View Larger Image Last November, employees at all UA campuses who carry the system’s medical insurance were required to complete a Tobacco Pledge.

Update on Tobacco Pledge, Wellness Steps to Take This Year

By Yavonda Chase

| Last November, employees at all UA campuses who carry the system’s medical insurance were required to complete a Tobacco Pledge. Those who answered either that they did not use tobacco, or used tobacco but would enroll in a cessation program, avoided an additional tobacco surcharge.

The surcharge is a $50 deduction if you are paid monthly, $23.08 if you are paid bi-weekly.

Following is a summary of the responses made by UAMS employees and how those responses will affect paychecks. There are 8,858 UAMS employees who carry the UA medical insurance.

  • 8,112 (almost 92 percent) stated they do not smoke or use tobacco products. They avoided the tobacco surcharge.
  • 252 (almost 3 percent) stated they currently use tobacco, but were willing to enroll in a tobacco cessation program by January 2019. They also avoided the tobacco surcharge. Click here to see a list of cessation programs at UAMS and throughout the community.
  • 54 (less than 1 percent) stated they currently use tobacco and would not participate in a tobacco cessation program. They will have the tobacco surcharge deducted from their paychecks starting Jan. 31, if paid monthly, or Feb. 1, if paid bi-weekly.
  • 440 (5 percent) did not take the pledge. They will also pay the tobacco surcharge.

Employees who fell into the last two categories will have a special opportunity to take the Tobacco Pledge again this summer, at a date to be announced. If their response changes to “non-user” or “user but will enroll in a program,” their tobacco surcharge will end in July.

Going forward, new employees who enroll in medical will complete the Tobacco Pledge in their onboarding/orientation session. Current employees will be required to re-take the Tobacco Pledge annually, each November. Responses will determine who pays the tobacco surcharge the following year.

What will you need to do this year to receive the wellness incentive reward in 2020?

The wellness incentive reward is a significantly lower out-of-pocket maximum if you’re in the Classic or Premier Plan, or an additional UA contribution to your health savings account if you are in the Health Savings Plan.

Complete these two steps to receive your wellness reward in 2020:

  1. Take the Tobacco Pledge again in November. If you attest that you don’t use tobacco, or that you will participate in a cessation program if you do use tobacco, you will gain two benefits: no tobacco surcharge in 2020, plus you’ll be eligible for the wellness reward if you also complete step 2.
  2. Visit an in-network primary care provider for your annual wellness visit. This visit must be between the dates Nov. 1, 2018 and Oct. 31, 2019.  Annual wellness visits are covered in full under our medical plan as preventive care; there is no cost to you for this visit. Last year this requirement was relaxed so that almost any office visit qualified. This year it MUST be a wellness visit.

Visit Human Resources’ Wellness Benefits website for additional information about the tobacco surcharge and the wellness program.