Open Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions

You have many resources available to prepare for Open Enrollment:

• Attend an Open Enrollment Information Session
• Attend a Benefits Fair
• Download the Open Enrollment Guide
• Use the tool in the WEX Benefits portal. It will ask you a few questions and recommend the best plan based on your answers
• Call the Cigna Pre-Enrollment hotline at 1-888-806-5042to speak with a knowledgeable enrollment specialist about the three Cigna plans, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Download the Open Enrollment Guide here.

You are able to add, stop, or make changes to:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) – must re-enroll each year
• Health Saving Accounts (HSAs) – must re-enroll each year
• Legal Resources
• Voluntary Life, Accident, and Hospital Insurance

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulates plans that allow pre-tax contributions for benefits. In exchange for this tax advantage, the IRS permits you to make changes to your coverage only during open enrollment or when you experience certain qualifying events (marriage, birth, adoption of a child, etc.). Changes during the year must be made in the WEX Benefits portal within 31 days of the event.

You may view your 2022 benefits in the WEX Benefits portal. You can renew or make changes to you 2023 benefits between Oct. 31 – Nov. 11 in the WEX Benefits portal.

Yes, you will receive an email confirmation that you have completed Open Enrollment. You can also print your confirmation statement in the WEX Benefit portal.

You must log into the WEX Benefits portal during the enrollment period to review and confirm your elections. The following must be confirmed/elected annually:

• Health Savings Account (HSA) - eligibility and employee contribution
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) contributions
• Spousal surcharge attestation
• Electronic & Communication preference Disclosure Consent

• A deductible is a fixed dollar amount that the covered employee must pay out of pocket each calendar year before the plan will begin reimbursing for non-preventative health expenses. Plans usually require separate limits per person and per family.
• A copayment is the fixed dollar amount that the covered employee pays for medical services. The $25 for a primary care doctor visit is an example of a copay.
• A coinsurance is a percentage of a health care cost that the covered employee pays after meeting their deductible. For example, employees in the traditional plan must pay 30 percent in coinsurance (30 percent of the cost of the procedure) after meeting the $1,000 deductible.

• • An embedded plan means that after each eligible family member meets his or her individual deductible and individual out of pocket maximum, covered expenses for that family member will be paid based on the coinsurance level specified by the plan. Or, after the family deductible has been met, covered expenses for each eligible family member will be paid based on the coinsurance level specified by the plan.
  • A non-embedded plan means that all eligible family members contribute towards the family plan deductible and out of pocket maximum. The family deductible and family out of pocket maximum must be met before the plan will pay each eligible family member’s covered expenses based on the coinsurance level specified by the plan.

Talk with your physician to see if there is another prescription within the formulary that you could switch to. If not, your physician can submit information to Cigna to request you continue on your current medication.

In many cases, yes. But it depends on your expected medical expense. The most significant and potentially longest lasting benefit is the ability to participate in the Health Saving Account. With an HSA:

• • You are vested immediately
  • Your money, including University contributions, is portable
  • It’s your account and you can build it over time
  • There is no “use it or lose it” provision
  • You can invest your funds in mutual funds
  • Money in the account will pass on to your spouse or beneficiary
  • You can save money on premiums

The traditional plan also has separate out-of-pocket (OOP) maximums for medical and pharmacy. In the high deductible plans, the individual OOP max is combined for medical and pharmacy.

Learn more about health saving accounts.

Yes, the University has enhanced and broadened our dental insurance coverage. Delta Dental will be our new dental plan provider for 2023. Delta Dental has a broad network of providers in our region and across the country.

No, employees will now have a choice in the type of dental coverage they would like to purchase — a basic plan or an enhanced plan. Please see the details of each plan here.

The basic plan provides less coverage than our current plan but is less costly while the enhanced plan provides more extensive coverage, which employees have previously asked about.

If you are currently enrolled in the Anthem dental plan you will be moved to the enhanced plan in the WEX benefits portal. If you wish to change or cancel your dental coverage, you may do so in the WEX Benefits Portal.

If your spouse’s open enrollment occurs at a different time of the year and your spouse chose not to enroll in their employer coverage, they may contact their employer and request to enroll in their employer’s medical plan due to our Open Enrollment. Open enrollment for you or your spouse is considered a reason to make a mid‐year change of status.

It will depend on your situation and number of dependents. Check the insurance rates page and compare the cost of the "Employee/Family" option versus each employee covering a child with the "Employee/Child" option. If each employee has a separate High Deductible Health plan you can only have one Health Savings Account (HSA) for the family.

Yes, but only if you want your dependent to be eligible for other benefits like, tuition remission, summer camps, Weinstein Center, or University sponsored events like Employee Day at the basketball game. You may verify your dependent in the WEX Benefits portal at any time, not just during Open enrollment.

If you are adding a dependent, not previously verified, to any of your healthcare plans during open enrollment, documentation proving eligibility is required. Enrollment in the insurance plans will not be processed without required documentation. Please submit the appropriate documentation in the WEX Benefits portal.

The surcharge is considered a premium so is treated like your “regular” medical deductions (before income taxes).

Yes, the spousal surcharge applies to spouses of retirees who are on the active plan.

No, you would not have to pay the surcharge in this situation. The University does not consider your spouse being offered COBRA coverage through their employer as active health insurance plan.

If your spouse has medical benefits available from the military you will need to pay the surcharge as long as your spouse is on the University’s plan. 

A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-exempt account established for the purpose of paying or reimbursing qualified medical expenses for an individual, spouse, or family.

To be eligible to open an HSA, you must first choose a HSA-qualified high deductible health plan (HDHP).

• An HSA provides triple tax savings
• Funds are deposited on a pre-tax or tax-deductible basis, earnings grow tax free, and withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax free
• HSA funds roll over from year-to-year and you may use or keep your funds depending on your financial needs.

You must not be:

• • Covered by any other health plan, including your spouse’s health insurance
  • Covered by your own or your spouse’s medical flexible spending account (FSA)
  • Enrolled in any part of Medicare or Tricare
  • Receiving veteran’s health benefits now or in the past 90 days for a non-service connected disability
  • Claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return

Learn more about Health Savings Accounts.

Employees enrolled in the High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) are eligible as long as they are NOT:

• • Enrolled in Medicare Part A and/or Part B (NOTE: HSA funds can be used once enrolled in Medicare for qualifying expenses not covered by Medicare.)
  • Covered by another medical insurance plan.
  • Enrolled in TriCare, or have had VA benefits in the last 90 days for non-service related injury or disease.
  • Eligible to be claimed as a dependent on another’s tax return (does not apply to joint filing).
  • Have a spouse/partner enrolled in a medical Flexible Spending Account (FSA).

No, federal regulations stipulate that you cannot be covered by your own or your spouse’s medical flexible spending account (FSA) and open a Health Savings Account. You may enroll in the dependent care flexible spending account and have a Health Saving Account.

Learn more about flexible spending and health savings accounts.

To enroll in an HSA for the first time, you must complete your enrollment in the WEX Benefits portal. Once Health Equity receives your application, they may request further information from you to set up your account. You could be requested to provide two forms of identification, or to login and answer questions to complete your enrollment. If you receive an email from Health Equity please work with them to provide the information required in a timely manner otherwise you may not be able to open your account. If you do not have an active account the University will not be able to make a contribution.

Learn more.

Yes, WEX Benefits will be administering our FSA accounts for 2023.

Dependent Care and Medical Flexible Spending Accounts will be administered by WEX effective Jan. 1, 2023. There will be a brief blackout period from January 1 – 13, 2023. During this time, any 2022 balances will be rolled over to WEX and will not be available for reimbursement. If you have receipts you have not filed, you may wish to do so before December 31, 2022.

Under IRS regulations, if your spouse has an FSA, you may not contribute to or open an HSA. If you already have an HSA when your spouse opens an FSA, you must stop contributing to your HSA, but you may continue to use your available funds.

Yes, if you would like to continue your FSA next year, you must re-enroll through the WEX Benefits Portal.

The deductions come out on a pre-tax basis distributed evenly among your paychecks. You are not able to change your contribution after Open Enrollment unless you experience certain qualifying events (marriage, birth, adoption of a child, etc.) and notify Human Resources within 31 days of the event.

You can file a request for reimbursement of your eligible out-of-pocket cost or use the debit card for expenses.

Please visit the IRS website for a guide of allowable expenses.

If you terminate employment during the plan year, the FSA card will be turned off at that time. Only expenses incurred while you are an active participant will be considered reimbursable. Learn more about FSAs.

Yes, in fact WEX has a debit card for dependent care as well as medical FSA’s. The debit card allows direct access to FSA funds for eligible health care and dependent care expenses. This means no waiting period for reimbursements. When you use your card, available funds are deducted from your account to pay for services or supplies. 

No. Use of the card is optional. You may also pay out of pocket and submit claim forms to be reimbursed.

Learn more about where and how to process transactions in the WEX Benefits Portal.

Contact WEX customer service at 833-695-8747, 8:30 AM – 7:00 PM.

You may enroll in a Legal Resources plan during Open Enrollment in the WEX Benefits Portal.

No, but we will continue to look at other planning options that promote families.