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Health Insurance

West Virginia University (WVU) offers benefits-eligible employees seven different options between two different insurance carriers for Health and Prescription coverage. All plans provide comprehensive health and prescription coverages. Employees are encouraged to select the carrier and plan that best suits their needs and the needs of their eligible dependents.

West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA)

PEIA provides four plan options for the same types of medical services; however the premiums, deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses, as well as out-of-network and out-of-area services, may vary with each plan. 

Administrator: UMR

Carrier: PEIA

  • Plan Year: July 1 - June 30

  • Coverage Options:

    • Employee Only - employee is the only one covered.     
    • Employee + Child(ren) - employee plus their legal minor dependents are covered.               
    • Employee + Family - employee plus their legal spouse and legal minor dependents are covered. To qualify this coverage, the employee’s spouse must not have health coverage available through their employer, is unemployed, has Medicare, Medicaid or Tri-Care, is retired or works for a PEIA-participating agency.
    • Family + Employee Spouse - employee plus their legal spouse and legal minor dependents are covered. To be eligible for this coverage option, both the policyholder (employee) and their spouse must be benefits-eligible public employees and both have basic life insurance.
    • Family + Spousal Surcharge - employee plus their legal spouse and legal minor dependents are covered. To qualify for this coverage, the employee’s spouse is offered health coverage available through their employer but has chosen PEIA coverage instead. A monthly surcharge will be applied and included in the monthly premium.

  • Plan Options:

PEIA offers four Preferred Provider Benefit (PPB) Plans. Visit the PEIA Shoppers Guide for a detailed look at each plans coverage levels, deductibles, co-pays, out-of-pocket maximums and prescription. These plans may be used nationwide, except where otherwise noted.
    • PPB Plan A - PPB Plan A has higher premiums but lower deductibles. 
    • PPB Plan B - PPB Plan B has lower premiums but higher deductibles. 
    • PPB Plan C - PPB Plan C is an IRS-qualified high-deductible health plan; it has lower premiums but a high deductible that must be met before the plan begins to pay. Plan C is designed to work with either a health savings account or a health reimbursement arrangement.
    • PPB Plan D - PPB Plan D is the West Virginia-only plan; all services are provided in West Virginia, except for emergency care to stabilize the patient and a limited number of procedures that are not available in West Virginia.

  • Premiums: Premiums are available in the Shopper's Guide and are based on coverage type, plan, the employee’s base annual salary tier, and tobacco status. Premiums are pre-tax payroll deductions.

  • Providers: PEIA Providers

The Health Plan

The Health Plan provides three plan options for the same types of medical services; however the premiums, deductibles, co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses, as well as out-of-network and out-of-area services, may vary with each plan. 

Administrator: The Health Plan

Carrier: The Health Plan

  • Plan Year: July 1 - June 30

  • Coverage Options:

    • Employee Only - employee is the only one covered.           
    • Employee + Child(ren) - employee plus their legal minor dependents are covered.       
    • Employee + Family - employee plus their legal spouse and legal minor dependents are covered. To qualify this coverage, the employee’s spouse must not have health coverage available through their employer, is unemployed, has Medicare, Medicaid or Tri-Care, is retired or works for a PEIA-participating agency.
    • Family + Employee Spouse - employee plus their legal spouse and legal minor dependents are covered. To be eligible for this coverage option, both the policyholder (employee) and their spouse must be benefit-eligible public employees and both have basic life insurance.
    • Family + Spousal Surcharge - employee plus their legal spouse and legal minor dependents are covered. To qualify for this coverage, the employee’s spouse is offered health coverage available through their employer but has chosen PEIA coverage instead. A monthly surcharge will be applied and included in the monthly premium.

  • Plan Options:

The Health Plan offers two Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Plans and one Point of Service (POS) Plan. Visit the PEIA Shoppers Guide for a detailed look at each plan. These plans are limited to residents of the state of West Virginia or counties in other states as listed in the Shoppers Guide.

    • The Health Plan Plan A - HMO Plan
    • The Health Plan Plan B - HMO Plan
    • The Health Plan Plan C - POS Plan