Employee healthcare changes
Employee healthcare changes
MIT employees will see changes to their healthcare benefits and premiums in 2013 as MIT conforms to the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Signed into law by Obama in 2010, the PPACA established a timetable for implementing healthcare changes, the nearest of which is Jan. 1.
According to the MIT Human Resources website, the limit for Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts will decrease to $2,500 from $8,000, though the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account will remain at $5,000. Certain FDA-approved contraceptives will no longer require a co-pay. These include IUDs and any injectable, emergency, diaphragm-based, and oral contraceptives that are either generic or have no generic equivalent. Also, the employer cost of health insurance plus the employee’s costs will be listed on W-2 forms. A summary of benefit coverage will be available beginning November 2012.
Also beginning in 2013, the average increase to health plan premiums will be $13 a month, both dental coverage annual maximum and orthodontic coverage maximum benefit will increase to $1,750 from $1,500, and dental premiums will increase $3.50 a month. Dependent life insurance coverage will be available to age 26.
Employees also need to provide documentation of their dependents by Nov. 9 (Dec. 1 for faculty), or risk losing dependent coverage.
An information session about these changes will be held in 66-110 on Oct. 25, 12–1:30 p.m., and at the Lincoln Labs auditorium on Oct. 29, 9:30–11 a.m.
The changes can be found at http://hrweb.mit.edu/benefits/open-enrollment.
—Bruno B. F. Faviero