Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to reflect upon your current benefit elections and make any needed changes for the upcoming year. During this period, you may add or remove eligible dependents, and change your benefit elections, with most changes going into effect on January 1, 2021.
With this year’s Open Enrollment period fast approaching, you may be reevaluating your current medical plan. Keep reading to learn more about GW’s medical plans and identify what questions to ask when deciding which plan to choose.
Medical Plan Options:
GW offers two medical plan options: GW Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) and GW Health Savings Plan (HSP). Both plans share the UnitedHealthcare (UHC) Choice Plus network, featuring more than 930,000 professionals*, 195,000 counselors and mental health practitioners**, and 5,600+ hospitals.
Both the GW PPO and the GW HSP allow you to visit your doctor of choice, with no requirements for selecting a Primary Care Physician to coordinate your care and no need to obtain referrals for specialty care. Both plans cover in- and out-of-network services (you pay less out-of-pocket for services received in-network), and include 100 percent coverage for in-network preventive care. Take a closer look at the coverage for some of the most common services provided under the GW PPO and GW HSP with this medical comparison chart (PDF).
2021 Deductibles (In-Network)
- GW HSP: $2,000 (individual) and $4,000 (family)
- GW PPO: $750 (individual) and $1,500 (family)
2021 Out-of-Pocket Maximums (In-Network)
- GW HSP: $4,000 (individual) and $8,000 (family)
- GW PPO: $3,000 (individual) and $6,000 (family)
Making Decisions
There are several factors that you may be thinking about when it comes to your medical plan. For example, would you prefer to pay less per paycheck but pay more out-of-pocket at the time of a medical service (your deductible for medical and prescription under the HSP), or pay more per paycheck and less out-of-pocket at point of service (under the PPO)? Remember, under both plans, you’ll pay less if you use providers that belong to the plan’s network.
