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2021 Active Open Enrollment FAQ’s

MY HEALTH CARE PLAN WAS WITH AETNA, WHAT DO I NEED TO DO DURING OPEN ENROLLMENT?

Current Aetna members should plan to elect their health care plan (PPO Plan or HSA-Eligible) and coverage level (employee only, employee plus spouse, employee plus child(ren) or family) during open enrollment using HRMS. By actively enrolling, this guarantees our Aetna members will have the smoothest transition to Excellus as of 1/1/2021 and receive their new Excellus cards in a timely manner.

View the dedicated Excellus implementation webpage for more information on this transition.

 WHY IS THERE A RATE INCREASE DELAY THIS YEAR? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO ME?

Due to the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on our faculty and staff, the University will delay health and dental premium increases that would normally go into effect January 1, 2021 for six months until July 1, 2021.

The 2021 rates will be made available for employees to review and be aware of during the open enrollment period. The 2021 Rates page on the Total Rewards will provide details on your 2021 rate for 1/1/2021 – 6/30/2021 (this rate is the same rate as you had in 2020) as well as the rate for 7/1/2021 – 12/31/2021. The mid-year rate increase will not serve as a qualifying event for employees to make mid-year changes.

WHICH BENEFITS AUTOMATICALLY ROLL OVER TO 2021? WHICH ONES DO NOT?

Your 2020 health, dental, vision, legal, and life insurance elections will roll over into 2021 if no action is taken during open enrollment. Current Aetna members should plan to actively enroll in a health care plan in HRMS during the open enrollment period to ensure a timely transition to Excellus for 1/1/2021.

Your HSA and all types of FSA’s require action if you’d like to contribute in 2021. No action will result in not electing a contribution for the upcoming year.

LAST YEAR I HAD THE HYATT LEGAL PLAN; WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I DO NOTHING THIS YEAR?

The Hyatt Legal Plan is now the MetLife Legal Plan, which offers the same legal benefit you have come to expect. If you’d like to keep your same legal plan coverage as you had in 2020, no action is needed! Your MetLife Legal Plan coverage will roll over to 2021. If you would like to cancel your coverage, you must take action during open enrollment. You may enroll or cancel your MetLife Legal Plan coverage on YOURBenefitsExtras.com.

WHAT IS THE OUT OF AREA PAYMENT PROGRAM? WHO DO I CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT ELIGIBILITY?

This program is directed at University employees who, due to the business need of their position, must work out of the Rochester area and therefore cannot participate with Tier 1 health care providers. As a result, these employees will receive a stipend to assist with health care costs. To confirm your eligibility, reach out to your department.

 WHERE DO I ENROLL IN MY BENEFITS?

  1. Health care, dental, FSA and HSA:
    Log in to HRMS and select the 2021 open enrollment link on the homepage to make these elections for 2020.
  2. VSP Vision Care and MetLife Legal Plan Coverage:
    From the HRMS homepage, select the YOUR Benefits Extras link to review/update your VSP Vision Care and/or MetLife Legal Plan coverage.
  3. Life Insurance:
    From the HRMS homepage, select the Securian Financial link to review/update your GUL Insurance beneficiaries and make changes to your coverage.

**WHO CAN I CONTACT IF I HAVE PROBLEMS ENROLLING?
Contact Ask-URHR at (585) 275–8747 or ask-urhr@rochester.edu.

**HOW DO I ENROLL IN MY BENEFITS FROM HOME?

To log in to HRMS from computers not connected to the University network, you must be enrolled in Duo two-factor authentication. Use your NetID and password to enroll in Duo for HRMS. As soon as you’re enrolled, two-factor authentication will be active, and you will have the ability to log in to HRMS from home. Contact the IT Help Desk at 275-2000 with any questions.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I SUCCESSFULLY ENROLLED IN MY BENEFITS?

  1. After submitting your elections for health care, dental, FSA and HSA, you will receive an email from HRMS. If you did not receive an email, you may not have clicked the “final submit” button in HRMS. You will also receive a detailed confirmation statement of your 2021 benefits in the mail in December. Employees are encouraged to save both forms of enrollment confirmation.
  2. After submitting your Securian Financial election, if you chose to receive information electronically you will receive an immediate email. You will also receive a new or updated Certificate of Coverage in the mail in January if you increased or decreased your coverage.
  3. After submitting your VSP Vision Care and/or MetLife Legal Plan elections via YOURBenefitsExtras.com, you will receive an immediate confirmation email. 

HOW CAN I FIND AN IN-NETWORK VSP PROVIDER?

Visit the VSP website at www.vsp.com or call VSP directly at 800-877-7195

  • Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
  • Saturday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
  • Sunday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Note: The VSP Vision plan does offer out-of-network coverage. Visit the VSP website at www.vsp.com for details on the differences between in-network and out-of-network coverage.

IF I HAD AN FSA IN 2020, BUT DO NOTHING DURING OPEN ENROLLMENT, WHAT WILL HAPPEN?
Your 2020 FSA election will not automatically roll over to 2021, so you’ll need elect your 2021 contribution amount during open enrollment. You may not change your annual contribution amount after it has been elected unless you experience a corresponding qualifying event during the year. 

WHAT HAPPENS IF I HAVE REMAINING FUNDS IN MY HEALTH CARE FSA OR LIMITED PURPOSE FSA AT THE END OF THE YEAR?

If you are electing to contribute to a Health Care FSA or Limited Purpose FSA in 2021 (minimum election is $100), then you will be eligible to have up to $550 of your remaining 2020 funds roll over to 2021. If you do not make an active election for either type of FSA, then any unused 2020 funds will be forfeited. You will have until April 30, 2021 to submit remaining claims for qualified services in 2020.

WHAT IS A DEPENDENT CARE FSA?
A Dependent Care FSA is a tax-advantaged savings account designed to help you save money on qualified childcare expenses for a tax dependent child under 13, or qualified care expenses for a dependent adult.

HOW DOES A LIMITED PURPOSE FSA WORK?

If you enroll in the YOUR HSA-Eligible health care plan and contribute to an HSA, you are also allowed to contribute to a Limited Purpose FSA. This type of FSA can provide reimbursement for qualified dental or vision expenses, but cannot reimburse any out-of-pocket medical expenses until after the Tier 1 deductible has been met. If you meet your HSA-Eligible Plan deductible, you can then use your Limited Purpose FSA to reimburse qualified medical expenses. The minimum annual contribution into a Limited Purpose FSA is $100. The maximum annual contribution for 2021 is $2,750.

WHEN CAN I CHANGE MY HSA CONTRIBUTION?
You can change your HSA contribution amount at any point throughout the year, however, open enrollment is the best time for eligible employees to certify to receive the University HSA funding. Additionally, if you had an HSA in 2020, your elected contribution amount will not roll over to 2021. So, although you can make changes to your contribution amount at any point throughout the year, it’s important to note that action is required during open enrollment if you’d like to begin contributing to your HSA at the start of 2021.

HOW DO I RECEIVE THE UNIVERSITY HSA FUNDING?

Full-time faculty, staff, earning less than $62,100 and residents and fellows (salary band one), who are enrolled in the YOUR HSA-Eligible Health Care Plan are eligible to receive the University HSA funding. Qualified employees enrolling in single coverage will receive $200 into their HSA and those enrolled in any plan that includes dependents will receive $400. To receive your HSA funding, you can either:

  • Elect to make voluntary payroll contributions to an HSA.
    OR
  • If you do not wish to make voluntary HSA contributions, you MUST complete the HSA Certification after completing your other open enrollment elections. To do this, log in to HRMS and follow the path, Main Menu > Self Service > Benefits > 2021 HSA Certification.

IF I AM CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN THE HSA-ELIGIBLE PLAN AND CONTRIBUTE TO AN HSA, BUT SWITCH TO THE PPO PLAN FOR 2021, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE REMAININ­G FUNDS IN MY HSA? CAN I CONTRIBUTE TO A HEALTH CARE FSA?

Any balance remaining in your HSA is yours to use on qualified medical, dental and vision expenses, even if you switch health care plans. If you enroll in the PPO Plan for the 2021 plan year, you will be able to contribute to a Health Care FSA.

WHAT ARE THE “TIERS” OF THE HEALTH CARE PLANS AND HOW DO I CHOOSE ONE?

The University Health Care Plans offer three tiers (networks) of providers with different levels of coverage. You do NOT choose a tier when electing a health care plan; the tier you fall into is determined based on the network in which your provider/facility participates:

  • Tier 1 – Accountable Health Partners (AHP) Providers: AHP is a panel of University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group providers and carefully selected community partners. When you use an AHP Provider you will have a lower deductible, copay, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximum than when using tier 2 and tier 3 providers. Please note, all AHP Providers are also in the Excellus national network. To find an AHP Provider, go to www.ahpnetwork.com/search-provider/.
  • Tier 2 – Third-Party Administrator (TPA) Network: Providers that fall into Tier 2, are providers that are in the Excellus BlueCross Blue Shield national network. Services provided at the tier 2 benefit level will be subject to higher deductibles, coinsurance, copays and out-of-pocket maximums than tier 1 providers.
  • Tier 3 – Out-Of-Network: This includes any providers who do not participate in the AHP or the Excellus national network. Services provided at the tier 3 benefit level will be subject to higher deductibles, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums and will be capped at the reasonable and customary levels; you may be subject to balance billing.

WHAT IS MY DEDUCTIBLE, COPAY, COINSURANCE AND OUT-OF-POCKET MAXIMUM (OOPM)?

Your deductible is the amount of out of pocket expense that you must pay for health services before the plan begins to pay benefits for covered services. The PPO Plan includes a deductible for inpatient, outpatient, urgent care, emergency room visits and out-of-network care. Other services on the PPO Plan are covered by a copay, which is a fixed dollar amount you must pay a provider at the time services received.

The HSA-Eligible Plan includes a deductible for all covered services. Once your deductible is met, the services you receive will move to the coinsurance phase, which is the percentage of the fee that the plan pays for covered services.

Lastly, your out of pocket max is the maximum amount you pay each plan year to received covered services after you meet your deductible. Once you meet this max, the plan pays 100% of covered services you receive and in-network (Tier 1 and 2) and out of network (Tier 3) are subject to separate out of pocket maximums.

For more information on this terms and how they apply to the UR Health Care Plans, use the Health Plan Comparison Chartand the Health Program Guide (coming soon).

HOW IS MY MEDICAL COVERAGE AFFECTED FOR ME AND/OR MY SPOUSE ONCE I TURN 65 YEARS OLD?

If you are still actively working and you or your spouse turn 65 and become Medicare-eligible, your Health Plan through the University would continue paying primary.  If you or your spouse enroll in any parts of Medicare, Medicare would act as secondary coverage.  If you have an HSA account, you can continue to contribute as long as you are not enrolled in any parts of Medicare. If you enroll in any parts of Medicare (including Part A, B, C or D), you can no longer contribute pre-tax dollars to the HSA account. (If you would like to contribute to an HSA, you should not enroll in any part of Medicare coverage. If you are collecting Social Security benefits, you cannot waive Medicare Part A coverage.)

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND MEDALLION DENTAL PLANS?

A chart comparing both options can be found on the Total Rewards Website under Dental Plans.

WHAT IS THE ALEX TOOL AND WHY SHOULD I USE IT?
ALEX is an interactive benefits tool that will guide you through the benefit plan selection process, explaining terminology, plan differences, and comparing cost estimates. This tool is not an election tool and employees can reference “Where Do I Enroll in Benefits” to better understand where to enroll.

When utilizing ALEX, four health care “plans” are displayed during the cost comparative section. The University health care plan offers two options; HSA –Eligible and PPO, and this section of ALEX does an additional comparison of the two plans if only AHP (Tier 1) providers are used. Employees choose a provider each time they seek a service and that provider will fall into one of the three tiers of the plan. For more information about how the three Tiers work, see “What are the “Tiers” of the Health Care Plans and How do I choose one?”

WHAT LEGAL SERVICES ARE COVERED UNDER THE METLIFE LEGAL PLAN?

Many legal services are covered under the MetLife Legal Plan, including estate planning documents, real estate matters, family law and elder care issues.  For more information, visit info.legalplans.com and enter access code: 9900347.  You can enroll on YOURBenefitsExtras.com.

HOW MUCH GUL INSURNACE DO I NEED AND WHAT WILL IT COST?

Use Securian’s online life insurance decision tool, Benefit Scout™, to help you and your family determine how much life insurance you need and what it will cost, so that you can make your insurance elections with confidence.  Log on to rochester.edu/people with your NetID and click on “Securian Financial”.  Then, click on “Get started” and “Visit Benefit Scout™.”

WHAT IF I RECEIVE A PHONE CALL AND AM UNSURE IF IT IS SPAM?

Never provide personal information, such as your Social Security number, over the phone. If a representative from the Office of Total Rewards is calling you,

  • We will always identify ourselves as being from the “Office of Total Rewards” (not UR Insurance, etc.)
  • We will always ask for your Employee ID number before verifying other personal information

We encourage you to always ask the caller to identify themselves and if you feel that you may be receiving a spam call, hang up and call us back at (585) 275-2084.

WHERE CAN I GO FOR MORE INFORMATION?

  1. Total Rewards Website: edu/totalrewards
  2. Total Rewards Tools and Videos Page: edu/totalrewards/video/
  3. Call your Excellus Dedicated Care Team at 1-800-659-2808 or 585-232-2632
  4. Attend an Open Enrollment Virtual Q&A or Webinar. View the schedule.