Faculty & Professional Administrative Staff

Open Enrollment for benefit-eligible faculty and professional administrative staff begins Monday, November 3, 2025 through Friday, November 21, 2025.  No other changes to the 2026 plan year can be made after Open Enrollment unless you experience a qualifying life event.

UPDATES FOR 2026

• 2026 Rates: Medical premiums overall are increasing 9.7% with UNC absorbing the larger share of the increase.
  • Employees enrolled in the Blue Advantage HMO/POS plan and Prime Blue Priority PPO plan will see a 4.7% increase.
  • Employees enrolled in the High Deductible Health Plan will see a 10% increase.
    • There are no changes to Dental and Vision plan premiums.
• Plan Design: Please refer to our 2026 CHEIBA Guide and Multi-Plan Benefit Summary for details regarding plan design changes. Notable changes include the following: 
  • Employees enrolled in the Blue Advantage HMO/POS plan will be responsible for 10% coinsurance after meeting their deductible (previously no coinsurance for in-network care).
  • Employees enrolled in the Prime Blue Priority PPO plan will see coinsurance increase from 15% to 20% for in-network care.
  • Out of pocket maximums for all three plans will increase. In-network providers will increase to $3,750 indivdual/$7,500 family while out-of-network providers will increase to $7,500 individual/$15,000 family.
  • Employees enrolled in the Blue Advantage HMO/POS plan and Prime Blue Priority PPO plan will see copay increases for prescriptions that fall under Tiers 2, 3, 4, and 5. 
    • • 2026 Blue Advantage HMO/POS Summary of Benefits & Coverage
      • 2026 Prime Blue Priority PPO Summary of Benefits & Coverage
      • 2026 2500 High Deductible Health Plan Summary of Benefits & Coverage
• Benefit Advocacy Center: The Benefit Advocacy Center is an expanded program that will assist enrolled employees with questions surrounding claims, coverage, prescription drug benefits, and plan design. The Benefit Advocacy Center replaced our previous advocate liaison, PAL as of October 29, 2025. Contact BAC directly Monday through Friday from 9:00am MST to 7:00pm MST via phone: 844-931-1174 or email: bac.cheiba@ajg.com.  
• Introducing Employee Navigator: Since 2022, Maxwell Health was the online portal used at UNC for updating benefits enrollments for professional administrative staff and faculty. Due to the sunsetting of Maxwell Health in 2026 as a benefits platform, UNC moved over to a new benefits platform this fall--Employee Navigator. Like Maxwell, Employee Navigator will be used as an enrollment and change portal for employee benefits. With both portals sharing many similarities, it is our goal for this change to be a seamless transition for all. Employee Navigator is an excellent tool for employees that will allow you to review your elections at any time, update beneficiaries for your enrolled life insurance policies, easily make updates during life events, and more.
  
  • How It Works: On November 3, you will receive a registration link from Employee Navigator requesting you to create a username and password. Once on the site, you will be able to review your current profile information, beneficiaries, and update your elections for 2026. Even if you do not have updates for your 2026 elections and do not want to enroll in a FSA (Flexible Spending Account) or HSA (Health Savings Account) for 2026, it is highly recommended that you still register your account to familiarize yourself with our new benefits platform. 

What Changes Can I Make During Open Enrollment (11/3/2025-11/21/2025)? 

• Update elections in Employee Navigator:
  • Change medical/dental/vision enrollment.
    • Self-only dental enrollment is required with any medical plan enrollment.
  • Enroll in ancillary coverage through SunLife: Additional Voluntary Term Life & AD&D, Hospital indemnity, Accident, and Critical Illness. 
  • Add/remove dependents. 
    • Documents required when adding dependents (enrollment completed in Employee Navigator, documents submitted to kylee.legino@unco.edu) by January 31, 2026:
      • Spouse = Copy of marriage certificate or civil union certificate + financial/utility document dated within last 60 days with both names - or - redacted previous year's tax return.
      • Children = Copy of birth or adoption certificate.
  • Enroll/continue enrollment in a Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
    • Enrollment is not passive, meaning employees must re-enroll each year to continue this benefit.
      • Medical FSA 2026 limit: $3,400. Please note that medical FSA’s have a “use it or lose it” provision, allowing you to carryover up to $660 of unused money from 2025 into the 2026 plan year. The carryover limit for 2026 into 2027 is $680. All other unused funds will be forfeited if not claimed by April 15, 2027 for expenses incurred from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
      • Dependent Care FSA 2026: $7,500 per household. Dependent Care FSA's do not have a carryover provision.
  • Enroll/continue enrollment in the Health Savings Account (HSA).
    • Like the FSA, enrollment in the HSA is not passive, meaning employees must re-enroll every year to continue this benefit. Enrollment in the HSA is only permitted if you are enrolled in the High Deductible Health Plan. HSA’s are optional and you do not need to enroll if you are enrolled in the HDHP. UNC does not contribute to HSA’s and the maximum an employee can contribute in 2026 is $4,400 for employee-only contributions and $8,750 for family contributions. You must be enrolled in a family medical plan to be able to contribute up to the family maximum for your HSA. Unlike the FSA, HSA’s do not have a “use it or lose it” provision and contributions can be changed during the plan year without a qualifying event.
• Switch medical/dental/vision premiums from pre-tax to post-tax (and vice versa): To make this change, please submit the Section 125 pre/post-tax form to kylee.legino@unco.edu.
• ORP vendor change: To change your ORP vendor, please complete UNC’s retirement plan election form and return it to kylee.legino@unco.edu via email or in-person at Carter Hall, room 2002. This form does not automatically roll your funds over from your previous vendor to your new vendor. To do this, you must work with both vendors to process an in-service rollover.

Anthem 2026 Open Enrollment Presentation 

EVENTS

Upcoming Retirement Vendor Campus Visits

• Corebridge -- Lalani Jensen and Craig Fischer, UNC's Corebridge Financial Advisors, will be on campus for drop-in consultations between 1:00pm and 4:30pm in Carter, Room 1001 on the following dates:
  
  • December 4, 2025
  • February 5, 2026
  • March 5, 2026
  • April 2, 2026
  • May 7, 2026 
    • Workshops will be held these dates from 12:00pm-12:45pm before drop-in consultations begin. Register here to reserve your spot!
• TIAA - Brandon Dyson, UNC's TIAA Financial Consultant, will be on campus for consultations on Friday, November 21 from 9:00am to 5:00pm in Carter Hall, Room 1001. Schedule your appointment here!
  • • Availability is limted. Register here to meet with Brandon virtually if a different date works better for you.

Upcoming Webinars & Workshops

• Corebridge - Click here to register for a workshop hosted by our Corebridge Financial Advisors, Lalani Jensen and Craig Fischer.
• TIAA - Click here to register for an upcoming webinar and have access to previous recorded webinars.

2025 Benefits

• Leave Programs

  For specific information about UNC's leave benefits, please visit our Leave Program page. 

• Three Medical Plans
  • The Blue Advantage HMO/POS is an HMO (Health Maintenace Organization) plan within the state of Colorado and acts as a POS (Point of Service) plan outside of Colorado. The plan contains a $500 individual/$1,000 family deductible for facility services only (excluding Emergency Room and Urgent Care visits). The out-of-pocket maximum is $3,500 individual/$7,000 family. This plan primarily consists of co-pays for in-network providers.
    **Click to view the Blue Advantage HMO/POS - 2025 Summary of Benefits and Coverage **
  • The PRIME Blue Priority PPO contains a $600 individual/$1,200 family deductible with a $3,500 individual/$7,000 family out-of-pocket maximum. Once the deductible is met, coinsurance is 15% for covered services.
    **Click to view the PRIME Blue Priority PPO - 2025 Summary of Benefits and Coverage**
  • The 2500 High Deductible Health Plan contains a $2,500 individual/$5,000 family deductible with a $3,500 individual/$7,000 family out-of-pocket maximum. Once the deductible is met, coinsurance is 15% for covered services. This is the only medical plan compatible with UNC’s Health Savings Account.
    **Click to view the 2500 HDHP - 2025 Summary of Benefits and Coverage** 

  To see a side-by-side comparison of the three plans, visit the CHEIBA 2025 Multi-Option Summary. 

• Prescription Drug Coverage

  Prescription drug coverage has five tiers:

  • Tier 1: Generic
  • Tier 2: Preferred Brand
  • Tier 3: Non-Preferred Brand
  • Tier 4: Specialty Preferred
  • Tier 5: Specialty Non-Preferred

  Anthem PreventativeRx List

  To help determine your cost for your prescriptions, you can view your Essential Formulary via BeneCenter or Anthem's website.

• Dental Plan 
  • To find in-network providers on anthem.com, please search under the “Dental Complete” network.
  • Employees must be enrolled in at least self-only coverage if enrolled in a medical plan.
  • In-network deductible is $0 individual/$0 family.
  • Cleanings for adults will be limited to the industry standard of two per year with exceptions for those who are pregnant or have specific medical conditions.

  Anthem Dental Essential Choice PPO - 2025 Summary of Benefits and Coverage

• Vision Plan
  • To find in-network providers on anthem.com, please search under the “Blue View Vision” network.
  • Annual vision exams result in a $15 copay but are then covered at 100% for in-network providers every 12 months.
  • Annual allowances for materials, frames, and lenses can be found in the 2025 CHEIBA Benefits Guide.

  Anthem Blue View Vision - 2025 Summary of Benefits and Coverage

• Anthem Insurance Cards

  New insurance cards were not issued in 2025 due to no changes in deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. Insurance cards are provided to each member and their dependents. Your insurance card will contain your medical, pharmaceutical, dental, and vision information. You can use your member ID found on your insurance card to create an account on Anthem.com or to download Anthem’s app, Sydney. By having an account, you will be able to easily access your digital insurance card, view claims, keep track of spending, look up providers, and have access to various resources.

• Wellness Program

  Anthem’s Wellness Reward Program allows members and their legal spouses enrolled in one of UNC’s medical plans to earn wellness incentives of up to $225 a plan year by completing specific wellness activities. To learn more about accessing these rewards, please review Anthem's Wellness Reward Guide.

• Infertility Coverage

  In 2023, an addition to your medical plan was diagnosis and treatment of infertility coverage as a result of the passing of Colorado House Bill 22-1008.  Limitations apply. Please review the summaries of benefits & coverages in BeneCenter for additional information.

  For more information, please visit HB22-1008. 

Enrollment Process via Employee Navigator

Effective August 1, 2025, UNC transitioned from Maxwell Health to a new benefits enrollment platform: Employee Navigator. Via Employee Navigator, you are able to quickly shop for benefits, set up profile information, and designate your beneficiaries for your life insurance plans with UNC.  Profile information and beneficiary information may be updated at any time throughout the plan year. Should you experience a life event or profile change, please contact Kylee Legino at kylee.legino@unco.edu as soon as possible to have your Employee Navigator portal opened for changes. Most qualifying event windows are 31 days from the date of the event to make changes. If your life event window is missed, the next opportunity to update your elections is during Open Enrollment in November with changes effective January 1 of the following plan year.