Endowed health plan rates and medical and pharmacy co-payments will increase moderately for 2012, Paul Bursic, senior director of Benefit Services in the Division of Human Resources, has announced. Bursic recommends that during the upcoming annual open enrollment period, endowed staff and faculty review all the health plans that Cornell offers to make sure that their current plan best meets their needs.

Faculty and staff members eligible for the endowed health or dental programs can enroll in, change or drop these plans Nov. 1-30, the open enrollment period for 2012. During this period, they can also enroll in Select Benefits accounts, a pretax benefit that can be applied to dependent care expenses and to medical expenses not covered by their health plan. All changes will be effective, Jan. 1, 2012.

Co-payments, where applicable, will rise from $18 to $20 and apply to primary care and preferred specialty or tertiary care. Deductibles in all plans will not change.

The co-pay for generic pharmaceuticals, regardless of whether they are purchased at retail stores or by mail, will remain the same. The co-pay for formulary brand pharmaceuticals will increase to $30 from $25 retail and to $60 from $50 for a three-month supply by mail. The cost for non-formulary, highest tier drugs will rise to $50 from $45 at retail and to $90 from $75 for a three-month supply by mail.

The Cornell Program for Healthy Living (CPHL) provides participants with the opportunity to become more directly involved in the management of their health in partnership with their primary care physicians through covered yearly comprehensive physical exams, lifestyle and fitness activity evaluations and planning for healthy living goals tailored to their interests and capabilities. Referrals to smoking cessation and dietary consultations are also more generously provided in the CPHL.

Employees signing up for CPHL (but not their families) also have the right to join Cornell's Wellness Program for free or to receive a $15 per month discount at Island Fitness and Health or at the Ithaca YMCA.

There is no deductible in the CPHL for in-network services, unlike the other endowed health plans.

The CPHL program does not require its members to reside in Tompkins County, or have an established relationship with a primary care provider in Tompkins County. Like the Aetna PPO or the HealthNow PPO, the CPHL is good anywhere in the country in the Aetna network and even abroad.

CPHL participants who reside outside of Tompkins County can continue their relationship with their Aetna participating provider. However, the CPHL flexible design encourages participants to select a CPHL participating provider to access the enhanced wellness benefits in the plan. This gives CPHL participants the ability to optimize their use of the annual comprehensive physical exam, including an evaluation of their healthy living habits and the establishment of wellness goals.

The Health Savings Account (HSA) plan allows participants to pay for their health care costs through pretax savings, managing their health financing in exchange for a high deductible. Cornell seeds the account each year with $1,000 to help employees with that deductible. Any HSA savings roll over from one year to the next and can be transferred to a new place of employment or held for use in retirement. In 2012, participants may contribute up to $3,100 as individuals or $6,250 for family coverage into their health savings account to be used for health expenses not covered by the plan.

The open enrollment website, at https://www.hr.cornell.edu/benefits/open_enrollment.html, provides more detail on all five of the endowed health care plans, 2012 rates and coverages.