This year’s open enrollment — employees’ chance to sign up for or make changes to their benefits — will begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31 and end at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22.
The University of California’s medical plan costs will increase this coming year. A dedicated 2025 open enrollment website will launch on Oct. 31, with tools and resources to help faculty and staff and retirees navigate the changes in UC health benefits. This information will also be available in Spanish.
Important gains in 2024 for UC employees included increased pay for health care workers, expanded paid sick leave options and new UC-paid benefits. Though UC is increasing funding by $198 million for medical plan costs in 2025, some premium contributions and cost-sharing amounts for retirees will increase, as costs rise nationwide.
In a recent letter to the UC community, UCOP’s Cheryl Lloyd cited national increases in health care utilization, rising rates of chronic health conditions, and the rapidly expanding use of costly new drugs and treatments as factors contributing to higher medical costs. UC employees and retirees are encouraged to use Alex, a virtual benefits counselor, to review and compare all plan cost changes.
No action is required for those who plan to maintain their current benefits — except for health or dependent care flexible spending accounts, which require re-enrollment.
2025 changes
- Copays for outpatient visits will increase from $20 to $30 for members of UC Blue & Gold HMO, Kaiser HMO and UC Care (UC Select/Tier 1).
- Copays for prescription drugs will go up for most of UC’s medical plans, and there will be a new drug tier for specialty drugs that will have 30% coinsurance, up to $150 per prescription, for UC Blue & Gold HMO and Kaiser HMO.
- UC Blue & Gold HMO and Kaiser HMO will cover doula services with no copay up to 11 visits.
- UC Health Savings Plan members will be required to pay $30 per visit for virtual visits through Accolade Care.
- While UC’s costs for dental and vision plans will increase in 2025, UC continues to cover the full cost of dental and vision coverage for employees and their eligible dependents, with no changes to benefits.
- Premiums for nonmedical plans are staying the same this year, with enhanced benefits for legal, accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity insurance.
- Voluntary legal insurance will now include cash recovery associated with restoring identity. The plan will also offer a new identity theft protection for up to four senior family members, including theft monitoring services, full-service identity restoration, lost wallet services and identity theft insurance.
Learn more
Alex has been updated with information for 2025, including premium costs customized to the user’s location and bargaining group. Fill out a quick Q&A about health care usage to create cost estimates and see suggestions for which plans fit individual needs and preferences. Alex explains UC’s many other benefits, too.
The UC Retirement Administration Service Center has updates about its engagement with CEM Benchmarking to assess its progress in providing best-in-class service to members. Information can be found on the UCnet website.