If it works for your errands, why can’t it work for your benefits, too?

Crozer-Keystone Health System is making life easier for its benefit-eligible employees by offering www.crozerbenefits.org, a one-stop site that allows you to make your 2007 benefit selections, learn about and calculate the advantages of participating in flexible spending accounts, view benefit reference information, and more.

“Online enrollment has really revolutionized the way our employees make their benefit selections, and it’s growing every year — in fact, the number of employees using the Web to make their selections climbed 80 percent last year, from 1,100 in 2005 to 1,996 in 2006,” says Edward Potts, CKHS vice president for Employee Benefit Services. “This year, we’re offering an enhanced site, www.crozerbenefits.org, that offers the convenience of one-stop shopping, 24-hour access and the flexibility to enroll at work, at home or wherever you’d like.”

Previously, important benefit reference information, forms, and quick links were available in a separate website at www.crozer.org. The new dedicated Benefits site contains all the information employees need to make their benefit choices, with the addition of a cutting-edge design, easier navigation capability and updated reference tools.

This year’s Open Enrollment period lasts from Monday, Oct. 2, to Friday, Oct. 13. It is the only time during the year that benefit-eligible employees may add or delete dependents or change benefit elections without experiencing a life event or eligible change in work status, as defined by the Internal Revenue Service. Changes made during the open enrollment period become effective on Jan. 1, 2007.

Prior to open enrollment, all benefit-eligible employees will receive a complete open enrollment package through the mail. The package includes information about what’s new for 2007, an updated Choices benefit booklet, and a personalized 2007 enrollment form that reflects the employee’s current benefit elections and 2007 costs.

Information mailed to the employee’s home will also include the simple instructions and the unique Personal Identification Number (PIN) he or she will need to enroll online via www.crozerbenefits.org.

Once they’re logged in to the site, employees are free to use the site’s many tools to find the plan that’s right for them. In addition to allowing employees to update their benefits during Open Enrollment, the site lets users view their existing benefits and update beneficiary and student status information (students between ages 19-23 who are enrolled in school full-time are still eligible for benefits) all year long.

Employees with questions, or who need access to a computer, can visit one of the annual Benefit Fairs scheduled for each CKHS site on the following dates:  

• Delaware County Memorial Hospital – Monday, Oct. 2, from 8 a.m. to 5   p.m. in Conference Rooms A & C 
• Crozer-Chester Medical Center  - Tuesday, Oct. 3, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Clark Auditorium Lobby 
• Taylor Hospital – Wednesday, Oct. 4, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Classrooms A, B, and C 
• Springfield Hospital – Thursday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Lower Level Conference Room 
• Community Hospital – Friday, Oct. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Southeast Conference Room

Secure kiosks will be set up at each site to allow employees to access www.crozerbenefits.org to make their changes. Employees who would like assistance with their online enrollment can stop by the Benefits Fair where representatives from Employee Benefit Services will be available.  In addition, representatives from Employee Benefit Services and various benefit plans will be available at each fair to answer questions and help an employee determine if he or she must submit 2007 enrollment elections, or if no action is required.

Along with updating your benefits and dependent information, Open Enrollment offers you a chance to explore the tax-saving benefit programs offered through Choices, including Medical, Dependent Care or Transit Flexible Spending Accounts (including an online calculator that will show — in dollars and cents — the tax advantages of participating in a flexible spending account and paying for things like braces, medical and prescription drug copays and deductibles, child care or SEPTA fares using pretax dollars).

As an added bonus, anyone who logs on to www.crozerbenefits.org — whether he or she makes a benefit change or not — will be entered into random drawings for great prizes, courtesy of Employee Benefit Services.

For more information on the Choices benefit package and the open enrollment process, call Employee Benefit Services at (610) 595-6380 or 19-6380.