PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 28, No. 8, Oct. 16, 2008

Email to a friend

2008 Benefit Choice 2 enrollment period is Oct. 27-Nov. 14 

The state Department of Central Management Services has announced that the Benefit Choice 2 Enrollment period will be from Oct. 27 through Nov. 14. All insured employees will receive a copy of the FY09 Benefit Choice 2 booklet sent directly to their homes.

Benefit changes must be made online. Do not use the paper form included in the booklet. Employees should select the “Benefit Choice” option through NESSIE. The Help link that appears on every page provides answers to common questions and phone numbers to call for assistance. 

The booklet also is available online at the “Benefit Choice” option in NESSIE. During this second enrollment period, employees may change their state health insurance and life insurance plan enrollments, opt in or opt out of the state group health insurance plan (if the employee has other non-state group coverage) and opt in or opt out of the dental plan. Employees also may add or drop dependents and same-sex domestic partners (documentation is required). Limited changes to flexible spending accounts will be allowed (see below). All changes will become effective on Jan. 1, 2009.

For the flexible spending accounts, only new participants may enroll in the Medical Care Assistance Plan during this time. No enrollments in the Dependent Care Assistance Plan or terminations or changes in deductions for either plan are allowed during Benefit Choice 2. Those enrolling in MCAP (using NESSIE) will have an effective date of Jan. 1, 2009. The optional EZ Reimburse Card is available for a $20 annual fee.

All current (FY09) health plans will continue to be available through June 30, 2009. There will be no plan administrator changes at this time and no new health plans will be added. However, there are several changes in deductibles, copayments and premium increases. Beginning Jan. 1, there will be a new prescription drug deductible that will be applicable to all the Managed Care plans and the Quality Care Health Plan. It will be a $50 deductible per person per plan year.

For a complete explanation of all benefit changes effective Jan. 1, refer to the Benefit Choice 2 booklet. There is a summary of “Important Changes for the Remainder of Plan Year 2009” on page 2 of the booklet. For your future use, refer to this booklet along with your CMS July 1, 2004, Benefits Handbook and your CMS July 1, 2003, Group Life Insurance booklet for complete state group insurance plan benefit information.

If no plan changes are desired, the employee doesn’t need to do anything.

Beginning Oct. 27, the Benefit Choice option can be found under the “Benefits” tab of NESSIE. NESSIE can be used to make changes until midnight Nov. 14. Intermittent outages of NESSIE may occur during the Benefit Choice period because of Banner maintenance. Any outages will be posted on the NESSIE home page.

Employees with questions about benefit plans or options at this time should contact the Benefits Service Center Office, 333-3111, or e-mail benefits@uillinois.edu. Dependent documentation can be faxed to 244-3135.

Back to Index