At Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), the needs of the patient come first — and that includes you and your family, as about 6 percent of our patients are also our employees. This Open Enrollment period, take a few moments to find out how the way you elect your benefits can serve up your health your way. The choices you make during this time will stay with you for the rest of the year so it’s important to make wise choices.
Open Enrollment, your annual opportunity to choose the benefits that best fit the needs of you and your family, begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31. The benefits you elect will take effect on Jan. 1, 2017 and last until Dec. 31, 2017.
The following benefits are part of Open Enrollment:
- Health insurance, dental and vision insurance
- Accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) insurance
- Health care flexible spending accounts, which reimburse out-of-pocket medical expenses for you and your dependents
- Dependent day care flexible spending accounts, which reimburse day care service expenses for your dependents.
What’s new this year?
- VUMC employees will see modest increases for the Aetna Plus and the Aetna Health Fund, while Aetna Select will reflect higher premiums where, due to increasing costs of claims in this plan, the employer/employee share is not equitable to the other plans. While the copay amounts will remain the same for the health plan, there will be an increase in out-of-network deductible costs. They will also see increases in the Cigna dental payroll deduction.
- For those employees who seek non-emergency care out-of-network, a prior authorization process will be in place for some services beginning in January 2017. This is to ensure you are getting the appropriate care and the best value for your health plan coverage. Prior authorization can be obtained by calling the 1-800 number on the back of your Aetna ID card. If the procedure is done without prior authorization, the out-of-pocket limit will not apply to that out-of-network claim. Visit vumc-oe.com for a list of services that require prior authorization.
- Beginning in 2017, the Go for the Gold credit will be automatically added to your health plan account pretax and will be used to offset certain medical expenses.
- The eligibility for same-sex domestic partners has changed for VUMC benefit programs. In 2017, the following people will be eligible for benefit programs:
— Benefit eligible employees
— Spouses (same- or opposite sex)
— Natural, step- or adopted children up to age 26
— Other qualified dependents, such as disabled children over age 26
Employees who do not enroll will keep their current benefit coverage for 2017. However, you will not receive the $20 tobacco credit and a $100 spousal surcharge will apply if appropriate. You will have no money designated for your Health Care or Dependent Care FSAs for 2017, even if you had money in your accounts for 2016. If you are waiving benefits, you will still need to log in to My VUMC Benefits and indicate you are doing so.
Visit vumc-oe.com for a list of webinars, enrollment labs and decision guides. You’ll also find a link to Ask Alex, our interactive health plan election helper for Medical Center employees. If you have additional questions, contact the Employee Service Center.
