Annual Enrollment for 2025 Benefits is Here!
October 1 – 18, 2024 is your opportunity to make changes to your current benefits elections.
What’s Changing?
Benefits
There are no vendor changes for 2025. All member health plan cost sharing, such as deductibles or coinsurance, will stay the same except for the following changes:
- A third non-preferred brand drug specialty tier will be added to the Preferred Provider Organization options. Pharmacy benefits currently have two cost-sharing tiers for specialty medications – generics and brands.
- The copay for Talkspace will be lowered to $15 for the PPO options. Talkspace lets members communicate with a therapist by audio or video from a smartphone or desktop. Currently, Talkspace visits under PPO plan cost the same as an in-network primary care office visit.
- New in 2025! Benefit change for CDHP members: Anti-obesity medications will no longer be on the preventive drug list for the CDHP option in 2025. Members enrolled in this plan will be subject to their plan’s deductible before plan coverage begins for anti-obesity medications including, but not limited to, Qsymia, Wegovy, Zepbound and Saxenda.
Insurance Premiums
- In 2025, health insurance premiums are increasing due to general inflation and the increased cost of delivering health care. Health insurance premiums will increase by an average of 5.5%.
- Dental Premium Changes
- Cigna Dental Health Maintenance Organization: Prepaid Provider rates will increase by 3.5% for active employees and retirees.
- Delta Dental DPPO plan rates will increase by 1.5% for all plan members.
- Vision benefits and premiums will stay the same.
Flexible Benefits
Medical flexible spending account (FSA) and limited purpose FSA contribution and carryover amounts are changing for 2025.*
*Flexible spending accounts (FSA) require you to enroll each year. To enroll in flexible benefits, visit optumbank.com/Tennessee during the annual enrollment period.
2025 Plan Comparisons
2025 Health Insurance Carrier Network Information: BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and Cigna, our health insurance carriers, administer the medical network options. Both carriers offer expansive networks of doctors, hospitals and facilities. For additional information about participating hospitals and other network information, please carefully review carrier network information.
- 2025 Dental Plan Comparison
- 2025 Dental Premiums (The state pays one-half of dental coverage premiums (all coverage tiers) for active state higher education employees.)
- 2025 Vision Plan Comparison
- 2025 Vision Premiums (Members pay 100% of the monthly premium. You’ll save money when using in-network providers.)
Campus Q&A Sessions
Human Resources is here to help you navigate the enrollment changes and options this year. Q&A sessions will be held via Zoom at the following times:
- Thursday, October 3 1:00-1:45pm
- Wednesday, October 9 9:00-9:45am
- Monday, October 14 3:00-3:45pm
- Tuesday, October 15 10:00-10:45am
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android:
https://tennessee.zoom.us/j/3261015244?omn=85436281650
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Do I Need to Do Anything if I Don’t Want to Make Any Changes?
It’s important to note that for MOST plan options*, if you do not want to make changes to your benefits, you don’t have to do anything during Annual Enrollment. If you don’t make changes, you will be enrolled in the same plan options for medical, dental, vision and disability products you are enrolled in now.
* Flexible spending accounts require you to enroll each year. To enroll in flexible benefits, go to optumbank.com/Tennessee during the annual enrollment period.
Enrolling or Making Benefit Changes
Enrollments, changes, cancellations and review of current insurance selections are completed online in the State’s Edison system. During the annual enrollment period, employees can access Edison via My IRIS Web without having to remember your Edison ID and password.
To access Edison, sign into the IRIS web portal at https://irisweb.tennessee.edu/irj/portal using your UTC ID and password and click on the Edison folder on the top right area of the browser.
Need access to a computer or assistance with signing in or enrolling?
HR will offer drop-in computer lab hours during the following dates/times:
Tuesday, October 8 10:00am-1:00pm UTC Library, Computer Lab 201
Wednesday, October 16 9:00am-12:00pm UTC Library, Computer Lab 201
Annual Enrollment Resources
- Annual Enrollment Newsletter for 2025 Benefits
- Annual Enrollment Benefit Options Checklist
- Annual Enrollment Videos
Visit the ParTNers for Health Annual Enrollment webpage for additional details.
Annual Enrollment Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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