UVA_HRUVA Retiree Health Benefits Program
Eligibility for health insurance after retirement:
- You have worked at UVA for at least five (5) consecutive years directly prior to your retirement;
- You are eligible for a monthly annuity from VRS and you start receiving your retirement benefit immediately upon retirement, or participating in the MCRP or ORP programs and meet the age and service requirements for an immediate retirement benefit under the VRS plan that you would have been eligible for on your date of hire had you not elected ORP or MCRP; and
- You were eligible for enrollment in UVA’s active employee health plan on your last day as an active state employee; OR
- You were approved for long-term disability through VSDP, MCRP, or ORP and have applied for social security disability.
How to enroll:
- Contact the UVA HR Solution Center at least three months before you retire so you have plenty of time for the enrollment process
- Review the Enrollment Kit you receive from UVA’s partner, Mercer Marketplace 365+ Retiree; contact Mercer to enroll in a pre-Medicare health plan or a Medicare supplement.
- If you are Medicare eligible, you can also enroll in the state’s Medicare supplement, Advantage65. You must have continuous pre-Medicare health coverage through the UVA Retiree Health Benefits Program since your retirement in order to enroll in Advantage65 when you become Medicare eligible.
- You must enroll in your insurance plan prior to your retirement date. No retroactive coverage is available.
Plan options and monthly premium ranges for single coverage:
- Pre-Medicare Medical Plans through Mercer Marketplace 365+
- $661 - $1,249 without any federal subsidies
- Depending on your income, you may have access to federal premium and cost-sharing subsidies which will lower the cost of your plan.
- Medicare Supplement Medical Plans through Mercer Marketplace 365+
- Beginning at $0
- Advantage65 Medicare supplement options through the Commonwealth of Virginia
- $170-$273
Health credit for retirees:
- Retirees with at least 15 years of creditable State service when they retire are eligible for a health insurance credit of $4 per month for each year of creditable service.
- Disability retirees usually receive a health credit of $120 per month.
- Retirees eligible for health insurance credit must complete a Retiree Health Insurance Attestation Form after their initial enrollment in a Mercer Marketplace health plan and return it to the UVA HR Solution Center. This form contains information needed to complete the VRS health insurance credit form.
- Retirees must update VRS regarding future changes to their health premiums.
How to change retiree health insurance coverage:
- Retirees can reduce membership or cancel coverage prospectively (going forward) at any time, but retirees who cancel coverage may not re-enroll in the future.
- Membership can only be increased prospectively due to a qualified life event. Changes must be made within 30 days of the event date.
- Retirees enrolled in a Mercer Marketplace plan can change their health insurance during the annual open enrollment period, typically November 1st through December 15th, with changes effective the following January 1st.
Additional details can be found in the UVA Retiree Health Benefits Program document.
The Retiree Health Insurance Attestation Form should be submitted by new retirees to their UVA Benefits Counselor after completing their initial enrollment in the UVA Retiree Health Benefits Program. It should also be used by retirees already in the program who become eligible for Medicare and want to enroll in the state’s Advantage65 Medicare supplement plan.
Contact information for Mercer Marketplace 365+ Retiree can be found here. You can also visit Mercer online at http://retiree.mercermarketplace.com/UVA
Participating Providers
Currently, the plans available on the Mercer Marketplace 365+ exchange for retirees living in central Virginia are issued by Anthem HealthKeepers, Inc., Piedmont Community HealthCare HMO, Inc., and Optima Health Plan.
The UVA Hospital is a participating provider with all three insurance companies. If you look at the Plan Details for each insurance plan and choose Doctor Lookup, you will find that the insurance companies use different names when describing the UVA Hospital. It is called the UVA Health Sciences Center by Anthem HealthKeepers, the University of Virginia Medical Center by Optima Health Plan, and the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia d/b/a University of Virginia Medical Center by Piedmont Community Healthcare.
Most physicians practicing at UVA locations are UPG (University of Virginia Physicians Group) physicians. UPG has contracted all of its physicians to be participating providers with all three insurance companies. The physicians are usually listed by name but may be also listed as the University of Virginia Physicians Group. Some providers are not listed by name but, instead, are listed by their group such as “UVA Physicians Group – Audiology” or “University of Virginia Physicians Group (PT/OT/ST)”.
Physicians who practice at UVA Northridge Internal Medicine are not UPG physicians; they are Community Medicine Physicians. They participate with Anthem HealthKeepers, Inc. and Optima Health Plan but do not participate with Piedmont Community HealthCare HMO.
When looking for Optima Providers in the OptimaFit plans under “Doctor Lookup”, choose “OptimaFit Direct” as the plan name and “Individual & Family” as the plan type.
Residents and interns practicing at UVA locations are not listed as participating providers because they are working under the direction of a supervisor and do not bill professional services using their own name. Search for their supervising provider as the listed participating physician when using the “Doctor Lookup.”