Summary of Insurance Benefits

Medical Plans:

The University’s medical plans are administered by the Employees Retirement System of Texas Group Benefits Program and the third-party administrator, Blue Cross Blue Shield.   Benefits-eligible employees may choose between the HealthSelect of Texas Medical plan and the Consumer Directed HealthSelect high deductible plan.

• Health Select of Texas: HealthSelect of Texas is available to all eligible employees and retirees under age 65 with in-network and out-of-network coverage options.
• HealthSelect of Texas Out of State: HealthSelect Out-of-State is available only to active employees, retirees not enrolled in Medicare, and their eligible dependents living or working outside the state of Texas.
• Consumer Directed HealthSelect: Consumer-Directed Health Select is a high-deductible health plan paired with a health savings account (HSA).  If you are enrolled in Medicare, you are not eligible for this plan.
• Health Select and Consumer-Directed Health Select in Spanish: Beneficios médicos: HealthSelect of Texas Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (bcbstx.com)
• Dependent Eligibility Verification: All employees must verify that their dependents are eligible.  ERS has contracted with Alight Solutions, who will reach out directly via email or US mail after your dependents have been enrolled.

Prescription Plan 

Express Scripts provides prescription drug coverage.  Co-pays for prescriptions are three-tiered and generally range from $15 to $60 per 30 day supply. Prescription drug coverage is effective the same day as medical coverage.  A cost estimate and various other tools are available on the Express Scripts webpage.

Tax –advantage spending savings:

For employees who elect HealthSelect:

A TexFlex account is a flexible spending account (FSA) that allows you to set aside money from your paycheck pre-tax to use for eligible out-of-pocket expenses.  You can contribute to a health care and a dependent care account.   https://texflex.payflex.com/texflex/index.html

• Health Care account – Used to pay for eligible medical expenses
• Dependent Care Account - Used to pay qualified expenses, including child day care and adult day care programs.

For employees who elect Consumer Directed HealthSelect:

• Consumer Directed HealthSelect savings account is administered by Optum bank: A health savings account (HSA) is a tax-advantaged medical savings account you can contribute to and draw money from to pay for certain medical expenses tax-free.  HSAs can be used for out-of-pocket medical, prescription drug, dental and vision expenses.

Optional Benefits

TWU benefits-eligible employees are eligible for the following optional benefits:

• Dental
• Vision
• Optional Term Life Insurance
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment (ADD)
• Texas Income Protection Plan (reedgrouptipp.com)

Should you wish to make changes after your first 31 days of employment:

• Qualifying Life Events allow an employee 31 days to make applicable changes. 
• Annual enrollment occurs each summer, typically in July.  The dates fluctuate and are determined by ERS.  Annual Enrollment communications regarding dates, rates, and changes come from ERS by email and US Mail and from TWU Office of Human Resources by email. 

TWU Pioneer Extra Benefits (Voluntary Benefits)

TWU Pioneer Extra Benefits are voluntary benefits administered by TWU.  TWU has contracted with Corestream to manage the enrollment process.   The following options are available, and summaries of these plans can be found by logging on to the Corestream Portal.

• Supplemental Medical Plans managed by Allstate
  • Hospital Indemnity           
  • Critical Illness
  • Accidental
• Legal Ease
• Identity Theft
• Pet Insurance
• Kashable (low-cost loans)
• Auto and Home
• Purchasing Power (Purchase Appliances and more through payroll deduction)
• MASA (Protection from Ground and Air Ambulance out of pocket cost by Medical Air Services Association)