Open Enrollment to Close Soon

It’s time to move Open Enrollment up on your to-do list!

You’ve got a week left to make any benefits changes or stash away more money into a health savings account.

Open enrollment ends Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 11:59 p.m. The benefits you select will become effective Jan. 1, 2014 and last through the calendar year 2014.

Open Enrollment is optional except for a few cases. If you participate in the Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), you need to re-enroll in benefits each year. Or, if you are waiving the County’s health insurance coverage but are covered by a qualified high deductible plan, it’s time to take action! You will need to make changes manually. Contact the Benefits department at (888) 550-2203 or by email at dhrbenefits.fgg@sdcounty.ca.gov.

As always, if you want to change your health insurance plan or put more money in a health savings account, you can also do so during this Open Enrollment period.

Otherwise, if you are happy with your current benefits and don’t need to make any changes, no actions are necessary. Your 2013 designations will automatically roll over into 2014.

The County’s 2014 benefits line-up contained only minor changes. Those include:

• Employees can contribute more to their Health Savings Accounts (HSA). Maximum contribution levels have increased to $3,300 per year for an individual or $6,550 for an employee +1 or more. Employees who are 55 years or older can contribute an additional $1,000 per year.
• The monthly cost for an HSA account has dropped from $3.50 to $2.75 for accounts with a balance of less than $5,000.
• Anthem Blue Cross will replace CVS Caremark as the pharmacy vendor for Anthem Blue Cross traditional plans (non-high deductible plans), starting Jan. 1, 2014. All Anthem Blue Cross traditional plan members will receive a new medical card in the mail that can be used at doctors’ offices and pharmacies.
• Most employees received a 5 percent flex credit increase for 2014. For employees in bargaining units AE, CL, FS, HS, MM, PR, PS, RN, SS, CM or CR, flex credits will increase 5 percent plus an additional 2.5 percent.
• Some monthly premiums will increase while others will stay the same or drop. Premium increases for County medical plans are the most modest in recent years. Plans with rising premiums include Anthem Blue Cross’ Full Access, Select and PPO Plans and Kaiser Permanente’s Traditional HMO and High Deductible plans. Premiums for Anthem Blue Cross High Deductible Plan will remain the same. Meanwhile, premiums for the County’s VSP Vision and United Concordia DHMO and PPO Dental Plans will decline.

For more information, visit the County’s Human Resources Open Enrollment website or call the Benefits office at (888) 550-2203 or by email at dhrbenefits.fgg@sdcounty.ca.gov.