Purdue trustees approve 2025 health plans with modest employee premium increase

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - With an emphasis on the sustainability of world-class health plans and flexibility for employees, the Purdue UniversityBoard of Trustees on Friday (Aug. 2) approved 2025 health plans, which will have a modest employee premium increase. The plans for 2025 align with the university's strategic approach to health care and the Healthy Boiler Wellness Program, and they were designed as part of Purdue's ongoing goal of improving population health.

The university will continue to fund 90%-plus of premiums and 75% of total costs.

The overall university cost increases will continue to be significantly less than the national average. According to data from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the national average for university health care has grown nearly 6% annually since 2017, while Purdue has seen an average increase of only 1.6% annually. Had Purdue's health care costs increased at the national rate, employees would have spent an additional $72.4 million on health care from 2016-23.

Since 2017 Purdue has implemented 100% of the Lockton national benefits survey recommendations to optimize costs. These include expanding Center for Healthy Living services, reducing administrative costs, direct agreements with preferred providers, and concierge tools and navigators for prescription drugs and cancer treatment.

All wellness programs, as well as telehealth and health care navigation, are available virtually to all members to remove access limitations. Over 4,200 Purdue employees are engaged in HealthSync, a groundbreaking network of high-performing health care providers dedicated to personalized, value-based care.

Population health has been a focus since 2017 as well, when Purdue launched the Healthy Boiler incentive program, which provides financial incentives to employees and their spouses who complete their annual physical, biometrics and other wellness activities. In 2023, 62% of employees and covered spouses completed their annual physical, the highest completion rate since the Healthy Boiler incentive program began. The completion rate was 39% in 2017. There also has been a significant increase in mammograms (73% in 2023 vs. 52% in 2017) and colonoscopies (65% in 2022 vs. 28% in 2018).

"No employer has done more to tackle the underlying cost of health care for all plan participants than Purdue, but national and local headwinds are strong," said Chris Ruhl, Purdue executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. "Pharmacy and dental, specifically, are posing challenges for employer health plans."

Highlights of the 2025 health plan updates:

• Set a modest premium rate increase for employees and long-term disability members that will impact employees and their families between 11 cents and $8.11 per month, depending on medical salary tier, plan election and coverage level.
• Set a modest increase in medical plan deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums on all three consumer-driven health plans to meet IRS requirements while continuing to create differentials among the three plan offerings and within network tiers.
• Offset the modest deductible and out-of-pocket maximums by increasing the Healthy Boiler incentive for employees ($100) and covered spouses ($100).
• Expand the current Carrum Health partnership to include total hip and knee replacements, and spine and bariatric surgeries, through its network.
• Renew the Delta Dental contract with a premium increase for 2025 and premium hold for 2026. Purdue will continue to provide preventive dental at no cost to employees and will cover the preventive cost portion of the two other plan options. The increase will be spread over all three plan options, with the two buy-up plans absorbing a higher portion of the increase.
• Replace the Indiana Aggregate Prescription Purchasing Program contract with CVS Caremark with a transparent AffirmedRx contract for non-specialty medications.
• In partnership with AffirmedRx, develop and implement the diabetes and obesity management program at the Center for Healthy Living.

The board also approved these additional measures to align increased utilization and higher costs:

• The surcharge for tobacco users enrolled in medical plans will increase by $250.
• To maintain eligibility for working spouses to access the Purdue medical plans, the surcharge for enrolled spouses who do not enroll in their employer's health plan will increase by $125 (lower medical tier) and $250 (higher medical tier).
• Premium rates for early retirees will increase by 5% - affecting approximately 300 early retirees who are on medical plans.

Employees will begin to receive information related to open enrollment 2025 via email the week of Aug. 5. Communication will continue to focus on members engaging with health care and more fully taking advantage of the various benefit programs Purdue offers.

Open enrollment for 2025 will begin Oct. 29 and continue through 6 p.m. ET on Nov. 12. Support will be available via presentations, one-on-one counseling, an online guide and a dedicated website. Employees are encouraged to evaluate all medical plan options and other benefits to ensure that they are selecting the best option for themselves and their family.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue's main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap - including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative - at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

Writer: Tom Schott

Source: Candace Shaffer, associate vice president, Benefits and Payroll

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