Facebook
X (Twitter)
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
Delicious
LinkedIn
StumbleUpon
Posts Tagged: Open Enrollment
2025 benefits changes message from UC Systemwide HR Vice President Cheryl Lloyd
Valued colleagues:
As we approach our annual Open Enrollment for health benefits, I want to share what we know about UC's medical plan costs for 2025 and update you on how we're preparing for 2026 and beyond. My goal is to provide information as early as possible so you can make informed decisions about your benefit plans.
The national trends that increased medical costs and medical plan premiums last year have continued. UC's medical plan costs will rise again this year due to increased health care utilization as our population ages and rates of chronic health conditions rise, enhanced benefits, and the rapidly expanding use of costly new drugs and treatments.
To limit the impact of rising costs on employees and retirees, the decision was made, in consultation with President Drake, EVP-COO Nava and EVP-CFO Brostrom, to increase UC's 2025 contribution to medical premiums by $198M over 2024. Even with this additional contribution from UC, employee and retiree premium contributions will need to increase.
Budgeting for the high costs of food, housing and child care is already a challenge for many in our community, so any increase is painful. Our people are our most important resource, and the Systemwide Human Resources team has spent the last year working closely with our health plan partners to look for every opportunity to balance the quality of our benefits with their affordability. We've also spent months analyzing how UC can minimize the impact of higher costs in a challenging budget year.
To rise to this challenge, we're focusing on a principle that is central to our mission — the critical importance of health care equity and access. We understand 2024 employee contributions were significantly higher than anticipated and explored multiple options to mitigate increases for 2025. As a result, employees will see no more than an 11% increase (with exception of the CORE plan) in 2025. Additionally, employee contributions will continue to be based on salary, with higher employee contributions and percentage increases for those who earn more.
Significant Health Plan Changes for 2025
- With the exception of those enrolled in CORE medical, employees with annual salaries up to $140K a year will see 9% increases in their medical plan premiums and employees with annual salaries over $140K a year will see 11% increases.
These increases are consistent with other public employers in California. For example, CalPERS has announced an overall premium increase of 10.79% for 2025.
Retiree contribution changes for UC's retiree plans are more variable, with UC maintaining its agreement to fund a minimum of 70% of the cost of retiree medical plan premiums.
- To ensure that the costs of medical coverage are shared fairly, the CORE PPO plan will require an employee premium contribution beginning in 2025. Contributions for CORE will be the lowest of the UC medical plan options, but we know this is a big adjustment for UC employees who have appreciated the option of a plan that did not require a premium contribution. We will do all we can to help those employees understand their choices and consider carefully whether CORE is still the best option for them.
- To help minimize premium increases, some of the costs for receiving care and filling prescriptions will go up next year. For example, the copay for an outpatient visit will increase from $20 to $30 for members of UC Blue & Gold HMO, Kaiser HMO, UC Care (UC Select/Tier 1), UC Medicare Choice and Kaiser Senior Advantage — the first such increase for these plans in over 10 years. Copays for prescription drugs will go up for most of UC's medical plans, and there will be a new drug tier for specialty drugs that will have 30% coinsurance, up to $150 per prescription, for UC Blue & Gold HMO and Kaiser HMO.
Preparing for 2026 and beyond
We owe it to the UC community to find and take every opportunity to control costs and protect the security and quality of UC's benefits. To this end, we have been working with expert consultants on a large-scale analysis of our overall benefits strategy and priorities. Throughout all our work to ensure UC's benefits meet the needs of our community, we will continue to seek out the counsel and engagement of faculty, staff, retiree and emeriti groups.
Keeping you informed
Open Enrollment begins on Thursday, October 31, this year. Keep an eye on UCnet and UCnetwork for regular updates, take advantage of your location's Open Enrollment resources and check your mailbox and email inbox for details and reminders. Your benefits and communications colleagues across UC stand ready to keep you informed and help you make the best choices for your needs and the needs of your family.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Lloyd
Vice President
Systemwide Human Resources
Lawn-pocalypse! Surviving Drought
Ah, summer! The season of sunburns, pool parties, and… lawn droughts. If your once lush, green carpet now looks like a crunchy brown doormat, you're not alone. Let's dive into why your yard is staging a dramatic death scene and what you can do to...
Bermuda grass and weeds overtaking drought stressed turf grass.
Open Enrollment ends Friday, Nov. 17, at 5 p.m.
Open Enrollment is coming to an end! You have until 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, to enroll or make changes to your benefits — just select "faculty & staff" or "retirees" on the Open Enrollment website. Some medical plan premiums are going up much more than usual, so it's critically important that you consider your options this year.
Don't forget to enroll or re-enroll in a flexible spending account (FSA)! Your other benefits will continue if you don't take action — with higher medical premiums, depending on your plan — but you must re-enroll each year to continue your Health or Dependent Care FSA.
Medical premium contributions for certain employee groups and locations may vary from the amounts shown on UCnet and in your Open Enrollment materials. To see rates specific to your location and bargaining unit (if represented), visit ALEX, your virtual benefits counselor. You'll also see the premiums that apply to you when you sign in to your UCPath account to enroll for 2024 benefits. For more assistance with your UC benefits, visit UCPath online.
More information about medical plan premium increases
UC added a subsidy of $93 million to its planned budget for medical plan costs to reduce the impact of rising costs on employee and retiree contributions to premiums. Despite this increased funding from UC, medical plan premiums for employees will be higher in 2024.
Please see additional Frequently asked questions about rising medical plan premiums in response to concerns shared with Systemwide Human Resources leadership.
Because of UC's commitment to equity, premium increases vary by salary as well as by plan and who is covered. Across plans, increases are lowest for coverage for an employee only in the $68,000 and lower salary range, and highest for family coverage (spouse plus a child or children) in the over $204,000 salary range.
Here is the range of increases in monthly premiums by plan:
- Kaiser HMO —$7.62 to $249.24
- UC Blue & Gold HMO — $15.32 to $96.83
- UC Health Savings Plan — $51.10 to $725.22
- UC Care — $43.92 to $201.55
The CORE medical plan remains available at $0 monthly premium for eligible employees and their families.
Related links
ALEX: Your personal benefits counselor
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about rising medical plan premiums
2024 health insurance rates explained by Cheryl Lloyd, VP of Systemwide HR
As Open Enrollment begins, I have heard from many members of our community about how they will be impacted by increased medical premiums for UC plans next year. Nothing I can say will help you balance your monthly budget, but I feel I owe you an explanation of the steps we've taken to maintain quality, choice, affordability and equity.
As someone who takes UC's commitment to high-quality and affordable health benefits very seriously, the premium increases for 2024 are painful. Even with UC covering over 80% of the cost, next year's medical premiums will make a bigger dent in paychecks that need to cover many other critical expenses.
Since we learned that medical costs were increasing for 2024 — nationally, as well as for UC — I have been working with UCOP leadership and Systemwide Human Resources colleagues to figure out how to ease the burden of rising costs on our employees and retirees.
Sacrificing quality or choice was never on the table. UC continues to offer CORE, a high-deductible medical plan, as a $0 premium option for budget-conscious employees who don't anticipate significant medical needs. For other employees, though, it is critical that UC continue to offer plans with a range of features, including low out-of-pocket costs for care and access to UC Health's world-class providers (access that is protected regardless of issues that may arise between UC Health providers and insurance carriers).
After many conversations and budget analyses, UCOP leaders committed to $93 million in subsidies — added to UC's original budget — directed toward lowering premiums. This follows a subsidy of $29.5 million last year, also added to lower premiums for employees and retirees, and several years of premium increases kept in check through well-managed costs and contracts.
As part of UC's commitment to equity, medical plan premium costs continue to be adjusted by salary range and premium increases are distributed equally by percentage across pay bands. For example, the premium for self-coverage in Kaiser increased by 26%; that's an increase of less than $8/month for employees who earn up to $68,000 a year and an increase of $38.58/month for employees who make over $204,000 a year.
The challenge of responding to the complicated factors that affect the cost of health care benefits has not gotten any easier during my four years leading Systemwide Human Resources. We will continue to work closely with our health plan partners to manage costs, to adjust UC's budget to maintain our commitment to quality and affordability, and to listen to and learn from our community.
If you have any questions or feedback, please reach out to Jay Henderson, associate vice president of UC Total Rewards, at healthandwelfarebenefits@ucop.edu.
Sincerely,
Cheryl Lloyd
Vice President
Systemwide Human Resources
Open Enrollment is here, through Nov. 17, 2023
Open Enrollment, your opportunity to enroll in the right benefits for you, started on Oct. 26 and extends through Nov. 17, 2023, at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
Health care costs — and medical plan premiums — are increasing nationwide, including for UC. These increases make it more important than ever to consider your options this year.
“As someone who takes UC's commitment to high-quality and affordable health benefits very seriously, the premium increases for 2024 are painful,” said Cheryl Lloyd, vice president of Systemwide Human Resources. “UC contributed $93 million in additional subsidies to lower premiums for employees and retirees, but these increases will still make a bigger dent in paychecks that have already been stretched by other rising costs.”
Monthly premium costs for employees are increasing:
- For UC Blue & Gold HMO, by around 15% for coverage that includes a spouse or spouse and children, and up to 18% for employee-only coverage
- For Kaiser, by around 26% for self-coverage or coverage for the employee and children, up to 74% for coverage of the employee and spouse
- For UC Care, by around 22% for coverage of employee and spouse, up to 26% for employee-only coverage
- For UC Health Savings Plan, by around 156% for coverage of employee and child(ren), up to 193% for employee and spouse coverage
The CORE medical plan remains available at $0 monthly premium for eligible employees and their families.
Please see Frequently asked questions about rising medical plan premiums for more information about the factors leading to these increases and UC's response.
If you're an employee, ALEX can help you understand your options. Answer a few questions and ALEX will provide rates specific to you (customized by your salary, location and bargaining unit, if you're a represented employee), as well as estimates of out-of-pocket costs for care and side-by-side plan comparisons. The Open Enrollment website is another great resource to learn more about this year's choices, changes, and costs.
Please note: You may have heard about provider agreement negotiations between Anthem Blue Cross and UC Health. Rest assured that UC's existing health plan agreement with Anthem — in place until 2025 — will continue to ensure access to UC Health physicians and facilities through the UC plans that Anthem administers (CORE, UC Care, UC Health Savings Plan, UC High Option, UC Medicare PPO and UC Medicare PPO without prescription drugs).
When you're ready, log in to UCPath (employees) or UCRAYS (retirees) to submit your open enrollment choices for 2024. Be sure to complete your elections by hitting the “Submit” button by Nov. 17, 2023, at 5 p.m.
RELATED LINKS
