CLOSED - FY24 Open Enrollment 

CLOSED - FY24 Open Enrollment

CLOSED - April 17, 2023 - May 5, 2023


Welcome to our Open Enrollment website!

Here you will find all the information you need to make your selections for FY24. We have eight (8) areas of discovery for Open Enrollment. Click on the yellow boxes in our Table of Contents to be directed to the corresponding section. 

Open Enrollment has closed as of 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 5, 2023. The website will remain active as a point of reference for employees but the form is no longer available. 


CLOSED - Table of Contents

The eight (8) areas of discovery

1. An Introduction to FY24
2. Changes for FY24
3. How to Prepare
4. Plan Resources and Rates
5. Our Benefit Vendors
6. NextGen and Corestream Open Enrollment Forms
7. Additional Changes on July 1, 2023
8. Frequently Asked Questions

 


1. CLOSED - An Introduction to FY24

 

There are many exciting changes to the benefit plan this year. Please review the details on this website to understand what is new for this year and what actions you are required to take. If you have questions on the content of this website or on the NextGen Open Enrollment form, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu. If you would like to discuss which plan(s) would work best for you and your family, please reach out to TouchCare.

This year's Open Enrollment is a positive enrollment - all benefit-eligible employees must submit an Open Enrollment form.

All changes will be effective on July 1, 2023.

Back to the Table of Contents

 


2. CLOSED - Changes for FY24

The six major changes

1. Who submits a form?

Every benefit-eligible employee, regardless of current benefit enrollment, must submit an Open Enrollment form form this year. 

There are several changes this plan year that necessitate the requirement for all employees to submit a form. We want to be sure you and your dependents are enrolled in the plans that are right for you!

2. The Default

If a benefit-eligible employee does not submit an Open Enrollment form by May 5, 2023, the university will take the following steps:

  1. The university will default the employee into the coverages below. This means that your coverage will be moved from your current plan (or current opt-out election) into the default plans as of July 1, 2023. The default will cover the employee only (no spouse/FIP or dependent coverage) and will not include any Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) or Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
    • Basic Medical
    • Basic Dental
    • Vision
  2. If an employee covers dependents currently, they will be removed from coverage under the default option as of July 1, 2023. No dependents will be added by the university while defaulting an employee's coverage.
  3. The university will stop any Health Savings Accounts (HSA) when defaulting an employee. The Basic Medical plan is not HSA-compatible. 
  4. The university will not start any Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) when defaulting an employee.
  5. The university will make no changes to an employee's previously selected Supplemental Life or AD&D coverages. 

If you do not submit an Open Enrollment form and are defaulted, changes can only be made within 30 days of a life event or during Open Enrollment in April, 2024.  For more information on life events, please review our life event webpage.

3. Updated Plan Names

We are streamlining our plan names this year to be more in-line with industry standards. You can choose any combination of medical, dental, and vision plans to suit you and your family's needs!

There will now be 3 levels for the medical benefit:

  1. Premium Medical
  2. Basic Medical
  3. HDHP Medical w/optional HSA

There will now be 2 levels for the dental benefit:

  1. Premium Dental
  2. Basic Dental

There will now be 1 level for the vision benefit:

  1. Vision

 

4. Unbundled Plans

Beginning on July 1, 2023, our plans will be unbundled. This means employees can enroll in any combination of medical, dental, and/or vision. You can also combine different levels of coverage.  For example, you can also enroll in Basic Medical and Premium Dental - whatever plans suit you and your family's needs!

A note on dependent enrollment
All spouses/FIPs and dependent children must be enrolled in the same plan and same tier as the employee. This means you, the employee, cannot opt out of dental and then enroll your dependents in the dental plan. You also cannot enroll yourself in the Premium level while you enroll your dependents in the Basic level. Spouses/FIPs and dependent children can only be enrolled in an option that you, the employee, is enrolled in, as well. 

5. Supplemental Life

This year we will begin offering supplemental life insurance to both spouses/FIPs and dependent children. 

Spouses/FIPs will have a guaranteed issue of $50,000. Evidence of Insurability (EOI) will be required for any amount elected over $50,000. The maximum coverage level for a spouse/FIP is $150,000. If over the age of 65, a spouse/FIP will have a guaranteed issue of $20,000 .

Dependent children must be under the age of 26 to qualify for coverage. The only amount available to dependent children is $10,000. This one election will cover all dependent children in your family and an EOI will never be requested.

6. Corestream

Corestream is our new benefit vendor that will provide UA employees with a Benefit Enhancement Program for discounted services for Hospital Indemnity Insurance, Identity Theft Insurance, Legal Insurance, and Pet Insurance! 

Hartford Hospital Indemnity Insurance

Protect yourself with (1) Accident, (2) Critical Illness and (3) Hospital Indemnity Insurance with Hartford to  help provide financial support so you can focus on what’s important – getting better! You can enroll in each of these three coverages separately. 

Legalshield Legal Insurance

Having legal insurance can help you be prepared for any legal undertakings.

Allstate Identity Theft

Protecting your identity is a full time job and you don't have to face it alone.

ASPCA Pet Insurance

Protect your pet (and your wallet) with affordable pet health insurance.

Need something extra?

Discover great deals provided to UA employees on everything from cars and computers to theme parks and hotels. 

Back to the Table of Contents

 


3. CLOSED - How to Prepare

Setting yourself up for a successful Open Enrollment

It is important to understand the difference between a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and a Health Savings Account (HSA). Below is some information comparing the two. If you are not sure what would work for you and your family, please reach out directly to TouchCare.

More information can be found in our Enrollment Guide on pages 18-22.
FSA
  • There are two types of accounts:
    1. FSA Health Care Accounts
      • These accounts have the full amount requested available immediately - regardless of your contributions to date.
      • This account is used for qualified medical expenses.
    2. FSA Dependent Care Accounts
      • These accounts only allow you to spend what you have contributed to the account to date.
      • These help with daycare expenses for children under the age of 13.
  • These are spending accounts and funds must be used prior to June 30, 2024. No funds are carried over into the next plan year.
  • You must enroll in these each year. We do not carry over FSA enrollment automatically from one year to the next.
  • You can have either or both FSAs on any of our plans (or even if you opt out of health care coverage).
  • You cannot have an FSA for health care with an HSA.
  • You can have an FSA for dependent care with an HSA.
  • Changes can only be made during open enrollment or within 30 days of a life event. 
HSA
  • You must be in a qualified high deductible plan that is HSA compatible to be enrolled in the HSA. At UA, our compatible plan is the HDHP w/Optional HSA.
  • You can enroll in the HSA if you opt out of coverage with UA. It is your responsibility to ensure your coverage is HSA compatible before opening an HSA account.
  • These elections are evergreen - meaning once you elect, you are enrolled in the plan until you elect to make a change. You can start, stop, increase, or decrease your contributions to your HSA at any time during the plan year for any reason. 

TouchCare will be hosting multiple live trainings to go over UA benefits. These are a great opportunity to ask questions, become familiar with the plans, and learn about our partner, TouchCare. Sign up for a TouchCare live training here and download TouchCare's Open Enrollment powerpoint.

Unable to attend a TouchCare training? Watch the recorded version here!

  • Tuesdays at 1:00 pm Alaska time
    • April 4, April 11, April 18, April 25, May 2
  • Thursday at 9:00am Alaska time
    • April 6
  • Fridays at 9:00am Alaska time
    • April 14, April 21, April 28, May 5 

TouchCare's Benefits Literacy Webinar 101

If you are interested in learning a bit more about common terms used in the health care industry, you can view TouchCare's Benefits Literacy Webinar 101 here.

TouchCare's Benefits Literacy Quiz

Don't forget to check your understanding by taking a quick Health Care Literacy Quiz! Complete the quiz to enter for a chance to win a $100 gift card!

Need more personal help deciding on what plan is right for you? TouchCare can assist! TouchCare is your health care advocate. You can schedule a 30-minute consultation with one of their specialists. Contact them today for questions surrounding Open Enrollment, provider searches, billing issues, price transparency, understanding which plans work best for you, and more.

Phone: 1-866-486-8242 | Monday - Friday from 8am-9pm Eastern (4am - 5pm Alaskan)

Website: TouchCare website

Email: assist@touchcare.com

Mobile App: Download the TouchCare app through the Google or Apple App Stores.

Schedule your 1:1 Open Enrollment consult with TouchCare today!
If you are adding a new dependent that you are not covering on your plan currently, you will be required to provide documentation when you complete the Open Enrollment form (i.e. marriage certificate, FIP affidavit, birth certificate, etc). Please be prepared with digital versions of any documentation before starting your open enrollment form. 
All benefit-eligible employees must submit an Open Enrollment form by May 5, 2023.

The university will default employees into a plan if no form is submitted. Review the "2. Default enrollment" tab under the "What is changing for FY24" menu. 

Find the NextGen and Corestream links under section 6.

Once your Open Enrollment form is submitted, we will review and enter your data. 

Note - Open Enrollment election changes may not be visible in UAOnline until mid-June after all data entry is complete. Thank you for your patience while we enter everyone's deductions.

To view your submitted form, log into the NextGen Dashboard and click on "my forms" in the upper right corner followed by "forms history."

Data entry will be completed by mid-June and, at that time, your new elections will be available for review in UAOnline. We request that all employees review their elections on UAOnline at that time and notify ua-benefits@alaska.edu immediately if there are any discrepancies.

Note - Open Enrollment election changes may not be visible in UAOnline until mid-June after all data entry is complete. Thank you for your patience while we enter everyone's deductions.
Review our FAQ at the bottom of the page. Please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu if you have a question that is not addressed.
Back to the Table of Contents

 


4. CLOSED - Plan Resources and Rates

Understanding the details

Medical Plan Resources and Rates

What's new?
Rates
  • Biweekly rates
  • As of July 1, 2023, all employees will be on a 26 pay period (12 month) deduction schedule. View our FAQs for more information.
Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC)
Resources
During Open Enrollment, you can...
  • enroll in Medical coverage
  • decline Medical coverage
These benefits can only be enrolled in, changed, or stopped during Open Enrollment each year or within 30 days of a life event. For more information on Life Events, please review our website.

Prescription Plan Resources and Rates

What's new?
  • No changes
Rates
  • Pharmacy benefits are included in the medical plans.
  • As of July 1, 2023, all employees will be on a 26 pay period (12 month) deduction schedule. View our FAQs for more information.
Pharmacy Highlights
Resources
During Open Enrollment, you can...
  • enroll in Medical coverage
  • decline Medical coverage
These benefits can only be enrolled in, changed, or stopped during Open Enrollment each year or within 30 days of a life event. For more information on Life Events, please review our website.

Dental Plan Resources and Rates

What's new?
  • Unbundling plans
  • Biweekly rates
  • Annual maximum
  • Orthodontia maximum on premium dental
Rates
  • Biweekly rates
  • As of July 1, 2023, all employees will be on a 26 pay period (12 month) deduction schedule. View our FAQs for more information.
Dental Highlights
Resources
During Open Enrollment, you can...
  • enroll in Dental coverage
  • decline Dental coverage
These benefits can only be enrolled in, changed, or stopped during Open Enrollment each year or within 30 days of a life event. For more information on Life Events, please review our website.

Vision Plan Resources and Rates

What's new?
Rates
  • Biweekly rates
  • As of July 1, 2023, all employees will be on a 26 pay period (12 month) deduction schedule. View our FAQs for more information.
Vision Highlights
Resources
During Open Enrollment, you can...
  • enroll in Vision coverage
  • decline Vision coverage
These benefits can only be enrolled in, changed, or stopped during Open Enrollment each year or within 30 days of a life event. For more information on Life Events, please review our website.

 
Supplemental Life Resources and Rates

What's new?
  • Spouse supplemental life
  • Child supplemental life
Rates
  • Biweekly rates
  • As of July 1, 2023, all employees will be on a 26 pay period (12 month) deduction schedule. View our FAQs for more information.
Resources
During Open Enrollment, you can...
  • enroll in employee, spouse, or child coverage (or any combination, EOI may be required)
  • stop/decline these elections
  • change your current elections (EOI may be required)
These benefits can only be enrolled in, changed, or stopped during Open Enrollment each year or within 30 days of a life event. For more information on Life Events, please review our website.

Health Savings Account (HSA) Resources and Contribution Limits

What's new?
  • Increase in contribution limits
Contribution Limits in 2023
  • $3,850 for an individual
  • $7,750 for a family
  • $1,000 additional catch-up if over 55
Resources
During Open Enrollment, you can...
  • enroll or change your HSA if you are in a qualifying plan
The HSA can only be enrolled in, changed, or stopped at any time during the plan year.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Resources and Contribution Limits

What's new?
  • Increase in contribution limits
  • As of July 1, 2023, all employees will be on a 26 pay period (12 month) deduction schedule. View our FAQs for more information.
Contribution limits in 2023
  • $3,050 in a Health Care FSA (HC FSA)
  • $5,000 in a Dependent Care FSA (DC FSA)
Resources
During Open Enrollment, you can...
  • enroll in an FSA for medical charges
  • enroll in an FSA for dependent care charges

REMEMBER! If you want an FSA for FY23, you must enroll. Any prior year FSA elections do not carry over. If you do not elect an FSA during Open Enrollment, you will not have an FSA beginning on July 1, 2023.

FSAs can only be enrolled in, changed, or stopped during Open Enrollment each year or within 30 days of a life event. For more information on Life Events, please review our website.

NEW! UA's Benefit Enhancement Program - Powered by Corestream

What's new?
  • Corestream provides an additional benefit enhancement program through payroll deduction at a lower group rate for the following benefits...

Hartford Hospital Indemnity Insurance
Protect yourself with (1) Accident, (2) Critical Illness and (3) Hospital Indemnity Insurance with Hartford to  help provide financial support so you can focus on what’s important – getting better! You can enroll in each of these three coverages separately. This includes:

  • a lump sum payment made directly to you
  • ability to use the money to cover deductibles, childcare, daily expenses, or anything else you see fit
  • a group rate savings on coverage for you and your eligible family members

Legalshield Legal Insurance
Having legal insurance can help you be prepared for any legal undertakings. This includes:

  • 24/7 direct access to a dedicated law firm
  • document review and preparation, wills, trusts, traffic matters and more
  • convenient mobile app for easy legal access, document upload and support

Allstate Identity Theft
You don't have to face identity theft alone. With Allstate, you can:

  • enroll yourself and your family in identity theft protection
  • have peace of mind with social, credit and identity monitoring
  • access digital exposure reports
  • and enjoy full service, U.S.-based remediation support

ASPCA Pet Insurance (not available thru payroll deduction)
Protect your pet and your wallet with affordable pet health insurance. This includes:

  • a choice of reimbursement options and customizable plans
  • coverage for accidents, illnesses, preventative care and more
  • the ability to see any licensed vet, specialist, or emergency clinic you want

Need something extra?
Discover great deals on everything from cars and computers to theme parks and hotels. This includes: 

  • hundreds of discounts
  • local and national retailers
  • new deals added every month
Rates
  • Rates vary depending on the product you are enrolling in.
  • As of July 1, 2023, all employees will be on a 26 pay period (12 month) deduction schedule. View our FAQs for more information.
Resources
During Open Enrollment, you can...
  • choose to enroll in these benefits
With the exception of pet insurance, these benefits can only be enrolled in, changed, or stopped during Open Enrollment each year or within 30 days of a life event. For more information on Life Events, please review our website.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment Resources and Rates

What's new?
  • No changes
Rates
  • Coverage Type Bi-weekly
    Deduction    		 Annual Cost
    Employee Only $2.64 $68.40
    Employee + Family $5.27 $136.80
  • As of July 1, 2023, all employees will be on a 26 pay period (12 month) deduction schedule. View our FAQs for more information.
Resources
During Open Enrollment, you can...
  • enroll in individual coverage or family coverage
  • stop/decline these elections
  • change your current elections
These benefits can only be enrolled in, changed, or stopped during Open Enrollment each year or within 30 days of a life event. For more information on Life Events, please review our website.

 

Back to the Table of Contents


5. CLOSED - Our Benefit Vendors

Understand who we work with to provide your benefits

Premera

Medical, Pharmacy, and Dental Plans

| 800-722-1471

Premera will remain our vendor for medical/pharmacy and dental services. We will have three plan tiers for medical/pharmacy and two plan tiers for dental.

  1. Premium Medical
  2. Basic Medical
  3. HDHP Medical w/optional HSA
  4. Premium Dental
  5. Basic Dental

Premera's Website

VSP

Vision Plan

| 1-800-877-7195

VSP will remain our vendor for vision services. We have only one plan tier for vision.

VSP's Website

TouchCare

Patient Advocacy

assist@touchcare.com | 1-866-486-8242

TouchCare is our third-party patient advocate. They can assist with plan comparison, primary care providers, billing issues, open enrollment questions, and more. Review the TouchCare website for more information.

TouchCare will be hosting several training sessions. To view these, please review the "Attend TouchCare Training" drop down under 3. How do I Prepare?

TouchCare's Website

 

Bank of America

Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

| 800-992-3200

Bank of America manages our Health Savings Accounts (HSA). This account is compatible with specific health plans. At UA, our compatible plan is the HDHP.

To enroll in - or change - an HSA, complete the Open Enrollment form. 

Bank of America's Website

ASIFlex

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

| 800-659-3035

ASIFlex manages our Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). We offer two FSAs:

  • Medical FSA 
  • Dependent Care FSA
To enroll in either of these accounts, complete the Open Enrollment form. If you have questions about which account works best for you, contact TouchCare.

ASIFlex's Website

Securian

Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance & Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D)

| 1-855-750-1906

Securian manages our basic, supplemental, and AD&D coverages. This year, we are adding two supplemental life products: 

  • Supplemental Life for Spouse/FIP
  • Supplemental Life for Child(ren)
To enroll in any of the supplemental life or AD&D coverages, complete the Open Enrollment NextGen Form.

Securian's Website

Corestream

UA Benefit Enhancement Program - Powered by Corestream

universityofalaskasupport@corestream.com | (907) 331-6938

The University of Alaska is partnering with Corestream to bring you a Benefit Enhancement Program via payroll deduction* at a discounted group rate. 

  • Hartford Hospital Indemnity Insurance with
    • (1) Accident
    • (2) Critical Illness and
    • (3) Hospital Indemnity Insurance 
  • Legalshield Legal Insurance
  • Allstate Identity Theft
  • ASPCA Pet Insurance *this is a direct bill to the vendor and not offered via payroll deduction
  • Additional discounts

Corestream's Website
Back to the Table of Contents

 


6. CLOSED - NextGen and Corestream Open Enrollment Forms

Tips and tricks for completing enrolling in your benefits

NextGen Form - CLOSED
  • The Open Enrollment form is active until May 5, 2023. 
  • You can only complete the Open Enrollment form once. If you have made an error and have already submitted your form, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu.

Sign up for UA's Benefit Enhancement Program - Powered by Corestream!

  • Use your UA SSO to access these benefits at https://alaskaedu.corestream.com. The SSO and Corestream site will be active on April 17, 2023.
  • You cannot sign up for these benefits via the open enrollment form.  
  • More information on Corestream benefits can be found under #4 Plan Resources and Rates.
If you need to save your progress and return to your form at a later time, you can log into the NextGen Dashboard with your Single Sign On (SSO) and click on "my forms" followed by "pending and draft forms."

Logic Driven

The NextGen Open Enrollment form is logic driven. You will be shown pages/information based on your selections as you move through the form. This means you may see different pages and/or messages than another employee.

Save your progress

You can save your progress and continue your form later. To do so, log in to the NextGen Dashboard with your SSO. Once you log in, click on "my forms" in the upper right followed by "pending and draft forms."

Read carefully

There are many changes this year and there are instructions and details provided on each page of the NextGen Open Enrollment form. Be sure to set aside some dedicated time to work through the form this year and leave enough time to ask questions.

Questions

If you have questions on the NextGen form or run into technical difficulties, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu.

Please review our FAQs at the bottom of this page. If you do not see your question listed, please email us at ua-benefits@alaska.edu.
See how the logic and flow of the form work at a glance with our Open Enrollment FY24 Process Guide flow chart.
Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)

AD&D allows you to cover yourself or your family and provides financial protection in the event of an accident.
Basic Life Insurance

Basic Life Insurance is automatically provided to all benefit eligible employees. There is no need to enroll or request this coverage. This provides financial protection to your beneficiary in the event of your death. This is now a taxable benefit to UA employees.
Financially Interdependent Partner (FIP)

A FIP is a non-married domestic partner. Certain requirements are needed to designate someone as your FIP. FIPs are treated as spouses in our plan. FIP deductions for health care will come out post-tax. A Statement of Financial Interdependence is required.
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

There are two types of FSAs - (1) health care and (2) dependent care. These accounts allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars for medical expenses (health care) and daycare expenses (dependent care). These accounts are use-it-or-lose-it
Health Savings Account (HSA)

HSA are meant to be additional savings accounts for qualified medical expenses. The HSA is only available on qualifying health care plans. At UA, our qualifying plan is our HDHP. If you are not sure if you are on a plan that is eligible for the HSA, please reach out to TouchCare.
Life Event

A life event includes marriage, divorce, birth, adoption, gain or loss of other coverage, gain or loss of employment, etc. These life events allow you to change your health care plan within 30 days after the life event date. This is the only time you are able to make changes to your health care outside of Open Enrollment. More information on life events can be found on our life event page.
Long Term Disability (LTD)

LTD is automatically provided to all benefit eligible employees. There is no need to enroll or request this coverage. This benefit helps provide financial protection to UA employees should they experience an illness or disability that prevents them from earning an income for 90+ days. 
Open Enrollment

Open enrollment runs each year from mid-April through early May. This is the only time you can make any changes to your health care unless you experience a life event. All changes made during Open Enrollment will be active on the following July 1.
Short-term Disability (STD)

STD is provided automatically to all benefit eligible employees. There is no need to enroll or request this coverage. This benefit helps provide financial protection to UA employees should they experience an illness or disability that prevents them from earning an income for 14+ days. 
Supplemental Life Insurance

This coverage allows you to enroll yourself, your spouse, and/or your child. Life Insurance provides financial protection in the event of an unexpected death of a family member.
Back to the Table of Contents

 


7. CLOSED - Additional Changes Coming July 1, 2023

These items can't be changed or elected during Open Enrollment but they are part of our overall benefits package update beginning in our next plan year. 
​

The University of Alaska provides Basic Life Insurance to all benefit-eligible employees. Beginning on July 1, 2023, Basic Life Insurance will increase from $50,000 to $100,000. Since this is now over the IRS limit of $50,000, this is a taxable benefit.  

This is also a perfect time to update your Basic Life Insurance beneficiaries!

The University of Alaska Pension Plan is a supplemental account that many employees have along with their Public Employee's Retirement System (PERS), Teacher's Retirement System (TRS), or the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP). This account is for employer contributions only - meaning eligible employees do not contribute to this account. Beginning on July 1, 2023, the UA Pension Plan base wage will increase from $42,000 to $52,000. This increases UA’s 7.65% contribution from a maximum of $3,213 to a maximum of $3,978 per calendar year.
The University of Alaska has partnered with Unum to provide both Family Medical Leave and Long-term Disability services. Beginning July 1, 2023, Unum will also provide employees with Short-term Disability. Short-term Disability will be provided at no cost to benefit-eligible employees. 
Beginning July 1, 2023, the university will provide five (5) days of paid leave - separate from all current leave buckets - to new parents within the first six months of birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
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8. CLOSED - Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question that does not appear here, please email us at ua-benefits@alaska.edu.​

Our plan year runs each year from July 1 through the following June 30. 

As of July 1, 2023, all employees will be on a 26 pay period (12 month) deduction schedule.

Employees who will enter an off-contract status on or after July 1, 2023, will accrue arrears for missed (1) health care, (2) dental, (3) vision, (4) FSA medical care, (5) supplemental life, (6) AD&D deductions.

Arrears for...

  1. Health care
  2. Dental
  3. Vision
  4. Supplemental Life
  5. AD&D

...will be paid biweekly when you return on-contract at a rate of 40% of the current deduction(s) until the arrears balance is paid.

Arrears for...

  1. FSA medical care
  2. Corestream

...will be paid biweekly when you return on-contract at a rate of 100% of the current deduction(s) until the arrears balance is paid.

Arrears will not be collected for (1) HSAs, (2) FSA dependent care accounts, or (3) pet insurance. Pet insurance payments are made directly with ASPCA and are not included in payroll deduction so employees are responsible for these premiums. More information on this topic will be forthcoming from the benefits team.

Any changes made during Open Enrollment will be effective on the following July 1. 

If a benefit-eligible employee does not submit a form by May 5, 2023, the university will take the following steps:

  1. The university will default the employee into the coverages below. This means that your coverage will be moved from your current plan (or current opt-out election) into the default plans as of July 1, 2023. The default will cover the employee only (no spouse/FIP or dependent coverage) and will not include any Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) or Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
    • Basic Medical
    • Basic Dental
    • Vision
  2. If an employee covers dependents currently, they will be removed from coverage under the default option as of July 1, 2023. No dependents will be added by the university while defaulting an employee's coverage.
  3. The university will stop any Health Savings Accounts (HSA) when defaulting an employee. The Basic Medical plan is not HSA-compatible. 
  4. The university will not start any Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) when defaulting an employee.
  5. The university will make no changes to an employee's previously selected Supplemental Life or AD&D coverages.

If you do not submit an Open Enrollment form and are defaulted, changes can only be made within 30 days of a life event or during Open Enrollment in April, 2024.  For more information on life events, please review our life event webpage.

Yes. All benefit-eligible employees must submit a form this Open Enrollment. This is different than previous years.
Yes. All benefit-eligible employees are required to submit an Open Enrollment form. As a new employee, you will need to complete a new employee form within your first 30 days of employment to select your health care from your 31st day through June 30, 2023. At this same time, you will also need to submit an Open Enrollment form for your coverage that will begin on July 1, 2023.  This means you will submit two forms: (1) as a new employee for coverage through June 30, 2023 and (2) for our new plan year beginning on July 1, 2023. 
We have several benefit plan updates this year including unbundling all our plans so that employees can choose to enroll in medical, dental, vision, or any combination of the three. To ensure that all employees get the coverages they need for themselves and their family members, we are requiring a form from all employees. 
Yes. All benefit-eligible employees are required to submit an Open Enrollment form.

Temporary employees are eligible for certain benefits and will have their own open enrollment process to follow this year. More information will be provided for temporary employees in May.

Unbundling means that you can enroll in any combination of medical, dental, or vision. You can enroll in any tier level (i.e. basic medical with premium dental) and you can cover the family members who need the coverage (i.e. if your spouse only needs dental and vision, you can enroll them in dental and vision and not enroll them in medical). Remember - the employee must be enrolled in the coverage to offer it to any dependents.

No. The plans are broken out by cost. You will only pay a premium for the plans and dependents you choose to enroll.

TouchCare is your health care advocate. They will assist with any questions you have on our plans, help you decide which plan works best for you and your family, and will help break down the differences between the options.  For more information on TouchCare, review their website.

Additionally, TouchCare will assist at any time if you have questions on the bills you have received, locating a provider, price-shopping for certain services (i.e. an x-ray) and more!

TouchCare is a UA employee's health care advocate. TouchCare works directly with UA employees on their health care questions - whether it is what plan to enroll in, explaining the differences between plans or pre-tax health accounts, assisting with billing issues or questions, price transparency, and more.​ More information can be found on TouchCare's webpage.

Call TouchCare for...

  • Benefit education and enrollment assistance - including during Open Enrollment
  • Claims and billing issues or questions - they'll work on your behalf to fix any billing errors
  • Understanding how to use your benefits
  • Procedure costs - allowing you to select the best location for your procedure both medically and financially
  • FSA and HSA participation
  • Finding an in-network provider

A dependent is anyone other than the employee that is covered on your plan. This can include a spouse, Financially Interdependent Partner (FIP), or dependent child under the age of 26. 

If you are enrolling a dependent who is not currently enrolled, you are required to provide the backup documentation to prove the relationship. If you are currently covering a dependent right now, and plan to continue their coverage through the remainder of this plan year (June 30) through to the next plan year (July 1) you do not need to provide backup documentation again. 

You will need to email ua-benefits@alaska.edu. Open enrollment forms can only be submitted once. The benefits team can review and work with you on re-submitting. 

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