Effective January 1, 2012, postdoctoral scholars who choose to enroll in the HMO or PPO medical, dental and vision plans will have their insurance premiums covered in full by the sponsoring department, excluding the postdoctoral scholars’ required monthly premium contributions. Coverage will include the postdoctoral scholar and any eligible family members. The new policy will provide the same level of coverage to all postdoctoral scholars at UCLA.
Currently, UCLA policy mandates that postdoctoral scholars who are paid wages through the payroll system (title code 3252) receive employer-paid healthcare benefits for themselves and their family members. For the approximately 20% of postdoctoral scholars who are supported by fellowships (title code 3253) or are “paid directs” (title code 3254), the employer is not required to pay for family member coverage, although most do.
Many grants, such as NRSAs, already provide resources for these health benefits costs. It is recommended that departments/programs identify funds for any costs not covered by the source of compensation. Options may include other funds available to the Principal Investigator (PI) or various types of departmental funds. All units are encouraged to develop a pool of funds that would be available across the department, division, or school to cover any costs that cannot be covered by funds available to individual PIs.
Information about the new policy will be included in the Postdoctoral Scholar Benefits Plan (PSBP) Open Enrollment workshops. For more information, see Related Information.
Campus Human Resources, Benefits Services
Phone: (310) 794-0830 | Fax: (310) 794-0835
