University Times

The 3,500 staff and faculty members who buy vision insurance through Pitt will see their monthly premiums actually decrease next year by 4 percent overall.

For those who buy dental insurance through the University (likewise, about 3,500 people), the overall rate will go up by 1.4 percent.

The new rates will be in effect from July 1, 2000 through June 30, 2002.

Information on the plans and monthly rates that employees will pay for various coverage options (individual, two-person, family) will be mailed to employees later this month.

Currently, Pitt monthly rates for vision insurance range from $3.92 for individual coverage to $9.60 for family coverage. OptiChoice, a subsidiary of Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield, will continue to be the University's insurer.

Current monthly rates for dental insurance here range from $11.54 for individual coverage under the plan's managed care option to $40.06 for family coverage under the indemnity option. Another Highmark subsidiary, United Concordia Companies, Inc., provides Pitt's coverage.

Unlike employee medical insurance (which will cost Pitt about $26 million this year), the dental and vision plans cost the University nothing except for administrative expenses such as processing paperwork and explaining coverage options to employees.

Faculty and staff pay 100 percent of Pitt's dental and vision plan premiums. In return, employees get group rates that are lower than they would pay on their own for the same coverage.

— Bruce Steele