B E N E F I T S   U P D A T E

In brief: Key changes for 2002

An enhancement has been added to the Dental PPO Access Plan administered by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, effective Jan. 1, 2002. Participants will be able to access an out-of-network benefit for routine services. This addition will be provided with no increase to the monthly premium. As a result of these changes, the plan will be called the Dental Option Plan.
• The Prescription Drug Plan, administered by Merck-Medco, will provide prescription drug coverage for all faculty and staff participating in the Aetna U.S. Healthcare HMOs (New Jersey and Pennsylvania). The Aetna U.S. Healthcare HMO joins the list of other University plans, including United HealthCare PPO and Oxford Health Plans POS, that currently are covered by Merck-Medco.
• Co-payments for retail and mail-order prescription drugs will increase slightly, but deductibles will remain the same as they were in 2001.
• The Vision Care Plan is offering significant savings on laser vision correction (LASIK and PRK) surgery.
• Participants may elect or increase supplemental life insurance up to an amount equal to one times their annual base salary, rounded up to the next $1,000, without proof of good health. Additional increases of more than one times their annual base salary, rounded up to the next $1,000, will require evidence of insurability.

Enhancements made to dental plan

Beginning Jan. 1, 2002, the University will offer plan participants access to Horizon Dental's largest network of participating Traditional Plan providers as well as an out-of-network benefit for preventive/diagnostic services. The name of this plan will change from the Dental PPO Access Plan to the Dental Option Plan.
     This enhancement means that participants will have more dentists from whom they may receive their covered preventive/diagnostic services than were in the Dental PPO Access Plan offered for the first time this year.
     The preventive/diagnostic services include exams, X-rays, amalgam fillings and cleanings. If provided by a participating traditional in-network provider, they will be covered at 100 percent. If these services are provided by an out-of-network dentist, they will be covered up to Horizon's Traditional Plan limit only, and you will be responsible for the balance of the charge, which typically will amount to 15 to 20 percent of the billed charges.

There is no benefit for basic, major and specialty services when provided by an out-of-network dentist. Examples of these services include root canal, oral surgery, periodontics and endodontics. However, if they are rendered by Horizon's in-network dentists (the dentists in the original PPO access plan network), then basic, major and specialty services are covered at a discounted rate.
     Additional features of the Horizon Dental Option Plan include no annual deductible and an annual maximum benefit of $1,000 per year. A detailed listing of charges and savings is available through Horizon Dental. Call 1-800-4DENTAL for information on specialists' fees. A directory of participating dentists is available at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield's Web site at <http://www.bcbsnj.com>.

Retiree medical plan updated

Effective Jan. 1, 2002, the University will be offering many of its pre-65 retirees the same health insurance plans as the active employees. Upon reaching age 65, these retirees will then participate in the Retiree Healthcare Plan. Those pre-65 retirees who will attain age 65 prior to April 1, 2002, will continue to remain in their current retiree health plan (the Retiree Healthcare Plan).
     A special open enrollment for all retirees is scheduled for Nov. 5-30 for benefits to be effective Jan. 1, 2002. Please watch for your open enrollment materials, which will be mailed on or about Tuesday, Oct. 30. Presentations for pre-65 retirees will take place during the week of Nov. 12. Exact presentation dates, locations and times will be provided in the open enrollment packets.

Open enrollment gives employees opportunity to evaluate coverage

 
The open enrollment period for the University's health, vision, dental care, life and flexible spending account plans will run from Oct. 29 through Nov. 14. Open enrollment offers employees an opportunity to review their current benefits and consider changes to their coverages that will be effective for the next calendar year.
     Open enrollment also is the time when employees can enroll in the expense account plans (Health Benefit Expense Account and/or Dependent Care Expense Account) for 2002. Elections in the expense account plans do not carry forward from the previous year. Employees must re-enroll if they want to participate in these plans in 2002.
     Open enrollment packets, including a personalized benefits enrollment form, will be mailed to regular faculty and staff on Oct. 24. Employees should carefully review the open enrollment guide to obtain more detailed information.

Plans cover breast reconstruction

The Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 guarantees coverage to any health plan member who is receiving benefits in connection with a mastectomy and who elects breast reconstruction in connection with that surgery.
     Patients are entitled to coverage for:
• Reconstruction of the breast on which the mastectomy has been performed;
• Surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to produce symmetrical appearance; and
• Prostheses and treatment of physical complications in all stages of the mastectomy, including lymphedemas (swelling associated with the removal of the lymph nodes).
     These services will be provided in a manner determined in consultation with the attending physician and the patient. Coverage for these services is subject to applicable deductibles, coinsurance or copayments.
     Contact Karen Weisenberg in the Office of Human Resources (258-5917) if you have any questions about this benefit.

Need more information? Check out these sources

There are a number of sources of information that can assist employees in selecting the health care plan or coverage that meets their personal and family needs. Information is available electronically, in print and in person.

Online
Use the Web. Visit the open enrollment Web site at <www.princeton.edu/hr/oe> for descriptions of the different plan features, rates for 2002 and links to the various health care providers, which include directories of health care professionals and facilities that participate in the particular health care plan.

In print
Review the open enrollment mailing. Use the personalized benefits enrollment form to review your current health care plan coverage, in conjunction with the information in the open enrollment guide, which provides comprehensive information on the different plan features as well as plan rate changes effective Jan. 1, 2002.

In person
Attend the Benefits Fair. The Benefits Fair is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in the Multipurpose Room on Level B of the Frist Campus Center; and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, in the Lyman Spitzer Building at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
     The fair provides you with the opportunity to obtain more information about the different health care plans and to meet with their representatives. Benefits administrators from the Office of Human Resources also will be available to answer your questions and assist you in completing your enrollment forms.
     Visit a site. You can visit one of the following locations at any time to pick up forms and informational materials: 1 New South; E-Quad (main lobby); Firestone Library; Frist Campus Center; Helm Building; Macmillan Building; and the PPPL Office of Human Resources.

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October 22, 2001
Vol. 91, No. 7
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Contents

Research
• What drives moral decision-making?
• Princeton-designed satellite probing radiation 1 million miles from Earth

People
• Longtime philosophy professor was leading figure in field
• Wilson to resign as Graduate School dean
• Nobel winners have Princeton ties
• Spotlight/Briefs

Benefits
• Benefits update

Sections
• By the numbers
• Nassau Notes
• Calendar of events

The Bulletin is published weekly during the academic year, except during University breaks and exam weeks, by the Office of Communications, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544. Permission is given to adapt, reprint or excerpt material from the Bulletin for use in other media.

Deadlines. In general, the copy deadline for each issue is the Friday 10 days in advance of the Monday cover date. The deadline for the Bulletin that covers Nov. 5&endash;11 is Friday, Oct. 26. A complete publication schedule is available at deadlines or by calling (609) 258-3601.
Subscriptions. The Bulletin is distributed free to faculty, staff and students. Others may subscribe to the Bulletin for $28 for the academic year (half price for current Princeton parents and people over 65). Send a check to Office of Communications, Stanhope Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544.

Editor: Ruth Stevens
Calendar editor: Carolyn Geller
Staff writers: Jennifer Greenstein Altmann, Steven Schultz
Contributing writers: Marilyn Marks
Photographer: Denise Applewhite
Design: Mahlon Lovett, Laurel Masten Cantor
Web edition: Mahlon Lovett