Benefits

SECTION I: 2011 Benefit Plan Design and Premiums Updates

As President Liebowitz announced in his recent email, there will be several enhancements in our Health & Welfare benefits plan for 2011; see below for details on these and other changes. The 2011 Summary Plan Description (SPD) will soon be available on-line (visit the HR webpage for a link or request a paper copy by contacting either the Middlebury or Monterey Human Resources office.)

Medical

Medical premiums will be increasing 7% for 2011 however the College will pick up the total increase for all employees - participants will not see medical premium increases for 2011. In addition, there will be several plan enhancements:

• Eligible adult children from age 19 through age 25 may now be covered by the plan regardless of student, marital, or tax dependency status. As required by law, participants have 30 days from the date of this notice to request such coverage; requests through Nov. 14th can be made through the open enrollment process, requests from November 15 through the 30 can be made by contacting the HR office in Middlebury.
• Preventative care will now be covered without cost sharing – the plan will pay 100% of the cost of qualifying services.
• The $2,000,000 life-time limit on services has been eliminated.
• Also required is a CHIPRA Notice regarding state premium assistance programs for lower-income employees. If you think you may qualify for such assistance please directly contact the agency listed on the notice for your state.

Vision

Both Middlebury and Monterey employees will be eligible for a vision benefit through VSP. This is a completely new benefit for Middlebury employees; Monterey employees have had a similar benefit through MES.

• The plan will provide coverage for vision exams, frames, lenses, and contact lenses. The “VSP Choice Plan” document attached summarizes the program; further details of the program will be available in the 2011 Summary Plan Description (available soon).
• Participating full-time employees will contribute 20% of the premium for single coverage or 50% for two-person or family coverage; see the Premium Rate Chart for more details.

Dental

Dental premiums will increase 5% for 2011 however the College has agreed to pick up the total increase for all employees - participants will not see dental premium increases for 2011.

• Eligible adult children from age 19 through age 25 may now be covered on the plan regardless of student, marital, or tax dependency status.
• There will be no dental plan design changes – deductibles, co-insurance, covered services, etc. will remain stable for 2011.

Voluntary Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)

The provisions of the Voluntary Life/AD&D plan will remain unchanged for 2011. Premium rates for supplemental life will not increase for 2011. Please recall, however, that life rates are age-banded; participants who entered a new 5-year age band during 2010 will see premium increases in January. Rates for AD&D coverage will be increasing slightly. Please note that our plan contract has automatic coverage reductions at age 65 and 70.

Flexible Spending Accounts

The maximum allowed contribution in both the health care and the dependent care flexible spending accounts remains at $5,000 for 2011. The College will continue to pay all administrative fees for participants. Please note two important changes:

• Beginning with the 2011 plan year federal law no longer allows reimbursement for over-the-counter (OTC) medications unless prescribed by a health care provider. Please take this into consideration when deciding how much to set aside in your health care FSA. Learn more about participating in this program.
• FSA Debit Cards will now be available to Middlebury participants (Monterey participants already have this service). Debit cards add to the convenience of FSAs by allowing participants to pay for certain expenses (such as co-pays and co-insurances) directly without having to file a claim and wait for reimbursement. Debit cards will be provided to all participants at no cost to employees; details on card use will be sent to those who enroll in the FSA benefit for 2011. (Please note that the IRS still requires manual substantiation of certain charges, use of a card does not completely replace documentation requirements).

Other Benefits

The provisions of the Employee & Family Assistance Program, as well as the Long-Term Disability, Short-Term Disability, and Core Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurances will remain unchanged for 2011. The College will continue to pay the full cost of these benefits for all participants.

SECTION II: Open Enrollment

Open enrollment is your opportunity to:

• Add yourself and/or dependents to the medical, dental, or vision plans, OR terminate your own or your dependents’ coverage, OR continue your current elections for the new year.
• Increase or decrease the amount of supplemental life coverage (evidence of insurability may be required), or accidental death and dismemberment OR continue your current elections for the new year.
• Enroll in the health care and/or the dependent care flexible spending account(s) for next year. If you do not make an FSA election, you will not be enrolled for 2011 even if you participated in 2010.

Accessing the Open Enrollment Program

Open Enrollment is completed using Banner Web. You will be able to access the open enrollment module from any computer with internet access. Two instruction options are available:

• “Quick Start” instructions are included on the main screen in the open enrollment module and each screen includes topic-specific instructions. Most users find these instructions both easy to use and sufficient.
• Follow the detailed instructions below:
  1. Click this link: http://go.miis.edu/bannerweb OR locate the link on the bottom right-hand corner of the MIIS homepage http://www.miis.edu/.
  2. Enter your Banner Web User ID (your Midd or MIIS ID number) and your PIN3.
  3. On the menu, click “Employee”, then “Benefits and Deductions”, and then “Open Enrollment”.

SECTION III: 2011 Premium Rate Chart

Jump to Middlebury's website to learn more about the Monterey Institute's Premium Rate Chart.

Please call Human Resources (Midd: 802-443-5465/MIIS: 831-647-3520) if you need assistance with the open enrollment process or have questions on your benefits.