2008 Woodie Awards
Healthcare changes to take effect
Nicki Reamer
Issue date: 2/23/06 Section: News
Changes to UT faculty and staff healthcare coverage include network changes under special circumstances, domestic partner benefits and prescription drug availability.
A special open enrollment period from Feb. 17 through March 10 was announced to help with the amount of changes to these three sectors, according to an information packet released by Human Resources.
"This open enrollment period is only going to pertain to [certain] situations," said Deithra Glaze, Human Resources director of benefits. "The last option for the open enrollment period particularly pertains to the employees that work on the NASA project."
UT employees working on the NASA project are situated in the Cleveland area, Glaze said.
The healthcare coverage they went with in the past does not include hospitals and doctors local to Cleveland.
"What we're doing with those individuals is [letting] them know that we do have other options out there," Glaze said.
The best decision for those faculty members is to go through Medical Mutual of Ohio for their coverage, which covers their local area's doctors, she added.
Only employees who fall under that particular circumstance will be allowed to change networks during the special open enrollment period, according to the HR information packet.
Plan deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for network and non-network users have been reformulated.
For medical services provided on or after Feb. 1, appropriate charges for network services will only be applied toward the network deductible, as well as the network out-of-pocket maximum, according to the HR information packet.
Non-network charges will only affect non-network deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.
"What we're trying to do is to make sure that we continue to steer employees in the direction that in-network is the best deal for you and the university," Glaze said.
The deductibles applied to covered persons do not change between network and non-network coverage, but the out-of-pocket maximum does.
A special open enrollment period from Feb. 17 through March 10 was announced to help with the amount of changes to these three sectors, according to an information packet released by Human Resources.
"This open enrollment period is only going to pertain to [certain] situations," said Deithra Glaze, Human Resources director of benefits. "The last option for the open enrollment period particularly pertains to the employees that work on the NASA project."
UT employees working on the NASA project are situated in the Cleveland area, Glaze said.
The healthcare coverage they went with in the past does not include hospitals and doctors local to Cleveland.
"What we're doing with those individuals is [letting] them know that we do have other options out there," Glaze said.
The best decision for those faculty members is to go through Medical Mutual of Ohio for their coverage, which covers their local area's doctors, she added.
Only employees who fall under that particular circumstance will be allowed to change networks during the special open enrollment period, according to the HR information packet.
Plan deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums for network and non-network users have been reformulated.
For medical services provided on or after Feb. 1, appropriate charges for network services will only be applied toward the network deductible, as well as the network out-of-pocket maximum, according to the HR information packet.
Non-network charges will only affect non-network deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums.
"What we're trying to do is to make sure that we continue to steer employees in the direction that in-network is the best deal for you and the university," Glaze said.
The deductibles applied to covered persons do not change between network and non-network coverage, but the out-of-pocket maximum does.