By Vic Cox

In 2005, for the first time in three years, most of the University’s California employees will see little or no change in the costs to them for their health care services, the UC Human Resources and Benefits Office has announced. Definity Health plan will actually improve its benefits without raising its premiums this coming calendar year.

With Open Enrollment starting on Nov. 1 and running until midnight of Nov. 30, UC has begun to release information about what to expect. A detailed brochure is scheduled to be sent out this week, reports Laura Morgan, UCSB health care facilitator. About the same time, UC benefits should place details on its Web site <http://atyour service.ucop.edu>.

At UCSB, no HMO plan will increase its co-pays (including prescription drugs) in 2005, and only PacifiCare members will see some rise in premiums, said Morgan. The new PacifiCare monthly premiums are expected to increase by $6.55 for a single employee; $11.80 for an employee and child(ren); $47.29 for an employee and another adult; and $52.55 for an employee and family.

For members of the Blue Cross plans, changes have been made in the way that United Behavioral Health (UBH) manages the “out-of-network” mental health benefit, Morgan noted. “Members will be asked to notify UBH prior to seeing an out-of-network practitioner,” she said, but members can still self-refer to a practitioner.

Benefits and rates for the vision and Delta Dental plans won’t change next year, said the UC Human Resources newsletter HR/Benefits Review. Some unspecified improvements were expected in the PMI Dental Plan.

Retirees’ medical plan rates should also remain stable or, if on Medicare, decrease a bit, the newsletter added.

The most dramatic changes are to be found in enhanced benefits for members of Definity Health plan, a new “consumer-driven” plan that will be in its second year at UCSB. Personal accounts available for individuals’ and families’ medical expenses will increase by hundreds of dollars, while in-network out-of-pocket maximum figures will decrease substantially for members. The lifetime maximum benefit for in-network services will expand 150 percent to $5 million.

Upcoming presentations on health plans include: Blue Cross Plus on Friday, Oct. 22, at 12:10 p.m. in Human Resources, SAASB 3101. HealthNet, PacifiCare, and Kaiser HMOS will be on Oct. 25 at the same time and place.