Dear UC Colleagues,

Today is the first day of our annual Open Enrollment period and in important ways, this year is different. The health care and health insurance marketplace is in the midst of profound change, a process that will continue for the foreseeable future. The Affordable Care Act and the relentless climb in health care costs are forcing everyone — insurance carriers, medical providers, employers and employees — to adapt continuously.

As a result, the days are gone when UC and its faculty and staff could choose medical plans and forget about those choices for years. Going forward, we will all need to become more engaged in health benefit choices.

In this environment UC has had to adjust in order to maintain the right balance between offering access to a broad, diverse range of providers while furnishing quality care and maintaining high value in its medical benefit programs. The adjustments follow two years of deliberations by a university wide Health Care Benefits Work Group, which recommended that UC seek new bids from health insurers and providers for its medical programs.

The bid process led us to discontinue four plans that were unsustainable and add two new plans that meet the needs of our employees. It allowed the university to preserve many valuable coverage features while minimizing price increases for employees. Our 2014 portfolio of medical plans offers a balance between access, affordability and quality that ensures that UC's medical benefits remain among the best.

We know how important good health benefits are to you and the organization to attract and retain the best talent, which is why offering innovative high-quality benefits programs remains among our highest priorities as a university.

This year, like every year, we're demonstrating that commitment in many ways:

  • Most people will see only small increases in medical premiums in 2014 and some will see their premiums go down.
  • UC pays the large majority of employees' health insurance premiums, so we have slowed price increases.
  • We continue to offer dental and vision insurance at no cost to you.
  • UC will spend $1.5 billion in 2014 on health and welfare benefits for employees.
  • There are still very low/no cost programs.

I encourage you to use this Open Enrollment period to thoroughly review all your benefits. In the current environment, it is important for you to think carefully and actively about your choices.

You'll find full details on the Open Enrollment website.

We can all expect the health care market to keep changing in the years ahead. As that change occurs, we're going to continually evaluate our benefits plans to be sure we offer the right mix of quality, access and affordability. As part of that ongoing assessment, in late spring 2014 we will conduct a health and welfare benefits survey to get your feedback about our plans.

I want to thank you for your contributions to UC. Your efforts play a pivotal role in making the University of California the world-class teaching, research and public service institution it is today.

Sincerely,

Dwaine B. Duckett
Vice President, Human Resources