Your Top Open Enrollment Questions

The MSU Benefits Open Enrollment period takes place in October each year and is your annual opportunity to enroll in, change, or cancel your benefit selections for the upcoming year. As you review your options for the 2024 plan year, take note of the following answers to the most common questions we’ve received so far from benefits-eligible employees. As a reminder, MSU Human Resources staff will be available at the MSU Benefits Fair this week on October 12 and at HR Site Labs on October 18, 24, and 31 to help with enrollment and questions.

Do I need to do anything during Open Enrollment?

This depends on your family’s benefit needs for the coming plan year. Please review the true/false statements on page 6 in the appropriate open enrollment guide to help you determine if you need to take any action during the Open Enrollment period. If you answer true to any of the statements, you must take action by October 31.

Did I do Open Enrollment correctly?

Completing Open Enrollment Online: Most employees will complete Open Enrollment online through the EBS Portal. After completing enrollment, you will receive an email confirmation statement. Review the confirmation statement to validate that your plan elections are correct. If your elections look correct, you have completed open enrollment successfully. If you would like to make any changes, you can go back through the open enrollment application in the EBS Portal until October 31 and review the confirmation statement received after making the desired changes.

Completing Open Enrollment via Email/Mail: If you submitted an enrollment/change form via email or mail, you can log in to the EBS Portal, select My Benefits on the top navigation, click on Current Benefit Participation, and preview your benefit confirmation statement to validate your plan elections. If your elections look correct, you have completed open enrollment successfully. If you would like to make changes, you can submit a new enrollment form by October 31 and review the confirmation statement received after making the desired changes. Please allow 3–5 days for the delivery of the U.S. mail. Once received, your enrollment elections will be completed within 7–10 business days.

Is there anything new for the 2024 benefit plan year?

Yes! Please review page 5 in the appropriate Open Enrollment guide to learn what’s new and notable for the 2024 plan year:

What is the Spouse/Other Eligible Individual (OEI) Affidavit and why do I need to complete this?

If you wish to cover a spouse/OEI on your benefits for the 2024 plan year, you MUST complete the affidavit as part of the Open Enrollment process in October. Find instructions to complete the affidavit as part of Open Enrollment.

The Spouse/OEI Affidavit is a form of documentation that states whether your spouse/OEI has access to health care coverage through their own current or former employer that is at or under an annual premium threshold. The premium threshold for the 2024 plan year is $1,500. This means if your spouse/OEI has access to single-person coverage for $1,500 or less annually from their own employer, they must enroll in their own employer’s health coverage.

You may still cover your spouse/OEI on your MSU health plan as a dependent, but the coverage through MSU will be considered secondary and their employer’s coverage will be primary. This is done through a process called “coordination of benefits,” which allows a person to be covered by two different health care plans. Please note that not all health plans coordinate, and you must reach out to each health care vendor to confirm coordination.

Learn more about what “coordination of benefits” means, why MSU requires a spouse/OEI affidavit, and how to complete the affidavit correctly on the Open Enrollment FAQ webpage.

Did I complete the Spouse/OEI Affidavit correctly?

Completed Affidavit Online: Most employees will complete the Affidavit online as part of the Open Enrollment process in the EBS Portal. After you complete enrollment, you will receive a benefit email confirmation statement. You must complete and save all the Open Enrollment prompts in the EBS Portal to receive a confirmation statement; you cannot simply answer the affidavit and exit the portal. Find instructions to complete Open Enrollment online. To verify you have completed the affidavit successfully, review the affidavit reply date on your benefit email confirmation statement under the Health Plan Affidavit section. If the date listed is within the Open Enrollment period (October 1-31), you have completed the affidavit successfully.

Completed Affidavit via Email/Mail: If you were mailed the open enrollment guide and you submitted the affidavit via email or mail, you can log in to the EBS Portal, select My Benefits on the top navigation, click on Current Benefit Participation, and preview your benefit confirmation statement to validate the affidavit reply date. If the date is not updated, please contact the HR Solution Center at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434 (toll-free 800-353-4434) to verify receipt. It may take 7-10 business days to show an updated affidavit reply date.

How do I answer the Spouse/OEI Affidavit if my spouse/OEI also works for MSU?

If your Spouse/OEI works for MSU in a benefit-eligible position, you are not required to complete the spouse/OEI affidavit since eligibility is already in our system.

Please note: MSU only allows coverage under one health care plan per eligible employee. You have two options if you and your spouse/OEI both work at MSU:

You can both have your own plans OR
You can have one plan with one of you listed as a dependent.

You may wish to cover the entire family on one plan to reduce your employee premium contributions.

Should I enroll in the new Delta Dental PPO Premium plan option? Which dental plan is the best option?

Your Open Enrollment guide (support staff or faculty/academic staff) will give you an overview of the 2024 plan year dental options, coverage charts, and monthly premiums to help you determine which plan is right for your family.

We also encourage you to attend one of the Delta Dental presentations during the MSU Benefits Fair to learn more and ask questions about the new plan. Delta Dental will be presenting on October 12 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. and again from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Breslin Student Events Center.

Visit the Dental page on the HR website to find more information and resources, including a Delta Dental Cost Modeler tool to help you determine which Delta Dental plan is more cost-effective.

I don’t see my vision coverage on my MSU email confirmation statement. How do I enroll in, make changes, or cancel voluntary benefits, such as vision, legal, or critical illness insurance?

Voluntary benefits – such as vision, legal, and critical illness insurance, among others – are administered directly through a vendor called MSU Benefits Plus (not MSU) and so do not appear on your MSU benefit email confirmation statement.

You may enroll in voluntary benefits through the MSU Benefits Plus website. You will receive an email confirmation statement from MSU Benefits Plus after completing enrollment. If you are already enrolled in voluntary benefits (such as vision) and wish to continue your coverage, no action is needed. If you wish to add new coverage, make changes, or cancel existing coverage, please visit the MSU Benefits Plus website. You may also log in to the MSU Benefits Plus website to confirm which benefits you are already enrolled in. Please contact MSU Benefits Plus at 888-758-7575 with any questions.

We hope this helped to answer some of your Open Enrollment questions! Please visit the HR website to find all Open Enrollment information and resources, including additional Op e n Enrollment FAQs. We hope to see you at the MSU Benefits Fair on October 12 from noon to 7:00 p.m. at the Breslin Student Event Center, or at an HR Site Lab on October 18, 24, or 31.