University officials released more details on employees’ health insurance coverage Monday after staff members asked for more clear communication from administrators.
The new specifics of the health insurance policies for most University employees — which will eliminate pharmacy deductibles and establish a new network of labs aimed at saving money — follow a June announcement that the University would absorb any increase in health premiums past 3 percent for 80 percent of employees. Staff members in a town hall last month asked for University officials to be more upfront about changes to benefits.
Sabrina Ellis, the vice president for human resources, “will continue communicating about the changes through the fall open enrollment period,” the release said.
“These concepts are solutions that have been put in place by many organizations to control health care costs,” she said in the release. “They allow the University to take steps now that will reduce increases in the future.”
Employees first saw their benefits shift in September when University President Steven Knapp said that GW would roll back its tuition benefits this January, a move that would save the University about $750,000.
The decision to keep the premium increases at bay was one of several recommendations made by a benefits advisory committee created by Knapp last year after the University faced objections to scaling back tuition benefits.
