Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Welcome to the 2025 Open Enrollment webpage. Benefits Open Enrollment will take place between November 1 – November 18.

As a benefits eligible faculty or staff member, you have access to a range of quality benefit options so you can get the coverage you need for yourself and your eligible family members. Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to reassess your healthcare, life insurance, and other benefit needs - by considering how you utilized your benefits in 2024 and how your needs may change for 2025.

Benefits eligible faculty and staff are able to enroll in or make changes to their benefit elections for the upcoming calendar year during Open Enrollment. Log into the benefit portal (company identifier is HWSCollege for new registration) to review your benefit elections from last year and to update benefit elections, dependent information and beneficiaries for calendar year 2025. Open enrollment begins on November 1^st at 12 a.m. and closes on November 18^th at 11:59 p.m. Once Open Enrollment closes you will not be able to make a benefit change until the next Open Enrollment, unless you have a qualifying life event.

If you do not elect to make any changes, your current benefit elections will remain in effect with the exception of flexible spending. Remember, health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts will default to No Contribution so it is important that you (re)elect the appropriate contribution each year.

2025 Open Enrollment Guide
2025 Open Enrollment Presentation (video)

2025 BENEFIT HIGHLIGHTS

Human Resources is hosting several In-Person and Virtual sessions for employees to learn about benefit offerings and to ask questions. Benefit presentations will be held on the below dates and Zoom links will be emailed to the campus. Virtual Benefit Presentation will be recorded and available on our website.

• Wednesday, November 6, noon (In-person – Sanford Room, Library)
• Thursday, November 7, 10 a.m. (virtual)
• Thursday, November 14, 4 p.m. (virtual)

2025 Summary of Benefit/plan Changes

Hobart and William Smith Colleges are continuing to provide employees with a strong benefit package. As a benefit eligible faculty or staff member, you have access to a range of benefit options and can elect the coverage needed for you and your eligible family members. 

Below are a few highlights:

• UPDATED: MEDICAL/PHARMACY PLAN DESIGN – For 2025, while managing rising healthcare costs for both the institution and our employees, components of the health plan design will be adjusted including some medical and pharmacy copays. Some changes include:
  
  • PCP/ Specialist copay moving to $30/$50
  • Individual health plan deductible will be $500 for certain services (i.e. inpatient hospitalizations, outpatient surgical care) with a 20% co-insurance once the deductible is met
  • Prescription 30-day retail copays will be $5 generic; $45 brand; $90 preferred; $200 specialty
  • A full detail of the health plan summary will be provided during open enrollment as well as at the education sessions.
• UPDATED: PHARMACY – Hobart and William Smith will continue with RXBenefits/Optum as our Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM).  We will be introducing additional RX program enhancements members can take advantage of, including RXBenefits’ GlobalRX program.  GlobalRX is a voluntary and another avenue members could potentially save money while maintaining quality standards and ensuring effective clinical management.
  
  • Pharmacy Note:  Members may see communications from RXBenefits around prescription prior authorization requirements (either new requirements based on a new RX or an expiring prior authorization on file needing updated information for review- please be on the lookout for communications and contact RXBenefits with questions, contact # on the back of your insurance card).
• NEW DENTAL/VISION INSURANCE CARRIERS - Hobart and William Smith will be transitioning our dental insurance to Excellus BCBS. We will continue to offer two dental plan options to enroll in, High or Low plan.

HWS Dental High Plan Summary
HWS Dental Low Plan Summary

• Hobart and William Smith is moving our vision plan to EyeMed for 2025.

HWS Vision Benefit Summary

• PREMIUM RATE CHANGES:
  
  • Medical Premium Rate Increase – 9% increase
  • Dental Premium Rate Increase - No increase
  • Vision Premium Rate Decrease – 15% decrease
  • Medical Plan co-pay/deductible changes: $30 PCP; $50 Specialist; $500 annual deductible
  • Rx co-pay changes: $5 generic/$45 brand name/$90 preferred brand name/$200 specialty

For medical, dental and vision 2025 rates please click below.

2025 Faculty/Administrative Rates
2025 Administrative Hourly Rates

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) - Health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts will default to No Contribution, so you must elect an appropriate contribution each year if you wish to utilize either of these.

• Hobart and William Smith Colleges utilizes Lifetime Benefit Solutions (LBS) to administer our Flexible Spending Account.
• For 2025, the FSA maximum contribution limit is $3,300. Dependent care FSA annual limit remains at $5,000.

More details on open enrollment changes and offerings can be found at the link below.

MORE Information

Qualifying Life Event Change
Paid Family Leave (PFL)

VENDOR INFORMATION

Health Insurance
Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield
www.excellusbcbs.com/hws
Customer Service 800-499-1275

Pharmacy
OptumRx, serviced by RXBenefits
www.optumrx.com
RX Customer Service:  1-800-334-8134
Email: customercare@rxbenefits.com

Dental Insurance
Dental Blue Plan
https://www.excellusbcbs.com/
Customer Service 800-499-1275

Vision Insurance
Insight Network
Eyemed.com

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
Lifetime Benefit Solutions
www.lifetimebenefitsolutions.com/members/login
Customer Service: 1-800-327-7130

Insurance Enrollment
Consiliarium Group
http://www.employeenavigator.com/benefits/account/login
Customer Service 1-844-890-7955
Email: info@consiliariumgroup.com

Retirement
TIAA
www.tiaa.org
Customer Service 800-842-2252

Transamerica
www.trsretire.com/
Customer Service

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
ENI/My Balance Works
nexgeneap.com/loginv2
800-327-2255
Company ID: 8956