By SUSAN JONES
Faculty who are not in the union bargaining group and staff will have one less option for health insurance in 2023-24. Those who currently have Panther Plus will take the biggest hit, with rates for the new Panther PPO plan $33 more a month for individuals and more than $100 more for families.
INFORMATION SESSIONS
Webinar: A Guide to Your Benefits at Pitt — Noon, May 24. Join Human Resources for a live webinar to learn more about open enrollment and the benefits available at Pitt. Register here. A recording of the webinar, which also was held May 16, will be available on the Open Enrollment website.
In-Person Session: A Guide to Your Benefits at Pitt — 11 a.m.-1 p.m. May 25, William Pitt Union, Room 548. Beginning at 11 a.m., representatives from different benefit vendors will be available to talk to and answer questions you may have. The information session begins at noon. This session will be identical to the webinars hosted on May 16 and 24. No registration is required.
Panther Gold participants, who make up the majority of Pitt employees, will see smaller increases — $5 to $28 depending on family size. But there is now a deductible of $150 to $300 for non-copayment services for those who use the UPMC Advantage Network of UPMC-owned facilities. The out-of-pocket maximums also have increased slightly.
There is less time to decide on which plan to select this year. Previously, participants had around a month to sign up, but this year open enrollment is only two weeks, from May 15 to 31.
The Panther Plus and Panther Advocate plans have merged into Panther PPO. Anyone who has those plans now will automatically be placed into Panther PPO if they don’t make another selection. While Panther Plus participants will see sharp increases, those with Panther Advocate will actually have lower monthly premiums of $18 to $33 depending on family size.
The new Panther PPO plan will pay 85 percent of the costs of many services after the deductible is met, which is a change from 80 percent for Panther Plus and 90 percent for Panther Advocate. The deductible is the same as Panther Plus was this year — $750/$1,500 — which is an increase for those who had Panther Advocate.
The Panther Basic plan also will have small premium increases of $1 to $11 and the deductible is up to $2,000/$4,000 from $1,500/$3,000.
The vision and dental plans are the same as last year, although the vision plan is now called Davis Vision by MetLife.
For bargaining unit faculty, all costs and plans will remain unchanged this year due to ongoing collective bargaining negotiations. Those who want to keep the same plan, don’t need to do anything. Those who want to change to a different plan need to do so before May 31.
Find all of the Open Enrollment information, including the Summary Guide to Benefits and enrollment instructions, online at openenroll.hr.pitt.edu.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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