University of Virginia employees have been given a few HR tasks for their to-do lists: Review the benefits changes coming to the UVa Health Plan in 2014. Stop by Monday’s Benefits and Wellness Fair at Newcomb Hall. Complete the open enrollment process by Oct. 25.

Among several significant health plan changes for 2014, employees can earn a $40 monthly reward by taking two steps: completing a biometric screening and a health assessment with Aetna online.

“The changes will provide new options and reward those who participate in wellness programs,” Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Susan A. Carkeek said. “But we must make adjustments or face millions of dollars in rising costs, fees and taxes that would be passed along to employees.”

To accommodate demand, an additional biometric screening option is available until Oct. 31: Faculty and staff may walk in to MedExpress to get the screening any day between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. No appointment is necessary and there is no cost to the employee.

Employees also have the option of completing a physician screening form and faxing it to UVA WorkMed at 434-244-9434, or they may use lab results from 2013 U.Va. providers that are in My Chart without needing a physician’s signature on the screening form.

Employees can also learn more about benefit changes and options and see presentations on 2014 offerings at the Benefits and Wellness Fair, featuring U.Va.’s benefit vendors, to be held Monday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Newcomb Hall’s third floor. (The complete schedule is on the open enrollment website.) The sessions also will be live-streamed from the UStream site.  Parking validation for the Central Grounds Garage will be available.

The Medical Center Benefits & Wellness Fair will be held in the hospital cafeteria on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

At the fairs, employees can attend sessions about benefits changes and meet representatives from TIAA-CREF, Chard-Snyder, Fidelity Investments, Aetna, United Concordia Dental, Bright Horizons, Catamaran, Davis Vision and U.Va. Care Connection.

There will also be healthful cooking demos and introductory yoga and Zumba classes. More than 30 vendors will be on site to answer questions and provide information on their programs.

Chard-Snyder, the administrator of the Flexible Spending Account and the Health Savings Account programs, will return to Grounds on Oct. 16, 17 and 18 to answer questions about how the new Basic Plan works. Click here for more details.  

Another new resource University Human Resources just launched offers employees a virtual benefits counselor, “Ask Alex,” which can guide users through the many changes becoming effective Jan. 1 and help them make decisions about benefits elections. Ask Alex is available from the UHR website or from the open enrollment website.

The University’s self-funded health plan covers more than 13,600 employees, plus family members, with annual premiums that have tracked well below the national and state average.

Among the major changes:

• Emphasis on wellness: Plan premiums will rise about $40 a month this year. Employees, however, can avoid increases by completing two components of U.Va.’s Hoo’s Well program – a biometric screening and an online health assessment.
• New plan option: The University is adding a third plan option, featuring low premiums and a high deductible. A “Health Savings Account,” included as part of the new option, will receive $1,000 at the start of each year from U.Va. to help pay for eligible medical expenses.
• Working spouse provision: Starting Jan. 1, spouses who have access to coverage through their own employer will no longer be eligible for coverage under U.Va.’s plan. Spouses who do not have coverage elsewhere can remain on the employee’s plan, and coverage of children is not affected.
• New dental plans: Beginning in 2014, dental coverage will be separated from the health plan. Employees may elect not to have dental coverage, or choose between a basic plan and an enhanced plan that includes some coverage of orthodontia.
• Tobacco-free rewards: This year, employees can earn $10 per month if the employee certifies that all adults in the household are tobacco-free.

Employees currently on the U.Va. Health Plan who take no other action will stay in their current plan options and will be enrolled in the basic dental plan.

One part of the plan that’s not changing: Co-payment amounts in all plans will stay the same as in the current plan.