ANSWER:
UC offers a wide choice of medical plans, including:
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- Health Maintenance Organization (HMO); Kaiser or Health Net Blue and Gold
- Fee for Service Plan with a High-Deductible; Core
- Preferred provider Organization (PPO); UC Care
- High-Deductible PPO with a Health Savings Account
UC offers a choice of two Dental Plans:
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- Delta Dental PPO – A fee-for-service plan
- Delta Care USA – A dental HMO
Vision Service Plan
Legal Plan
Disability Insurance
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- UC Paid
- Short Term
- Long Term
Life Insurance
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- Core Life
- Basic Life
- Supplemental Life
- Basic Dependent Life
- Expanded Dependent Life
Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) limit covered services to specific doctors and hospitals, and many services, including consultations with specialists, must be authorized in advance by the employee’s primary-care doctor, medical group or health plan. With HMOs, the employee pays set copays for most services. HMOs generally are more restrictive than PPO plans, but they help keep costs for covered services lower.
A PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plan allows an employee to direct their own care and decide where to obtain most services. Employees are not required to obtain authorization to consult specialists, but the plan should pre-certify some services — surgeries, for example. If an employee uses the plan’s participating providers, the employee pays less than if they use providers who are not contracted with the plan. Under a PPO, employees are subject to annual deductibles and coinsurance for most services. UC Care is a PPO plan. In addition to the usual PPO in-network and out-of-network tiers, it has an extra tier, called UC Select. If an employee sees a provider in UC Select, the employee pays a copay rather than coinsurance.
A PPO with Health Savings Account plan is a high-deductible PPO plan with a Health Savings Account (HSA) to help pay eligible expenses. The HSA can be funded by the employer and employee, up to IRS limits, and can be used to help cover the deductible and pay eligible expenses. Until the employee meets the deductible, they pay, from their own funds or from the HSA, the full cost for services and prescription drugs. After the deductible is met, PPO benefits begin, and the employee pays a coinsurance or percent of the cost of care. Employees may see any provider they choose, but choosing a plan-contracted provider helps keep costs lower. The UC Health Savings Plan is UC’s PPO with HSA, and UC funds an initial contribution to the HSA for the employee.
Core (Fee for Service Plan) - The fee-for-service indemnity plan that UC offers, called Core, has a very high deductible. Employees pay all costs until the deductible is met. Then, Core provides coverage for basic medical services, for which the employee pays a coinsurance. Under the Core plan, employees may choose any provider, but Anthem Blue Cross PPO network providers cost less.