COVID-19 Benefits FAQ

The University has worked with Excellus BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS), the University’s medical benefit administrator, to expand coverage to include telehealth. Effective October 1, 2020, in most situations, your member cost-sharing is equivalent to the amount that you pay to see a provider in-person. You can take advantage of telehealth in two different ways:

• Telehealth provided by your physician’s office: If your health care provider, including behavioral health providers, offer virtual and telephonic options for care, eligible services will be covered under the health plan.
• Telehealth delivered through MDLIVE:  MDLIVE, a national telehealth provider, offers patients with 24/7 access to a network of board-certified doctors, pediatricians and licensed therapists that can treat over 50 non-emergency conditions, including providing behavioral health services, via a computer or mobile device.

Any questions on this benefit can be directed to our dedicated customer care team at Excellus BCBS at 800.493.0318 (TTY: 800.662.1220) Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. EST, and Friday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. EST or by email to: cc.select.dedicated@excellus.com.

MDLIVE follows guidelines from the CDC regarding appropriate screening for COVID-19. MDLIVE providers can provide the initial screening for COVID-19, but cannot currently order the specific laboratory test for COVID-19. MDLIVE provides patients with 24/7 access to a network of board-certified doctors, pediatricians and licensed therapists that can treat over 50 non-emergency conditions, including providing behavioral health services, via a computer or mobile device.

Your member cost for FDA-approved testing related services will be waived to ensure appropriate access to testing and diagnosis. This generally includes diagnostic tests, as well as in-network provider office visits, in-network urgent care visits and emergency room visits resulting in a medically necessary COVID-19 test. If an in-network provider is not available, the health plan will cover testing through an out-of-network provider at no cost to the member.

Any questions can be directed to our dedicated customer care team at Excellus BCBS at 800.493.0318 (TTY: 800.662.1220) Monday-Thursday: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. EST and Friday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. EST, or by email to: cc.select.dedicated@excellus.com.

OptumRx can be contacted 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 866.854.2945 (TTY: 711).  In addition, OptumRx has developed a detailed COVID-19 microsite that will assist individuals with questions regarding prescription drug coverage and other important information during this global health emergency.

Eligible faculty and staff are allowed to change their health and dependent care FSA elections for 2021 without having a qualifying family status change. Allowable changes must be on a prospective basis and include new elections, as well as increases or decreases to existing FSA elections. If an election is made to reduce the health care FSA contribution, the reduced contribution must be no less than claims that have already been reimbursed or approved for reimbursement. If you wish to make a change to your 2021 FSA election or have any questions, please contact HR Shared Services at hrservice@syr.edu.

• Contact your Senior HR Business Partners
• Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer, Andrew Gordon: 315.741.1618
• HR Shared Services: hrservice@syr.edu or 315.443.4042
• Carebridge Faculty and Staff Assistance Program: Licensed, credentialed counselors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year by calling 800.437.0911 (TTY: 711)
• Excellus BCBS: select.dedicated@excellus.com or 800.493.0318 (TTY: 800.662.1220)
• OptumRx: 866.854.2945 (TTY: 711)
• Excellus 24/7 Nurse Call Line for faculty or staff with University medical coverage: 800.493.0918 (TTY: 800.662.1220)
• MDLIVE: 866.692.5045 (TTY: 800.770.5531)

To help you navigate the ups and downs of the market, TIAA has published guidance on market volatility and is hosting a variety of webinars to help keep participants informed during these uncertain times. In addition, TIAA financial consultants are available to provide personalized financial planning services to eligible participants. To schedule a meeting with one of the University’s dedicated TIAA financial consultants, or for assistance with your account, contact TIAA at 855.842.CUSE (2873) (TTY: 800.842.2755) or sign up online.

Eligible participants who meet certain criteria may take a loan from either their Noncontributory Retirement Plan or Voluntary Retirement Plan accounts. Additionally, the Voluntary Retirement Plan and the 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan offer the ability to take a financial hardship withdrawal under certain circumstances.

To obtain more information on how to take a loan or withdrawal, TIAA financial consultants are available to provide personalized financial planning services to eligible participants. You may call TIAA directly at 855.842.CUSE (2873) (TTY: 800.842.2755), or begin the process online by logging into your TIAA account.

TIAA financial consultants are available to provide you with personalized financial planning services. For questions about options for repayment of your existing loan balance, please contact TIAA at 855.842.CUSE (2873) (TTY: 800.842.2755).

During this time we ask that you send an email to hrservice@syr.edu requesting a phone meeting to discuss the retiree benefits. Please include your SUID, potential date of retirement and available times for a phone call. A representative will contact you within 24 hours to schedule a meeting. If you are not looking to retire within the next three months we ask that at this time you wait to schedule a retiree meeting.

For general retirement information, please visit our dedicated webpages for retirees on the University's Human Resources' website.