Columbia faculty and staff have the opportunity from now until Nov. 7 to change their health care and retirement benefits, consider enrollment in a new transit reimbursement program providing savings for commuters and a brand new point-of-service health care plan for officers. TWU employees can also enroll in an enhanced dental option this year.

To support individuals who are thinking through their benefits options, the Human Resources Department is sponsoring an annual Benefair, which convenes representatives from all health care and retirement programs available for faculty and staff. This year, Benefairs at the Morningside campus (10/27) and Health Sciences campus (10/29) also include in-depth seminars on many benefits options.

During the week of Nov. 1, question-and-answer forums will be offered at both the uptown and downtown campuses so that people can raise any unresolved questions they may have before they enroll. "Open enrollment time can be stressful in any year," said Colleen Crooker, vice president for Human Resources. "This year may be particularly difficult because our faculty and staff have been presented with new alternatives that require thoughtful analysis before selection. That is why we want to provide as many avenues as possible for people to get the answers they need."

The new Transit/Parking Reimbursement Program (T/PRP) offers savings for benefits-eligible Columbia employees who commute using mass transit or park as a part of a daily commute. The program allows employees to set aside (in a T/PRP account) the cost of commuter travel or parking expenses monthly before tax is withheld from income.

Employees can seek monthly reimbursement from their T/PRP account. The annual savings depends on the salary and use of the benefit. For an employee who earns $32,000 per year and uses the maximum mass transit reimbursement ($65/month), more than $240 in taxes will be saved for the year 2000. For those with a $48,000 annual salary who also use the maximum benefit more than $360 will be saved annually. Employees who park can receive more.

In addition to Oxford, Columbia now offers a new point-of-service health plan administered by CIGNA Health Care in collaboration with Columbia Cornell Care physician group or "CCC." The new plan will enable Columbia physicians to provide direct care for patients who are members of the Columbia community. Officers will also be able to choose from among the providers in CIGNA's own broad network of physicians. The new plan expands access to mental health practitioners through the addition of some 3,500 licensed mental health practitioners, considerably more than were available through Oxford. The CIGNA/CCC health plan was added to provide a greater choice of plans. It is also a response to employee concerns about doctors leaving the Oxford network, a limited list of mental health practitioners and difficulty with reimbursement for eligible out-of-network treatment.

A complete list of CCC physicians who are either participating currently or are in the application process for the CIGNA plan is available at www.hr.columbia.edu/hr Printed directories are available at Benefairs and Information Sessions and a Record supplement with a complete listing of CCC physicians will be published this week.

The deadline for Open Enrollment is Nov. 7. Individuals will receive confirmation of their benefits choices following enrollment. Corrections are accepted between Nov. 17 and Nov. 21. In addition to Benefairs and Q&A forums, the Human Resources website provides a substantial amount of information, including answers to the most frequently asked questions to date.

For more information call the staffed HR Open Enrollment Information Hotline at (212) 870-2620 or hrfss@columbia.edu or visit the Human Resources website at http://www.hr.columbia.edu/hr

Columbia Human Resources Benefairs are open to faculty and staff at the following locations:

• Oct. 27 at Lerner Hall, Morningside (9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)
• Oct. 28 at Lamont-Doherty (9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
• Oct. 29 at Health Sciences (9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.).

New Benefits Information Sessions will be held on the Morningside and Health Sciences Campuses: