Health Plan Updates
Updated: 10/20/2026
District Website for Forms:
Rate Sheets pg 1 – Active, pg 2 – Early Retiree, pg 3 – 65+retiree
(Retired 65+enrollment form still are not available on the site. The district says they will send an open enrollment letter to all retirees by US mail soon! They are still working on them; scroll down this page for update regarding Retirees over 65.)
On Tuesday, September 1, HealthNet informed SCUSD that it will be phasing out offering insurance coverage to school districts in California. Sac City was reported to be one of only two districts in California that still offered HealthNet.
Open Enrollment Period:
October 13 starting at 8 a.m. through November 5 by 5 p.m.
Current health plan providers continue through 12/31/2026 (end of this calendar year).
Changes effective: January 1, 2027 – December 31, 2027
Virtual and In Person Support Meetings
Retirees: 10 am – 12pm
Active Educators: 2 – 5pm
Virtual Meetings
- October 13
- October 20
- October 27
- November 3
- November 10 (if needed)
Virtual meeting link for all meetings:
copy and paste into your browser:
Retiree virtual town halls: Click the link to join: csveba.com/3VRpzsC or copy and paste: csveba.com/3VRpzsC
Active: csveba.com/4jGhTmU or copy and paste: csveba.com/4jGhTmU
In-Person Meetings at Serna
- October 15
- October 22
- October 29
- November 5
When you arrive to the Serna, look for signage, or ask the front desk where to go for the SCTA/Certificated Open Enrollment Town Hall.
At the SCTA Office:
- October 9 (SCTA Benefits Fair) 3:30-6pm RSVP Here
- SCTA Retiree Meeting CONFIRMED: 10/14 at 1pm w/meet and greet at 12:30 pm, at SCTA office 5300 Elvas Ave.
Active Educators and Retirees UNDER 65
Active members and retirees under the age of 65 with Kaiser will automatically be ported over to Kaiser (including dependents). However, this is open enrollment so you may switch to one of the other plans, WHA, Hills Physicians, or UHC.
For Kaiser enrollees, there are virtually no changes. Click here to see a side-by-side comparison of the current Kaiser plan to the proposed VEBA Kaiser plan. The two notable differences are: 1) the Emergency Room visit co-pay is increased from $75 to $100; and 2) the VEBA Kaiser plan includes a $5000 hearing aid allowance, whereas the current plan provided no hearing aid allowance.
Active members and retirees under the age of 65 with HealthNet must make a decision: Choose WHA, Hills Physicians, UHC or Kaiser. See below for more info:
For HealthNet enrollees, the most significant proposed change is that the one option of HealthNet is now broken up into two options, driven mostly by which plan includes which doctors’ group and health system. For those who prefer Sutter and UC Davis, the plan from United Healthcare includes those networks. For those who prefer Dignity/Mercy, the plan from Western Health Advantage includes those networks. A chart regarding which doctors’ group is included in which network can be found here.
United Healthcare: A side-by-side comparison of the current HealthNet level of benefits versus the United Health Care plan can be found here. The VEBA plans increase the Emergency Room co-payment from $75 to $100, but includes a $5000 hearing aid allowance and through a combination of the medical and prescription drug out-of-pocket maximums, lowers the overall out-of-pocket maximum costs. Through VEBA’s Express Scripts pharmacy program generic medications can be obtained for as little as $5 at participating pharmacies like Costco, Safeway, Walmart and others.
Western Health Advantage: A side-by-side comparison of the current HealthNet level of benefits versus the Western Health Advantage plan can be found here. The Western Health Advantage plan reduces the office visit co-payment from $15 to $10 per visit. The VEBA plans increase the Emergency Room co-payment from $75 to $100, but includes a $5000 hearing aid allowance and through a combination of the medical and prescription drug out-of-pocket maximums, lowers the overall out-of-pocket maximum costs. Through VEBA’s Express Scripts pharmacy program generic medications can be obtained for as little as $5 at participating pharmacies like Costco, Safeway, Walmart and others.
Out of HMO Network Areas: There will also be a United Healthcare PPO option for employees who live outside of the Western Health Advantage or United Healthcare HMO service areas. A plan summery will be forthcoming.
Retiree 65+ Health Benefits
Benefits for retirees will also be changing. Retirees who are 65-years of age or less, will follow the same change processes of active employees (see above).
For post-65 Retirees, the transition out of HealthNet into an Anthem PPO includes the expansion into a broader national network that expands health plan availability. A side-by-side of the retiree health plans can be found here.
For Post-65 Retirees with Kaiser, benefits are expected to remain the same.
Note: Retirees receiving the lifetime benefits through SCUSD are reminded to always keep their contact information updated with the Benefits Office. And remember to keep this information in your important documents file and also relay this information to children and/or anyone who may become a future caretaker. SCUSD must always be able to contact the retiree/caretaker in the event there is an issue and also to send the annual open enrollment mailers. If you are a retiree and have not been receiving open enrollment communications annually you should contact the SCUSD Benefits Office to update your information right away.
We also recommend keeping your information on file with SCTA as we also maintain our own retiree records, including an email list for reasons such as this.
Update: 10/15/2026
For Retirees over 65
GOOD NEWS! After speaking with CalVEBA at the SCTA Benefits Fair on Friday, October 9, we learned that ALL 65+ retirees will automatically be enrolled in the plan comparable to what they have now.
In other words, if you currently have Kaiser, you will automatically be enrolled in Kaiser, if you have Health Net, you will be enrolled in Anthem PPO. This is a huge relief, as no retiree will be left without coverage.
Regarding Anthem PPO, the number one question, is, “will my doctor accept Anthem PPO?” and the answer is, if your current doctor accepts Medicare (the plan you have now) then YES, your current doctor should also accept the Anthem PPO. (This is true about 99% of the time.)
Since, all 65+ retirees will be automatically enrolled, unless you want to make changes, add/remove dependents, etc., you do not have to specifically go through the OE process. You will automatically be put into Kaiser if you have Kaiser and into Anthem if you have Health Net. If you are with an out of area plan, you will likely be put into Anthem as well, because the PPO now covers a much broader area, across the entire country.
If your 65+ spouse or other dependent is already on your plan they will also be enrolled automatically. However, if your spouse/dependent currently with HealthNet is under the age of 65 you need to complete some paperwork to get them with the correct plan, UHC/WHA (if they are on Kaiser, then they will be automatically ported over to Kaiser).
The exact name of the Retiree First medical plan is:
- Anthem Medicare Preferred (PPO) Medicare Advantage Plan (MA)
The prescription coverage Rx plan is:
- Blue MedicareRx with Senior Rx Plus Prescription Drug Plan (PDP)
This handout was shared at the SCTA Retiree meeting on 10/14: Retiree First handout
Update: 10/15/2026
Retirees Under 65
If you are under the age of 65 and have HealthNet, you are selecting from the same plans as active teachers. So you should carefully look over the materials to make sure you select the plan for the Medical Group you want: If you prefer UC Davis/Sutter you want UHC, if you prefer Dignity/Mercy you want WHA. You also have the option of Hill Physicians (a network of independent doctors). Again, if you have Kaiser, you will automatically be enrolled in Kaiser.
However, if you have Health Net you should go through the OE process carefully, to make sure you select the plan that covers your current medical group. Unfortunately, CalVEBA does not know if you are a Mercy or a Sutter patient, so for retirees under the age of 65, they need to complete the OE paperwork to ensure they get the same medical group/doctor.
For all members Active/Retired: There are no changes to the Vision or Dental plans. You will still be enrolled in what you already have unless you want to make changes.
Please check this page for updates:
Last Update: 10.15.2026 3:45 pm
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