Pitt Benefits

November 15th:

A Great Day to Quit…

…Smoking! November 15th marks the American Cancer Society’s 37th annual “Great American Smokeout.” The Great American Smokeout encourages smokers to use the date to develop a plan for quitting smoking or to plan in advance to quit smoking by that date.

Not only will “kicking the habit” keep more money in your wallet, but it certainly will lead to a reduction in your risk for various types of cancer, lung diseases, heart attacks, strokes and other health issues. Research has shown that smoking affects nearly every organ in the body. According to the American Cancer Society, “Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the U.S., yet more than 45 million Americans still smoke cigarettes.”

If you currently are using tobacco products and are choosing to quit, there are resources available to help you. You can speak with a tobacco cessation counselor at UPMC to develop a plan to quit by calling 1-800-807-0751. In addition, copayments for smoking cessation prescription medications can be reimbursed if you carry the University’s medical insurance and if you complete the UPMC smoking cessation counseling program.

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Downtown Employee Appreciation Shopping Event

The University of Pittsburgh is a member of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP), an organization that was developed by Downtown businesses, professionals, civic organizations, foundations and residents that creates and implements various programs to promote and enhance Downtown Pittsburgh.

The PDP has organized a holiday party that will be hosted by Downtown Macy’s on Tuesday, November 27, 2012, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. All faculty, staff and students are invited to attend the holiday party, where they will receive a coupon for a 25% discount off most Macy’s purchases. The party will include food, entertainment and raffles for fabulous prizes.

In addition, many Downtown restaurants will be offering dinner specials after the party. Please consider taking advantage of the great discounts and support the PDP.

Flexible Spending Account Reimbursement Deadline for 2011/2012 Plan Year

There is still a small window of time to submit claims for reimbursement if you have a remaining balance in your flexible spending account (FSA) from this last plan year, July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012.

If you participated in any of the University’s flexible spending accounts last plan year, and you are still employed with the University, you have until December 31, 2012, to submit claims for reimbursement. If a claim for reimbursement is not made by this deadline, any remaining funds in your account will be forfeited.

The chart on this page is a schedule of when claims can be incurred and reimbursed for each of the four types of flexible spending accounts offered by the University for this past plan year.

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All flexible spending plans are regulated by the Internal Revenue Service. Exceptions to the December 31, 2012, deadline are not permitted.

To find out if you have a FSA balance from the 2011-2012 plan year, access your account by following the steps below:

Log onto the University portal my.pitt.edu using your University username and password.
Click “My Resources” from the tabs on top of the page.
Select “UPMC Health Plan” from the drop down list.
Click the “My Health” link in the top right corner of the page.
Select the “Spending and Claims” tab, then the “Spending Accounts” button.
Make sure the 7-1-2011 to 6-30-2012 FSA Plan Period is selected.

You also can contact UPMC Health Plan at 1-888-499-6885 to obtain your balances from the last plan year. If you have an existing balance from the past plan year that is not reimbursed in the next few weeks, you will receive a balance statement and reminder at your home address from UPMC Health Plan.

In addition to viewing your account balances on the UPMC Health Plan web site, you also can: