University of Puget Sound Benefits Open Enrollment
New Medical Plan Choices for 2005
About the Plans
Plan Comparisons
Frequently Asked Questions
Deadline and Effective Date
2005 Allowance
Subsidy ProgramAbout the Plans
The University of Puget Sound is committed to minimizing the impact of escalating health insurance costs for our faculty and staff. Because Group Health Options, Inc. presented a 24% increase in medical plan premiums for the current plan, the university is moving to three new plans for 2005. All three plans are administered through Group Health Options, Inc. and incorporate co-payments, deductibles, and coinsurance. The names of each plan and the corresponding change in premiums from our current plan are:
- HMO Only (+1.8%)
- Options High Deductible Plan (-12.8%), and
- Options Low Deductible Plan (+6.3%)
Both the Options High Deductible Plan and the Options Low Deductible Plan offer coverage for in-network (with Group Health Cooperative as the Defined Network provider) and outside-the-network (any licensed provider) medical services.
We encourage you to examine each plan closely to determine which one will best meet your needs. Four different charts enable you to compare the current plan and the three plans that will be available for 2005. The first chart allows you to compare the features for the current plan with the features of the three new plans. The three additional charts provide an opportunity to compare separately the features for each of the new plans with the current plan.
Plan Comparisons
All Medical Plan Comparisons
HMO Only
Options High Deductible Plan
Options Low Deductible PlanDeadline and Effective Date
Friday, November 12, 2004
Deadline for returning election materials to Human ResourcesWednesday, December 22, 2004
Payday: new credits and deductions reflected in the December paycheck for January coverage.Saturday, January 1, 2005
Effective date of Flexible Benefits Program choices for 2005.Allowance
The allowance for 2005 is increasing from $330 to $340 per month. Faculty and staff members who do not enroll in the medical plan will receive an allowance (unchanged) of $150 per month ($75 if they are employed at the .50 to .74 FTE level).Subsidy
The allowance subsidy matrix will remain the same for 2005.
Additional Information
If you have questions about the new health insurance plans, please contact Human Resources at hr@ups.edu or 879-3369.