Research Affiliate Postdoctoral Fellows

Non-employee, Research Affiliate - Postdoctoral Fellows in job code A010 have a few options when it comes to healthcare coverage for themselves and their eligible dependents.

Student Health Insurance Plan - AcademicBlue

The first option is to enroll in the medical, dental, and vision plans offered through the AcademicBlue Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).  All Research Affiliate - Postdoctoral Fellows are eligible to enroll in:

• The AcademicBlue SHIP Medical plan underwritten by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas provides comparable benefits to the university's employee medical plan, at a more fellow friendly price. 
• If you enroll in AcademicBlue SHIP, you may also choose to enroll in the BlueCare Dental plan.  BlueCare covers the most used preventive services, and by using its large network of participating dentists, you will save money on exams, cleanings, fillings, and crowns. For more information about the cost of BlueCare Dental, please visit the AcademicBlue SHIP Enroll/Cost webpage.
• Regardless of whether you enroll in the Academic Blue Medical plan, you may purchase an Individual Vision Care Plan offered through VSP.  VSP covers eyewear, contacts, and eyes exams at an affordable price from a large network of vision care providers. For more information, including coverage and cost, please visit the VSP Individual Vision Care Plan webpage.

Enrollment

To enroll in the student health insurance plans, please visit the AcademicBlue SHIP Enrollment webpage, and complete your enrollment by the enrollment deadline listed on the site. For additional information or questions, please refer to the AcademicBlue SHIP website or contact AcademicBlue SHIP Customer Service.

Research Affiliate - Postdoctoral Fellows Currently Enrolled in Employee Insurance Plans

If you are currently enrolled in any of the university's employee insurance plans, and you opt to enroll in AcademicBlue SHIP instead, you must take action to terminate your current coverage.  For additional information, please refer to our Change of Status webpage.

Employee Health Insurance Plan - UT Select

The second option is to enroll in the university's medical, dental, and vision plans.  To enroll in the employee plans, a Research Affiliate - Postdoctoral Fellow must be serving a postdoctoral fellowship with the sponsorship of a UT Austin faculty member.  

• UT Select Medical administered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas provides access to a broad Participating Provider Option (PPO) network of healthcare professionals.  Since Research Affiliate - Postdoctoral Fellows are not employees and do not receive premium sharing to offset the cost of their medical insurance, however, the cost of this plan may be prohibitively expensive, when compared to the cost of Academic Blue.  
• Regardless of which medical plan you enroll in, or whether you enroll in one at all, you may choose to enroll in any one of the university's three dental plans administered by Delta Dental:  UT Select Dental, UT Select Dental Plus, or DeltaCare USA.  For more information about UT Select and DeltaCare USA dental coverage and cost, please visit our Dental - Active Employee webpage.
• In lieu of purchasing an Individual Vision Care Plan, you may choose to enroll in one of the university's vision insurance plans: Superior Vision or Superior Vision Plus.  Both plans offer great benefits at an affordable price, and feature a large network of vision care providers. For additional information about Superior Vision plan coverage and cost, please visit our Vision - Active Employee webpage.

Enrollment

To enroll in the university's employee insurance plans, you must submit a completed Research Affiliate - Postdoctoral Insurance Request (Online) within 31 days of the start of your fellowship. When submitting a request you will be asked to upload an Affiliated Postdoctoral Fellow Sponsoring Faculty Form. Once you submit your request, it will route through the following workflow:

• Your form will be forwarded to Human Resources - Benefits.
• HR Benefits will review your request and ensure that you are participate in the employee group insurance plans.
  • If you are not eligible to participate, you will be notified via email.
• If you are eligible to participate, then HR Benefits will validate that you have a Research Affiliate - Postdoctoral job in Workday. 
  • If you do not have the correct job in Workday, then HR Benefits will contact your sponsoring department and ask them to create one for you.
  • You will be copied on the request to your department.
• Once your Research Affiliate - Postdoctoral job has been final approved, HR Benefits will ensure that you have completed onboarding.
  • To complete onboarding, log into Workday, click on your Inbox in the upper right hand corner, and complete any assigned tasks. For assistance with onboarding, please reach out to your sponsoring department's HR contact.
• Once you have completed onboarding, HR Benefits will add your eligibility to enroll in insurance, and you will receive an email inviting you to do so through My UT Benefits.

Changes to Employment or Family Status

Your enrollment in the university's employee insurance plans will continue for the duration of your fellowship. If there are any changes to the duration of your fellowship, you must contact the HRSC within 31 days of the date the changes were made. If your fellowship is extended, you must include proof in your message to the HRSC. If your fellowship ends early, your insurance will terminate at the end of the month in which your fellowship ends.

If you experience a qualified change of status event (marriage, birth, divorce, etc.), and you wish to make changes to your insurance, you must submit a Change of Status Request within 31 days of the event. If you fail to do so, your change of status will be denied.

Premiums & Payment

If you enroll in any of the university's employee insurance plans, the you must pay any premiums due by the first of each month. Failure to pay by the first of the month may result in cancellation of your insurance coverage.  The following table explains your payment options:

Questions

For questions about employee insurance eligibility and enrollment, please contact the Human Resource Service Center HR Portal.

For questions about employee insurance premium payment, please contact Payroll Services payroll@austin.utexas.edu.

For questions about your specific insurance coverage, please contact the perspective Insurance Provider.

Department Administrative Process

Resources regarding the creation of University Affiliate Positions can be found in ServiceNow AskUs. You may also contact the Workday Help Desk via email at askus@austin.utexas.edu (Tip: Put Workday in the subject line of your email), or by phone at (512) 471-8802.