What's New for 2020
- A new open enrollment website. The new enrollment site will contain a variety of tools to help you “shop” for your 2020 benefits. These tools include medical plan comparisons, benefits summaries, and informational videos. You’ll also be able to download a confirmation of your 2020 elections.
What’s Changing
- OptumRx will replace CVS Caremark as the pharmacy benefits provider for all three medical plans.
Here are some details:
- All employees who enroll in medical coverage for 2020 will receive new BCBS of South Carolina medical plan ID cards as a result of the pharmacy provider change. The new ID cards will be used for both medical and prescription drug coverage. Cards will be mailed prior to January 1 for members to begin using as of January 1.
- If you are currently taking ongoing medications, you may continue to fill your prescriptions at your current pharmacy (including CVS). You will need to provide your pharmacist with your new ID card beginning on January 1, 2020.
- Most prescriptions will continue to be covered under the new pharmacy benefit with OptumRx. In the unlikely event your prescription will not be covered as a result of a formulary change or if your prescription will now require pre-authorization, you will receive additional details from BCBS via US mail in mid-November.
- If you are currently using CVS’s mail order service, your prescription will automatically transfer over to OptumRx’s mail order program (assuming you have remaining refills on your prescription). You will receive additional details from BCBS via US mail in mid-November about how to set up your payment information.
- Beginning January 1, BriovaRx will be the new preferred specialty pharmacy for BCBS members. BriovaRx is a division of OptumRx. Members who currently use specialty medications purchased through CVS’s specialty pharmacy will have their prescriptions automatically transferred to BriovaRx. However, you will need to set up payment information with the new specialty pharmacy. You will receive additional details from BCBS via US mail in mid-November.
- HireRight recently benchmarked our prescription drug copays and found that while most companies have increased their copays over the years in-line with inflation, HireRight has not increased their prescription drug copays for over ten years. To bring our copays in-line with the market and to help offset any cost increases to the amount you pay for your medical insurance each paycheck, the 2020 prescription drug copays will be changing.
Prescription drug copay changes for medical plans with an HSA:
Prescription drug copay changes for the Core Plan
- The copay for Non-Preferred medications will change from $70 to $80 and from $175 to $200 for mail order.
- The current copays for Generic medications and Preferred medications will not change. Click here to view the medical benefits comparison chart to include Prescription benefits.
- The following changes will be made to the medical plans as a result of HSA legislation or to bring the plans in-line with the market:
2000 Plan with HSA
The out-of-pocket maximums are changing:
1350 Plan with HSA
The deductible and out-of-pocket maximums are increasing. These changes are being made in order to comply with recent medical plan legislation. In conjunction with the deductible change, the 1350 Plan will be renamed the 1400 Plan.
The out-of-pocket maximums are also changing:
CORE Plan
- The specialist office visit copay is increasing from $50 to $60
- The out-of-network inpatient facility charges copay, including the copay for skilled nursing and mental health, is increasing from $200 to $500.
- The amount you pay each paycheck for medical plan coverage is increasing. Of those employees currently enrolled in medical coverage, approximately 60% will see a cost increase of less than $10 per paycheck. The chart below reflects the additional amount employees will pay each paycheck for medical coverage.
- The IRS HSA contribution limits are increasing by $50 for employee only coverage and $150 for family coverages: The IRS limits the amount that you and your employer combined can contribute to an HSA each year. If you have employee only medical coverage in 2020, the total amount you and your employer may contribute is $3,550 ($3,500 in 2019) and the limit is $7,100 ($7,000 in 2019) for all dependent coverage levels.
What’s Staying the Same
- The premiums you pay each paycheck for all other benefit plans (Dental, Vision, Supplemental Life, Spouse Life, etc.) are not changing.
- The following benefits will continue to be 100% paid by your employer: Basic Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, Business Travel Accident insurance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Short-Term Disability (STD) benefits.
- If you are currently enrolled in a medical plan with an HSA (2000 or 1350 (1400 Plan in 2020)), you may continue to use your current HSA debit card in 2020. You will not receive a new HSA debit card for 2020.
- If you are currently enrolled in a dental plan, you may continue to use your current Delta Dental ID card(s) in 2020. You will not receive a new dental plan ID card for 2020.
- If you enroll in the 2000 or 1400 Plan, you will again be eligible to earn an employer contribution to your Health Savings Account (HSA) of up to $400 for employee only coverage and up to $800 for employee + dependent(s) coverage upon the completion of two healthy actions. For more information, click here.
- Enrollees in the Core Plan will also continue to be eligible to reduce the plan deductible by completing two healthy actions. For more information, click here.
