AASU President’s Message

Open Enrollment Important Information

AASU Members,

As we approach Open Enrollment, I want to make sure everyone is aware of an important change to our health benefits for the upcoming plan year.

All bargaining units have received benefits information from CalVEBA, but there is one significant update that applies to everyone:

UCSD Medical Group and its affiliated providers will no longer participate in the UnitedHealthcare (UHC) Harmony HMO network. If you are currently enrolled in UHC Harmony and want to continue receiving care through UCSD Medical Group, you will need to select a different health plan during Open Enrollment.

The good news is that UHC CS VEBA Alliance and VEBA Direct will continue to include UCSD Medical Group as a participating provider.

As always, I strongly encourage everyone to take some time during Open Enrollment to review your current plan, providers, and anticipated healthcare needs rather than simply allowing your existing elections to roll over.

The Benefits Department will be hosting both in-person and virtual informational sessions during Open Enrollment. These sessions will be a great opportunity to learn more about the available plans, compare your options, and ask questions before making your selection.

And, probably to no one's surprise, rates are going up. This makes it even more important to carefully compare not only monthly premiums, but also copays, deductibles, provider networks, prescription coverage, and out-of-pocket costs when determining which plan provides the best value for you and your family.

AASU Benefits Committee

AASU is also looking for members who are interested in serving on our Benefits Committee. This committee provides an important opportunity for AASU to have a voice in reviewing benefits and helping select the health plans that will be offered during future Open Enrollment periods.

If you have an interest in employee benefits and would like to help represent AASU members in these discussions and decisions, please let me know that you are interested in serving on the Benefits Committee. We would appreciate having members from across AASU participate in this important work.

AASU will continue to share information as it becomes available and advocate for quality, affordable benefits for our members.

Dianne Huslin
President, AASU