OPEN ENROLLMENT
Open enrollment for the City of Charleston’s Medical, Dental/Vision, Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA), Health Savings Account (HSA), and Supplemental Life Insurance ends May 15, 2025, with coverage beginning July 1, 2025. During open enrollment, you can make changes to your health, dental/vision plan, and supplemental life insurance. You can add, drop, or change coverage for yourself and your dependents without a qualifying event. You may also enroll in a flexible spending account or dependent care flexible spending account.
There are two ways to enroll or make changes to your medical benefits:
1. Electronic Enrollment: Visit the PEIA website at peia.wv.gov, select “Manage My Benefits,” and complete your enrollment. This can be done via smartphone or computer, or you can visit Human Resources for assistance.
2. Paper Enrollment: If you prefer to enroll by paper or contribute to your FSA/DCFSA/HSA, complete the applicable forms found at the City’s Open Enrollment website https://www.charlestonwv.gov/government/city-departments/human-resources/open-enrollment.
If you are enrolling for the first time or are adding new dependents it is important to note that all enrollments, either paper or electronic, will require submission of copies of marriage certificates, birth certificates, adoption decrees and/or court orders, where applicable. PEIA does not accept photos of legal documents, these will need to be scanned documents. Your enrollment will not be processed until those documents are received. ALL paper enrollment forms mentioned above, and any additional required documents must be faxed to (304) 348-8055 or emailed to joshua.thaxton@cityofcharleston.org or received in HR no later than May 9, 2025.
PEIA MEDICAL COVERAGE
PEIA has increased premiums for non-state agencies, the City will maintain a premium split between the City/Employee will be 80/20 for the 2026 plan year. There will be no spousal surcharge for City employees. In addition to premium increases, PEIA has also increased deductibles for both PEIA PPB plan A and plan C, as well as some copays for PPB Plan A. The new premium rates, deductible amounts, and the PEIA Shopper’s Guide for Plan Year 2026 are available on the open enrollment page. For those enrolled or enrolling in PEIA’s PPB Plan C, the City will continue to make monthly contributions to the Health Savings Account (HSA) based on the coverage level you enrolled in.
DENTAL/VISION
There are no changes to dental or vision coverage. Premiums have had a minimal increase, please see included premium rate sheet.
HEALTHCARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (FSA)
The Flexible Spending Account (FSA) allows employees to pay for eligible out-of-pocket health care expenses with pre-tax dollars. FSA participation requires re-enrollment each year. The maximum annual contribution for 2025 is $3300. The FSA plan will continue to utilize Benny Cards. Current FSA participants who intend to re-enroll should not discard their Benny Card, as your FSA contribution will be automatically loaded to your card. If you are unable to use your full election amount for claims incurred through June 30, 2026, participants will be permitted to carry over $660 to the next plan year. Any amount in your account above $660 must be used for qualifying expenditures on or before June 30, 2025, or it will be forfeited. The Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is not available for those who choose to enroll in PPB Plan C.
DEPENDENT CARE FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (DCFSA)
A Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) is a pre-tax benefit account used to pay for dependent care services while you are at work. Under this type of account, a dependent is defined as a child under 13 years of age and adult dependents who are unable to take care of themselves. Please keep in mind that dependents must live with you and be claimed as dependents on your tax return. Participation requires re-enrollment each year. The maximum annual contribution for 2025 is $5,000 if you are single or if you are married and filing a joint income tax return; if you are married and filing a separate income tax return, the maximum annual contribution is $2,500 per year/per parent.
If you are currently enrolled in the FSA or DCFSA plans and desire to continue participation, you must re-enroll by completing an enrollment form and returning it to Human Resources.
HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT (HSA)
A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a type of savings account that lets you set aside money on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualified medical expenses. The funds in the account can be used to pay for eligible medical expenses as well as deductibles, co-insurance, prescriptions, vision expenses, and dental care. An HSA must be used in combination with a High-Deductible Health Plan. Therefore, to be eligible to participate in the HSA, you must enroll or be enrolled in PPB Plan C. In addition to being enrolled in PPB Plan C, the employee cannot be covered by any other non-HDHP, such as that of a spouse, cannot be enrolled in Medicare, and cannot be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return. The maximum annual contribution limit for 2025 is $4300 for single coverage and $8550 for family coverage. HSA funds roll over year-to-year, and if you do not spend them, there is no "use it or lose it" penalty. An HSA may also earn interest or other earnings.
HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENTS (HRA)
Managing known health risk factors is one of the best methods to control current and future claim costs and out-of-pocket expenses. Employees and covered spouses are strongly encouraged to complete an HRA to help manage health risks. While it is no longer required, completing an HRA can help you take proactive steps to manage your health. If you choose to complete an HRA, you may schedule an appointment with the City’s Health and Wellness Clinic by visiting www.mypremisehealth.com or by calling 304-932-0107.
PREMISE HEALTH CLINIC
When visiting the clinic you must take your PEIA/UMR health insurance card to all appointments. If you are enrolled in Plan C, you are required to also take your HSA debit card to all clinic appointments in addition to your PEIA insurance card.
The clinic bills PEIA for all visits, but due to IRS regulations, only preventive services are covered at no cost for HSA-eligible plans. Non-preventive visits require you to pay out-of-pocket until your deductible is met. When visiting the clinic, Plan C members who have not satisfied their annual deductible will provide the clinic staff with their City funded HSA debit card to pay their applicable copay. All copays collected at the clinic will be applied toward the employee’s annual deductible. Once the plan deductible is satisfied, Plan C members will no longer be charged a copay when visiting the clinic. This IRS provision only applies to those enrolled in Plan C.
The following is the clinic copay structure for office visits:
Medical Office visit: $45
Extended Medical Office visit: $75
Routine Physical/Health Risk Assessment: $108 ($0 employee copay)
Payments made by PEIA/UMR along with the HSA payments are a crucial part of our clinic remaining available to our employees. Insurance payments and HSA payments directly support the operations of the clinic.
IMPORTANT REMINDER
While the information in this letter provides a summary of the changes effective July 1, 2025, the City of Charleston Open Enrollment webpage should be utilized to access a host of helpful resources. You may also obtain information by visiting the PEIA website at https://peia.wv.gov/active-members/Pages/default.aspx .
The Human Resources Department is committed to providing you with the resources and information you need to understand your benefits. If you have additional questions regarding open enrollment or the City’s benefit package, please contact Joshua Thaxton, Benefits Coordinator, at joshua.thaxton@cityofcharletson.org or April Thompson, Assistant Director of Human Resources, at april.thompson@cityofcharleston.org. You may also contact PEIA customer service with questions related to coverage and electronic enrollment at (304) 558-7850.