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By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu
 For university employees and retirees who have been anxious to get more complete information about new health insurance options, the wait is over.
During the week of Oct. 16, the Human Resources Division will begin mailing to all active and retired faculty and staff members documents that should provide all the information necessary to select a new health plan. Every person also will receive an enrollment form on which to choose a new plan.
David Williamson, director of employee benefits, said the packets should arrive at all mailing addresses either by the end of the week of Oct. 16 or during the week of Oct. 23.
One of the documents is a 16-page booklet that compares levels of medical coverage and prescription drug services that will be available under the current indemnity plan, administered by Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the new Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and PPO consumer choice plans.
A second document is a four-page summary of benefits under a Blue-Choice Health Maintenance Organization plan, which will be available at UGA and some other University System of Georgia institutions in the northern two-thirds of Georgia.
Human Resources received the materials last week from the University System Board of Regents, which has contracted with several private companies to provide health insurance and pharmacy benefits to system employees and retirees throughout the state.
The new plans are mandated by the regents and the State Department of Community Health as part of an effort to overcome a multi-million dollar deficit in the current indemnity plan.
“We know everyone is eager to get this information, and we’re glad it has arrived,” says Williamson. “We’ll mail it out as quickly as possible, and everyone should have it in plenty of time to make a decision by the enrollment deadline.
“By studying these documents and attending the meetings, people should have all the data and facts they need to compare the plans and choose the one that best meets their needs,” he says.
Williamson stresses that the enrollment form must be returned to Human Resources by Nov. 17, the end of the open enrollment period. Anyone not returning the form will automatically be assigned to the PPO if it is available in the area where they live or work.
The documents go into detail on the kinds and costs of services covered under the plans. The indemnity/PPO booklet, for example, begins with highlights of both plans. The booklet then provides extensive comparative descriptions of various features, such as physician services provided in office settings, and inpatient and outpatient hospital services.
The booklet also contains details on new benefits, including behavioral health services, a disease-state management program and a transplant program. The booklet also describes the new pharmacy benefit program that is included in premiums for health insurance.
The HMO summary provides similar information and includes a map that shows in which counties the HMO option is available.
The Human Resources Web site (www.busfin.uga.edu/human_resources/whatsnew.html) contains information about the health and pharmacy plans, including a list participating physicians, hospitals and pharmacies. |
