BU to Extend Health Benefits
Half-time employees will become eligible for coverage
Beginning January 1, 2015, BU will expand employee health benefits to include those working half-time. Those interested must enroll by November 21, 2014. Photo by Cydney Scott
Boston University employees who work half-time with an assignment duration of nine or more months will now be eligible for health benefits, which were previously available only to those working 75 percent or more. The expansion, announced October 24 by BU Human Resources (HR), will affect approximately 340 employees, according to Nimet Gundogan, executive director of benefits. For employees who work at least 50 percent, but less than 75 percent, of a full-time schedule, the cost of the health and dental plan will be shared equally by the University and the employee, Gundogan says. The change will affect a spectrum of employees, from administrative assistants to custodians to part-time faculty.
Human Resources also announced an increase of just under 2 percent in existing health plan premiums. That increase is significantly below the 6 percent to 8 percent rise projected for the industry, says Diane Tucker, chief human resources officer. The increase is also less than last year’s. “This is very good news for our employees,” said Tucker.
The open enrollment period to apply for new benefits or to change existing ones began on October 24 and extends through Friday, November 21, with all changes going into effect on January 1, 2015. Open Enrollment 2015 has all the details on the plan changes and provides instructions on how to enroll.
The decision to extend benefits to employees working half-time “is a good shift,” says Tucker. “It’s a response to our peers with whom we benchmark our benefits, and a change that improves our competitiveness with other employers.” HR routinely compares its benefit and compensation plans with BU’s peers and decided after serious consideration “to go live” with the expansion, she says.
Employees whose schedules change so that they no longer meet the eligibility requirement on or after January 1, 2015, will not be able to continue participating in their current benefits plans, says Gundogan. But these employees are eligible to continue health and/or dental coverage under COBRA group health plans. In order to rejoin a plan, you will need to meet the eligibility requirement at the time you would like to participate.
New employees working half- to full-time can enroll in medical and dental plans via Employee Self-Service at BUworks Central Portal. Enrollment forms are available from the Benefits Section of Human Resources.
Comments & Discussion
Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.