Endowed health rate increases kept in check; some drug costs will rise

The Cornell benefits Open Enrollment period begins in a little more than two weeks. This year, it runs from Nov. 8 through Dec. 3 for endowed health and dental plans and for endowed and contract college Select Benefits Dependent Care accounts. Endowed and contract college faculty and staff have until Dec. 31 to enroll in Select Benefits Medical Care accounts. BeneFair will be held Nov. 10 at G10 Biotech from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. As in the past, Open Enrollment packets will be mailed to home addresses in advance, not only to meet legal requirements, but also so that families can learn about and choose the benefits that are right for them.

Endowed health and dental plans

HealthNow continues to be the least expensive plan for participants, followed by the Aetna Open Choice PPO. These two plans have very broad networks of participating physicians and facilities. The most expensive plan for participants remains the Aetna 80/20 Plan, which has no in-network price breaks for services received, even if those services are performed by an otherwise participating Aetna network physician or facility.

The rising costs for prescription drugs is a nationwide issue from which Cornell and its employees are not exempt: prescription drug co-pays for brand-name drugs at the pharmacy counter and through home delivery will increase for 2005. However, the increases have been tempered somewhat by the cost-consciousness of Cornell's staff and faculty, who have used generic prescriptions and the home delivery option to keep costs down.

Cornell's increases could also have been much higher if its bargaining power had not been increased through its charter membership in the Preferred University Rx Purchasing Coalition. "I have been quite gratified by the growth in this coalition," said Paul Bursic, director of Benefit Services, and the coalition's founder. "Just over the past month we have added two new members to the coalition, and others have voiced an interest in joining as well." The coalition now has seven other member institutions: Columbia, Princeton, Boston, Seton Hall, Rochester Institute of Technology, Yale and Notre Dame. Each member of the coalition is now purchasing pharmaceuticals by using discounts that usually are only available through Medco Health to groups exceeding 75,000 participants.

Nevertheless, staff and faculty who use several prescription drugs on a daily, long-term basis will find the increases in pharmaceuticals to be significant. Those who have long-term prescription drug needs may want to calculate their anticipated yearly expenditure on pharmaceuticals and use the Select Benefits Medical Reimbursement account to help with their payments.

Premiums will NOT increase for the endowed dental/eye care plan for 2005. There are some plan improvements and a special deal for people who are thinking of joining during Open Enrollment. The Open Enrollment packet has complete information.

Endowed staff and faculty who wish to enroll in, drop, or make any changes in their endowed health or dental plans need to use the Open Enrollment period to make those changes by December 3, 2004, either by submitting a paper form or by using eOpenEnroll, a simple online enrollment process.

Contract college health plans

Select benefits plans for endowed and contract college faculty and staff

Select Benefits allows participants to pay eligible dependent care expenses and certain eligible medical expenses that are not covered by a health plan with before-tax dollars. Not only do participants enjoy tax benefits from these plans, but the plans also allow for better advance saving for predictable medical and dependent care expenses. It is important to estimate those expenses carefully, however, as all of the funds allocated to Select Benefits must be used by the end of the plan year to avoid the "use it or lose it" provision in the IRS code. First-time enrollees in Select Benefits are encouraged to speak to a counselor in Benefit Services before enrolling.

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