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HR Benefits Summer Open Enrollment

Summer Open Enrollment and In-Person Wellness and Benefits Fair Coming Soon!

The University of Houston SUMMER BENEFITS ENROLLMENT PERIOD will be July 3, 2023, to July 14, 2023. This is your opportunity to review and make changes to your benefits for the upcoming plan year, as well as to attend this year’s Human Resources Wellness and Benefits Fair on July 13, 2023.

 During Summer Enrollment, you’ll be able to make the following changes to your benefits:

  • Health
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Optional Term Life Insurance (EOI)
  • Dependent Term Life Insurance (EOI)
  • Voluntary Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance
  • Short-term and Long-term Disability (EOI)
  • TexFlex flexible spending accounts (FSAs) – Health Care, Dependent Care and Limited FSAs

             ** Some benefit changes require Evidence of Insurability (EOI)

 

Important points to remember:

  • ERS will begin mailing Personal Benefits Enrollment Statements (PBES) on June 19, 2023.
  • Log into your ERS account now to ensure that your personal information is accurate.
    To log in, go to the ERS website and click the brown tab entitled My Account Login on any ERS page. If you do not remember the log in, please follow the “forgot my username” options.
  • All Family Status Changes (FSCs) and Post Hire Changes (PHCs) between June 26 – August 31 will be processed by Human Resources.
  • If you do not enroll or make changes during Summer Enrollment, you will be automatically enrolled in the plans you have in 2023.

New Plan Year 2023-2024:

Effective September 1, 2023, the TRS State Contribution rate will increase by 0.25%.

The new retirement contribution rates are as follows:

  • Employee: 8.25%
  • State: 8.25% (remains the same)

Premiums for the following plans will increase slightly:

        Some employees may see an additional premium difference if they've had a salary or age category change as of Sept. 1, 2023.

View all Plan Year 2024 rates.

 

New third party administrators:

  • Beginning September 1, 2023, Eyemed Vision Care, LLC, will be the new third party administrator for the State of Texas Vision plan. Superior Vision Services will manage the program until Aug 31, 2023.
  • Beginning Jan 1, 2024, the HealthSelect Prescription Drug Program will be administered by Express Scripts. OptumRx will manage the program until Dec 31., 2023.

 

Increases to out-of-pocket maximums:

The HealthSelect of Texas® and Consumer Directed HealthSelectSM health plans’ total annual in-network out-of-pocket maximums (medical and pharmacy combined) will increase to $7,500 per person per individual (up from $7,050) and $15,000 per family (up from $14,100) to align with the IRS maximums.

 

Updates to flexible spending account (FSA) contribution and carryover limits:

Per the IRS, for Plan Year 2024, participants with a health care or limited-purpose FSA will be able to set aside up to $3,050 for the year through monthly tax-free deductions. The maximum contribution for dependent care FSAs remains the same at $5,000 for the year.

The carryover amount for health care and limited-purpose FSAs is increasing. Participants in those FSAs in Plan Year 2024 can carry over up to $610 from Plan Year 2024 (ending Aug.31, 2024) to Plan Year 2025 (starting Sept.1, 2025). 

 

Dental Benefits:

No dental plan ID cards will be issued.  To keep costs low, active employees who sign up for GBP dental insurance will not get an ID card, and participating dentists shouldn’t require them. Participants can download a virtual ID card to their smartphone through the Delta Dental app. They can also download and print their ID information from http://www.ERSdentalplans.com or call Delta Dental toll-free at (888) 818-7925 (TTY: 711) to request a mailed paper copy. Covered dependents cannot access the app, and their names are not listed on the card. A dependent can verify coverage with a provider by giving either their name or the member’s name and plan ID number.

 

 

SAVE THE DATE: HR Wellness and Benefits Fair – Thursday, July 13, 2023!

UH Human Resources is excited to announce that the 2023 Wellness and Benefits Fair: DISCOvering your Wellness Benefits will be held in-person on Thursday, July 13, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., in the UH Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. Look for more information on the Wellness and Benefits Fair coming soon! Visit the Human Resources website for information on employee benefits including the most recent updates.

Thank you,

Sandra Armstrong
Executive Director, Human Resources Operations
University of Houston
PH 713-743-3988
HRBen@central.uh.edu