Open Enrollment: new choices await you

By Cynthia Lee

There's good news for Open Enrollment if your medical plan is Health Net or Blue Cross Plus: Your premiums for 2008 are going down. Health Net members will see a .5%-to-18.3% cost drop in their premiums, depending on the kind of coverage and the salary band they fall into. Blue Cross Plus subscribers will save from 12.8% to 33.9%.

Kaiser and Blue Cross PPO members will see slight cost increases.

In looking over your choices in the packet being mailed to your home for Open Enrollment Nov. 1-27, you'll notice a few improvements.

For example, a new CIGNA Choice Fund may be more cost-effective if you want PPO health coverage and access to a network that includes most UCLA Medical Center and Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center physicians. To check whether your physician is in the network, call (800) 401-4041. UC will provide employees in this plan with a Health Reimbursement Account of $1,000 to $2,000 a year and other benefits to help you meet your annual deductible for eligible medical and prescription drug expenses. The plan has several components that kick in once you use all the dollars in your fund and after you meet the deductible.

"Employees with the Blue Cross PPO plan should take a close look at it," advised Lydia Oller, director of benefit services at Campus Human Resources. "There might be some financial advantages for them with the new plan."

UC has also decided to invest more funding in behavioral health services in 2008. United Behavioral Health (UBH), with a large network of mental health-care providers, will offer a new and different mental health benefit to all medical plan members except those in the Core Plan. Kaiser members will have access to UBH services as well as to Kaiser's own behavioral health services. For all UBH members, the first three UBH in-network mental health visits will be 100% covered.

"This is a long-term commitment to quality services for behavioral health," Oller said. It's also a recognition that mental illnesses, including depression, are common, affecting an estimated 54 million Americans each year. Such illnesses "are the number-one cause of low productivity in the workplace. By investing in the mental health of our employees, we are encouraging a positive effect on their personal lives as well as their lifetime in the workplace."

Another new option, provided by StayWell Health Management, is UC Living Well. This program will be offered at no cost to employees, retirees and family members enrolled in all medical plans, except Kaiser, which runs its own wellness program.

Under UC Living Well, employees can voluntarily take a confidential health assessment and get personalized feedback to help maintain or improve their health. Survey takers will receive a $75 gift certificate, which UCLA Recreation will match with another $75 discount for services, for a total of $150 toward a gym membership and other eligible purchases. StayWell will also offer personalized wellness coaching online, by e-mail and by phone.

One important change in UC health benefits is the elimination of PacifiCare HMO California. Current members will automatically be transitioned to the Health Net HMO plan unless they choose a different plan during the November Open Enrollment. To ensure that you keep your current physician, Oller recommends that you be proactive by going online and selecting the Health Net plan as well as your physician. Also, double-check your new ID card when you receive it in January.

For more details, visitAt Your Service.