2012 Open Enrollment Information | Human Resources | Georgia College: Georgia's Public Liberal Arts University

2012 Open Enrollment

Active Employees Open Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)

Retirees Open Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)

Below is an outline of the 2012 Plan Year benefits changes.

Plan Year 2012 Increases. The University System of Georgia BCBS Open (PPO) and the BlueChoice HMO premiums will increase by 5.2%; BCBS HSA/Open Access (HSA/PPO) premiums will increase by 5.2% plus the employee premium percent change from 10% to 15%; and the Kaiser HMO premiums will increase by 8.1%. The rate increases can be found at http://www.gcsu.edu/humanresources/benefits.htm.

Retirement contributions increase. Effective July 1, 2012, the employer contribution rate for the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia will increase from 10.28% to 11.41% and the employee contribution rate will increase from 5.53% to 6%. The employer contribution rate for the Optional Retirement Plan (Regents Retirement Plan) will remain at 9.24% and the employee contribution rate will remain at 5%.

Network change to Blue Open Access POS for BCBS PPO and HSA/PPO Plans. Blue Open Access POS is a point-of-service plan, which means employees will have the flexibility to choose doctors in or out-of-network. Of course, in-network care will usually cost less than out-of-network care. You also have the added bonus of seeing these doctors without the need of a referral. To see if your provider is in-network, please visit http://www.bcbsga.com/bor. Your new network for the PPO and HSA/PPO plans is the Blue Open Access Network. If your physicians are not listed, please let me know so that our office can work with BCBS to get your physician in the POS network. Currently Oconee Regional Medical Center is not in-network, but Oconee Regional has reached out to Blue Cross Blue Shield to become an in-network provider in the POS network.

Elimination of the Consumer Choice Plans. The Consumer Choice Option was established in 1999 to allow participants to nominate a Georgia out-of-network healthcare provider to render medical care to the covered member at the Georgia Network level of benefit coverage. This option is under-utilized and current participants will transition into the applicable Open Access Plans.

Update PPO prescription plan to eliminate quarterly Rx out-of-pocket maximum. Beginning January 1, 2012, the PPO prescription plan will move to an annual out-of-pocket maximum. The new annual out-of-pocket maximum amounts are Employee - $1,000; Employee + 1 Child - $2,000; Employee + Spouse - $2,000; and Family (Three or more covered members) - $3,000. When a member reaches the annual out-of-pocket maximum, the prescription drug co-payments will be waived for any additional generic and preferred brand name medications for the remainder of the year. Member co-payments will resume at the beginning of the next year and will be charged until the plan out-of-pocket maximums are reached for that calendar year. Medco will continue as Pharmacy Benefits Manager (PBM) for the BCBS Open Access POS.

HSA seed changes to the HSA match. In order to receive the HSA match, you must contribute to the HSA. The Board of Regents maximum match for 2012 is $375 for employee only and $750 for employee + spouse, employee + child, and family. How it works: If an employee contributes $25/biweekly or $50/monthly, the BOR will contribute $25/biweekly or $50/monthly up to the maximum BOR match. Once the BOR match is received, employees can continue to contribute up to the IRS maximum amounts, which are listed below, for the Health Savings Account.

SINGLE - $3,100.00

FAMILY - $6,250.00 (Employee + Child and Employee + Spouse are included in this group)

CATCH-UP - $1,000.00 (Individuals who are 55 and older)

Freeze new enrollment into the BCBS and Kaiser HMO’s. This change will not affect current enrollees in the HMOs, only new hires and any eligible status changes during the plan year.

Continue the tobacco surcharge. The Board of Regents will continue tobacco surcharges for Plan Year 2012 (January 1 – December 31). The tobacco surcharge applies only to employees/retirees and not their dependents. A $50 per month tobacco use surcharge will be added to your monthly premium when you self-disclose your use of tobacco products. A tobacco user is defined as any employee/retiree who has used tobacco products within the last 12 months. “Tobacco products” include but are not limited to cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco. This election can only be changed if you certify that you have stopped smoking outside the Open Enrollment period. You are required to self-disclose if you make any change to your benefits during the Open Enrollment period and when you make any changes throughout the plan year. The tobacco surcharge can be removed upon completion of a smoking cessation program. You have 30 days from the date you complete the smoking cessation program to submit proof that you completed the class to the Office of Human Resources & Employee Relations.