Open Enrollment Starting This Week: April 6

Don’t miss your annual opportunity to make changes to your healthcare benefits!  Open Enrollment for the 2006-2007 plan year begins Thursday, April 6.  Make your benefit changes online 24 hours a day at www.upenn.edu/u@penn (click on “Open Enrollment” under Announcements). Any changes must be made by Friday, April 21, and will take effect as of July 1, 2006.

Look for personalized information at your home address this week, and take note of some important plan changes affecting medical, prescription, dental, vision, and pre-tax expense account coverage. We also encourage you to attend the Open Enrollment and Health Fairs that will be held on campus this Thursday, April 6 in Houston Hall and next Tuesday, April 11 in BRB II/III from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Faculty and staff at New Bolton Center can attend an Open Enrollment Fair next Wednesday, April 12 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. in Alumni Hall.

Free health screenings and information will be available at the Open Enrollment and Health Fairs on April 6 and 11. In addition, wellness and fitness workshops will be offered on April 6 and 7.  You must pre-register for these workshops as well as the cholesterol screening provided at the fair on April 6 (go to www.hr.upenn.edu and click on “Open Enrollment” under Benefits for more information).

In the meantime, keep in mind these important reminders about Open Enrollment:

•   Dependent Children Age 19 and Over—If you don’t certify the student status of your dependent children age 19-23 during Open Enrollment, they won’t be covered as of July 1, 2006.  This certification must be done every year online or by calling the Penn Benefits Center.  Non-disabled children over age 19 may only be covered if they are full-time college students, and only up to the end of the plan year in which they turn age 23.  For information on covering disabled children, contact your health plan directly.

•   Update Your Life Insurance Beneficiary Information—How long has it been since you updated your life insurance beneficiary information?  Have your life circumstances changed?  Maybe you got married, got divorced, had a baby…or maybe you’ve just changed your mind about the way you’d like to distribute your life insurance benefits. Penn is now making it even easier for you to update your life insurance beneficiary information—beginning April 3, instead of filling out a paper form, you can make updates online using our enrollment website (www.upenn.edu/u@penn, click on “Open Enrollment” under Announcements).  It’s easy and convenient, and you’ll be able to view and update your life insurance beneficiary information online anytime you want.

•     Pre-Tax Expense Accounts—If you’re currently enrolled in a Pre-Tax Expense Account (Health Care or Dependent Care), remember that your current annual election amount will automatically roll over for next year unless you make a change during Open Enrollment.

See last week’s Almanac for more detailed information about Open Enrollment, or visit the Human Resources website at www.hr.upenn.edu (click on “Open Enrollment” under Benefits).  You can also call the Penn Benefits Center at 1-888-PENNBEN (1-888-736-6236) if you have any questions.

Rising Cost of Healthcare

As the cost of healthcare continues to increase nationwide, Penn continues to look for ways to mitigate the impact on both you and the University.

–Division of Human Resources