News and Announcements

The PEIA Finance Board met on December 20, 2018, and adopted the Governor’s recommendations to the PEIA Task Force for Plan Year 2020, which begins on July 1, 2019. Discontinuation of the Healthy Tomorrows Program along with additional plan changes have been made. Visit the link to see all the changes.

Read the full PEIA news announcement.

Late last week, Gov. Jim Justice issued executive orders declaring additional half-days on Monday, Dec. 24, and Monday, Dec. 31, as official holidays for State employees. And since WVU already observes these days as holidays, the University has modified its holiday calendar to include an additional 7.5-hour “floating” holiday (pro-rated by FTE) for leave-eligible employees, effective Monday, Dec. 24.

The Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) is holding annual public hearings during the month of December in multiple locations around the state. These hearings allow the public to learn more about PEIA’s proposed changes for Plan Year 2020 and to voice their concerns and comments.  The Morgantown hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17, at Erickson Alumni Center. Registration begins at 5 p.m.; you must register to speak. Details, including the hearing agenda, proposed changes and schedule may be found on the PEIA website.

As a reminder, the West Virginia University Dependent Education Scholarship deadline to submit new applications for the Spring 2019 semester is Nov. 1. Applications for spring are not required if a student dependent has already been approved for the current fall semester.

Students eligible to receive the scholarship include dependent children of WVU, WVU Research Corporation and University Innovation Corporation benefits-eligible employees. Scholarship recipients must be enrolled as full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students.

West Virginia University’s Division of Talent and Culture has joined the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable by pledging to increase colorectal cancer screening to 80% among WVU benefits-eligible employees in an effort to reduce the burden of this disease.

The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable was established by the American Cancer Society and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In West Virginia, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death. However, colorectal cancer can be detected early at a curable stage and can be prevented through the detection and removal of precancerous polyps.

In signing the 80% pledge, the Division of Talent and Culture became one of 1,685 organizations nationwide that stand united in the belief that we can eliminate colorectal cancer as a major public health problem. During the month of September, the Talent and Culture team will work to empower employees through education and awareness about risk factors and screening options for colorectal cancer.

Help WVU take care of you as we work together to meet the 80% pledge.

​Due to a programming error, HealthSmart mailed COBRA packets to any policyholder who made a change during open enrollment. You can ignore any COBRA information you receive, unless you dropped your coverage. PEIA apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.

West Virginia University (the "University") is a participating employer of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education 403(b) Tax Deferred Retirement Savings Plan (the "Plan"). All employees of the University, including employees not eligible for benefits, can voluntarily elect to defer a portion of their wages to the Plan for retirement savings.

Visit the 403(b) Availability page for complete information. 

On Dec. 22, 2017, and Dec. 29, 2017, “floating” holidays equaling eight hours (four hours for each day) were granted for all leave-eligible employees. The floating holidays were granted to eligible employees through the MyTime leave system and prorated based upon the employee’s full-time equivalency (FTE). 

Effective July 1, 2018, any employee who has not used all available floating holiday hours through the MyTime leave system will forfeit those hours. The hours will be removed from the employee’s available floating holiday balance in the system. 

As a reminder, the Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) Task Force is holding multiple public outreach meetings during the month of June in multiple locations around the state. These meetings allow the public to give feedback about what is working well with PEIA and what needs improved. The Morgantown meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 8, at Erickson Alumni Center.