To: Benefits-Eligible USC Faculty and Staff
From: James M. Staten, Senior Vice President, Finance, and CFO; David W. Wright, Interim Senior Vice President, Administration; Michael W. Quick, Provost and Senior Vice President, Academic Affairs; Thomas E. Jackiewicz, Senior Vice President and CEO for Keck Medicine of USC
September 12, 2018
To ensure you’re enrolled in the health plan that’s best for you and your family in 2019 – and to take advantage of the wellness incentives – you must re-enroll in your health care coverage in Workday. This year’s enrollment period will run from Monday, October 29 through Monday, November 12. Starting today you can start considering your options, learning about our new information tools, and getting your questions answered by visiting our 2019 Open Enrollment site.
In keeping with our efforts to build a culture of wellness across our campuses, in 2018 we implemented a transformative set of changes to USC health care benefits. Over this past year, we offered the new USC Trojan Care EPO; launched our first health assessment program; and introduced wellness incentives – all geared toward our triple aim of providing high quality care, offering affordable healthcare and improving the health outcomes of our membership.
This year we will continue to offer the same health plans, and will also introduce salary-based premiums, so your cost for your medical insurance will depend, in part, on your pay level. Many organizations, including our peers in higher education, use this approach to maintain access to care.
We continue to offer wellness incentives to encourage all members of the Trojan Family to take an active role their health. These incentives can cut your medical insurance costs by up to $780 per year. New this year, you’ll have access to easy-to-use information tools to help you understand and choose the best benefits for you and your family. These tools include a new member portal where you – and your family members – can learn about your medical and prescription benefits and access a robust provider search engine. In addition, we’re introducing “Alex” – an online health care benefits counselor to help you pick the best plan for your needs.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Employee Benefits Advisory Committee, Staff Assembly and Academic Senate for their valuable input throughout the process of developing the 2019 health plan options.
As always, our HR Service Center is ready to help – contact them at uschr@usc.edu or (213) 821-8100.
Cc: Wanda Austin
President’s Cabinet
Provost’s Cabinet
Academic Senate
Staff Assembly