This is your final reminder. Employees on Drake’s health plan, who want to receive the wellness health insurance premium discount in 2023 – a savings of $32 per month – need to complete a physical with their primary care physician (PCP) by Nov. 30, 2022 and submit a Premium Discount-Annual Physical Form by Dec. 2, 2022.
If you had a physical since Dec. 1, 2021, but haven’t turned in your completed form, please do so now. If you haven’t scheduled your annual physical yet with your PCP, you are running out of time. Please email linda.feiden@drake.edu with questions.
As many of you know, Drake’s health insurance plan is a self-insured plan. While Wellmark facilitates the claims process, Drake pays the claims. We have certain fiduciary obligations in administering the plan. We must act solely in the interest of our employees for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits and defraying reasonable expenses relating to plan administration. Part of these obligations include ensuring that only people who are eligible for coverage are on the plan—this includes employees, dependent children, spouses, and domestic partners.
If you decide to elect coverage, you can include eligible children on the health insurance plan until they reach age 26. Our health plan will discontinue coverage on the last day of the month in which your child turns 26. Certain exceptions apply for disabled dependent children older than age 26 who meet specific criteria.
If your spouse or domestic partner is enrolled in our plan, and you experience a divorce or dissolution of a relationship, your spouse’s/domestic partner’s health insurance coverage will be discontinued when the divorce/dissolution is final. The plan requires you to inform us of such changes and there are penalties if you do not.
Requirement to Notify Group Sponsor: You must notify your employer or group sponsor within 60 days of most events that change the coverage status of members and within 60 days of events related to divorce or annulment, legal separation, your dependent child losing eligibility for this coverage, Medicaid or CHIP eligibility. If you do not provide timely notification of an event that requires you to remove an affected family member, your coverage may be terminated. If you do not provide timely notification of a coverage enrollment event, the affected person may not enroll until an annual group enrollment period.
As part of our diligence in administering our health insurance plan, we will be conducting a dependent audit in 2023. That means, we will be ensuring that only eligible children, spouses and domestic partners are on the plan. If you have failed to report any changes in status, you still have time to make corrections for 2023. If you have enrolled a dependent in the plan who is not eligible, you still have time to make that correction, too. If you have a dependent child who is under age 26, they may remain on the plan through the end of the month in which they turn 26.
If someone is covered by our plan and they lose eligibility during the 2023 plan year, please contact Drake Human Resources (drakehr@drake.edu), so we can make necessary changes and determine whether access to coverage through COBRA may apply.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
We have updated the digital benefits guide for plan year 2023. This one-stop resource will serve as a handy reference for employees throughout the coming year and as a helpful recruitment tool for applicants. In fact, the digital benefits guide was created for two primary audiences: with prospective employees during the recruitment process and with current employees as an “any time” reference.
While no guide can anticipate every question or outline every benefit detail, the digital benefits guide was designed to address the most frequently asked questions posed by prospective, new, and existing employees. If you have not yet reviewed the digital benefits guide, please consider taking a look as you are bound to learn something new about the great benefits offered to Drake employees and their families.
Separate from the digital benefits guide is a list of perks and discounts available to Drake employees. This list is regularly updated and worth a look periodically to check out what is new.
To explore these documents: Visit Drake HR’s internal Benefits Page. The digital benefits guide is always featured at the top of the page. You can find the Perks & Discounts link under “Benefit Information Resources,” by scrolling down. For applicants, we also have these items posted on the public-facing website (no my.drake log in necessary) here.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
In collaboration with our benefits partners, Drake Human Resources hosted in-person and virtual benefits overview sessions on Nov. 18. Our speakers provided an overview of what remains the same and what has changed and fielded questions from those in attendance. The virtual session was recorded, and you are welcome to watch that session. Find the video link and presentation slides on our internal Benefits page under “2023 Open Enrollment Information.”
With only a little over a week left of Open Enrollment, we hope that you have had opportunities to ask questions, review changes and enhancements being made to benefits for plan year 2023 and completed your benefits enrollment in the online benefits portal.
If you have not yet done so, we urge you to complete this process ahead of the November 30 deadline. This is a once-a-year task that warrants time and care. Procrastinating is like tempting fate—you may get busy, you may forget, there could be a technological glitch.
If you were unable to attend either of these informational sessions and have questions, please reach out to drakehr@drake.edu or Marlene directly at marlene.heuertz@drake.edu. As with the enrollment process, if you have questions, we urge you not to delay in seeking answers. We are happy to assist you. However, if everyone waits until the end of the month to ask questions, getting back in a timely manner becomes a challenge.
Important Reminder about FSAs: Your enrollment in an FSA does not automatically continue from year-to-year. If you want to participate in Drake’s FSA plans during 2023, you must make a new election during Open Enrollment this month. If you forget to enroll or re-enroll, you will not be able to enroll once Open Enrollment has closed (these are Plan rules, not Drake HR rules). For more FSA details, review the Oct. 31 OnCampus on FSAs here.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
Drake’s EAP utilization rate fell from a high of 3.97% in 2018 to 2.38% in 2021 (our most recent year of complete data). According to the National Business Group on Health, the national average for EAP utilization is around 5.5%. This means that Drake faculty and staff are underutilizing this great benefit. The question is, why?
According to Mental Health America, the three main reasons employees may not use their EAP services include: 1) not being aware that EAP exists, what services they offer, and how to access them; 2) being fearful that their employer may be tracking an individual’s usage of services; and 3) the stigma of mental health and its association with EAPs.
Let’s address these concerns.
Awareness. Drake’s EAP provider is Employee & Family Resources (EFR). EFR offers a wonderful range of freeEAP resources, including confidential counseling, webinars, podcasts, a blog, self-assessment tools, and a free mobile app for employees and their immediate families. Services also include financial and legal consultation, child/elder care resources, and life coaching by a licensed professional counselor. If you are unsure whether EFR is the right place to go with your question or concern – please reach out to them and ask. You may reach EFR by phone (800-327-4692) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or visit their website.
Confidentiality Concerns. All EAP services are confidential. No one at Drake will ever be given details about your use of EAP benefits. In fact, the confidentiality of EAP records is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which protects the identity and details of employee using EAP services. The only information shared with Drake is a very high-level, general report showing the total aggregate number of people who used EAP services over the course of the year and the percentage by categories (financial, legal…). No names or other identifying information are ever disclosed.
Mental Health Stigma. As noted, the EAP offers a broad range of services to faculty, staff, and their families, including counseling. Yes, confidential mental health counseling is an important part of any EAP (and most of us could benefit from it), but unfortunately there remains some stigma around it. You do not need to be in a crisis to use or benefit from the EAP services. The intention of an EAP is to help you maintain a positive work-life balance and serve as free, convenient, and readily accessible support when life matters keep you from being your best. We could all use a little extra support now and then.
If you would like to learn more about EFR and their EAP services, representatives from EFR are available to attend a department or staff meeting (in-person or virtually) to highlight their resources and help answer any questions. They will present to groups of any size. If you would like EFR to speak during one of your meetings, please send an email to Renee Larsen, EFR Account Manager, at rlarsen@efr.org or phone 515-471-2402.
Nov. 30 is the deadline for open enrollment. The Benefits Portal closes at 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 30. If you want to add benefits, make changes to existing benefits, enroll or re-enroll in a Flexible Spending Account, you still have time to do so.
You can access the Benefits Portal through my.drake.edu. You’ll find it on the left side of the screen above the Employee Dashboard link.
We are happy to report the Benefits Portal has been working well for people. It walks you through your options step-by-step and only takes a few minutes. Of course, if you have any questions or problems navigating the Benefits Portal, reach out to us at drakehr@drake.edu or contact Marlene directly at marlene.heuertz@drake.edu.
If you are still thinking through options, please consider attending one of the benefit overview sessions held on November 18: Join us:
Live and in person at 10:30-11:30 a.m. in the Olmsted Center: Room 310
During these sessions, we’ll share highlights of the plan changes taking effect Jan. 1 and answer your questions. We will record the virtual session for people who are unable to attend either session.
If you have not yet enrolled, make sure you don’t wait until the last minute!
Benefits & Wellness Fair Raffle Winners
We so enjoyed those of you who attended the Benefits & Wellness Fair and played our passport game. We drew the 15 names of winners and they had the choice of a range of small prizes or $10 in Bulldog Bucks. Our winners were:
1. Ofelia Arreola Martinez
2. Colin Atkinson
3. Dennis Belieu
4. Jack Bush
5. Doreen Dixon
6. Dennis Goldford
7. Jorona Johnson
8. Brianna Leistikow
9. Cindy Liska
10. Elvira Mejia De Luna
11. Samantha Nordstrom
12. Jeremy Sievers
13. Charlene Skidmore
14. Mizuko Takamoto
15. Kathy Veach
Congratulations to our winners!
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
As with any new benefit, there is excitement and curiosity. Since we have received several questions, we thought we should share some additional information about our new partnership with Avēsis.
Vision Hardware 101
Vision exams will still be covered by Drake’s medical insurance through Wellmark.
The current hardware allowance through Wellmark ($150/year) is going away on December 31, 2022.
Avēsis is now available as an optional benefit for employees (and their families) to cover vision hardware (glasses, contacts).
If you do not want to enroll in the Avēsis Plan, using your Health Care Flexible Spending Account is a great way to set aside pre-tax dollars to cover vision hardware.
Participation in the Avēsis Hardware Benefit is voluntary/optional. You may choose to purchase this coverage for yourself or your covered dependents (spouse/partner and dependent children). Following are monthly rates/in-network benefits:
Single Monthly Rate = $1.37/month
Family Monthly Rate = $4.37/month
Frame allowance = $150
Contact Lens Allowance = $150
Materials Co-pay = $15
We are very excited to offer this affordable and wonderful new benefit to Drake employees. An Avēsis representative will be on hand for the benefit information sessions being held on November 18.
Attend one of the benefit overview sessions Nov. 18:
Live and in person at 10:30-11:30 a.m. in the Olmsted Center, Room 310
During these sessions, we’ll share highlights of the plan changes taking effect Jan. 1 and answer your questions. We will record the virtual session for people who are unable to attend either session.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
As many of you already know, the applicant tracking system we are currently using, HireTouch, supported by ImageTrend, is being sunset at the end of this year. We will be rolling out Jobs@Drake, supported by PageUp next month.
This week, we will be reaching out to managers and budget managers with additional information, and we will be looking to schedule a virtual session where we demonstrate Jobs@drake—highlighting similarities and differences to HireTouch.
The HR team is working on a detailed user guide and will also create some bite-sized video tutorials.
As we transition to the new system, it is likely that we will stop posting new jobs in HireTouch and hold them until the Jobs@Drake site is live. The timing is actually perfect. Recruitment from Thanksgiving until the first part of January dramatically slows down. For staff searches already posted, we will vet the existing pools and remove them from the web. If no hires are made, we’ll open them in the new system in late December or early January.
We will work with the academic units on faculty searches—as those will likely require a case-by-case assessment as to which we may want to move into the new system, and which are far enough along in the recruitment process that we may not need to do that (or we only move viable candidates if the application screening process is complete).
This will be a big change and we know there will be some hurdles as we all adjust. This was an unexpected project we had to pick up and run with, due to HireTouch being sunset at the end of the year. However, we are really excited about the look and feel of Jobs@Drake. Once we get the kinks worked out, we are confident this will be a notable improvement and despite the amount of work left to do, we are truly excited about this change.
Drake offers a range of discounts and perks, including discounts on your phone bill, car batteries, Dell computers, free Mango language training, special pricing on Adventureland tickets, car rentals, and much more.
Review the full list of Perks & Discounts available to Drake employees. Three discounts—including a new partnership and limited time offer—are highlighted below.
Bank of America (coming soon) A new discount program is in the works with Bank of America. Once finalized, we will share more details and add the discount to the list above.
Limited time only—20% discount for Drake employees at Raygun I am excited to share a limited time discount at Raygun! Drake employees will receive 20% off their in-store purchases at Raygun from Nov. 20–23 only. To get the discount, you must print or show on your phone this Raygun flyer. (This flash sale is only for Drake employees and only for in-store purchases on the applicable dates).
Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile discounts available Recently, I realized I was not taking advantage of a discount offered to Drake employees by Verizon. So, I logged into my Verizon account, searched for “employer discounts,” and followed the simple steps. After Verizon confirmed my Drake email, I got this message:
Access Fee Discount up to: 18% Accessory discount: 25% Please allow 1–2 billing cycles for updates to appear on your bill.
I wish I would’ve taken advantage of this offer sooner!
Review the Perks & Discounts list to learn more about the discounts and deals available to you.
— Linda Feiden and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
No more excuses for not seeing a dentist! Starting Jan. 1, 2023, our dental benefits through Delta Dental will now include CheckUp Plus.
CheckUp Plus encourages you to use preventive services while allowing you to get the most out of your annual benefit maximum. That’s because, with Check Up Plus, diagnostic and preventive services will no longer count toward the annual maximum $1300 benefit in 2023. Participants will have access to two preventive exams at no cost throughout the plan year (January 1 – December 31, 2023).
CheckUp Plus helps:
Promote regular visits to the dentist for exams, X-rays and cleanings — which can improve your overall health.
Save on costs over the long-term because preventive care can help reduce the need for more expensive dental services.
Preventive Services included in CheckUp Plus
Examinations
Routine X-rays
Cleanings
Sealants
Fluoride applications
In other dental news: Dental contribution rates will remain unchanged for the 2023 Plan Year. You and your eligible dependents continue to have access to Delta Dental’s PPO and Premier networks, as well as services from out-of-network providers. Your current dental participation will automatically be continued during the 2023 Plan Year. If you wish to make a change, you must do so in the Benefits Portal via myDrake. A summary of Drake’s Dental Plan is available here.
— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources
