As of yesterday, UnitedHealthcare insurance became effective for employees who enrolled in the new plan. While some have experienced issues with pharmacies, others have happily reported that their prescriptions are far less than they had expected. Whether you have had either of these experiences, please know the district has been in touch with UHC and is asking them to work through any issues as expeditiously as possible for the sake of our employees.
As for Health Savings Account (HSA) funds from the district, please note that it had been shared for months that this would be deposited on a biannual basis around July 1 and January 1. This means that employees who enrolled in the single plan will receive $375 this month and employees enrolled in the family plan will receive $750. This will happen again in January 2020 and July 2020, and so on. The first district deposit will appear in HSA accounts on Friday, July 5. Employees going to the doctor or picking up prescriptions prior to July 5 should pay out of pocket, ask for receipts and complete a reimbursement against their account once funds have been added to the HSA.
Employee contributions will begin as outlined below. The district is working to have Employee Online allow for adjustments of employee HSA contributions and will confirm via email when this feature is up and running.
Below is a schedule to help outline when benefit premium contributions will be deducted from paychecks, as well as employee HSA contributions, which were elected during Open Enrollment. *Employees can adjust HSA contributions at any time via the Employee Online platform once this function has been finalized. Changes must be made at least 10 calendar days prior to the payroll for which the changes are desired.
ALL EMPLOYEES:
- Dental, vision, short-term disability, life insurance, limited purpose flexible spending account, dependent flexible spending account and health care premium contributions will be deducted over 20 pay periods
- This will begin on Sept. 25, 2019, and end June 17, 2020
12-MONTH EMPLOYEES:
- Voluntary HSA contributions will be deducted over 26* pay periods
- This will begin with the July 17, 2019, payroll and will run continuously unless modified.
10-MONTH EMPLOYEES (not Frank and Wilson):
- Voluntary HSA contributions will be deducted over 26* pay periods
- This will begin with the Sept. 11, 2019, payroll and will run continuously unless modified
- 10-month employees working on a timesheet (e.g. summer school teacher, clerical, game workers, etc.) throughout the summer will see an HSA payroll deduction based on what was entered during Open Enrollment. To postpone/modify deductions until regular earnings resume in September, affected employees must visit Employee Online by July 8, 2019, to change the deduction amount to $0 for the summer. Employees must then revisit Employee Online no later than Sept. 2, 2019, to reinstate HSA contributions desired for the 2019-20 year.
- 10-month employees not working summer school and wishing to make a contribution prior to the Sept. 11 payroll deductions beginning must deposit funds directly through the Optum Bank website (note: 10-month employee earnings paid during the summer are from the 2018-19 fiscal year and do not allow for 2019-20 payroll deductions – this will begin with the 2019-20 payroll schedule as outlined above).
10-MONTH EMPLOYEES (Frank and Wilson only):
- Voluntary HSA contributions will be deducted from over 26* pay periods
- This will begin with the Aug. 14, 2019, payroll and will run continuously following
- 10-month employees working on a timesheet (e.g. summer school teacher, clerical, game workers, etc.) throughout the summer months will see a payroll deduction based on what was entered during Open Enrollment. To postpone/modify deductions until regular earnings resume in September, affected employees must visit Employee Online by July 8, 2019, to change the deduction amount to $0 for the summer. Employees must then revisit Employee Online no later than Aug. 5, 2019, to reinstate HSA contributions desired for the 2019-20 year.
- 10-month employees not working summer school and wishing to make a contribution prior to the Sept. 11 payroll deductions beginning must deposit funds directly through the Optum Bank website (note: 10-month employee earnings paid during the summer are from the 2018-19 fiscal year and do not allow for 2019-20 payroll deductions – this will begin with the 2019-20 payroll schedule as outlined above).
IMPORTANT NOTE: The online benefit enrollment tool calculated dental, vision and health contributions on a 20 pay period basis. The tool calculated HSA contributions on a 26 pay period basis and made a recommendation of how much to contribute upon enrollment, but this can be changed to any amount desired as outlined herein. The few employees on a 21 pay period schedule should know that the HSA amounts shown on the tool will not be accurate as whatever was entered will actually be calculated/deducted over 21 pay periods, not 26.
For UnitedHealthcare questions, please call 1-844-669-1056.
For Optum Bank questions, please call 1-800-791-9361.