Back and Forth

Back in 2013, UC switched its administrator for its PPO plans from Blue Cross to Blue Shield, effective in 2014. In 2016, UC decided to switch back, effective in 2017. (I had a dim memory of this back-and-forth selection and used Google to find old documents that indicated the dates.)

I mention this history of oscillation because it appears that for active employees, UC has has decided to switch again to Blue Shield, effective 2026. Retirees not eligible for Medicare would also switch.

Apparently, retirees under Medicare will continue with Anthem as the plan administrator.

It might be noted that UC is self-insured for these various plans. However, the administrator brings with it its network, etc. From the patient viewpoint, it is not supposed to matter who is paying the claims, an insurance company or the employer.

There are other changes coming to be announced before open enrollment. One that isn't is that Delta Dental will continue to be the dental care insurer. Alternative suppliers of insurance had narrower in-network lists than Delta.

Source: https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2026-Benefits-Changes-Fact-Sheet.pdf.

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As an unrelated sidenote, as the image above shows, AI doesn't know that for a pendulum to swing between two points, it presumably would hang from the middle. It doesn't know that Blue Cross and Blue Shield have specific emblems, not those shown. But...