Saturday, November 1, 2014
Open Enrollment Extended!
Great news! You have an extra weekend to complete your online Open Enrollment. The last day to complete online Open Enrollment has been moved from Friday November 14 to Monday November 17, 2014. You can still make changes to your coverage selections from November 18 until 5pm Tuesday November 25 – but those changes must be sent in writing to Human Resources.
Confirmations will be available on November 19. Watch for e-mail and system reminders that will include directions on accessing this important document.
Open Enrollment is your one chance each year to review and change your medical, dental, flexible spending account, long term disability, and life insurance benefit selections in the absence of a qualifying life event. Here are some of the more important things to remember this year:
Open Enrollment Central
Open Enrollment Central is your one-stop shop on the web to ensure you are fully informed about your benefits. There, you will find the Flexible Benefits Open Enrollment Guide, Your Guide To The Open Enrollment Process, links to important forms and much more.
Great News About Medical and Dental Premiums
Medical and dental premiums will remain the same as they were during the 2014 plan year.
Healthcare FSA Limit Increased
The IRS has increased the Health Care FSA maximum savings amount from $2,500 to $2,550 for 2015. This change occurred after the Quick Reference Guide went to press.
New Maximum Out of Pocket Limit For Prescription Drugs
Beginning in 2015, maximum out of pocket expenses in Lehigh’s prescription drug plan are $2,600 per person or $5,200 per family. The 10% that you pay for generic drugs and the 20% you pay for brand name drugs are not changing. But, for the first time, there is an overall maximum on the total amount you pay for drugs during the plan year.
NEW Online Spousal Surcharge Waiver Request
Employees who include a spouse or partner in Lehigh medical coverage will automatically be assessed a monthly $100 spousal surcharge.
To avoid paying the surcharge, an employee must positively affirm that his or her spouse/partner does not have access to medical insurance elsewhere for which they are asked to pay half or more of the premium cost; or that the spouse/partner is enrolled in that other medical plan as primary coverage. This is done through a spousal surcharge waiver request. Beginning this year, the spousal surcharge waiver request can be easily accessed and completed via an online survey form located in the Open Enrollment Central forms section. It must be completed and submitted by December 19, 2014 to avoid the surcharge.
If you have a spouse/partner on your medical plan and don’t complete the request prior to December 19, 2014, you will be charged a $100 monthly surcharge starting in January 2015. You will continue to be charged $100 monthly if you do not submit the waiver request. If your waiver request is accepted, the surcharge will stop, but prior months’ charges will not be refunded.
The bottom line: Don’t delay. Complete the waiver request before December 19, 2014.
Our Annual Very Important Reminders
- If you make a change to your current medical coverage or dental insurance elections, you need to complete the corresponding enrollment forms. These forms provide information to our vendors about the changes you want made. You can find the forms you need at Open Enrollment Central. You can also call HR at extension 83900 or drop by the office at 428 Brodhead if you need paper copies of the form. The forms should be returned to HR.
- If you do nothing during Open Enrollment, your benefit elections will remain the same for 2015 as they were in 2014 with the exception of Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA). FSAs do not automatically roll into the next plan year. To continue a Health Care or Dependent Care FSA for 2015, you MUST make that selection via the Open Enrollment process.
- If you have a 2014 Healthcare FSA, you can carry up to $500 of any unclaimed balance into the new year, but you must enroll in a Healthcare FSA for 2015 in order to do so.
- This is your annual opportunity to carefully consider how you choose to spend your benefits dollars. After the Open Enrollment period ends, changes to your benefits can only be made in response to a Qualifying Life Event.
Need some assistance? Call us at 610-758-3900. We can help! - See more at: http://spotlight.sites.lehigh.edu/article.php?id=564#sthash.WH2pEfKe.dpuf