Benefit open enrollment is open. Make sure your benefits are current!
It's almost open enrollment time! The State of Ohio benefits open enrollment period runs May 11-24. This includes enrollment in and updates to health care coverage for state employees and those family members covered under their plan. Open enrollment for Union Benefits Trust (UBT) coverage for union-represented employees also runs during this time for dental, vision, the legal service plan, voluntary benefits, basic and supplemental life insurance.
Don't have any changes to make? You don’t have to do anything at all, but, as a word of advice, it's always important to double check to make sure your coverage is correct and up-to-date. This also includes checking that beneficiaries are up to date.
Health Care
Learn more about state health care open enrollment at DAS.Ohio.gov. Highlights include new and expanded medical benefits and a new Ohio EAP benefit manager, ComPsych. Employees can also enroll in or update the following coverages: prescription drug, behavioral health and wellness (Take Charge | Live Well) benefits. Employees will soon receive their MyBenefit Guide in the mail or can access it online HERE.
Enroll/update quickly and easily online:
- Log in to myOhio.gov.
- Click My Workspace.
- Under Self Service Quick Access, click MyBenefits.
- Click Benefits Enrollment.
Dental, vision and life
Thanks to the OCSEA members like you who have fought to build a strong union contract, union members are eligible for premium-free dental, vision and supplemental life insurance through the Union Benefits Trust (UBT). Open Enrollment for the union negotiated UBT is May 11-May 24. This includes coverage from July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024.
Don't have any changes to make to dental, vision or life? You don’t have to do anything at all, but it's always important to double check to make sure your coverage is correct and up to date. This also includes checking that beneficiaries are current. Please note, OCSEA union members who are new to state service are not eligible for enrollment in UBT dental and vision benefits until the first of the month following their one-year hire anniversary date. However, new state employees who are union CAN enroll in the supplemental life insurance benefit and the legal service plan immediately upon being hired by the state.
Enroll or update your UBT benefits by May 24. Get all you need to know about Open Enrollment at benefitstrust.org. Or, check out the UBT Open Enrollment Guide HERE (look for it in your home mailbox too!).
From your Joint Health Care Committee
The Open Enrollment period is an important time for the union because we've fought to maintain and protect these benefits for 30 years. That's why OCSEA is diligent about making sure members know what is available to them during the enrollment timeframe. Over the years, union members negotiating the OCSEA Contract have worked hard to provide health care options. Two of the three health plans offered by the State of Ohio are negotiated by the union: the Ohio Med Narrow Network Plan and the Ohio Med PPO. The high deductible plan IS NOT negotiated by the union, but is still given as an option. Additionally, the Union Benefits Trust benefits are bargained and maintained directly by union members.
"As a union, OCSEA wants members to know that they do have choices when it comes to their health care. That's why it's so important that we spread the word and make sure we all get educated about these options available to us and decide what plan is best for each of us and our families," said OCSEA activist and Joint Health Care Committee member Matt Tyack who is employed at the Industrial Commission.
Nationwide, a union voice is still very powerful when it comes to securing and protecting essential health care benefits for members. An astonishing 94 percent of union workers have access to employer-sponsored health care benefits, as compared to just 68 percent of nonunion workers. Being union has real value, and affordable health care over a lifetime is proof right there!