Benefits-eligible employees will receive detailed information about benefits open enrollment for 2014 in the next few weeks. In the meantime, here are four important pieces of information Human Resources wants benefits-eligible employees to know:
• The University System of Georgia has announced that most health plans will have no premium increases for 2014. HSA Open Access POS, Open Access POS and BlueChoices HMO will see no increase. Kaiser Permanente HMO will see a 4.4 percent increase.
• Even those who do not intend to make any changes to health coverage must access the UGA MyBenefits system during open enrollment and indicate whether they, their spouse or dependents are tobacco users. For those who do not answer this mandatory question required by the USG, the system will default to a “yes” response and they will be assessed a non-refundable surcharge of $50 per month starting in January.
• UGA faculty and staff can begin making their elections in the UGA MyBenefits system starting Nov. 4. The benefits open enrollment will continue through Nov. 22.
• Plan to take advantage of the open enrollment information sessions that will be conducted by Human Resources. To view a list of sessions, visit the HR home page www.hr.uga.edu. Under the “HR News” heading, select “Open Enrollment.”
Questions can be answered by emailing benefits@uga.edu or calling 706-542-2222.