{"561731":{"#nid":"561731","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Board of Regents Approves 2017 Health Care Plans and Premiums","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Board of Regents approved 2017 University System of Georgia (USG) health care plan design changes and premiums for active employees and pre-65 retirees at its meeting Aug. 10.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Board also approved the 2017 USG funding for the contribution to the HRA for Medicare eligible retirees age 65 and older. This year, USG is taking the final step in moving to the defined contribution pricing model for health care\u0026nbsp;premiums. This means that the employer subsidy will be the same for each plan, at each tier.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5\u003EOf note:\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPremiums are increasing between 0 and 8 percent depending on plan enrollment and coverage tier.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EOpen enrollment will be held \u003Cstrong\u003EOct. 31 through Nov. 11, 2016.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EAdditional details about plans will be available in early October.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s changing?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAll plans have an increase in premium, except for the employee only coverage tier for the Consumer Choice HSA.\u0026nbsp;Only the Consumer Choice HSA plan deductibles are increasing.\u0026nbsp;Co-pays are increasing in the Blue Choice HMO plan for specialist office visits, urgent care, and emergency room.\u0026nbsp;Premium increases will depend on the plan and coverage tier an employee is enrolled in.\u0026nbsp;USG Pre-65 retirees and Pre-65 dependents will have the same health care\u0026nbsp;plan choices as active employees. Similar to 2016, separate premium rate charts will apply.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy were the changes made?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe USG continues to manage rising health care\u0026nbsp;costs while providing high quality, affordable, and comprehensive health coverage.\u0026nbsp;Both the employer and the employee are sharing in the increase in health care costs. Overall, national health care\u0026nbsp;costs are increasing at a rate of approximately 6.5 percent.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch5\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFor Medicare-eligible retirees age 65 and over and Medicare-eligible dependents age 65 and older:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h5\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor those currently enrolled in Aon Retiree Health Exchange Plans, the Board of Regents approved USG HRA funding for 2017 at $2,736 per year, for each eligible age 65 and older USG Medicare retiree and any age 65 and older Medicare covered dependent(s). \u003Cstrong\u003EThis is identical to the amount funded for 2016\u003C\/strong\u003E. To receive the USG HRA funding, the retiree and\/or dependent must continue to be enrolled in Medical or Pharmacy coverage through the Aon Retiree Health Exchange for 2017. HRA balances do not expire and carry over year to year.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Medicare Open Enrollment period is \u003Cstrong\u003EOct. 15 through Dec. 7, 2016\u003C\/strong\u003E, for a Jan. 1, 2017, coverage start date. Premium rates and plan information for 2017 will also be mailed to Medicare retirees and Medicare dependents currently enrolled in USG dental, vision, and\/or life insurance, prior to the USG Open Enrollment period.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ohr.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Human Resources\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E will continue to keep employees updated and share information as it becomes available. Employees can refer to the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.usg.edu\/hr\/benefits\u0022\u003EUniversity System of Georgia\u2019s website\u003C\/a\u003E for further benefits changes and premiums for 2017.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEmployees are also encouraged to attend the Georgia Tech Benefits Fair on Wednesday, Nov 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOn Aug. 10, the Board of Regents approved 2017 University System of Georgia (USG) health care plan design changes and premiums for active employees, pre-65 retirees, and subsidies for Medicare-eligible retirees\/dependents.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"On Aug. 10, the Board of Regents approved 2017 University System of Georgia (USG) health care plan design changes and premiums for active employees, pre-65 retirees, and subsidies for Medicare-eligible retirees\/dependents."}],"uid":"27822","created_gmt":"2016-08-11 09:00:21","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:22:19","author":"Myra Oviatt","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-08-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"256841":{"id":"256841","type":"image","title":"University System of Georgia","body":null,"created":"1449243856","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:44:16","changed":"1495650034","gmt_changed":"2017-05-24 18:20:34","alt":"University System of Georgia","file":{"fid":"225350","name":"bor200.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bor200.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/bor200.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":65945,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/bor200.jpg?itok=yjyEhQi6"}}},"media_ids":["256841"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.usg.edu\/hr\/benefits","title":"USG Main Benefits Page"},{"url":"http:\/\/ohr.gatech.edu\/","title":"Office of Human Resources"}],"groups":[{"id":"64303","name":"Human Resources"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4288","name":"benefits"},{"id":"728","name":"Board of Regents"},{"id":"168696","name":"Georgia Tech Human Resources"},{"id":"2775","name":"human resources"},{"id":"14761","name":"Medical Plans"},{"id":"726","name":"University System of Georgia"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:hr.ask@ohr.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Human Resources\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404.894.4847\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}