Open Enrollment 2023 & On-site Screenings

October 7, 2022 

Dear Faculty and Staff, 

Human Resources is pleased to share information regarding Benefits Open Enrollment for 2023. Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to review and make changes to your benefit choices based on your personal and family needs for the upcoming year. Now is the time to begin reviewing your benefits and planning for any changes needed for you and/or your covered dependents. We encourage you to thoroughly review your current benefits by accessing Employee Self-Service (ESS) over the next few weeks and attend one of the virtual information sessions so that you are prepared to make informed decisions. The open enrollment system via ESS is open November 1 – November 15 to select your 2023 benefits. With 24/7 access to ESS, faculty and staff can review benefit plan information and proceed through the enrollment process at their own convenience.

Loyola University Chicago will continue to offer competitive programs and services to help faculty and staff members achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

Medical Insurance Premium Costs for 2023
Due to health care inflation costs and increased medical claims year after year, most employers in the U.S., including Loyola, experience an increase of total health care costs at a rate of approximately 5% to 10% per year. When we experience increased medical costs, both Loyola and our faculty/staff pay a portion of the increase, with Loyola paying about 70% of the total increase and our faculty/staff paying about 30% of the total increase.  

As a reminder to our community, Loyola has not experienced a medical insurance premium rate increase since 2019. Loyola’s medical and prescription claims experience and our partnership with Aetna as our health insurance carrier since 2020 are the reasons why Loyola has been able to prevent increases in health insurance premiums for the past three years. Additionally, we understand that keeping medical insurance premium rates level and affordable is important to a large number of our employees, which is supported by the responses received to the Loyola Benefits and Wellness Survey conducted in 2021.  

With the above information in mind, we are expecting that our total health care costs for 2023 will increase by $2,000,000. As a result, faculty/staff monthly medical insurance premium rates will be increasing for 2023. The increase amount is dependent on your annual salary and the medical plan you are enrolled in. For example, if you make $50k-80k annually, your medical insurance premium for employee only coverage will increase anywhere from $2.70 per month to $21.23 per month. If you have family coverage, the increase will be anywhere from $11.41 per month to $81.65.  

During this open enrollment period please take time to review the current medical plan you are enrolled in to confirm that this medical plan is still the best option for you and your covered dependents. Monthly premium rates are available in the 2023 benefits highlights brochure starting on pg. 38.  

Medical Plans for 2023
All three medical plan options will continue to be available to benefit-eligible faculty and staff. The PPO 3 HSA plan will continue to be accompanied by a Health Savings Account (HSA), which allows faculty and staff to contribute money on a pretax basis to use for medical, dental, and vision care expenses incurred in the calendar year and/or save or invest these funds for future eligible medical expenses. Loyola feels strongly about the competitiveness of this PPO 3 HSA option. Therefore, again in 2023, incentive money of $600 for employee only coverage, or $1,200 for employee plus a spouse/LDA and/or child(ren) will be contributed to new and existing HSA accounts in January 2023. Additionally, the only medical plan design change in 2023 is to the employee annual deductible amount of the PPO 3 HSA Plan. This change is a result of the IRS adjusting the minimum deductible amount for 2023.   

What's new for 2023? 

• New Tuition exchange Program:We are pleased to announce a new benefit for dependent children of full-time, benefits eligible faculty and staff who have completed one year of continuous full-time employment. The new benefit is called the Tuition Exchange “TE” Program. This new benefit was championed by the University’s Benefits Advisory Committee (BAC) as an enhancement to Loyola’s benefit offerings. The TE program is a reciprocal scholarship opportunity at over 677 member schools, and it is effective at the onset of the 2023 - 2024 academic year. Dependent children of benefit eligible full-time faculty and staff who are pursuing their first bachelor’s degree may apply for a scholarship at participating “host” schools. See page 36 in the 2023 highlights brochure for more detail. 
• Expanded Paid Parental Leave:Loyola is committed to creating a healthy and positive work environment for members of the Loyola community. To better support the early stages of life and staff/faculty with growing families an expanded paid parental leave will be offered to benefit eligible full-time faculty/staff and benefit eligible part-time staff beginning January 1, 2023. This expanded parental leave benefit was championed by the University’s Benefits Advisory Committee (BAC) as an enhancement to Loyola’s current paid parental leave benefit. See page 34 in the 2023 highlights brochure for more detail.  

Behavioral Health Support & Resources: Behavioral health is important to our community. If you or someone that you are caring for are in need of behavioral health and wellness support, please utilize your Aetna medical plan, which covers you and your family members for both inpatient and outpatient mental health services, including substance use treatment and other conditions such as anxiety, depression, stress, etc. Speak to an Aetna representative at 855.586.6958 or find an Aetna provider online. Additionally, as a reminder to our community, First Stop Health (FSH) is a new benefit that was introduced to our faculty and staff starting April of 2022. First Stop Health is a virtual mental health resource, and provides support for mental well-being anytime, anywhere. This resource offers Loyola benefits-eligible faculty and staff, and their family members 24/7 access to short-term, solution-focused counseling via app, web or phone. Use the First Stop Health mobile app, online, or call 888-691-7867 to request your counseling visit. 

Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Dependent Care FSA Rollover: Re-enrollment in the FSA is required annually, and please remember the money you set aside in a Flexible Spending Account (with the exception of $570 in Health Care FSAs) does not roll over from year to year. Plan carefully to ensure you do not forfeit any funds at the end of the 2023.  

Biometric Screenings, Health Power Assessment & Flu Shots: You and your covered spouse or legally domiciled adult (LDA) are required to participate in a biometric screening and complete the Health Power Assessment to receive a $50 monthly wellness reduction premium on your Loyola medical plan premiums in 2023. All screenings are due by December 2, 2022. On-site biometric screenings and flu shots will be offered on nine different dates at the Lake Shore, Water Tower, and Health Sciences campuses beginning in October. Screenings and flu shots are offered by appointment only. You may also visit a LabCorp Lab or your own medical provider to complete the screening. Please visit EHS at empower.health (Client Code: loyolaehs) to register for both onsite and offsite appointments.  

Please read this Benefits Highlights Brochure along with upcoming benefits-related communication for additional details about open enrollment so that you are prepared to complete your open enrollment changes in the system starting November 1. We also encourage you to attend one of the three virtual information sessions that will provide an overview of our benefits offerings and open enrollment.  The one-hour webinar provides faculty and staff members the opportunity to ask benefits related questions following the presentation. Register here to attend one of the information sessions. 

Lastly, please take time to review the Open Enrollment Checklist provided in this Benefits Highlights Brochure. Open Enrollment changes must be completed in the Employee Self-Service portal by November 15, 2022 in order to be effective January 1, 2023. Even if you decide not to make any changes to your benefits, you should complete the online Open Enrollment process to avoid the Tobacco Premium and Spousal/LDA Premium, if applicable. For your reference, Chrome or Safari browsers are recommended to access the Employee Self-Service portal. 

We are grateful to the ongoing work of the Benefits Advisory Committee (BAC) who continue to reach out to the community, listen, and gather feedback as we continue to look at providing benefits that meet the greatest needs of our community. We hope that these efforts, coupled with our annual benefit program reviews, competitive market pricing, and transparent communication, will increase your awareness of the diverse benefits offered in addition to the University’s commitment of resources to provide these comprehensive benefits for you and your family. 

Please feel free to contact Human Resources at benefits@luc.edu, 312-915-6175, or visit LUC.edu/hr/openenrollment/ should you have additional questions regarding benefit offerings. Thank you for your thoughtful review of this information, and please watch for additional communications this October and November. 

Sincerely, 

Danielle Hanson
Associate Vice President
Human Resources

Thomas M. Kelly
Senior Vice President for Administrative Services
Office of the President