United Healthcare will be the new partner for employee medical benefits plan administration within the University of Missouri System beginning Jan. 1, 2016. The Board of Curators approved the change in a June meeting at the University of Missouri. United Healthcare replaces Coventry/Aetna.
Because the UM System is self-insured, the change will not affect covered benefits, deductibles, co-payments and co-insurance of employees.
The reason for the change is to provide the most competitive benefits at the best price for employees, said Betsy Rodriguez, vice president for human resources at the UM System. Officials made the change after an extensive Request for Proposal (RFP) process.
The university routinely conducts a competitive RFP process to ensure that the administrative fees, administrative services and network discounts associated with its current medical benefits plan are competitive in the market. Following initial RFP responses, the university invited qualified finalists to meetings and visited each provider to help determine which would be selected as the system’s long-term partner.
“United Healthcare demonstrated strong commitment and capabilities throughout the entire procurement process, and as such we believe their proposed offering aligns best with the long-term goals and strategies of the university as it relates to health-care administration and management,” Rodriguez said. While basic benefits for employees remain unchanged, the United Healthcare plan will offer a broader network than the current plan. Some of the claims currently out-of -the-network with Coventry will be in-network with United.
If you have questions, call the Human Resources Service Center at 882-2146, or email hrservicecenter@umsystem.edu.