The below post is taken from the Video Blog, the Subject Matter Minute. If it’s a little hard to read, it’s because it’s taken from the spoken word. You can view the episode on YouTube if you would like. Find it here: Episode #59 – Open Enrollment Changes 2023
If YouTube is blocked for you or your agency, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to view it from Google Drive. (I would prefer you view it on YouTube, so I know how many people have watched)
You can also listen to an audio version.
Hello and welcome to the Subject Matter Minute, I’m Matt Nagy, thanks for joining me! I started putting this episode together last week when the weather was still perfect. Has everyone else been enjoying the most perfect fall ever? It may be coming to an end now, but, I can’t believe I had to work last week. There should be a “perfect weather” holiday. Right? (maybe that’s a good retention strategy the state could consider?) anyways… I digress…
Speaking of nature… I want to show you guys a little video of my wife’s office in Steamboat. The quality is really poor, but you’ll get the idea. (Bear Video) The whole family! I guess they were trying to make an appointment! It would be cute except I just read the article about those two wrestlers who were attacked near Cody. If you haven’t read it, search for it… it’s quite a story.
Ok, now that I told you to go outside to enjoy the weather and then basically told you to stay indoors, cause, well, bears…. Let’s get to the content!
As you SHOULD know… we are nearly halfway through Open Enrollment for 2023. And while a month ago might have been better, now still seems like a good time to talk about a few open enrollment changes. (music)
So… open enrollment starts on October 1st and goes through the end of November. This is the time that you can add, drop, and/or make changes to the benefits that we all get through Employees’ Group Insurance. The changes that we make take effect the following year. So the changes we make now are put in place for the 2023 calendar year. While you can go view your benefits on the portal, nothing needs to be done if you aren’t making any changes. However, don’t forget that flex medical and daycare has to be enrolled in each year if you wish to participate.
It seems like for me, the only thing that I sometimes change is the flexible spending account amount. Although I did drop short-term disability last year as I figured I had accrued enough sick leave to cover the short term.
- Otherwise, you can go in and change your health insurance deductible,
- elect or drop preventive dental and/or the optional dental (if the 3-year waiting rule is met),
- you can elect or drop basic and voluntary life insurance (in limited amounts and possible underwriting),
- elect, drop or change your vision plan (if waiting period/commitment period met),
- elect or drop ambulance coverage (if waiting period is met),
- elect or drop short term disability or long-term disability,
- elect flexible spending accounts for 2023 .
- and finally, add, drop, or change dependents where appropriate. (documents may be needed!)
There are some small changes that will go into effect in 2023. If you recall, vision insurance had a waiting and commitment period of two years. This meant that if you didn’t elect it when you first were hired, or you dropped it, you had to wait 2 years to get it. It also meant that once you elect it, you had to keep it for 2 years. That period has been reduced to 1 year.
The benefit for optional dental has been increased from $1500 to $2000 per calendar year. So if you have optional dental, delta dental will pay up to $2000 for things such as crowns. This is a good thing for me, as my teeth are all sorts of cracked up!
Also, the maximum you can use for the medical reimbursement went up from $2700 to $2850. So, if you are always maxing that account out, you can bump up your monthly amount a bit.
Please keep in mind that I, by no means, have gone through all the details. Sometimes documents are needed, and sometimes you need one thing to get another. There are other waiting periods. But those are details that I’ve gone through in other Subject Matter Minutes, I’ve put links to the appropriate ones below. I have also included a link to a video taking you through the entire portal open enrollment process below. Of course, if you have real questions, important questions, please contact EGI. (contact info on screen)
Finally, please don’t wait until the last minute to get this done. EGI business hours are Monday – Friday 8 am-5 pm, so while we can submit an online enrollment until midnight on 11/30, if you experience any errors or technical problems, there is no way to get assistance after hours. Alright? We are given 2 months to get this done, so get in there and make it happen.
Alright, that’s it for today! But before I go, I want to give a shout-out to Travis McGinnis of Big Piney. It was great chatting with you at the UW football game the other night! It’s great meeting cool state employees like you. Now, everyone… go outside before winter hits…get on your bike, go on a hike, sit on your porch… wait, unless there have been bear sightings nearby.