2018 Open Enrollment Guide
The 2018 Open Enrollment guide is now available! Please click on the image above to open the document. On the front cover, you can click on "Print OE Summary" to print a short version of the guide or you can just review the guide electronically and avoid printing altogether.
Reminder: Benefits Open Enrollment is November 1st through the 15th. This your opportunity to complete one (or more) of the following items:
- Enroll or change your medical plan election.
- Enroll or change your dental and vision plan election.
- Add or remove a family member.
- Elect to participate in a Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account for 2018.
- Pre-Elect to sell PTO in 2018 for 100% of it's value.
As always, feel free to comment or ask questions in the box below.
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Rest assured, your spouse is not being penalized for being employed. If your spouse has a medical coverage option through his/her employer and you make the choice to have them on the Mayo Medical Plan as secondary coverage, then there is no spousal surcharge. If you and your spouse choose not to have him/her on the employer’s medical plan available, the charge is simply to offset the actuarial cost of having your spouse on the Mayo Medical Plan. This is a way to help control cost for all Mayo Medical Plan participants now and into the future.
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1 ReactionIsn't the offset paid through the higher premium charged for employee + spouse? And why would we pay two premiums, it seems this could end in a loss of patient's for Mayo if employees chose a spouse's insurance plan that covers at a different facility just to keep family care together.
So does Mayo pay more to insure my spouse (who can elect to have coverage through his employer at a high rate) than to insure my co-workers husband who is self employed and can find private insurance? I cannot seem to find in our coverage plan, where there is a cost difference and why it would cost Mayo more to cover my husband..
Yes, a little. And with knowing the spouse has another medical option and chooses not to be on it, the surcharge offsets the cost a little more. Again, it is your choice and you need to look at what is best for your medical and financial situation.
So if my wife takes medical coverage through a future job, do I still have to pay the employee+ spouse rate even though she is only covered secondarily? this is very unfair because as others have said I am paying double insurance and not getting double coverage. also does my wife have to be on my insurance to use the FSA and MRA funds we have accumulated? for instance, if I buy her Rx at the pharmacy with my Benny card will that not work if her name is not on the insurance account? we both contribute to those funds and both need them. It very much is penalizing someone for working when you force us to pay double insurance!
Great question Tim. If you want your spouse to be covered under the Mayo Medical Plan you either need to pay the spousal surcharge and not pay for medical coverage under her employer, if they offer a medical plan, or you can pay the premium for covering her under her employers as well as the employee + spouse under the Mayo Medical Plan. You'll definitely want to look at what is best for your family's medical and financial needs. If you decide to not cover your wife under the Mayo Medical Plan, you can choose to cover her under the MRA. The decision to do so is separate from the medical plan. Both of you may use any FSA funds you put assigned as long as you follow the rules developed by the IRS for eligibility and reimbursement.
Ultimately – employees have an opportunity during Open Enrollment to choose whether they want to cover a spouse or not, and must weigh the financial implications of utilizing the spouse’s coverage vs. paying the surcharge. Feedback is shared with leadership, though there are no plans to change the spousal surcharge at this time. Thanks for your comment.
The difference being that the employer is offering coverage, and when the spouse chooses not to enroll in it and is instead covered solely by Mayo Clinic, Mayo is carrying more of the cost for that employer. The surcharge helps to offset a portion of that cost. Thanks for the question.
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1 ReactionYes – but you wouldn’t need to cover her at all unless you desired that doubled coverage, which is certainly an option. In that case, the surcharge would not apply. The FSA does not require dependents to be covered under your health insurance plan. Dependents must be enrolled in the MRA to use those funds. Thanks for the questions.
How can I get information on Mayo providers to make the decision as to whether changing from my husband's insurance is a wise choice? I don't see any links that give you access to that information prior to enrollment. He has progressive medical issues so we would like to evaluate possible new providers for him on Mayo's plan. Thanks!