Many start the year out by getting their annual physical. If that sounds like you and you are on Drake’s health plan, don’t forget to take a copy of the Premium Discount-Annual Physical Form to your appointment. This form can be found on the Drake HR Internal website under DU Well-Wellness and Wellbeing.

Those on Drake’s health plan who complete a physical with an in-network provider between Dec. 1, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2024, and submit a completed form by Nov. 30, 2024, will qualify for the wellness health insurance premium discount in 2025, which is a savings of approximately $34 per month. 

If you already had your physical since Dec. 1, 2023, please fill out the form and turn it in now. If you turned in a form last year—great! But don’t forget, this is an annual event.

— Linda Feiden Human Resources

Last fall, Human Resources rolled out the first edition of the new DU Well Newsletter. It highlighted upcoming wellness events, discussed relevant wellbeing topics and health observances, tested your trivia knowledge, and hopefully challenged you to try something new.

The Spring 2024 edition is now posted. Please take a few minutes to check it out, and feel free to contact us at drakehr@drake.edu, using the subject line, DU Well Newsletter, with ideas for future editions.

You can explore other ways Drake supports employee wellness on our DU Well webpage, including a list of our upcoming Spring term wellness programs and events.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Bulldogs United in Learning & Development (BUILD) provides faculty and staff learning opportunities throughout the academic year that address technical, soft, philosophical, and very practical skills.  BUILD is a great platform for learning new ideas as well as an opportunity to collaborate with others from across campus.

The Spring 2024 schedule is now available for viewing and registration is open.  Please take a moment to check out the classes on the Drake HR website under Learning & Development.  Click on BUILD – Upcoming Sessions for the full list, including detailed descriptions.  There is an online registration link to a Qualtrics survey that makes signing up easy.

Most classes are only an hour in length, and many are facilitated by our own faculty and staff.  This is a great way to invest in yourself, support your colleagues, and take in the culture that Drake has to offer.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Bulldogs United in Learning & Development (BUILD) provides faculty and staff learning opportunities throughout the academic year that address technical, soft, philosophical, and very practical skills.  BUILD is a great platform for learning new ideas as well as an opportunity to collaborate with others from across campus.

The Spring 2024 schedule is now available for viewing and registration is open.  Please take a moment to check out the classes on the Drake HR website under Learning & Development.  Click on BUILD – Upcoming Sessions for the full list, including detailed descriptions.  There is an online registration link to a Qualtrics survey that makes signing up easy.

Most classes are only an hour in length, and many are facilitated by our own faculty and staff.  This is a great way to invest in yourself, support your colleagues, and take in the culture that Drake has to offer.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

During the educational sessions offered in November, Wellmark shared some additional programs that are available to health care plan participants at no additional cost. So, if you are on Drake’s healthcare plan, you can check out these additional perks. We have added these items to our Perks Page. If you have not checked out that page yet, you are missing out! There are a lot of perks to being a Drake employee.

#1: Free Identity Theft Protection

What it is: Drake employees and their dependents who are enrolled in Drake’s healthcare have access to identity protection services at no cost. Wellmark has a partner agreement with IDX Identity. It just takes a few minutes to enroll. The program will conduct an immediate scan of the information you provide (such as personal email accounts, bank accounts). Once you create an account, you’ll be sent alerts, you can periodically check your dashboard, etc. They also offer a number of other services, including a private search browser and password checker.

How to find it: Log into myWellmark and scroll to the very bottom of the webpage, on the bottom left you will see “Identity Protection” (under “DO MORE” and “Contact Us”). When you click on that link, you’ll first see a screen where you need to copy the enrollment code. When you go to enroll, have your Wellmark insurance card handy. To create an account, you will need to provide the Group No. and your ID number (which is listed directly below your name). After you create your account, you will need to verify your email address and then you will be able to log in. Provide as much or as little information as you like and test out the different tools.

What I Learned: Both of my personal email accounts had recently been hacked, one as recently as Sept. 30, 2023! They offered “What should I do?” guidance (I updated my passwords and will be extra leery of suspicious emails).

#2: Blue 365

What it is:  Oh boy! You are going to love Blue 365. Blue365 offers premier health and wellness discounts and is free to join. You can sort by topic to check out all current deals on topics such as: apparel & footwear, fitness, hearing & vision, home & family, nutrition, personal care, and travel.

How to find it: Log into myWellmark. On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a column of tiles, the top one being “Home”. Go down to the “Well-being” tile and click on it. You can learn more about all of the different vendors and discounts offered through Blue 365 by clicking on Visit Blue365 (on the right side of the screen under Member Discounts). Once on the Blue 365 site, you’ll need your health insurance card handy to create an account.

What I learned: Deals are added and expire regularly—so check back regularly to see what is new and still active. At present, you can get discounts on things like: Garmin equipment, Blue Apron, Nutrisystem, Skechers, Crocs, Reebok, Kind bars, Jabra earbuds, pet insurance, Chewy, Walt Disney World, Budget/Avis, and many other vendors. So many deals. Check it out!!

#3: BeWell 24/7

What it is: Health questions can arise no matter the time of day. From your child’s earache to side effects from a new medication, BeWell 24/7 can help. You can call the BeWell number day or night to get answers from real health care professionals and put your mind at ease. By using this resource you can:

• Receive an evaluation based on your symptoms and recommendations for where to go for care.
• Locate health care providers and facilities — whether at home or traveling.
• Discuss treatment options and answer your health and wellness questions.

How to find it: Log into myWellmark. On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a column of tiles, the top one being “Home.” Go down to the “Well-being” tile and click on it. You can learn more about BeWell 24/7 on this page. To access this service call 844-84-BEWELL (844-842-3935).

#4 Pregnancy Support Program

What it is: This site provides expecting parents with support by:

• Providing educational materials based on your needs
• Helping you understand if you or your baby are at risk
• Being available to answer questions whenever you have them

How to find it: Log into myWellmark. On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a column of tiles, the top one being “Home.” Go down to the “Well-being” tile and click on it. If you click “Learn More” on the Pregnancy Support Program tile, you will land on a new page with a number of resources—including a prenatal assessment, “Count the Kicks” and “Text4Baby”.

— Maureen R De Armond, Human Resources

Drake’s open enrollment period for benefits is held during November with the window closing at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30. This is a hard close, but you still have time. If you have not yet reviewed or made modifications to your benefits for 2024, please do so right away.

The deadline to submit your premium discount form for 2024 is also Nov. 30.

If you still need to complete the enrollment process, you can visit the benefits portal and run through the election process in just a few short minutes. Remember that you must re-enroll in flexible spending accounts (FSA) each year—that benefit does not automatically continue from year to year. Additional information about benefits for 2024 can be accessed through the benefits page and also this temporary open enrollment page.

If you have any benefits-related or open enrollment questions, please don’t wait to ask them. Reach us at drakehr@drake.edu at any time (please, please do not wait until Nov. 30 to enroll or contact us with questions—that is cutting it too close!).

— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

Open Enrollment ends at 11:59 PM on Nov. 30—no exceptions (plan rules, sorry). If you participate in any of Drake’s benefits, please take a few minutes to walk through the open enrollment process in the Benefits Portal. Just the other day, I did this myself and it took me two minutes. It is easy, self-explanatory, and darn near fool-proof. Added bonus, it serves as a nice reminder of all the benefits Drake employees enjoy.

We encourage (no urge) you to take a few minutes to do this before you turn your attention to Thanksgiving Break. Then it is done, and you don’t have to remember to circle back to the topic after the break. Every year, we have people who miss the month-long window or wait until the absolute last minute and find they have questions and no time to have them answered. Don’t let this be you!

The window to submit your premium discount form is the same as open enrollment (Nov. 30). If you have not yet had your physical or submitted your form to Linda Feiden, that clock is ticking down as well.

If you have not checked it out yet, we have a temporary Open Enrollment webpage with additional information. You can also reach out to us at drakehr@drake.edu if you have specific questions.

— Marlene Heuertz and Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

Time is running out. Employees on Drake’s health plan, who want to receive the wellness health insurance premium discount in 2024—a savings of $34 per month—need to complete a physical with their primary care physician (PCP) and submit a Premium Discount-Annual Physical Form by Nov. 30, 2023.

If you had a physical since Dec. 1, 2022, 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.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

The holiday season can be a challenge when it comes to taking care of ourselves. This year’s Stop, Drop, and Roll holiday program is here to help.  ‘Stop’ the potential holiday weight gain, ‘Drop’ some of the bad habits, while picking up a few good ones, and ‘Roll’ into the New Year on a healthier path.

Even if weight gain isn’t a problem or priority for you, this program will cover wellbeing topics pertinent to everyone.

Send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu by Friday, Nov. 17 to register.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

We are nearly halfway through open enrollment, which has a hard close at the end of November. If you realize you forgot to re-enroll in your Flex Spending Account on December 1, it will be too late. The plan rules are not flexible.

Please log into the Benefits Portal (see the first tile under Human Resources on the MyDrake Employee Home Page) before Thanksgiving Break and assure you are all set for next year. Waiting until the very end of the month is never a great plan. If you have questions, let us know (drakehr@drake.edu).

Thank you to those who attended the in-person and virtual educational sessions on Friday, Nov. 10. Attendees got to hear directly from our consultants with Gallagher, who presented some historic information about benefits, addressed changes coming in 2024, and answered questions.

We recorded the virtual session and you can access the link on our temporary Open Enrollment webpage. While you are there, feel free to check out the other information related to open enrollment. If you have not yet explored Drake HR’s new internal website, the Benefits page and the page dedicated to employee Perks are both really informative.

— Maureen De Armond & Marlene Heuertz, Human Resources