Open Enrollment

OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR PLAN YEAR 2025

Open Enrollment is the only time of the year to add, drop or make changes to some of your WVU employee benefits without a qualifying life event (QLE).

Key highlights of Open Enrollment:

Open Enrollment will occur from April 2 through May 15, 2024.
Changes are effective on July 1. The WVU plan year is July 1 through June 30.
This is a changes-only enrollment, meaning if you do not wish to make changes to your benefits, you are not required to do anything further.
Even you if you aren't making changes, you are strongly encouraged to review the Before You Get Started section below.
Open Enrollment is a great opportunity to review the benefits that you currently have and take advantage of other voluntary options that can be changed at any time during the year, not just during Open Enrollment.
Already know what changes you want to make? Visit the Deciding to Make Changes section below or make changes now.
You've got several options to get help! Visit the Open Enrollment Assistance and Events section below for details or to watch the plan year 2025 Open Enrollment overview video.

Although Open Enrollment is a great time of the year to review all of the benefit options that WVU has to offer employees, there are situations in which the timely reporting of life events may be important to ensure appropriate levels of coverage and cost for you and any dependents. The following reminders and notices are designed to prompt you to consider if you have experienced any of these situations within the past year and guide you to making the appropriate changes.

Let's Take a Look at You and Your Dependents

Have you experienced any life events in the past year in which you or your dependent eligibility has changed? Some common occurrences that affect eligibility include birth of a child, adoption, court-ordered dependent care, children who have turned 26 years old, death, marriage, divorce, the beginning or end of a spouse’s employment and tobacco status. If you’ve experienced any of these events in the past year, WVU recommends reviewing your benefits with the following things in mind:

Updating Beneficiaries

With any change in life status, it is important to periodically review the beneficiaries you have on file for your life insurance policies and retirement accounts. This is often a consideration that is overlooked, especially in instances of marriage, divorce or death of a dependent. Please review the FAQ – Making Beneficiary Changes article to learn how to make updates for both life insurance and retirement accounts.

Coordination of Benefits

Coordination of benefits is a practice insurance companies use to avoid double or duplicate payments or coverage of service when a person is covered by more than one insurance policy. UMR (PEIA's third-party administrator) is requires all employee policyholders that cover dependents to verify other coverage every plan year by logging into UMR.com to create an account, or access an existing account, or calling 1-888-440-7342 by July 1, 2024. Claims will be denied until the information is received.

Divorce

If you have finalized a divorce within the last year, you must report it immediately. Divorces not reported immediately (within 30 days of the date of the final divorce decree) may be subject to prosecution and/or claims reimbursement. You must remove your ex-spouse and any stepchildren from all insurance policies that they were covered. See the PEIA divorce page for additional information.

Spousal Coverage Information

The Public Employee's Insurance Agency (PEIA) is required by law to apply a monthly spousal surcharge if your spouse is eligible for employer-sponsored coverage through his/her employer and has PEIA coverage (i.e., a dependent on your policy). The spousal surcharge will be added to health insurance premiums each month. If your spouse is eligible for coverage as an employee of a PEIA-participating agency, has Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE or is retired, the spousal coverage surcharge does not apply. See the PEIA Spousal Coverage Information page for additional information.

Tobacco-Free Discount

Have you or any of your dependents stopped or started using tobacco within the last six months? Tobacco use includes cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vape pens, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, and snuff.You may review and update you or your dependent's tobacco status by visiting PEIA's Manage My Benefits page.

Address Change

Have you or any of your dependents moved within the last year? Review and update your address with WVU or review and update a dependent's address, such as a college student, with PEIA.

Important Notices

Premium Assistance Under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

Employees and their children who are eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and are eligible for health insurance coverage from WVU may be eligible for premium assistance that can help pay for coverage.

Medical Benefits Changes

Health Insurance

Effective July 1, 2024, the WV Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) Finance Board passed a 10.5% premium increase for state agencies, colleges and universities. Premium rates are available in the PEIA Shopper's Guide.
New Optional Virgin Pulse Wellness Program.
Marietta Memorial Health Providers in Washington County, Ohio, are now in the PEIA network.

Read more about these changes in the PEIA Shopper's Guide.

Financial Benefits Changes

Mountaineer Flexible Benefits

Three new voluntary plan options are available: accident insurance, hospital indemnity and critical illness.
The short and long-term disability provider has changed from The Standard to MetLife.
The short-term disability maximum benefit amount is increasing from $750 to $1,000 per week.
The Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) administrator has changed from PayFlex to Inspira.

Read more about each of these changes in the Mountaineer Flexible Benefits online interactive guide or the Mountaineer Flexible Benefits Reference Guide.

WVU offers a comprehensive benefits package with a variety of offerings to fit your unique needs. The benefits below are a subset of those in which open enrollment is a great time to review and make changes. Click the links to learn more.

Medical Benefits

Benefit	Administrator	Provider	When Changes Can Be Made *limitations may apply
Health/Prescription	Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA)	PEIA	Open Enrollment/QLE
Health/Prescription	PEIA	The Health Plan	Open Enrollment/QLE
Dental	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	Sun Life	Open Enrollment/QLE
Vision	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	Humana EyeMed	Open Enrollment/QLE
Hearing	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	EPIC	Open Enrollment/QLE

Financial Benefits

Benefit	Administrator	Provider	When Changes Can Be Made *limitations may apply
Optional Life Insurance	PEIA	MetLife	*Anytime
Dependent Life Insurance	PEIA	MetLife	*Anytime
Flexible Spending Account (FSA)	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	Inspira	Open Enrollment/QLE
Limited Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (LFSA)	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	Inspira	Open Enrollment/QLE
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DFSA)	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	Inspira	Open Enrollment/QLE
Mt. Flex Health Savings Account (HSA)	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	Inspira	*Anytime
TIAA Health Savings Account (HSA)	TIAA	HealthEquity	*Anytime
Hospital Indemnity NEW!	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	Sun Life	Open Enrollment/QLE
Critical Illness NEW!	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	Sun Life	Open Enrollment/QLE
Supplemental Retirement Accounts (SRA)	TIAA	TIAA	*Anytime
Mt. Flex Long-Term Disability (LTD)	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	MetLife	Open Enrollment/QLE
WVU Group Long-Term Disability (LTD)	Standard Insurance Company	Standard Insurance Company	*Anytime
Mt. Flex Short-Term Disability (STD)	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	MetLife	Open Enrollment/QLE
Personal Accident Insurance	American Insurance Group (AIG)	AIG	Open Enrollment/QLE
Accident Insurance NEW!	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	Sun Life	Open Enrollment/QLE
Dependent Education Scholarship Program	WVU	N/A	*Anytime
Student Loan Forgiveness Program	TIAA	Savi	*Anytime

Work-Life Benefits

Benefit	Administrator	Provider	When Changes Can Be Made *limitations may apply
Legal Plan	Mountaineer Flexible Benefits	ARAG Legal	Open Enrollment/QLE
Pet Insurance	Nationwide	Nationwide	*Anytime
Identity Theft Protection	Allstate	Allstate	*Anytime
Programs, Services and Discounts	Varies	Varies	*Anytime
WVU Perks Program	Perks Connect	Varies	*Anytime

As a changes-only open enrollment, no action is needed if you don't want to make changes to your benefits, but it's still a great time to review your benefits and consider whether your current elections still work best for you and your family.

Step 1: Review Your Current Benefits

The best place to begin is with your pay statement.

Not sure what those benefits are that are listed on your pay statement? View a list of benefit deduction names and pay statement abbreviations.

Step 2: Review the "Before You Get Started" Information

If you haven't already, you may want to review the Before You Get Started section above to ensure you're thinking as holistically as possible about your benefits.

Step 3: Review What's Changing for the New Plan Year

From new benefit offerings to plan design changes and premium updates, it’s important to review the What's Changing This Year section above.

PEIA has resources geared towards assisting employees in comparing health insurance plans and prices. Visit the PEIA Open Enrollment Information page for plan year 2025. There, you'll find easy access to the plan comparison tools.

Mountaineer Flexible Benefits also offers employees the ability to explore their options as well as connect with a benefits counselor. Visit the Mt. Flex Benefits Open Enrollment Interactive Guide to learn more.

Step 4: Consider Your Unique Situation

WVU offers a comprehensive benefits package with a variety of offerings to fit your unique needs. Consider whether your current benefit elections reviewed in Step 1 are a good fit for you or whether you’d like to add, drop or change benefits during this Open Enrollment.

Does your current health insurance plan election meet your needs? WVU offers a variety of plans with varying premiums and cost-sharing so you can select the plan that works best for you.

Are you currently enrolled in PEIA Plan C (high deductible health plan) or planning to enroll in it this year? Did you know you're eligible to enroll in a health savings account (HSA)?

Does your health insurance work in the area in which you live? WVU health insurance plans may offer differing levels of coverage depending on whether the service is provided in the state of West Virginia and where you and your dependents reside. Visit the out of area page for additional information.

Do your dental and vision coverages meet your needs? Perhaps you anticipate needing to replace glasses this upcoming year or have a child that will now need dental care.

Consider your flexible spending account (FSA) enrollment. WVU offers medical, dependent care and limited medical flexible spending accounts, all of which are tax-advantaged with contribution limits established by the IRS each year.

Consider income replacement benefits and other financial benefit options such as short and long-term disability, critical illness and hospital indemnity coverages and accident insurance, all of which can provide vital financial support in challenging times.

Review your life insurance coverages and amounts, including beneficiaries.

Step 5. Ready to Make Changes?

Make Open Enrollment Changes Now!

Open Enrollment Help

Watch the Plan Year 2025 Open Enrollment overview video.

Contact WVU Shared Services Center
Email: sharedservices@mail.wvu.edu
Phone: 304-293-6006
Website: sharedservices.wvu.edu

Or visit a Shared Services storefront at the following locations for video chat:

Location	Building and Room	Hours
Downtown Campus	Mountainlair Room G4A	Monday - Friday 8:15 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. Closed daily noon to 1 p.m. for lunch.
Downtown Campus	One Waterfront Place 3rd Floor	Monday - Friday 8:15 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Evansdale Campus	NRCCE Room 104	Monday - Friday 8:15 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. Closed daily noon to 1 p.m. for lunch.
Evansdale Campus	Health Science Center Room G280-B, HSC South	Monday - Friday 8:15 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.

Open Enrollment Education Events

Event	Date	Time	Location

WVU Open Enrollment Drop-In Sessions

Date	Time	Location

PEIA Event Information

Event Title	Date	Time	Location