Open Enrollment

Categories: Spotlights

For the 2025 Plan Year

Insurance Open Enrollment Period: Sept. 30 – Oct. 25, 2024

All benefits-eligible employees must take action.

Effective date of changes: Jan. 1, 2025

More information will be added to this webpage as it becomes available.

During Open Enrollment, eligible employees will be able to enroll in or update their benefits.

Important Update: To help accommodate those impacted by Hurricane Helene, employees who reside in the North Carolina counties listed here will have a one-week extension to complete their elections. Impacted employees will have until Friday, Nov. 1, to complete their enrollment. All other employees will have until Friday, Oct. 25.

Important Note: Some employees have reported receiving an email from “TicketsAtWork.” This is not an authorized email. The employee discount program is provided by Perks at Work.

2025 Plan Updates

What’s New?

Third-Party Administrator Change

Starting Jan. 1, 2025, the State Health Plan Third-Party Administrator services will transfer from Blue Cross NC to Aetna.

Designate Your Primary Care Provider

As result of the State Health Plan transitioning to Aetna on January 1, 2025, you will need to log in to eBenefits (Benefitfocus) to designate your Primary Care Provider under Aetna during Open Enrollment to continue to enjoy lower copays when visiting that provider in 2025.

New ID Card

Enrolled members will receive a new ID card in late November-December. The cards will include all new Aetna information.
Important: Beginning Jan.1, 2025, the 2024 Blue Cross NC ID cards will no longer work at provider offices or pharmacies.

“Find a Provider” Tool for Health Insurance

With the change to Aetna as the State Health Plan’s third-party administrator, effective Jan. 1, 2025, employees can now use the “Find a Provider” tool to see if their current providers are in network and available as a Clear Pricing Project provider. Providers had to re-sign with Aetna as a CPP, so their status may have changed.

Note: Make sure to select the NC State Health Plan network for Aetna 2025 when you search for your provider.

Aetna Health Concierge will be available to answer any questions you may have. Contact their customer service by calling 833-690-1037.

Dental Rate Changes

MetLife Dental rates for all coverage options will increase in 2025. Review the 2025 employee cost and coverage details.

Prescription Coverage

The formulary (drug list), which determines what medications are covered and what tier they fall under, changes on a quarterly basis, so there is a possibility that employees will have changes in prescription coverage in 2025. Please refer to your Benefit Book for full coverage details.

Additional New Services
  • New expanded disease and case management programs
  • New 24/7 nurse line
  • New virtual care services through Teladoc
  • New LifeMart discount program
Flu Shot Information

Flu vaccine clinics will be held on campus during the month of October. Learn more on the Niner Nation Cares website.

What hasn’t changed?

You Must Take Action in Two Systems

During open enrollment, you will need to take action in two systems:

  • eBenefits: You will only use eBenefits (Benefitfocus) to make your 2025 elections for health coverage through the State Health Plan.
  • UNC System Benefits (Empyrean): You will use the UNC System Benefits (Empyrean) platform to make all other 2025 benefit elections, including all NCFlex and UNC System benefits.

More information about these two systems can be found in the section below.

Health Insurance
  • There are no premium increases, with no increase in copays or deductibles.
  • The same plan options are available – Base PPO Plan (70/30) and Enhanced PPO Plan (80/20).
  • Members who select a Clear Pricing Project Provider as their Primary Care Provider will continue to enjoy a $0 copay.
  • Members will continue to enjoy a reduced copay when visiting a Clear Pricing Project Specialist.
  • Tobacco users can attend a tobacco cessation counseling session by Nov. 30 to receive a $60 monthly premium credit. (See more information below.)
  • Preferred and non-preferred insulin continues to have a $0 copay for a 30-day supply.
  • Preventive services remain covered at 100% – no copay or deductible – on either plan.

Review the plan summaries on the State Health Plan’s website for the most up-to-date plan details.

Enrollment Platforms

eBenefits (Benefitfocus)

You will need to log in to this platform to enroll/make changes to your elections for:

  • Health through the State Health Plan

In addition, you will go here to answer your tobacco attestation if you elect to enroll for health coverage under the State Health Plan and want to receive the wellness premium credit.

UNC System Benefits (Empyrean)

You will go here to enroll in/make changes to your elections for:

  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Accident
  • Flexible Spending Accounts
  • UNC Life Insurance
  • UNC Voluntary Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)
  • UNC Supplemental Disability
  • Cancer and Specified Disease
  • Critical Illness
  • TRICARE Supplement coverage

Important: Once you log in to the site, you will see a pending event (i.e., Open Enrollment). Click “Continue” and follow the prompts. After you make your enrollment choices, and they are displayed for you to review, you must scroll down and click “Submit My Elections.” One last pop-up message will appear and you must click “Accept” or your choices will not be recorded.

For more information about these two platforms and logging into the systems, please refer to this webpage.

How to Enroll

  1. Start reviewing your benefit options now. If you plan to enroll dependents, allow yourself enough time to gather any required documentation, such as dependents’ Social Security numbers and dates of birth.
  2. Beginning Monday, Sept. 30 log onto both benefit platforms using your NinerNET credentials.
    • eBenefits (Benefitfocus)
      • Update your State Health Plan enrollment from Base PPO (70/30) to Enhanced PPO (80/20) if you do not want to stay in the Base PPO (70/30) Plan.
      • Complete the Tobacco Attestation as part of your State Health Plan enrollment in eBenefits. For tobacco users to receive the $60 wellness credit, you must follow the instructions for the Tobacco Cessation counseling requirement.
      • Verify your dependents. If you are enrolling dependents for the first time, make sure you have their Social Security numbers, and approved documentation. For a complete list of approved documents go to List of Required Documentation for Dependent Eligibility.
    • UNC System Benefits (Empyrean)
      • Review and update your beneficiaries if applicable for the Life, AD&D, Cancer, and Critical Illness plans.
      • Enroll in or change any NCFlex plans (dental, vision, accident, cancer, critical illness, or TRICARE supplement) if needed.
      • Enroll or re-enroll in the Flexible Spending Account for health care and/or dependent care.
      • To enroll in any UNC Income Protection plans (UNC voluntary life, UNC voluntary AD&D, UNC supplemental disability plans) log in to the UNC Empyrean platform.
  3. Save your enrollment changes.
  4. Review and print your annual enrollment confirmation statements to confirm that you have made your elections.

Securian Voluntary Life and AD&D Plans

The UNC System has partnered with Securian Financial to provide a consolidated life insurance plan that offers coverage for employees, spouses or domestic partners, and dependent children. This includes the UNC Life Insurance and UNC Voluntary Accidental Death and Dismemberment plans. More information on these plans can be found online.

Any elections you made through the UNC System Benefits (Empyrean) enrollment platform last year—UNC life insurance, UNC voluntary AD&D, UNC supplemental disability—will remain in effect for 2025 unless you decide to make a change during Open Enrollment.

State Health Plan

The State Health Plan will maintain its current employee premium rates for the 2025 plan year and will continue to offer two Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans administered through Aetna — the Base PPO Plan (70/30) and the Enhanced PPO Plan (80/20).

As in prior years, all members in the State Health Plan will be automatically enrolled in the Base PPO Plan (70/30) for 2025. Those who wish to enroll in the Enhanced PPO Plan (80/20) instead of the Base PPO Plan (70/30) for 2025 will need to take action during open enrollment.

A note for State Health Plan members who are tobacco users

Employees who are tobacco users and want to earn their monthly premium credit for 2025 don’t have to wait until open enrollment this fall. They can take action now to save money throughout the year!

Effective July 1, 2024, tobacco users can attend a tobacco cessation counseling session at their primary care provider’s (PCP) office for free to earn a lower premium for 2025. They have until Nov. 30, 2024, to take action. (Note: If employees combine their tobacco cessation visit with another service, there may be a copay.) This convenient employee option means there’s no need to wait for Open Enrollment in October to secure their monthly premium credit for 2025.

Here’s how it works:

  • After employees visit a PCP for their tobacco cessation session, the provider will submit a claim on their behalf. To ensure they receive credit for their visit, employees can upload their office visit summary to the “Document Center” located in eBenefits, the State Health Plan’s enrollment system. They should make sure to request a copy of their summary during their visit.
  • During open enrollment, they will need to attest during the online enrollment process. This step is critical to ensure employees receive the lower premium for 2025.
  • This action is ONLY for tobacco users who want to reduce their monthly premium by $60 per month in 2025. If employees are NOT tobacco users, they will simply attest to that online during Open Enrollment, Sept. 30 – Oct. 25, 2024.

NCFlex

NCFlex will maintain its current benefit offerings for the 2025 plan year; however, some plans may have experienced rate changes. If you do not enroll for the first time or make a plan change, your current NCFlex benefits will roll over, except for the Flexible Spending Spending Accounts (health care and dependent care), which require re-enrollment.

NCFlex Updates and Reminders
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs): The Health Care FSA maximum annual contribution is increasing to $3,200. The rollover balance is $640. To view your current FSA balance, log into the NCFlex P&A Admin site.
  • Dependent Care FSA: The Dependent Care FSA annual limit will remain the same at $5,000.
  • Cancer nor Critical Illness Plans: Neither the Cancer nor Critical Illness plans require evidence of insurability to enroll.

Upcoming Events

Resources

Contact Information for Questions

eBenefits (Benefitfocus):
  • Employees can complete their enrollment over the phone.
  • Call the eBenefits Eligibility and Enrollment Support Center at 855‐859‐0966.
  • Open Enrollment extended hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. EST, and Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. EST.
UNC System Benefits (Empyrean):
  • Employees can also complete their enrollment over the phone.
  • Call the Empyrean University Benefits Service Center at 833-862-1490. The hours are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. (EST).
Aetna Health Concierge (Customer Service):
  • Call the Eligibility and Enrollment Support Center at 855-859-0966. The extended hours during Open Enrollment are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m., and Saturdays, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Call the Aetna Health Concierge (Customer Service) at 833-690-1037. The extended hours during Open Enrollment are Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m., and Saturdays, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
UNC Charlotte Benefits Office: