Northwestern Benefits Update
Dear faculty and staff,
On Tuesday, the University communicated measures it is taking to address a challenging financial
environment. One of the contributing factors to the current challenges is increasing expenses related to
benefits. For the past several years, rising healthcare costs have exceeded the University’s budget by tens of
millions of dollars. This trend is no longer sustainable, prompting a redesign of Northwestern’s healthcare
benefits.
To address this issue and better contain costs for the University and its employees, Northwestern will transition
to new medical, dental and prescription insurance providers for benefits-eligible employees beginning Jan. 1,
2026.
By changing our benefits, we will avoid a double-digit percentage increase in employee premiums and slow the
overall growth in annual cost increases. Without these changes, employees would pay more, and the University
would be forced to make additional cuts in other areas beyond what we have already announced earlier this
week. Our goal is to balance our healthcare coverage and costs with our community’s needs and expectations.
For U.S.-based faculty and staff the new medical plan will be administered by United Healthcare (UHC); the
new PPO dental plan will be Delta Dental of Illinois (the Guardian HMO dental plan will remain); and the
prescription drug plan will be CVS Caremark. The University is reviewing the U.S.-based postdoc medical and
dental plans and anticipates making similar changes.
The overwhelming majority of Blue Cross and Blue Shield providers are in the new medical and dental
networks; similarly, the new prescription drug plan will cover the vast majority of current prescriptions.
The selection of new insurance providers comes after months of rigorous evaluation of several top insurance
providers. Financial considerations and ensuring the appropriate scope of local in-network providers and
hospitals to minimize disruption were significant factors in the decision-making, as was quality of service. We
have concluded that while these changes are challenging, the University believes this is necessary in light of
other alternatives.
We recognize it has been several years since Northwestern has made these types of changes. We are
communicating now, months ahead of Open Enrollment (Oct. 27-Nov. 14, 2025), to be as transparent as
possible. Because of the scope of the changes, all benefits-eligible employees who want healthcare coverage
beginning Jan. 1, 2026, will need to take action during Open Enrollment. More information about in-network
providers can be found on the Benefits website.
We will communicate regarding rates, deductibles, co-pays and other plan details when they are finalized later
in the summer. At that time, we will also roll out a support tool to help you consider what coverage options will
best suit your needs.
As the University manages its overall costs, we also must adjust certain terms of our tuition benefits. There will
be no changes to the Dependent Reduced, Dependent Portable or Employee Portable plans for current faculty
and staff. There will be changes for new employees regarding these plans, and some adjustments to tuition
benefits for both new and current employees taking courses at Northwestern. More information on tuition
benefits can be found on the Benefits website.
We appreciate your understanding during this time of change, and if you have questions after reviewing
the website and FAQs, please email askHR@northwestern.edu.
Thank you.
Lorraine A. Goffe
Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer