From: BROADCAST United Nations <broadcast-unitednations@un.org>
Sent: Thursday, 02 June, 2022 9:27 AM
To: Broadcast - ALL UN Secretariat <broadcast.all.un.secretariat@un.org>; Broadcast - Agencies, Funds and Programmes <broadcast-agencies-funds-and-programmes@un.org>
Subject: Make changes to your health insurance coverage in June 2022
The 2022 Annual Enrollment Campaign for all health insurance plans administered by the United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ) and United Nations Office in Geneva (UNOG) is being held from 1 to 30 June 2022.
During the annual enrollment campaign, eligible active staff have the opportunity to enroll, make changes to their existing coverage, add and remove eligible dependents or terminate their coverage in one of the following health insurance plans: Aetna, Empire Blue Cross, Cigna Dental, HIP Health Plan of New York, the UN Worldwide plan (UN WWP), and - for staff in Geneva - UNSMIS.
Detailed information can be found in the Information Circular: ST/IC/2022/9
What action is required from you during the Annual Enrollment Campaign?
Prior to enrolling or making changes to your insurance plan, please note that it is your responsibility to understand the benefits and limitations of each health insurance plan as well as respective premiums. To review the plan descriptions and access guidance material such as benefits comparison charts, we kindly refer you to the Health Plan Pages of the new HLIS website.
Before making changes, we would like to remind you to log in to the Umoja Employee Self Service (ESS) portal to confirm your present health insurance coverage and indicative data, such as spelling of names, mailing address, etc. by taking the following steps:
- Review your current health insurance participation status through Umoja ESS
- Log on to the ESS Portal
- Click the ‘Employee Self-Service SM’ tab
- Click Benefits & Payments
- Click ‘Confirmation Form’ in the Benefits sub-section
- View the Benefits Confirmation Statement, which will display in pdf format
- Review and update, if necessary, your mailing address through Umoja ESS
- Review your eligible dependents to ensure that they are properly reflected (i.e. spelling of names, date of birth, gender, etc.) in Umoja ESS
Please Note: Umoja allows you to print a confirmation form for your records. However, please also note that the 2022 Annual Enrollment Campaign will only be conducted through Umoja ESS during the month of June 2022.
If you are a staff member of another organization that is not included in Umoja (e.g. UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, UN WOMEN and UNOPS), you are required to submit an application form to your respective organization if you would like to request changes to your coverage during the Annual Enrollment Campaign.
The effective date for all changes made during the 2022 Annual Enrollment Campaign shall be 1st July 2022.
Should you enroll in a UN-administered health insurance plan?
During the campaign, eligible staff that are not yet enrolled in one of the above-mentioned plans may enroll in a plan of their choice, except for HIP which is a closed plan. While participation in a UN health insurance plan is not mandatory, the Health and Life Insurance Section (HLIS) strongly recommends that eligible staff members take this opportunity to carefully consider their family’s health insurance needs, as the campaign is the only opportunity to enroll or make desired changes without a qualifying event as reflected in the ST/IC/2022/9.
Please also note that, while it is not mandated by the UN, local legislation in your duty station may require you to be adequately insured. As a staff member, it is your responsibility to ensure that you and your family are sufficiently and adequately insured.
Are UN WWP plan participants adequately covered in the US?
If you are enrolled in the UN Worldwide Plan, please note that the plan coverage is not adequate if you and/or one or more of your eligible dependents intend to seek health care in the US. As the plan does not provide adequate coverage given the high cost of health care in the US, the HLIS strongly recommends that you enroll in a US-based plan during the Annual Enrollment Campaign since switching at a later date, in the absence of a qualifying event, will not be possible.
Where can you find more information?
During the Annual Enrollment Campaign, the HLIS will be facilitating virtual information sessions for staff to understand how to effectively navigate the Enrollment Campaign and understand the different options on the available UNHQ-administered health insurance plans:
Information Session on US-based plans: 9 – 10:30 am on 14 June (EST)
Information Session on UN WWP: 8 – 9 :30 am on 15 June (EST)
Information Session on UN MIP: 8 – 9 :30 am 16 June (EST)
Information Circular : ST/IC/2022/9
Information on websites:
For UNHQ-administered plans: https://www.un.org/insurance/
For UNOG-administered plan: https://medical-insurance.unog.ch