Start checking your mailbox at home — UC headquarters is sending out our 2023 open enrollment packets Wednesday through Friday (Oct. 19-21).

UC’s open enrollment website will go live on Monday, Oct. 24, providing another source of information. Your time to take action starts at 8 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. See At a Glance below.

You should also be sure to consult the UC Davis open enrollment website to see the special, subsidized premiums for the UC Blue & Gold health maintenance organization, or HMO, one of your medical plan options that includes access to UC Davis Health. Reasons to get your care from UC Davis Health, and how to make it your choice during open enrollment.

The reduced Blue & Gold premiums are for UC Davis, UC Davis Health and Agriculture and Natural Resources employees only. The premiums you will see printed in UC’s open enrollment brochure, and which will be posted on UC’s open enrollment website, do not apply to you; your costs are reduced to match your other HMO option, Kaiser Permanente, which does not provide access to UC Davis Health.

Your choices

Open enrollment is your annual opportunity to make changes to choices you have made previously for the following benefits: medical, dental, vision, supplemental health and legal plans, and health and dependent care flexible spending accounts.

If you have no changes to make, you need take no action during open enrollment — and your 2022 choices will carry over, with two exceptions: health and dependent care flexible spending accounts, or FSAs. If you wish to continue one or both, you must re-enroll.

Benefit plans for staff and faculty next year will be the same as this year. However, there are some important changes — including new resources to support you, enhanced benefits and changes in monthly premiums — so take the time to understand your options.

“Access to quality health care is more important than ever right now, and I’m very proud of our work to maintain a choice of high-quality options for UC faculty, staff and retirees and their families,” said Cheryl Lloyd, vice president of systemwide Human Resources.

“As costs rise nationwide, we’re committed to working closely with our health insurance partners to keep costs as low as possible, and to continuing to cover the majority of monthly premium costs for eligible faculty, staff and retirees.”

Unfortunately, medical premiums continue to increase annually for employers nationwide, including UC, where employees will see higher rates in 2023.

Premium increases

UC offers five medical plans and assesses monthly premiums based on where you fall within four pay bands; the lower your salary, the lower your premium. A UCnet article posted Monday (Oct. 17) gave the range of increases for each of four medical plan options — but the range presented for UC Blue & Gold does not reflect the subsidized premiums for UC Davis, UC Davis Health and ANR employees.

Here is the correct information (note the Blue & Gold range is the same as the Kaiser range):

• Health maintenance organizations, or HMOs
  • UC Blue & Gold — $1.93 (self) to $5.79 (family)
  • Kaiser Permanente — $1.93 (self) to $5.79 (family)
• Preferred provider organizations, or PPOs
  • UC Health Savings Plan — $4.47 (self) to $13.37 (family)
  • UC Care — $27.29 (self) to $86.16 (family)

Notes: The increases are the same across all pay bands: Your fifth medical plan option, CORE, is a high-deductible PPO offered at no cost to eligible faculty and staff.

Costs for voluntary short-term disability insurance (in which you can enroll any time all year) will increase an average of $4 per month.

More support

To help you take control of your health, UC is offering more support than ever to learn about your options. Check out the following resources, starting Monday (Oct. 24):

• Open enrollment website
• Virtual Systemwide Benefits Fair, with “booths” hosted by benefits plans, Oct. 24-Nov. 18
• ALEX, your virtual benefits counselor, offering a quick and easy Q&A to help you determine which plan is right for you

UC Davis Employee Benefits is offering assistance via Zoom, in four sessions as listed below. Click on the date to register.

• Thursday, Oct. 27 — 10 a.m.-noon
• Tuesday, Nov. 1 — 1-3 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 10 — 9-11 a.m.
• Tuesday, Nov. 15 — 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

UCnet contributed to this report.