UC Davis - Office of the Chancellor - UCD Directives
UCD Directives
UC DAVIS: VICE CHANCELLOR-ADMINISTRATION
November 1, 2000
DEANS, DIRECTORS, DEPARTMENT CHAIRS
AND CAMPUS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS
RE: Open Enrollment 2000
The Benefits Open Enrollment period, which allows employees the annual
opportunity to make certain changes to their group insurance plans, will
begin on Wednesday, November 1 and will end at midnight (PST) on Thursday,
November 30.
During this period, employees may transfer to a different medical and/or
dental plan or add eligible family members to their current plans. They
may also enroll in or deenroll from UC-sponsored medical, dental, and
vision plans, as well as change participation in the Dependent Care
Assistance Program (DepCare) and the Tax Savings on Insurance Premiums
(TIP) program. Also this year, certain insurance coverage options will be
available for employees' same-sex domestic partners and their
children/grandchildren.
Career and limited career employees can make Open Enrollment changes
through the Open Enrollment Action Line and transactions must be completed
by midnight (PST) on November 30. Core employees must use forms to make
their changes, and the forms must be received in their Benefits or Payroll
Office by 5:00 p.m. on November 30. There will be no exceptions to these
deadlines.
All Open Enrollment changes will be effective January 1, 2001.
Benefits Information
Employees will soon be receiving the Open Enrollment packet to assist them
in making their changes. The information has been streamlined this year to
make the most important information more accessible and to make the Open
Enrollment process easier for everyone. The packet will contain:
* The 2000 Open Enrollment Statement
* An Open Enrollment 2000 booklet (including a worksheet),
* A Medical Plan Summary spreadsheet, and
* A Request for Additional Open Enrollment Materials postcard.
The statement will show current benefits enrollments and enrolled family
members. The booklet includes an overview of year 2001 key benefit changes
and other pertinent benefits information. The worksheet has complete
instructions for using the Open Enrollment Action Line. The spreadsheet
compares specific benefits of the medical plans available. Employees may
use the postcard to have additional materials, including an overview of
changes to all the UC-sponsored plans, mailed to their home.
This year, the UCbencom website (www.ucop.edu/bencom
) will have everything necessary for
researching plan providers, HMO service areas, prescription drug
formularies, and benefits publications. Health Pages, an interactive
service, will once again allow employees to enter their ZIP code to find
out the medical plan service areas that cover the area where they live.
UCbencom also provides links to other websites including insurance carriers
and government agencies.
The campus Benefits and Wellness Faire, which will be held on Thursday,
November 16 at Freeborn Hall from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. is another
excellent source of benefits information. It provides a great opportunity
to ask questions of plan representatives and to take advantage of the
various wellness activities offered.
Year 2001 Health Plan and Insurance Highlights
Here are some highlights of this year's Open Enrollment:
* During a one-year pilot program, members can transfer into and out of any
UC-sponsored California HMO on a monthly basis, subject to various payroll
deadlines.
* Most California HMOs and UC Care have reduced mental health outpatient
copayments. In addition, serious emotional disturbances of a child and nine
other diagnoses will be covered under the same terms and conditions as
other medical benefits.
* Aetna U.S. Healthcare replaces Prudential HealthCare, a member company of
Aetna U.S. Healthcare, as administrator of the UC Care, Core, and High
Option plans. UC Care has significant plan changes effective January 1,
2001, primarily due to the transition from Prudential HealthCare to Aetna
U.S. Healthcare.
* In late October, Aetna will mail all UC Care plan members a complete
packet about benefits and other plan information.
* Eligibility has been expanded for an employee's same-sex domestic partner
and/or partner's children and grandchildren to include the legal plan, the
Accidental Death and Dismemberment plan (AD&D), and the Basic Dependent
Life and Expanded Dependent Life plans.
Salary Reduction Programs
The Dependent Care Assistance Program (DepCare) allows employees to pay
eligible dependent care expenses on a pretax, salary reduction basis.
During Open Enrollment, employees may enroll in DepCare or change or cancel
their DepCare salary reduction amount.
Beginning in 2001, a child's 13th birthday will constitute an eligible
family status change. That means participants can change or cancel your
DepCare contributions at that time. Expenses incurred on or after the
child's 13th birthday cannot be reimbursed through DepCare, unless the
child is incapable of self-care as defined by the Internal Revenue Service.
There are also additional eligible changes new for 2001 that allow for
changes to the DepCare contribution mid-year. See the Open Enrollment
booklet for details.
Tax Savings on Insurance Premiums (TIP) allows employees to pay their
health plan premiums, if any, on a pretax, salary reduction basis.
Participation in TIP is automatic. During Open Enrollment employees may
reenroll in or opt out of TIP. There are also eligible changes new for 2001
that allow changes to TIP participation mid-year. See the Open Enrollment
booklet for details.
For Further Information
To provide additional Open Enrollment information to employees, the campus
Benefits Office will offer the following on-campus presentations:
Friday, Nov 3
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Memorial Union, Fielder Room
Wednesday, Nov 8
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Memorial Union, Mee Room
Friday, Nov 17
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Memorial Union, Mee Room
Tuesday, Nov 21
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Memorial Union, Mee Room
Monday, Nov 27
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Memorial Union, Moss Room
Additional Open Enrollment information may be obtained by calling Employee
Benefits at (530) 752-1774.
Dennis Shimek
Associate Vice Chancellor -
Human Resources
00-143
