October 5, 2009
Board approves new medical plan for 2010
Purdue faculty and staff will have a new medical plan option in 2010, following Board of Trustees approval on Oct. 2. The new option will be the Purdue Choice Fund, a medical plan that includes a health savings account (HSA).
Other offerings will be Purdue Incentive (formerly Incentive PPO) and Purdue Copay (formerly UnitedHealthcare). The Purdue 500 medical plan is being eliminated.
The Purdue Choice Fund will have a significantly lower premium than the Purdue Incentive and Purdue Copay plans will have. In addition, Purdue will contribute hundreds of dollars to the HSA of each employee enrolling in the Choice Fund option. Those enrolling in employee-only coverage will receive an $850 contribution; those with family coverage (employee plus one or more dependents) will receive a $1,700 contribution.
In addition to offering the new lower premium Purdue Choice Fund, Purdue is absorbing the employee’s premium increase for the 2010 Purdue Incentive and Purdue Copay plans. Employee contributions for these plans in 2010 will be the same as in 2009. The University decided to hold the line on employee medical premiums to help faculty and staff during a difficult economy and a year without raises.
More details about the Choice Fund and all benefits available during this fall's open enrollment will be included in enrollment packets that will be mailed to employees on Oct. 23. Open enrollment will run through Nov. 13.
CIGNA offers comparison tool, help by phone
Employees can get a head start on enrollment by visiting a special enrollment Web site available now through Purdue's 2010 medical plan administrator, CIGNA. The Web site, www.mycignaplans.com, will help employees estimate their total out-of-pocket costs under each of Purdue's three medical options. The calculations will consider premium, deductible, coinsurance, copays, and any Purdue contribution to the employee's HSA.
Employees using the site will need to log in with the user name "Purdue2010" and the password "cigna."
CIGNA also has opened a phone line to assist employees who have questions. The phone number is (800) 767-7141. As an added service, Purdue employees or family members calling this number will have access to AT&T language interpretation services, if they prefer to hear information in a language other than English. The service offers more than 170 languages.