Open Enrollment for 2023 is from November 1st, 2022 to November 21st, 2022. Benefit elections will be effective January 1, 2023. This is your annual opportunity to add, change, or opt-out of health plan coverage, enroll eligible family members (subject to providing supporting dependent verification documentation), and elect, change or waive supplemental life insurance or AD&D coverage. You may also enroll or re-enroll in an FSA to pay for health care or daycare expenses with pre-tax dollars, or see if the health savings account (HSA) is right for you, for those who elect the Choice Fund Plan. The following benefits are available for update in 2023:
- Medical
- Dental
- Vision
- Life, Accident, Short-Term Disability, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, (AD&D)
- Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts, (FSA)
- Dependent Day Care Flexible Spending Accounts
- Voluntary Benefits
- Health Savings Accounts, (HSA), available only to those who elect Cigna Choice Fund Plan, (IRS qualified high deductible health plan)
Your Open Enrollment choices are dependent upon whether you are represented by a collective bargaining unit (CBU) and, if yes, which CBU represents you. There can be very subtle differences in coverages, premium rates, and late changes to your plan as a result of final contract language. This is one of those times when it’s important to take extra time to really study the smaller print and thoroughly review your Open Enrollment Notice to make certain you can match your decision(s) with your CBU agreement and please check back often for the posting of new language as it becomes available.
Important Notices for 2023
- Notice of Privacy Practices
- HIPAA Notice
- Medicare Creditable Coverage
- Universal Availability Notice - COMING SOON
Upcoming Changes in 2023
Medical Insurance
UMS will continue to offer employees the CIGNA Copay plan as well as the CIGNA Choice Fund Plan, a high deductible health plan (HDHP). Service & Maintenance employees are not eligible for the CIGNA Choice Fund Plan with the HSA.
Health Plan contributions will increase or decrease as noted below:
- Quality Incentive Copay Plan (Wellness Participant) - contributions will increase by approximately +1.9%
- Choice Fund Plan (Wellness Participant) - contributions will increase by approximately +1.9%
- Quality Incentive Copay Plan (Wellness Non-Participant) - contributions will increase by approximately 2.5%
- Choice Fund Plan (Wellness Non-Participant): - contributions will increase by approximately +2.5%
Full rate information can be found here: 0715.00 Benefit Rates
Dental Insurance
UMS will continue to offer employees the Northeast Delta Dental plans, including the preventative plan, traditional plan, and enhanced plan. There are no rate changes for this year.
Vision Insurance
EyeMed will continue to provide the System’s voluntary vision plan. You may cover one or all of your eligible dependents for vision coverage and plan premiums will increase by approximately 6%.
FSA Updates
A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is a program that helps you pay for health care and dependent care costs using tax free dollars. You decide how much money you would like to contribute and each pay period, your contribution is deducted from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis and is put into the Healthcare FSA, the Dependent Care FSA, or both.
A very common pitfall in putting an FSA plan into place is overlooking an Internal Revenue Service regulation that requires you to re-enroll in the FSA plan of your choice each calendar year, even if you don’t wish to change your overall coverage approach.
Important Reminders about FSAs
- If you are enrolled in a FSA in 2022 and wish to participate in 2023, IRS regulations require that you MUST re-enroll each year and confirm your election amount.
- You must make separate elections for Healthcare FSA and Dependent Care FSA.
- FSAs have a “use it or lose it” provision, so check with EBPA prior to the end of the year to confirm if you have unused 2022 funds. As noted above, up to $570 of unused funds will roll over in the Healthcare FSA.
- FSA reimbursements may be direct deposited to any bank account you choose. If you wish to arrange for this service, please contact EBPA at 1-888-678-3457 or log onto their website at https://www.ebpabenefits.com/.
- If you elect the Cigna Choice Fund Plan with the HSA, IRS regulations do not permit you to also have the Healthcare FSA. You can still have the Dependent Care FSA.
Other FSA details are available here: 0710.60 Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
HSA Updates
Employees enrolled in the Choice Plan, an IRS-Qualified High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), will be provided an HSA. An HSA is an employee-owned bank account where employees may set aside tax-free money for qualified healthcare expenses.
If you’re contemplating a Health Care Savings Account (HSA), you should keep in mind some changes for 2023. For CY 2023, the total maximum annual contribution limit is now $3,850 for single coverage or $7,750 for two-person or family coverage. In addition to any contributions you decide to make, the University System will contribute $1,000 annually for employees with single coverage and $2,000 annually for employees with two-person or family coverage to each eligible employee’s HSA. Please note that the annual IRS maximum contribution limit applies to all contributions made to your account, regardless of who makes the contribution.
If you are over age 55, you can contribute an additional $1,000.
Cigna Pre-Enrollment Hotline
Cigna's Pre-Enrollment Hotline, reached at 1-800-401-4041 and available 24/7/365, is a valuable resource available to you during the University of Maine System Open Enrollment period from November 1, 2022, to November 21, 2022. Calling into the line can help you to better understand and decide which coverage is right for you. When you call, you will be connected with a Cigna enrollment specialist who can help you:
- Understand specific plan information.
- Answer any questions you may have about your plan benefits, Cigna, or the enrollment period.
- Compare all Cigna products and resources available to you.
- Help you find participating providers or facilities.
Beneficiary Updates
Enrolled in any of the following benefit plans? You must assign beneficiary designations to each benefit
- Life
- Supplemental life
- Accidental death and dismemberment
- Supplemental accidental death and dismemberment
Beneficiaries must be separately assigned to each of the plans above. To assign beneficiaries, follow these easy steps:
Step-by-step guide
- Log in to MaineStreet;
- Navigate to Employee Self-Service > Benefits > Benefits Summary;
- Click on any one of the benefits listed above;
- Click Edit in the Beneficiary section.
- Repeat steps 3 & 4 for every life insurance benefit listed above.
TIAA Beneficiary Information
Your beneficiaries for your 403 (b) or 457 (b) pension accounts through TIAA must be designated through TIAA. To assist you in this process, please don't forget TIAA's Beneficiary Resource Center too!
Important Beneficiary Notice
It is very important to remember that designation of beneficiaries in these accounts takes precedence over any provisions in a will or other instructions. That's why it is vital that you check your beneficiary designations often to ensure they are up-to-date and consistent with your wishes.
