Takeaway: Open enrollment for health care benefits ends on October 31. Come to a virtual town hall meeting to learn more about your health plan options and the cost increases imposed by the state for 2023. Click here and fill out the form to attend one of the meetings listed below.
Dear colleague,
Open enrollment for health benefits closes on Monday, October 31, 2022. October is our window to make changes for plan year 2023 (changes become effective January 1, 2023). The Coalition of Rutgers Unions is scheduling town hall meetings to discuss the health plan costs and how they compare, and to provide updates on our discussions with the state to avoid drastic increases in health care costs. The days and times of the town halls are:
- Wednesday, October 19: 9–10 a.m., 12–1 p.m., and 6–8 p.m.
- Friday, October 21: 9–10 a.m., 12–1 p.m., and 6–8 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 25: 9–10 a.m., 12–1 p.m., and 7–9 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 26: 9–10 a.m., 12–1 p.m., and 7–9 p.m.
To attend any of these town halls, click here and fill out this form; we’ll send you the Zoom link the morning of the day(s) you select.
The state of New Jersey imposed a drastic increase of 18.4 percent in costs for the following health plans, effective January 1, 2023: PPO plans Direct 15, Direct 1525, Direct 2030, and Direct 2035 and the two High Deductible plans. The HMO plan premium is set to increase by 18.3 percent.
Members in any of the above plans pay contributions through payroll deductions based on a percentage of the premium set by the state. Since those premiums are increasing by 18.4 percent (18.3 percent for the HMO), the amount deducted from your paycheck will also increase by that percentage. So if your current biweekly payroll deduction is $100, that would increase to $118.40 (or $118.30 for the HMO) on January 1.
There is better news for those of us in the newer NJ Direct PPO plan (NJ Direct 2019 for more recent hires). People in this plan pay a percentage of their salary, not a percentage of the premium. The amount deducted from your paycheck will increase by 3 percent starting in January, much lower than for the other plans. If your current biweekly payroll deduction is $100, that would increase to $103 in January.
If you are in the Omnia tiered-network plan, your current deductions will increase by 2.25 perent in January.
You can switch plans through the end of the month to avoid the big increase in costs. But come to one of the town hall meetings so you can hear about the different features of each plan. All of these plans are designed differently. All of the PPOs use the same network of doctors and hospitals and have out-of-network benefits, but co-pays and deductibles may vary. The tiered-network plan is designed for those receiving their care in New Jersey and in the network (there are no out-of-network benefits for this plan).
Our unions at Rutgers, Rowan, NJIT, and University Hospital are trying to work with the Governor’s Office to bring down that 18.4 percent increase to the 3 percent rate. We made that demand in a meeting on October 13 and will hopefully have a positive update soon. We may ask you to take some action over the next week—a phone call, an email, or even a gathering to make some noise.
We know you will have more questions, so we’ve planned the town halls over the next two weeks at different times on four different days:
- Wednesday, October 19: 9–10 a.m., 12–1 p.m., and 6–8 p.m.
- Friday, October 21: 9–10 a.m., 12–1 p.m., and 6–8 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 25: 9–10 a.m., 12–1 p.m., and 7–9 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 26: 9–10 a.m., 12–1 p.m., and 7–9 p.m.
You can click here and fill out this form to RSVP for any of the meetings, and we’ll send you the Zoom link that morning. In the meantime, if you have questions, email aaup@rutgersaaup.org
In solidarity,
Becky and Todd
Rebecca Givan, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Todd Wolfson, General Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
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