myHR: March 14, 2018

Health Advocate Makes Healthcare Easier

Are you having trouble finding the right doctor? Do you have questions about test results, treatments, or medications? Are you confused by your medical bills and need clarification on your insurance coverage? 

Navigating the healthcare and insurance landscape can be a challenging task. But thanks to Health Advocate, a service Penn provides to benefits-eligible faculty and staff, and their family members, you can get a handle on your healthcare concerns with greater ease. 

Health Advocate is a free and confidential resource that is available to all benefits-eligible faculty and staff, their spouses or domestic partners, dependent children, parents, and parents-in-law. The service is offered whether you are covered under Penn’s health benefits or not. 

To use the service, simply call Health Advocate toll-free at 1-866-799-2329. You can access your Health Advocate Benefit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When you call you will be assigned a Personal Health Advocate (PHA) to begin the process of resolving your healthcare issues. PHAs are typically registered nurses, supported by medical directors and benefits and claims specialists, who work to help get to the heart of your issue, saving you time, money, and worry. 

Here are some of the services that Health Advocate provides:    

• Identifies doctors, dentists, specialists and other providers
• Schedules appointments, arranges for treatments and tests
• Locates treatment facilities and clinical trials
• Answers questions about test results, treatments and medications 
• Helps transfer medical records, X-rays and lab results 
• Clarifies benefits and uncovers billing errors
• Investigates coverage denials
• Identifies in-home care, adult day care, assisted living and long-term care

For a full list of available services, visit www.HealthAdvocate.com/upenn.

As an extra reward for accessing Health Advocate online, you can enter a contest for a chance to win a Fitbit Alta. Visit your Health Advocate member website or app through March 31 to enter the contest. Five members will be chosen, and one of them could be you!

Here's how to enter:
• Go to HealthAdvocate.com/members
• Log in
• In the News section, click on the link advertising the contest
• You will be taken to a web page to fill out your contest entry—fill out all the required fields and click "Submit."

Reserve Your Seats for the 2018 Models of Excellence Ceremony

What’s almost as exciting as the Ivy League champion Penn men’s basketball team advancing to the NCAA tournament? How about the 2018 Models of Excellence honorees—the University staff champions who have supported Penn’s excellence throughout the year?

On April 4 at 4pm in Irvine Auditorium, the entire Penn Community is invited to join President Amy Gutmann, Provost Wendell Pritchett, Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, and Vice President for Human Resources Jack Heuer to celebrate the achievements of 97 Penn staff members who will be honored at the 19th annual Models of Excellence Ceremony.

The ceremony features special guest performances by Penn Sirens and the Penn Glee Club and will be followed by a reception at 5pm.

Visit www.hr.upenn.edu/modelsrsvp to reserve your seats for this winning Penn tradition.

No Rise in Medical Plan Rates

Penn has great news about its health benefits for the upcoming plan year.  

Though Penn will enter a new plan year as of July 1, 2018, faculty and staff enrolled in a medical plan will not see an increase in medical rates for the 2018-2019 plan year. For the first time in many years, medical plan rates will remain the same. In addition, there will also be no changes to copays, deductibles, co-insurance or out-of-pocket maximums. That means you get to keep more money in your wallets. 

In an age of rising healthcare costs, it’s a challenge for many organizations to keep rates flat, but the University’s medical health plans have seen favorable claims experience over the past year, which has enabled Penn to keep the rates from climbing. The health care market in general has experienced approximately 6% medical cost inflation over the past few years, but Penn’s plan costs have been much lower than the industry trend. Plan design changes, favorable claims experience, enhanced prescription drug management, wellness initiatives and better employee consumerism have resulted in this positive trend in cost. 

“Over the years we have looked for solutions to keep costs reasonable, but medical costs are fairly unpredictable, so you never know. Overall we see a positive trend and are pleased that we can keep costs flat this year,” said Sue Sproat, Executive Director, Benefits, Division of Human Resources.  
  
Penn is pleased to be able to bring this news to faculty and staff in advance of the Benefits Open Enrollment period. Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to make changes to your healthcare elections. This year, Open Enrollment is Monday, April 23 through Friday, May 4, so now is a great time to begin considering if you want to make changes to your current healthcare coverage and which options will work best for you and your family in the coming plan year.  

Stay tuned for more information about Open Enrollment and other good news about the health benefits Penn provides.  

Healthy Meals: Whole Grain Irish Soda Bread

Just in time for those St. Patrick’s Day meals, this whole grain Irish Soda Bread makes a delicious and healthy compliment to your main dish. Don’t forget to add the green Matcha Yogurt Butter.

Find the recipe here. 

Click here to send us your healthy recipes and tips

Did You Know?: You Can Save 50% on Dinosaur Zoo Live at Annenberg Center

Dinosaur Zoo Live, a family-friendly scientific theatrical experience, comes to the Annenberg Center Saturday, March 24 at 2pm. Penn faculty and staff can enjoy a 50% discount on Level 1-4 and accessible seats. Just enter promo code WORKLIFE when you order tickets at www.annenbergcenter.org.