Dear colleague,
We will be holding a health insurance Town Hall meeting tomorrow night, Wednesday, May 12, at 6 p.m. (click here to RSVP). Our union, as part of the Coalition of Rutgers Unions, negotiated lower health care costs for members who choose to switch into the new NJ Direct/NJ Direct 2019 plan or the Omnia tiered network plan, and the special open enrollment period has begun. You can get answers at the town hall to your questions about the new plan, comparisons to other options, and how to enroll.
We wrote to you last week about the special open enrollment period, lasting until May 14, during which you can choose the more affordable health care plans negotiated by CRU. The town hall will give you a chance to ask about what plan works best for you.
We know the info sessions hosted by UHR had some technical difficulties that made it difficult for many to hear the main speaker (you can download a Powerpoint of the Special Open Enrollment Presentation by clicking here), so here’s Becky’s cheat sheet about our health care options. We can’t fix the bigger problems with our health care system single-handedly, but we can help you navigate the bewildering array of options.
If you live in New Jersey, and especially if you live near New Brunswick and use Rutgers or RWJ/Barnabas physicians and facilities, Omnia may be a good plan for you. Two-thirds of all Horizon network providers are considered tier 1 under Omnia, so costs will actually be lower. If you are not in New Jersey, ALL out-of-state providers are tier 2, with higher costs, so Omnia is likely not a good choice.
If you are currently in NJ Direct 15 (as most of us are), you may consider changing to NJ Direct. This plan offers the SAME MEDICAL COVERAGE and SAME PROVIDER NETWORK as the current NJ Direct 15. The difference is that the premiums are much lower for the new plan (depending on your family size, you may save up to about $1,000 per year), and the co-pays and coinsurance are a little higher. The in- and out-of-network out-of-pocket maximums remain the same.
Regardless of which plan you are enrolled in, the State of New Jersey has partnered with a service called Amino, which has an app that can help you stay in-network while identifying high-quality providers. Click here to get started.
If you choose a new plan during this special open enrollment period, it will go into effect on July 1, 2021. After that, if you decide you are not happy with your choice, you can choose a different plan during the regular open enrollment period during the month of October, and the changes will go into effect on January 1, 2022.
You can find out more at the health insurance Town Hall meeting tomorrow night (May 12) at 6 p.m. (click here to RSVP).
In solidarity,
Todd and Becky
Todd Wolfson, President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Rebecca Givan, Vice President, Rutgers AAUP-AFT
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