2025 Employee Benefit Frequently Asked Questions

Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to update or choose the benefit options that best meet your needs for the upcoming year. Visit the benefits enrollment site to elect, make changes to, or waive your coverage. If you participate in the HSA or FSA, you must re-enroll each year.

Open Enrollment is November 1 – November 15. Enrollment for the next plan year begins at 8 a.m. on November 1 and ends at 5:00 p.m. on November 15. Elections made during open enrollment will be effective the following January 1st, the beginning of the next plan year.

For more information see the Quick Enrollment Guide.

Open enrollment is your opportunity to change your medical, dental, and/or vision options, add or remove dependents, enroll in a Flexible Spending Account or Health Savings Account, and enroll or cancel your participation in other voluntary products. During open enrollment, visit the benefit enrollment site.

Your benefit elections will carry forward from last year if you do nothing during open enrollment. However, you must enroll if you want to change your health plan option, contribute to a Health Savings Account, or participate in the flexible spending account (FSA) for dependent care and/or medical expenses.

You can always make multiple changes during open enrollment, as long as you complete the final plan change by the end of open enrollment. Outside of Open Enrollment, you can only make changes to your coverage if you have a life event that qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period.

No. Unless you make changes to your coverage, you should use your current insurance card.

If you have questions about open enrollment, please contact your campus Human Resources Office, the ASU System Office at 501-660-1003, or mybenefits@asusystem.edu.

There are three options: Classic Plan, Premier Plan, Health Savings Plan with Health Savings Account.

• The Classic Plan utilizes the Arkansas True-Blue PPO Network which primarily uses Arkansas Providers or providers in Memphis who are part of the Baptist network.
• The Premier Plan and Health Savings Plan use the National BlueCard Network which utilizes Arkansas providers as well as providers outside the state.
• All plans offer preventive care at 100 percent.

For more information see the 2025 Benefits Guide.

Visit the Arkansas Blue Advantage website.

You can find your EOBs or request a new ID card at www.blueprintportal.com/login.

You can contribute up to $3,300 into a Healthcare FSA for eligible health, dental, vision, or certain over-the-counter expenses. These expenses can be for you or your eligible tax dependents, whether or not they are covered on the health plan. You must re-enroll every year.

You can contribute up to $5,000 (per household) into a Dependent Care FSA for child and adult day care expenses for eligible dependent expenses that allow you and, if you are married, your spouse to work, but you must re-enroll every year.

Yes. The Classic Plan and Premier Plan may be paired with a health care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) that can be used for qualified medical expenses during the plan year. You choose the amount to contribute and then make pre-tax contributions up to the annual IRS limits. The funds in a health care Flexible Spending Account do not roll over from year to year.

No. Unless your current card has an expiration date in 2025, you should use your card until it expires.

For more information view the Optum Financial Plan FSA Document.

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a type of personal savings account you can set up to pay certain health care costs. An HSA allows you to put pre-taxed money away to pay for qualified medical expenses, like deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, and more. With an HSA-eligible plan, the monthly premium is lower, but you pay more out-of-pocket health care costs yourself before your plan starts to pay its share.

The annual maximum contribution for individual coverage is $4,300. The maximum contribution for family coverage is $8,550.

FSAs and HSAs both offer tax benefits and have annual contribution limits.

Funds in an HSA roll over year to year. There is no “use it or lose it” rule.

FSAs are "use it or lose it." That means you'll lose any funds you don't spend by the end of the grace period.

You can use your FSA to cover eligible healthcare costs at the start of the year. The entire amount is available on day one.

With the HSA, you cannot spend more than the funds deposited in their HSA. However, you can save receipts for qualified medical expenses and file for reimbursement after your balance has grown.

You can't contribute to an HSA and an FSA in the same year.

No. You are not required to contribute to the HSA.

ASU System will contribute $500 for employee coverage or $1,000 for family coverage if you are enrolled in the Health Savings Plan with Health Savings Account. Half of these health plan contributions will be deposited into the HSA in mid-January and half will be deposited in mid-August. Contributions for employees hired Jan. 1 - July 31, will be $250 for individuals and $500 for families. Employees hired Aug. 1 - Dec. 31 will not receive a contribution.

If you leave Arkansas State University, you won't lose your HSA. Your HSA and its funds, including the funds your employer contributed, are owned by you.

No. You're eligible to contribute to an HSA only if you are enrolled in the Health Savings Plan. If you are enrolled in the Classic or Premier Plan, you are eligible to contribute to the healthcare FSA.

Yes, you may use the money in your HSA to pay your spouse's or other eligible dependent's eligible expenses.

The dental provider is Blue Cross Blue Shield. There are two plans, Low and High.

Visit Arkansas BlueCross BlueShield's website to find a dental provider.

For more information view the benefit summary.

If you don't use all your dental benefits in a calendar year, Calendar Year Rollover lets you keep a portion of your unused benefit dollars for use in the future to help with unforeseen procedures. Rollover dollars don't expire, so your plan can increase in value over time. You can check your rollover balance online through the Blueprint Portal.

Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield's Dental Xtra program offers additional dental benefits at no extra cost when services are received at an in-network dentist. If you are covered under the Arkansas Blue Cross dental plan and have been diagnosed with an eligible condition, you can enroll in Dental Xtra to receive enhanced dental benefits that can help improve your condition.

Vision Service Plan (VSP) offers an annual exam with a $10 co-pay at VSP network physician as well as allowances for eyeglasses or contacts.

Visit VSP Vision Care's website to find a vision provider.

For more information view the benefit summary.

Employees and dependents covered under the Arkansas State University System's health plan utilize the pharmacy formulary that is managed by UAMS EBRx. Claims are processed through Medimpact.

All health plan options include Prescription Drug Benefit coverage, but costs apply differently, depending on which plan you choose.

If you are enrolled in the Classic or Premier Plan, in most cases you will pay a designated co-pay.

If you are enrolled in the Health Savings Plan, you will pay 100 percent until the deductible is met. Once the deductible is met, you will pay co-insurance until the out-of-pocket maximum is reached.

Visit Medimpact's website. To register, use the ID number on your medical card, but exclude the first three letters (XCU) or call 877-391-1099.

The ASU drug formulary or preferred drug list (PDL) identifies the drugs and drug categories covered by the Plan. The formulary classifies drugs into co-payment tiers. Medications that are not on the Formulary are not covered by the Plan and any cost associated with the drug would be the responsibility of the member.

Reference-based pricing is a cost-containment policy that applies to select drug categories where (1) little to no difference in clinical effectiveness exists and (2) significant differences in cost exist among products. In drug categories involving Reference-Based Pricing, The Plan's cost per unit (tablet, capsule, etc.) is the "reference price" and is applied across the specific category. For all other drugs in the category, the Plan will pay up to the "reference price" per unit and any remainder of the cost will be your responsibility. It is also important to know that out-of-pocket costs for reference-priced drugs are not applied to the pharmacy's maximum out-of-pocket limit.

Prior Authorization is a utilization management tool that helps ensure appropriate usage of certain medications and is an important feature in keeping the prescription drug benefit affordable. For drugs requiring prior authorization, the Plan has adopted coverage criteria developed by EBRx. Drugs that usually require prior authorization include those with a high potential for serious side effects, expensive, or potential for inappropriate use.

High-cost generic drugs are placed in the same tier as their equivalent brand until the cost of the generic drug decreases to an acceptable level. These generics will be identified on the Formulary list by (NG).

You can contact the EBRx call center at (833) 339-8402, Option 2. The hours of operation are Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm CST.