MSU promotes health among faculty and staff. To ensure that employees receive correct and professional treatment, MSU offers the Best Doctors service to its employees.
For an expert second opinion, call Best Doctors at no cost to you.
Contacting Best Doctors grants access to one-on-one discussions with Member Advocates and medical record reviews from top specialists across the country.
The recommendations provided by the experts working with Best Doctors can put patients’ minds at ease and even save lives. The medical information given to Best Doctors is completely voluntary and confidential, and with your permission they can consult your own physician. The service is free and operates on your time. Continue Reading… Contact Best Doctors for expert medical advice
Retirement might be far away for many, but it’s never too early to start planning and preparing. Starting to save and invest now can lead to financial security and a big pay-off in the future. On July 15 and 16, retirement vendor TIAA-CREF is coming to MSU as a part of their Financial Essentials education to provide free workshops to staff and faculty. All sessions take place in the MSU Union. Click the dates to register for one of the sessions.
Start saving now to ensure a comfortable future
The Starting Line: Why and how retirement saving should begin now
This session shows the real effect of time on money, why saving is important and how to plan, and how budgeting can help you find and save. Snacks are provided.
This session provides a mid-year financial checkup that allows you to evaluate current savings, formulate a plan to reach your savings goals and how to manage what might be competing with retirement savings, such as college savings, short-term savings and so on. Lunch is provided at the afternoon session and a light breakfast is provided at the morning session.
This session demonstrates how to make your money work, the importance of cash flow and how to use it. It describes good and bad debt and ways to help manage it. Lunch is provided.
Register soon! Seating is limited. If you have questions, contact TIAA-CREF at 800-732-8353 or MSU Human Resources at retirementinfo@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434.
MSU HR would like to thank everyone who participated in the “What’s Your Financial IQ?” challenge! To celebrate Financial Literacy Month, we teamed up with retirement vendor TIAA-CREF to quiz faculty and staff on their financial knowledge. Beginning on April 1, for 22 days five questions were added each day. The more participants played, the more they were entered to win a tablet computer.
The 1,100 participants, who ranged in age from 18 to over 65, received an average performance of 66 percent on the quiz this year. Participants self-identified their financial subject matter knowledge, ranging from “clueless” to “ready to retire.” MSU employees scored highest on questions related to taxes and lowest on questions related to retirement.
Congratulations to our winners!
Nicole Martin, Administrative Professional in Faculty and Organizational DevelopmentMichael Rich, Senior Specialist in Composite Materials and StructuresThomas Ginter, Physicist at National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab
Thanks again to TIAA-CREF for sponsoring the challenge. We hope staff and faculty learned the extent of their financial knowledge, and can study in preparation for next year’s challenge!
Best Doctors is available to all members of MSU health plans. They offer three main services at no out-of-pocket costs to you:
In-Depth Medical Review & Interconsultation, where experienced medical professionals can answer any questions you may have about a medical diagnosis or treatment options.
When to call:
You have questions about your existing diagnosis or treatment options.
Your doctor hasn’t given you a diagnosis or you aren’t getting better even with treatment.
 You wonder if you really need surgery or other recommended medical procedures.
 You want to make sure you are getting the right care from the right medical specialist.
Have a question about a medical diagnosis or treatment options? Ask the Expert.
When to call:
You have any general or specific medical question, and don’t want to rely on the Internet for information.
You have heard about a new treatment option or medical procedure and wonder if it’s right for you.
You are uncertain if the medications you’re now taking are the best options for you.
Need a pediatrician? Want the best surgeon in your area? Looking for a world-class medical specialist? Just contact Best Doctors to Find a Best Doctor, and they will locate the right doctor for you—one who’s nearby and in your health plan.
When to call:
You just moved to a new area and are looking for a doctor.
You believe you need to consult with a specialist.
You would like additional providers you can see about your condition.
To get started, call 1-866-904-0910 or visit their website.
A reminder to all MSU benefits-eligible faculty and staff, you have the opportunity to enroll in several voluntary employee-paid benefits programs through MSU Benefits Plus. The optional programs include Vision Insurance, Group Legal Services, Critical Illness Insurance, Long-Term Care Insurance, Auto and Home Insurance, Pet Insurance and discount shopping.
Vision, legal and critical illness insurance have an annual open enrollment period during the fall of each year. That means you can only enroll at that time each year and once you enroll, you cannot change or cancel that enrollment until the next annual open enrollment period (unless you have a qualifying life event). Other programs, like auto, home, long-term care and pet insurances allow you to enroll at anytime throughout the year.
Discounts are available year-round on the MSU Benefits Plus website. These include discounts tied to MSU departments, local businesses and many other online shopping discounts.
Keep up on all of the discount information and programs that are available through the MSU Benefits Plus page. Sign in or create an account on www.MSUBenefitsPlus.com using your MSU ZPID number and password to view your benefits programs available to you.
Have you recently experienced fatigue and aren’t sure why? The cause could be adrenal gland issues or hypothyroidism. While doctors disagree as to whether adrenal stress is a veritable medical condition or simply related to hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue theory insists that a great influx of stress can actually hinder our adrenal glands from producing hormones that we need. This lack of hormones can lead to a wide variety of unwanted side effects. Albeit, there is not yet enough evidence to support this theory. Similarly, hypothyroidism is a condition where the thyroid gland fails to produce the necessary amount of thyroid hormone. Without this hormone, our body produces less energy and we may feel greatly fatigued.
Has chronic fatigue been effecting your lifestyle? You may be suffering from adrenal stress or hypothyroidism.
Often, hypothyroidism is caused by Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, a condition where the thyroid gland experiences irritation. This inflammation can be due to either a viral infection or antibodies that target and destroy the thyroid gland. It is important to note that hypothyroid symptoms and adrenal fatigue symptoms are largely similar. This means that the two conditions are often misdiagnosed. If you are feeling tired, depressed, cold sensitivity, muscle/joint aches or have experienced poor memory, shortness of breath, chronic yeast infections, low libido, infertility, or weight gain, you may be suffering from adrenal gland issues or hypothyroidism. Treatments require a diligent approach so if you are suspect of the aforementioned conditions, do not hesitate to reach out to your health care provider.
The What’s Your Financial IQ 2.0 challenge, sponsored by one of MSU’s retirement plan vendors TIAA-CREF, just might be the easiest way to win a free tablet computer. From April 1 to April 22, participate by answering questions that will help you learn important information regarding financial planning. Every day, What’s Your Financial IQ 2.0 will feature new topics and questions, allowing you to show what you know. Every time that you play, you will be entered to win one of three tablet computers. The more that you play, the better your chances are to win. Sign on frequently to keep the odds in your favor! Don’t worry if you aren’t in the financial know either, all responses are completely confidential.
So go ahead, get started today! Topics vary and will cover retirement, taxes, healthcare and privacy. All MSU employees are eligible to win. You can see last year’s winners here.
Are you interested in learning more about some of the recent developments in personalized cancer care? On Friday, March 27, 2015 at 1 p.m. you can listen in on a webinar presented by Best Doctors where you will learn what personalized cancer care is, how it is different from current practices, what types of targeted cancer therapies are available and who can benefit the most. An expert panel of leading specialists in the field of oncology will host the webinar and help you get the most out of your experience.
You can register for the webinar by visiting this link. View the full release here.
The deadline for turning in 2014 Flexible Spending Account (FSA) receipts is quickly approaching! Here are the FSA important dates to remember for your Dependent Care Spending Account (DCSA) and Health Care Spending Account (HCSA):
The deadline to use your DCSA funds was December 31, 2014
The deadline to submit receipts for your DCSA is April 30, 2015
The deadline to use your HCSA funds is March 15, 2015
The deadline to submit receipts for your HCSA is April 30, 2015
Important to note: The 2014 Program Year is working in coordination with Meritain Health. You will work with CONEXIS from 2015 forward.
Please remember, if you do not use all of your funds and submit your receipts by the required deadlines, IRS code requires the remaining funds be forfeited. If you still have remaining 2014 HCSA funds you’d like to use, you need to pay for eligible items or services out of pocket and then submit receipts along with a reimbursement request form. If you use your HCSA debit card, it will draw from your 2015 account funds.
It’s been a busy month for new items on the HR website.
Regularly visit MSU HR on the web to keep up-to-date with the latest news.
There’s a new university-wide policy on Relationship Violence & Sexual Misconduct that replaces the policy on Sexual Harassment. Information surrounding Guidelines for Maintaining Critical Functions and Services at MSU is also now available. The electronic I-9 system is fully implemented and a new page with information about the Form I-9 process, compliance training and system access guidelines has been created.
To help new employees understand the benefits available to them, we have created a Benefits Overview toolkit, a quick reference about benefits available to MSU employees. There is also a complete 27-page presentation that provides information previously given at the benefits/retirement orientations.
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