On the heels of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Virginia, the University is now offering insurance coverage to employees’ same-sex partners and their children.
Because the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the lower court decision to overturn Virginia’s state ban of same-sex marriage, gay marriage has been legal in the commonwealth since Oct. 6 — opening the door for the extension of benefits to same-sax couples who choose to wed.
Anne Broccoli, University human resources director of faculty and staff benefits, credits the quick turnaround at least in part to the University’s ability to provide benefits to same-sex partners without changing the existing health plan or registration system in any way.
“We actually started signing people up last week,” Broccoli said.
Getting married, known as a “qualifying event,” allows employees to apply for health insurance for their spouses and children. Under the new ruling, same-sex marriages are now recognized as a legal union, thus allowing the University to recognize same-sex marriages as qualifying events.
“The Health Plan offers health insurance coverage to legally recognized spouses in the Commonwealth of Virginia who have no access to affordable health coverage of minimum value through his or her employer,” the University Human Resources website says.
Three levels of health insurance are offered under the University Health Plan: Basic, Value and Choice. At each level, employees can purchase a plan for an individual, for an individual and child or children, for an individual and spouse, or for a family — the individual plan being the cheapest, and the family plan being the most expensive. The cost for an individual plus children is actually lower than for an individual plus spouse, though multiple children can be added to a single plan.
The cheapest plan, Basic, has a monthly employee rate of $19 for an individual and $58 for a family. Value rates run from $51 for an individual to $150 for a family, and Choice plans run from $90 for an individual to $428 for a family.
Employees can also earn a $40 per month discount by completing an annual biometric screening and online health assessment, and a $10 per month discount for not using tobacco.
The University Health Plan is offered through Aetna, a health care company which also provides the University Student Health Insurance Plan. Certain benefits, such as preventative diagnostic tests and common immunizations, are available only through providers which are part of Aetna’s approved network or from University providers.
Others benefits, such as inpatient hospital costs, are partially covered for out-of-network providers, but cheaper from in-network or from University providers. Under the Value and Choice plans, services such as primary care physician visits have lower out-of-pocket costs if they are received at the University. A larger number of other services, however, cost the same for a University provider as for an Aetna network provider.
Full cost lists, including the employer rates, can be found at http://www.hr.virginia.edu/hr-for-you/university-staff/university-staff-benefits/health-insurance/.
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