HUMAN RESOURCES

Effective January 1, 2026, UnitedHealthcare will be the administrator of all four medical plans. As always, Northwestern’s goal is to provide comprehensive, competitive medical coverage.

The four medical plans available to Northwestern faculty and staff are:

• PPO
  You pay a copay for certain medical services (for example, office visits with your primary care physician or a specialist). For most other covered medical services, this plan provides benefits based on coinsurance once you meet the annual deductible. If you choose this plan, you can receive services from any provider you choose, but you will pay less out of pocket and receive more plan benefits from an in-network provider.
• HSA Plus or HSA Essential
  Once you meet the annual deductible, these plans provide benefits for covered medical services based on coinsurance. If you choose one of these plans, you can receive services from any provider you choose, but you will pay less out of pocket and receive more plan benefits from an in-network provider. Because both plans qualify as high-deductible health plans, you can make pretax contributions to a Health Savings Account (HSA). You can use the pretax money in the HSA to pay for eligible health care expenses or invest it.
• HMO
  Once you pay any applicable copay, this plan pays the full cost of covered services you receive from a provider who is a member of the HMO network. This plan pays no benefits for services from an out-of-network provider except for emergency medical care. All four plans pay 100% of the cost of applicable preventive care services received from in-network providers; no deductibles or copays apply.

IMPORTANT! To be covered under a Northwestern-sponsored medical plan in 2026, you must elect medical coverage during Open Enrollment period (10/27 - 11/14).

Prescription Drug Coverage

CVS Caremark will replace Express Scripts as the administrator for the prescription drug benefits offered through all four Northwestern-sponsored medical plans. Enrollment in the prescription drug plan is automatic with enrollment in a medical plan. Although the plan name is CVS Caremark, you will have access to numerous local and national pharmacies (e.g. Walgreens, Costco, Walmart, Osco). The majority of current prescription drugs will be covered under this new plan. Information regarding the prescription drug plan’s formulary and copay schedule is available on the prescription drug plan website.

Find Answers to Your Questions

The UHC support model will allow faculty and staff to contact UHC directly in three different ways:

1. For general questions about medical coverage, contact UHC at 833-314-1787 for PPO and HSA plans, and 855-828-7715 for the HMO plan.
2. For questions about complex medical needs or ongoing treatment, you can schedule a one-on-one meeting with UHC to discuss how your treatment will be covered and transition of care questions. You may also email these questions to UHC directly at northwestern@uhc.com.
3. If your provider is not in-network, see the nomination tool on the UHC benefits website to request UHC invite them to join the network.

Hinge Health

Control your pain and move freely again. So you can take the stairs, go hiking, run errands—and everything in between.

• Hinge Health Information Sheet
• Hinge Health's Website

Available through PPO plans only.

Livongo®

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Livongo is a diabetes management program completely free to benefit eligible faculty and staff. Livongo can empower you to take control of your health and help you save money on necessary medical supplies.

• Livongo Information Sheet
• Livongo's Website

Free Test Strips!