Annual Benefits Enrollment
Annual Benefits Enrollment for benefits-eligible faculty and staff will take place in Workday Oct. 9-20, 2023, with benefits effective Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2024.
Enrollment
You must actively enroll if you are changing benefit elections, adding or removing a dependent(s), and/or planning to enroll or re-enroll in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). FSA elections do not automatically renew from one year to the next, and require active enrollment from you each plan year.
Dependents and Beneficiaries
Faculty and staff who add a spouse and/or dependent child(ren) to the medical and/or dental plan(s) for the first time will need to upload the required dependent verification document(s) in Workday by October 31.
Spousal Surcharge
A spousal surcharge will apply if your spouse has access to medical coverage through an outside employer but enrolls in the Wake Forest plan. This surcharge may be waived under certain conditions. Learn more about the spousal surcharge.
Annual Benefits Enrollment
October 9-20, 2023
Benefits Plan Period
January 1 – December 31, 2024
Resources
Note: The Benefits Guidebook is now available as Google Doc to make it more accessible to all members of our campus community.
Benefits Fair
Tuesday, October 10, 2024
Noon – 4pm | Sutton Center, 4th Floor
Learn more about our benefits offerings, speak with our benefit vendors, and get some free gelato while it lasts!
2024 Benefit Updates
The Aetna medical plan has two networks based on your primary home zip code (Aetna Whole Health and Aetna Choice POS). The Aetna Whole Health network offers additional savings when you utilize Atrium and AHWFB providers. Out-of-pocket costs for “out-of-network” providers will remain the same. You will see the name of your network during the enrollment process in Workday.
Important: Ensure your primary home address is up-to-date before you submit your open enrollment task, as that determines which medical plan network you are eligible for.
Family Building Benefits: Beginning January 1, 2024, members will not be required to have a diagnosis of “infertility” to access reproductive benefits under the medical plan.
The medical and dental plans will both have premium increases.
Medical Plan: All medical plan premiums will have an increase. The following examples are for a full-time employee and show the range of increase:
- Employee Only Low Plan: $2.88 more per month
- Family Low Plan: $11.65 more per month
- Employee Only High Plan: $11.75 more per month
- Family High Plan: $39.80 more per month
Dental Plan Increase: Dental premiums are increasing by $18.61 or less per month.
View the 2024 Benefits Guidebook for a complete list of premiums for the medical, dental, and all other benefit plans.
Medical plan members will have access to a CVS CarePass membership and CVS Minute Clinics with no copay. The CVS CarePass offers discounts and a monthly $10 promotional reward. The CVS Minute Clinic is perfect for those times when you or a dependent can’t wait to get in to see a primary care physician for anything from a bad sore throat to a vaccine.
The Health Care FSA maximum contribution amount for 2024 has increased to $3,050 per individual with a $610 carry over limit from 2023 into 2024. The maximum Dependent Care FSA maximum contribution amount for 2024 will remain at $5,000 per household. There is no carry over allowance for Dependent Care.
Important: If you are planning to participate in a Flexible Spending Account in 2024, you must actively enroll in Workday during the open enrollment period. FSA elections do not carry over each year.
Guidebook Quick Links
Note: It may take a moment for the document to navigate to the correct page after you click the link.
Aetna Support
Aetna is offering a dedicated call center and email address to answer WFU faculty and staff questions about the medical and pharmacy plan changes.
- Email wfu@aetna.com
- Call 855.586.6961
What types of questions can they answer?
- Which network am I in?
- How do I find an in-network provider?
- How do I find an in-network specialist?
- Which tier is my provider in?
- Will my procedure be covered?
- Will my prescription be covered?
Enrollment Assistance
The HR team is always available to answer questions about the enrollment process. Virtual assistance via Zoom is available upon request.
- Email askHR@wfu.edu
- Call 336.758.4700
In-Person Enrollment Assistance:
- Oct. 11 from 11am – 1pm in UCC 2003
- Oct. 11 from 1:30 – 3:30pm in Graylyn Mgmt #1
- Oct. 13 from Noon – 2pm in Reynolda Hall 301
- Oct. 16 from 9am – Noon in Benson 401a
- Oct. 17 from 10am – Noon at Benson 344
- Oct. 18 from Noon – 3pm in HS Moore, OS1
Benefits Enrollment & Decision Guide
Prepare for Annual Benefits Enrollment by reviewing this step-by-step decision guide, which walks you through all the benefits you need to consider during the open enrollment period and what questions you need to answer before selecting your benefits elections.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you would like coverage, you must enroll in the following benefits during open enrollment or following a qualified event: medical plan (includes prescription and behavioral health plans), dental plan, vision plan, legal plan, flexible spending accounts, supplemental health insurance (though Aflac), and whole life insurance (through Unum).
All your current elections – except flexible spending – will carry forward to the next year. FSAs don’t automatically renew; you must re-enroll each year.
- Download and open the Workday mobile app on your mobile device.
- Sign in using wfu as your company ID (only applies to first-time downloads).
- Enter the username and password for your work Gmail account.
- Complete the Google Two-Step Verification.
- Go to your inbox, click Open Enrollment Change, and Let’s Get Started.
- To change benefits or dependent(s), click on the appropriate box and follow the prompts.
- To submit your elections, click View Summary, I accept (checkbox), and Submit.
If you submitted your benefit elections and need to make additional changes during annual benefits enrollment, follow these steps in Workday:
- Click Menu in the top left corner.
- Click the Benefits link.
- In Cost section, click Change Open Enrollment button.
- Click OK.
- Make your elections; progress through the screens by clicking Continue.
- Click Submit.
Verify if a provider or a facility is in-network by following these steps:
- Visit: aetna.com
- Under Already a member: Click Login to Secure Site
- Enter: Username and Password, Click Secure Log In
- Under “Find Care & Pricing,” click Go Find Care
- Search by provider name, specialty, procedure, or medication.
*Aetna Whole Health Choice POS II members should call Aetna when searching for an in-network provider or facility that is between 70-100 miles from their home zip code to verify network status.
Verify if a prescription is covered by following these steps:
- Visit aetna.com
- Login the member portal (registration is required; click on Register in the Don’t Have an Account section)
- Under Plan Overview, under Pharmacy, click on What’s Covered
- In the Estimate Medication Costs, enter the name of the prescription and select the correct name/dosage
- Under the Pricing section, click View Price
- If a prescription is not covered, Price Unavailable and Not Covered will be displayed
How to Find Medication Alternatives
- Log into your Aetna account
- Hover over Plan Overview
- Click What’s Covered under Pharmacy
- In the Estimate Medication Costs, enter the medication that is not covered
- Click View Price
- If it is not covered, it will display messaging that says Not Covered & Price Unavailable
- Beneath that message, alternatives will be displayed along with the respective copay(s)
Alternatively, members may call Rx Member Services at 888-792-3862 to discuss alternatives.
Novant providers are considered in-network and our member costs (such as copays, deductibles, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximums) have not increased for those in the “Standard Savings” tier. Atrium and AHWFB providers are also in-network and in the “Maximum Savings” tier, which offers deeper discounts.
When an employee incurs copays, deductibles, and coinsurance costs in the health plan, these amounts will cross accumulate between medical plan tiers within a calendar year.
For example, if a member sees a Tier II, Standard Savings, provider and incurs $750 towards their individual deductible expenses, the member will have accumulated those deductible expenses across all tiers. Later on, if the member seeks care with a Tier I, Maximum Savings, provider and services are performed that would normally go towards the individual deductible, the member’s individual deductible would already be met based on the prior incurred expenses within the calendar year.
Out-of-pocket expenses work the same way. Out-of-pocket expenses, including deductibles, copays (medical provider and pharmacy), and coinsurance cross accumulate between tiers. Family deductibles and copays also accumulate across tiers. Pharmacy copays are all within the Standard Savings tier. Copays and out-of-pocket expenses for the behavioral health plan do not apply to medical/pharmacy plan expenses.
When Aetna files their Aetna Whole Health products with the NC Department of Insurance, they are required to show sufficient access to Tier I providers (Atrium) in order for the product to be approved in certain locations. This evaluation is based on zip codes. If Aetna cannot offer a member sufficient access to Tier I providers within a certain distance of their home zip code, they are not permitted to offer the Aetna Whole Health product. Members who do not have sufficient access to Tier I providers are offered Aetna’s national network, Aetna Choice POS II. When employees log into Workday and select the Open Enrollment task in their inbox, and select the medical plan, they will see what network they are in. As Atrium and Aetna expand the Aetna Whole Health network, Workday will be updated annually to reflect the expanded footprint for this network.
Regardless of where the dependent lives, they will be in the same network as the employee. Both networks have a “Standard Savings” tier, which is national and offers in-network providers across the U.S.
Check your flexible spending account (FSA) balance by either logging into your account at mcgriff.com or downloading the McGriff mobile app. Faculty and staff can also utilize McGriff’s specialized enhanced customer service line for WFU participants by calling 800.930.2417 or emailing wfu_flex_inquiry@mcgriff.com.
Organizations with self-funded plans, like Wake Forest University, assumed all financial risk for providing benefits and typically outsources the administration of the plan to a third-party administrator. Large employers are typically self-funded. Data provided by Gallagher, our outside benefits consultant, shows that approximately 90% of organizations with more than 1,000 employees are self-funded. Self-funded plans are beneficial because they are more flexible to meet the specific needs of the organization and allow additional savings on premium costs.
A third-party administrator is an insurance organization, like BCBS or Aetna, that administers the health plan for a self-funded organization, like Wake Forest University. We have third-party administrators for our plans because we are self-funded.
A provider network is a list of the doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers with which the third-party administrator (TPA) of a plan contracts to provide medical care to plan members. These providers are called “network providers” or “in-network providers.” A provider that isn’t contracted is called an “out-of-network provider.” The network is a financial arrangement between the plan TPA and the providers, which is why discounts may be offered by specific providers.
An organization and its employees share the cost of the employee health plan each year. WFU pays approximately 70% of the cost of the health plan while the other 30% is funded by employee premiums. Employees also share the cost of the health plan at the time of service through copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles.
Premiums: This is the pre-tax amount taken directly from your paycheck in exchange for coverage. Your premium will depend on the type of coverage you choose and the number of dependents on your plan.
Copayment: Sometimes referred to as the office copay, the fixed fee you pay at the doctor’s office during each visit.
Deductible: This is the upfront cost of your covered health care before insurance starts to pay. For example, if you have a $1,000 deductible, you will need to pay $1,000 of your health care expenses before your insurance starts to pay for it. Copays are not included in your deductible.
Coinsurance: This is the share (or percentage) of your covered health care costs that you pay after you’ve met your deductible. For example, if your coinsurance is 20%, you would pay 20% of a medical bill and your insurance would pay 80%. This cost is in addition to your copayment, or office copay.
Out-of-Pocket Maximum: This is the total amount you pay annually before your health care insurance starts paying for 100% of covered services. You reach your out-of-pocket maximum by combining the money you’ve spent toward covered health care services with copays, deductibles, and coinsurance.
Aetna Member Services
The Aetna Member Website is Aetna’s personalized, secure member online portal, providing an interactive way to manage your medical and pharmacy plans. Members may register online as soon as they receive their ID card in the mail, or members may use the Aetna Health app.
To register:
- Visit aetna.com
- Click the Member Login button
- Click Register and follow the prompts to set up your personal account
Registering for the Aetna Member Website will enable you to:
- Search In-Network providers and compare costs
- Estimate the cost of care based on your plan selection
- Review an explanation of benefits to understand claim handling
- Track annual deductible and out-of-pocket accumulations
- Request new ID cards and print temporary ID cards
- Submit questions to the Aetna Health Concierge service team
- Enjoy rewards and discounts available exclusively to Aetna members