Office of Internal Communications
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July 1, 2004
BENEFITS ENROLLMENT
RUNS JULY 26 – AUG. 20
State employees soon will have the opportunity to exercise their insurance options. During “Benefitness, Summer Enrollment 2004,” University of Houston benefits-eligible faculty and staff can add coverage or make changes to their benefit plans between July 26 and Aug. 20. Recently, the Employee Retirement System of Texas (ERS), which manages health insurance benefits for state employees and retirees, announced a 5.13 percent hike in health insurance rates for UH faculty and staff with covered dependents. Beginning Sept. 1, the employee portion of the HealthSelect insurance plan, which is administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, will increase from $171.37 to $180.16 for employee and spouse; from $114.74 to $120.63 for employee and children; and from $286.12 to $300.79 for employee and family. According to Robert Herrington, assistant vice president for human resources, the rate increase is a result of rising health care costs. All benefits-eligible faculty and staff can participate in summer enrollment by visiting the benefits office in the Department of Human Resources (352 McElhinney Hall) or by visiting ERS OnLine at www.ers.state.tx.us/. (See ERS OnLine Tips sidebar for information on online enrollment.) Lane Renfro, benefits manager in UH’s human resources department, said there are definite advantages to making online changes to insurance coverage. “One advantage is that someone can make these changes from any computer, anywhere,” Renfro said. “The most important advantage in using ERS OnLine is that it saves time. Once benefits changes are confirmed online, they are in the ERS system. Changes made at the UH benefits office go through data processing and then are sent to ERS, which takes longer.” During summer enrollment, faculty and staff members enrolled in TexFlex, the state’s health care reimbursement program, must re-enroll to maintain their account status. If current TexFlex members do not re-enroll during summer enrollment, they will not be able to continue their participation in the program. Other insurance plans available to UH faculty and staff members include dental coverage and optional insurance programs that include term life, long-term care, long- and short-term disability and accidental death and dismemberment. Because HealthSelect is administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, members are eligible for the Vision One Eyecare Program managed by Cole Managed Vision. For coverage changes that require evidence of insurability (EOI), faculty and staff can begin submitting EOI applications July 1. The ERS Web site currently is offering tips on how to prevent delays when processing EOI applications. Renfro will answer questions regarding summer enrollment and benefits at several Q&A sessions to be held July 29 through Aug. 18 in Room 102 of the UH Science Center. (See Summer Enrollment Q&A sidebar for a complete list dates and times.) “I’ll give a general overview of summer enrollment,” he said. “Then it will be a question-and-answer session. I’ll be there to answer every question that’s asked.” Mike Emery
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