Reflecting the growing cost and increased use of health care services, endowed health plan premium costs for 2009 will rise in line with national trends. The chart below shows new premium rates for the five endowed faculty and staff health plans.

Premium rates will rise about 7.7 percent on average across all endowed health plans, including plans for retirees.

Full details of these plans, including how to get a fitness center membership through the Cornell Plan for Healthy Living and changes in the endowed dental rate structure, are outlined in the Open Enrollment brochure, which should arrive at home mailing addresses next week.

Contract college open enrollment brochures also will arrive the first week of November, so that contract college employees can begin to think about their health care plan choice and choose their Select Benefits and their other benefits options.

Endowed and contract college open enrollment information will be available at What's New in Benefits http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/whatsNew/whatsNewBenefits/whatsNewBenefits.html when contract college health rates and plan changes have been received.

This year's annual BeneFair is slated for Wednesday, Nov. 12, in the Biotech Building from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Endowed health plan vendors and Benefit Services staff will be on hand; compare programs and make sure you are in the right plan for you and covered family members. Free flu shots also will be available with a photo ID card.