State Health Plan Open Enrollment for 2014, originally scheduled to end Oct. 31, has been extended to Nov. 15. 

This provides all active and retired employees one final opportunity to change the State Health Plan option which they were automatically enrolled in. Members are urged to go ahead and finalize their decision no later than Oct. 31, since the system may be overloaded for those who delay until the final deadline.

All active employees and non-Medicare retirees were automatically enrolled in the PPO 70/30 for Plan Year beginning January 1, 2014. Members are encouraged to consider the new Enhanced PPO 80/20 which is available for as low as $13.56 per month by completing three tasks:

• Attesting to non-smoking of cigarettes or enrolling in smoking cessation
• Completing a Health Assessment
• Designating a Primary Care Provider

The Enhanced PPO 80/20 provides free annual wellness exams including age appropriate screenings for colonoscopies, mammograms, PAP Smears, PSA testing, bone density, and others. In addition if offers reduced copays for visits to your Primary Care Physician and specialists.

All Medicare retirees were automatically enrolled into State Health Plan Medicare Advantage Plans offered through Humana and United HealthCare, which should reduce out-of-pocket expenses.

Members who have not taken action as of Oct. 17 will be receiving a postcard in the mail later this week to inform them of this extension and to remind them to enroll.