Faculty, staff, retirees and benefits-eligible graduate students can change their benefits during Open Enrollment, which continues through 5 p.m. Oct. 29.
Changes can be made to health, dental, vision and legal plan enrollments. Faculty and staff also may add eligible dependents and enroll in a flexible spending account.
This year, faculty and staff will have a one-time opportunity to enroll in the university’s Optional Life Insurance plan or increase their coverage level during Open Enrollment without having to provide a health statement of insurability for limited coverage increases.
Benefits changes and new rates take effect Jan. 1, 2022.
The university continues to offer the following health plans: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Community Blue PPO, Comprehensive Major Medical, U-M Premier Care and Michigan Care, as well as GradCare for benefits-eligible graduate students.
No action required to keep current benefits, except FSAs
All benefits-eligible employees and retirees should review their benefits plans, options and 2022 rates.
No action is required to keep current benefits as long as eligibility is maintained, with the exception of flexible spending accounts.
The Internal Revenue Service regulates FSAs. Unlike other benefits, the IRS does not allow FSA enrollments to continue from one year to the next. Employees enrolled for 2021 must re-enroll for 2022.
Employees planning 2022 retirement should look ahead
Employees who plan to retire in 2022 should think about the future and use this Open Enrollment period to enroll in the benefits and coverage they want to have in retirement.
Benefits coverage for the employee and eligible dependents enrolled in the U-M health, dental, vision or legal plans at the time of retirement will automatically continue as long as eligibility is maintained.
New interactive tool can help users compare health plans
Respondents to last year’s Open Enrollment survey indicated they’d like more tools to help them analyze their benefits choices. In response, Human Resources is offering Benefits Mentor, an interactive tool open to faculty, staff and retirees.
With users’ permission, Benefits Mentor accesses their previous health care claims to compare U-M’s plans and analyze which best suits their needs. If the user opts out of allowing access to personal data, Benefits Mentor utilizes benchmark data to walk the user through a series of prompts. Based on the user’s responses, the tool will recommend a health plan.
The user can still select whatever health plan they feel is best for their individual situation. Also, it’s important to note that using Benefits Mentor doesn’t automatically enroll the user in a health plan. If they want to change their benefits or enroll in an FSA, users must complete the traditional Open Enrollment process.
To use Benefits Mentor, go to wolverineaccess.umich.edu and enter “Benefits Mentor” in the search field.
More comparison, informative tools available
Each U-M health plan offers different features, from chiropractic visits to telemedicine. The health plan website, hr.umich.edu/health-plans, includes the following tools to dig deeper:
- Video overview of each health plan.
- Health plan coverage comparison tool.
- 2022 health plan comparison chart.
The dental plan web page, hr.umich.edu/dental-plan, also includes a video breakdown of each plan, as well as a comparison chart.
If you need help determining which U-M benefits are open to you, view hr.umich.edu/benefits-eligibility.
Enroll or change benefits through Wolverine Access
Employees can make changes online through Wolverine Access benefits self-service. Changes may be made as often as needed during Open Enrollment. All changes must be completed and submitted by 5 p.m. Oct. 29. Benefits changes are complete when an online confirmation statement is displayed.
Retirees may make changes online by 5 p.m. Oct. 29, or with the enrollment form included in the Open Enrollment book. The Benefits Office mailed these to home addresses in early October. Completed forms may be mailed or faxed, and must be postmarked or received by Oct. 29.
For questions, call the SSC Contact Center at 734-615-2000 or 866-647-7657.
