services we provide throughout the state, and how we are looking to increase resources so we can build out our programs to serve more people.”
Names in the News
Randhawa to oversee UCCE in Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties
Karmjot Randhawa joined ANR on Sept. 6, 2019, as the UC Cooperative Extension director for Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties.
In this newly created staff position, Randhawa is responsible for the coordination and overall operations of Cooperative Extension programs in Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties. Unlike traditional county director positions, Randhawa will have no academic research responsibilities so she can focus on overseeing the educational and applied research programs and providing direction and leadership to the academic and support staff within the county extension programs.
Prior to joining ANR, the Central Valley native was the research translation operations manager at George Mason University's Center for Climate Change Communication.
“I look forward to increasing the visibility of UCCE by communicating the positive impacts realized by the people who live in the San Joaquin Valley and benefit from the research activities and contributions of these units,” Randhawa said.
Randhawa received her B.S. and M.S. in research psychology at California State University, Fresno and received her MBA from Johns Hopkins University. She is currently completing the Climate Change and Health Certification Program at Yale University.
Karmjot is based in Fresno and can be reached at (559) 241-7514 and kgrandhawa@ucanr.edu.
Zhou named UCCE assistant specialist for small farms
Qi Zhou joined ANR on Sept. 3, 2019, as a UCCE assistant specialist for small farms in Santa Clara County. She will work closely with project directors at UCCE Santa Clara to lead research and extension and extension work related to food safety practices on small farms, beginning farmer education and Asian vegetable production.
Prior to joining ANR, Zhou conducted research on peach fruit production at Clemson University. At Huazhong Agricultural University, Zhou designed and conducted an experiment that identified the differences between flood-tolerant and flood-susceptible Poplar seedlings. Zhou has published several scientific manuscripts and abstracts and given extension presentations.
Zhou earned a Ph.D. in plant and environmental sciences with a minor in statistics from Clemson University, South Carolina, a master's degree in horticulture and forestry from Huazhong Agricultural University, China, and a bachelor's degree in horticulture from Hunan Agricultural University, China. In addition to English, Zhou is fluent in Mandarin.
Zhou is based in San Jose and can be reached at (408) 282-3109 and qiizhou@ucanr.edu.
Aram named UCCE specialty crops advisor
Kamyar Aram joined ANR on Aug. 5, 2019, as the UC Cooperative Extension specialty crops advisor serving Contra Costa and Alameda counties.
Prior to joining ANR, Aram was a postdoctoral scholar at UC Davis working on research and outreach for the management of vectored grapevine virus diseases, emphasizing diagnostics, the use of disease-screened plant materials and area-wide management approaches. He also has several years of work experience in commercial viticulture and winemaking in New York, Chile and California. His doctoral research focused on the life cycle of the Sudden Oak Death pathogen in aquatic environments, and as a staff research assistant at UC Davis, his research focused on diagnostics and outreach for this forest and landscape disease. For his master's thesis, he studied the use of compost as a source for nitrogen and in suppression of soilborne diseases in vegetable production, gaining experience with field production at Cornell's vegetable research farm.
Aram earned a Ph.D. in plant pathology from UC Davis and an M.S. in horticulture (vegetable crops) from Cornell University. He received B.S. and B.A. degrees from the Ohio State University in plant biology and Latin. In addition to English, he speaks Spanish, Italian, French and Farsi.
Aram is based in Concord and can be reached at (925) 608-6692 and kamaram@ucanr.edu.
Khan named UCCE water and watershed sciences specialist
Safeeq Khan joined ANR on Oct. 1, 2019, as a UC Cooperative Extension assistant water and watershed sciences specialist. His research broadly focuses on understanding the interaction between climate and ecosystems to inform land and water management. He uses data-driven numerical models as a research tool to aid in the understanding of watershed systems. As a CE specialist, Khan will focus on developing and carrying out collaborative, multifaceted research and extension related to mountain hydrology and their linkage with downstream water uses statewide, with special attention to the Sierra Nevada-Central Valley watersheds.
Prior to joining UC ANR, Khan was a professional researcher and adjunct professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Merced for five years. Khan brings over 10 years of research, education and extension experience. He has published more than 35 peer-reviewed journal papers and book chapters, successfully secured several externally funded projects, and presented his work to a diverse range of audiences through digital and print media, workshops and conferences. He has worked very closely with state and federal agencies, local landowners and nonprofit organizations, both in California and elsewhere. He has led several projects related to watershed management, from investigating the impact of non-native tree species and groundwater overdraft on streamflow in Hawaii to mapping hydrological vulnerabilities to climate change in the Pacific Northwest. More recently, his research has been focused on evaluating climate change and watershed restoration impacts on water and forest health and developing stakeholder-driven adaptive decision support tools. He serves as an associate editor for the journal Hydrological Processes. Khan is also a co-director of UC Merced's first Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS) grant that focuses on connected wildland-storage-cropland subsystems in California.
Khan earned a Ph.D. in natural resources and environmental management from University of Hawaii at Manoa. He also holds a master's degree in agricultural systems and management from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India and a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from CSA University of Agriculture and Technology Kanpur, India. In addition to English, he is fluent in Hindi and Urdu.
Khan is based at UC Merced and can be reached at (209) 386-3623 and msafeeq@ucanr.edu. Follow him on Twitter @safeeqkhan.
Farrar elected chair-elect for National IPM Coordinating Committee
Jim Farrar has been elected chair-elect for National Integrated Pest Management Coordinating Committee, which is under the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities' ESCOP/ECOP committee system. He will be chair-elect, chair, and past-chair for the next three years.
Farrar will serve with committee chair Danesha Seth Carley of the Southern IPM Center and Ann Hazelrigg of University of Vermont Extension, who moves into the past-chair position.
The National IPM Coordinating Committee is a committee of the Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) and the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy (ESCOP) and is a subcommittee of the ESCOP Science and Technology Committee. The committee facilitates coordination and collaboration nationally among and between IPM research and extension at the land-grant universities, and between the land-grants and federal agencies involved in IPM.
Fennimore receives Fulbright award
The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced that Steven Fennimore, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to work in agriculture in Uruguay. Fennimore will conduct research and teaching at the INIA Las Brujas horticultural field station as part of a project to develop sustainable weed management systems in specialty crops.
Fennimore, director of the statewide Vegetable Research and Information Center, focuses on weed management in vegetable crops and small fruits, as well as weed seed biology and physiology, and seed bank ecology.
Based in Salinas, Fennimore conducts a research and extension program focused on weed management in vegetables, flowers and strawberries, particularly in coastal production areas in California. His program combines chemical and nonchemical methods, for both organic and conventional systems, with the objective of minimizing weed management costs. He also focuses on automated weeding systems to mitigate the severe labor shortages in California, and use of field-scale steam applicators to reduce the need for chemical fumigation in sensitive sites and near urban areas.
Fennimore is one of over 800 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research, and/or provide expertise abroad for the 2019–2020 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields.