Cost increases

See this year’s employee premium contributions.

• To ensure medical costs are shared fairly, the CORE PPO plan will require an employee premium contribution next year. CORE members should consider carefully if that plan best fits their needs.
• For the remaining plans, employees with 2024 annual salaries up to $140,000 will see 9% premium increases, and employees with 2024 annual salaries over $140,000 will see 11% premium increases.
• Copays for outpatient visits will increase from $20 to $30 for members of UC Blue & Gold HMO, Kaiser HMO, Optum Behavioral Health and UC Care (UC Select/Tier 1 and urgent care in Anthem Preferred/Tier 2).  Kaiser group mental health visits are also increasing from $10 to $15.
• Prescription drug copays will increase for most UC medical plans, and there will be a new specialty drug tier with 30% coinsurance, up to $150 per prescription, for UC Blue & Gold HMO and Kaiser HMO.
• For UC Health Savings Plan members:
  • Accolade Care telehealth visits will have a $30 charge, which will be applied to the deductible.
  • The in-network deductible is increasing to $1,650 and $3,300 for self and family coverage, respectively.
  • Health Savings Account contribution limits are increasing to $4,300 for self-coverage and $8,550 for family coverage.

HMO plan changes

• UC Blue & Gold HMO and Kaiser HMO will cover doula services with no copay, for up to 11 visits per pregnancy.
• The Kaiser HMO network will expand into Monterey County.
• Optum, which offers behavioral health coverage for Kaiser members (in addition to behavioral health coverage through Kaiser), is increasing its emergency room copay to $125 to align with Kaiser’s current copay.

• Compare your costs for care with Which medical plan is right for you?
• Compare premium costs for UC’s medical plans