Benefits Expo Encourages Employees to ‘Cover all of the Bases’

The University’s annual benefits open enrollment period officially began last week with the announcement that there will be no increase to employees' premium cost share for insurance benefits and no changes to plan features. Additionally, the Office of Human Resources has been working to identify more ways to promote overall wellness for employees and will be adding some new programming this year.

“We’re taking a more comprehensive look at what we’re offering employees,” says Zenobia Hargust, chief human resources officer. “We provide competitive and comprehensive benefits options for employees and we’re looking to supplement that with programming that meets their needs more holistically.”

A significant change for some employees is a generous in University contribution for those with dependents who participate in the Health Savings Account (HSA) option, from $1,000 to $1,500. The contribution for employees with single coverage will remain $750.

Hargust affirmed her department’s commitment to monitoring trends and continuing to offer excellent coverage and benefits that are accessible to employees.

A highlight of the annual open enrollment period is the Benefits and Wellness Expo, to be held this year on Thursday, Oct. 31, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Campion Student Center’s Doyle Banquet Hall. According to Director of Compensation and Benefits John Cline, the expo, themed “Home Run to Health and Wellness,” will be packed with information and resources to help employees navigate their benefits decisions, but also a few unique experiences employees won’t want to miss.

“The title of our event this year is meant to emphasize that employees should really plan on spending some time at the expo to cover all of the bases. This year we’ll be offering several benefits education workshops, healthy cooking demonstrations, free chair massages, dermascan screens, flu shots, and more,” Cline says.

“Representatives from our benefits vendors will be at the Expo to help employees learn about the robust benefits available to them. I also recommend that employees familiarize themselves and sign up for the telemedicine service MDLIVE, so they can access quality healthcare advice without leaving home. And, of course, the HR staff will be on hand to answer questions and we’ll have plenty of raffle prizes as well as the grand prize, an Apple Watch.”

A full schedule of the Benefits and Wellness Expo can be found on the HR website, in addition to the 2020 benefits guidebook.