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You won’t find them in the 2020 open enrollment booklet that is due to come by mail to your homes this week. You won’t see them on 51�ԹϺ���’s open enrollment website.

We are talking about the subsidized rates by which the 51�ԹϺ��� Blue & Gold health maintenance organization, which includes access to 51�ԹϺ��� Davis Health, is now one of the lowest-priced health plan options for “local” employees — we who work at 51�ԹϺ��� Davis, 51�ԹϺ��� Davis Health and 51�ԹϺ��� Agriculture and Natural Resources.

So, where can you find the local rates? And on a 51�ԹϺ��� Davis-specific rate sheet that is also being mailed to employees’ homes.

In a pilot program, 51�ԹϺ��� Davis is subsidizing 51�ԹϺ��� Blue & Gold premiums for 51�ԹϺ��� Davis, 51�ԹϺ��� Davis Health and ANR employees, because, as of Jan. 1, our health plan options will no longer include Western Health Advantage, or WHA, a Sacramento-based HMO serving 14 Northern California counties.

51�ԹϺ��� employees enrolled in WHA have access to 51�ԹϺ��� Davis Health, and one way they can keep that access is by enrolling in 51�ԹϺ��� Blue & Gold. This is where the subsidies come in, lowering the Blue & Gold premiums to make the plan as affordable as WHA has been (generally matching the rates for Kaiser Permanente HMO, historically among the least expensive options in the 51�ԹϺ��� health plan menu).

Thus, in 2020, local employees will have the choice of two HMOs, Kaiser and 51�ԹϺ��� Blue & Gold, both at the same price, the lowest among all of our health plan options. Another option, the 51�ԹϺ��� Health Savings Plan, a high-deductible preferred provider organization, or PPO, paired with a health savings account to help you pay your out-of-pocket costs, also has come down in price — matching the 51�ԹϺ��� Blue & Gold and Kaiser rates.

See your open enrollment booklet or to learn more about all of your health plan options, including 51�ԹϺ��� Care, a traditional PPO.

Blue & Gold rates available to all

The subsidized 51�ԹϺ��� Blue & Gold premiums are available to all “local” employees — those who are losing WHA, and anyone else who wishes to join Blue & Gold. The time to choose is during open enrollment, starting at 8 a.m. this Thursday (Oct. 31) and continuing until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, two days before Thanksgiving.

Important note: If you are a WHA member and you make no choice during open enrollment, you will be moved into the 51�ԹϺ��� Blue & Gold plan by default.

“For the vast majority of employees, staying with 51�ԹϺ��� Blue & Gold will ensure uninterrupted access to your current care team,” 51�ԹϺ��� Davis HR said in an open enrollment email to all employees last week.

“But,” the email continued, “we encourage you to do two things during this open enrollment”:

• Confirm your health plan selections and personal information is correct in 51�ԹϺ���Path and make changes as needed.
• Confirm your current mental health providers are part of the 51�ԹϺ��� Blue & Gold HMO network.

More information

Besides local 51�ԹϺ��� Blue & Gold premiums and all other premiums, the spells out the actions you can take during open enrollment, provides health plan comparisons and explains a new benefit: supplemental health plans.

The site also include a calendar of presentations and help desks. The schedule includes, for the first time in several years, a on the Davis campus: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, in the Ballroom. Health, vision and dental care providers will be among the participants, along with Healthy 51�ԹϺ��� Davis, WorkLife, and the Staff and Faculty Health and Well-Being Program.

is up and running, and come 8 a.m. Thursday (Oct. 31), the site will include a button that will take you to 51�ԹϺ���Path to make your open enrollment choices.