February Benefits News

February Webinars

Healthy In & Out: Maximizing Immune Health

TouchCare Webinar (live) | Wednesday, February 15 at 8 a.m. Alaska

Since 2020, there's been a huge focus on immune health. 1 in 5 Americans have tried a new service or treatment to support their immune health such as incorporating a healthy diet & exercise, IV therapy, vitamins & supplements, and more. But which of these are the most effective strategies to support our immune system? Join TouchCare to discuss the do's and don't of maintaining an optimized immune system.

Recipe for Successful Aging

TouchCare Webinar (recorded)

TouchCare brought in Manisha Parulekar, M.D, FACP, AGSF, CMD from Hackensack Meridian Health. Dr. Parulekar shared helpful tips on how we can successfully adapt to the changes that come with aging.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Training with Unum

Unum hosted an FMLA training for all employees, supervisors, and HR Coordinators on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Alaskan. This training went over new changes to the FML process and gave an opportunity for a Q&A. A recorded version of the training can be found on our FML Training website.

Resources & Reminders

Electronic Explanation of Benefits (EOB)

The University of Alaska would like to remind employees that electronic EOBs are available for all our UA Choice Plan members. This is your opportunity to go paperless for your EOBs - saving time and money!

You can sign up for electronic EOBs with Premera. Enrolling is easy:

  1. Log into your premera account at premera.com

  2. Click on “my account” in the upper right corner and select “account settings”

  3. In the “Preferences” box, switch the Paperless Explanation of Benefits (EOB) to “on”

  4. Enjoy more room in your mailbox!

There are several benefits for enrolling in the electronic EOBs:

  1. All your EOBs will always be in one place. You can log into your secure Premera account and view current or previous EOBs. This makes referencing your documents a breeze. 

  2. You will receive an email notification anytime a new EOB is generated and ready for you to access online. Always know when EOBs are complete.

  3. You will have immediate access to completed EOBs (both current and past). No more waiting for EOBs to come via mail.

  4. Enrolling in electronic EOBs will help the university mitigate administrative costs on our health care plan.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

The University of Alaska offers an EAP through ComPsych. The program provides confidential emotional support, legal guidance, financial guidance, and work-life guidance. The service is available whenever and wherever you need it. These services are free, completely confidential, and can be easily accessed by calling the 24/7 toll-free helpline at 1-888-969-0155. The benefit is extended to anyone living in your household, too. More information can be found on our EAP website.

LifeWorks

The University of Alaska has partnered with Securian to provide LifeWorks to UA employees. Many services provided by this program are free of charge and include financial, legal, and grief counseling services. More information can be found on our LifeWorks website.

TouchCare

TouchCare is our third party patient advocacy program available to all UA employees free to charge. TouchCare can help you determine what plan(s) work best for you and your family, assist with billing questions, finding in-network providers, cost-comparisons, price transparency, and more. More information can be found on our TouchCare website.

Additional Premera Programs

Premera offers several additional programs to UA employees enrolled in a UA choice plan. We have telehealth providers, mental and behavioral health programs through TalkSpace and Brightline, substance use disorder assistance through BoulderCare and WorkIt Health, and diabetes and hypertension management through Livongo. To learn more about these additional programs and see if you qualify, please review our Additional Premera Programs website.

General Wellness Activities

We have a calendar of events at the bottom of our wellness program page. These are local events that you can participate in - and possibly earn points for the program. Review the calendar and program details on our wellness website. For questions on the program, reach out to Victoria Carver at victoria.c@zomohealth.com.

Stay up to date!

Review the benefit news website to stay up to date on all benefits news.

If you have any questions, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu.