Penn State York and Penn State,The Lancaster Center are offering a free informational conference, Duty to Degree: Informational Conference for Veterans, on Saturday, April 14 in York, and Saturday, April 21 in Lancaster. The program is designed for veterans interested in learning more about their military benefits and the educational opportunities available.
Topics to be covered at each conference include benefits, financial aid, academic choice, career information, and admission options. Attendees can also meet with veterans who have successfully managed the challenges of becoming successful students and the graduates who have gone on to fulfilling careers. (more)
The last flexible benefit reimbursements in 2011 will be generated on Dec. 15. Properly documented reimbursement requests that are received in the Employee Benefits Office no later than the close of business on Dec. 9, will be included in the final 2011 disbursement. Please note that original documentation is required and faxes will not be accepted. The reimbursement process for 2011 funds will resume on Jan. 3, 2012. (more)
Benefits-eligible faculty and staff are reminded that the annual Benefits Enrollment period is now under way, and will end on Friday, Nov. 18. As in the past, benefits enrollment can be completed online through the Employee Self-Service Information Center (ESSIC), which can be accessed from the Office of Human Resources website or directly at https://essic.ohr.psu.edu/ online. (more)
Penn State's University Faculty Senate on Tuesday (Oct. 11) received reports on student loan debt and financial literacy needs, employee benefit changes and University space allocation and utilization. Senators also passed legislation to update membership rules for the Joint Committee on Insurance and Benefits. (more)
Penn State's Office of Human Resources has announced several changes to employee benefits. Beginning in 2012, health care coverage contributions will be determined using a salary-based strategy, with the majority of Penn State employees seeing a decrease in their contributions from 2011.
Health care contributions will be determined by an employee's annual base salary as of Sept. 30, 2011. Employee contributions will remain the same for all of 2012. Beginning in November, employees will be able to log on to the Employee Self Service Information Center (ESSIC) to view their own specific contribution rate. (more)
Penn State's Office of Human Resources has planned a series of employee benefits open houses in advance of this year's open enrollment period. Open houses will be held on Oct. 14, 18 and 27 on the University Park campus. Benefits presentations also will be held at other Penn State locations; visit http://goo.gl/8lVOX online for details, including event times, locations and topics to be covered. (more)
Penn State employees served by Geisinger physicians and services will be able to continue those services with coverage into the new year as part of the University's benefits package. Penn State administrators were notified today (Dec. 16) that an agreement has been reached between the University's health care administrator, Highmark Blue Shield, and the Geisinger Health System. All Geisinger providers will continue to be in the PPOBlue Network. (more)
Health care negotiations that affect Penn State employees are continuing, according to University leaders, who hold out hope that an agreement between Highmark Blue Shield and Geisinger Health System can be made before Jan. 1, 2011. Employees who require transition of care for ongoing medical issues are urged to contact Highmark to make contingency plans. (more)
Penn State is continuing to keep employees up-to-date on information related to their health care benefits, following the recent announcement by Highmark that Geisinger Health System and its providers may not be part of the health care network after Dec. 31. A letter from Penn State is expected to reach employees over the coming days, however, in an effort to expedite the delivery of the information, a website has been created: http://ohr.psu.edu/benefits/insurance/health/geisinger-and-highmark. (more)
The University was notified this week that Highmark Blue Shield has not reached agreement with the Geisinger Medical Center and its physicians to continue as providers within the Highmark PPOBlue network after Dec. 31, 2010. Highmark is Penn State's health plan administrator. With the current agreement due to expire at the end of December, Highmark is required by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department to notify its members of the potential of a network provider discontinuing its network participation. (more)
