State of California M E M O R A N D U M REFERENCE CODE: 2001-030 DATE: August 15, 2001 TO: Personnel Officers Personnel Transactions Supervisors Personnel Transactions Staff FROM: Department of Personnel Administration Benefits Division SUBJECT: 2001 Open Enrollment Period for Dental, FlexElect, and Consolidated Benefits (CoBen) Programs and Dental Premium Rate Charts CONTACT: Bryan Bruno, Benefits Program Analyst (916) 445-9841, CALNET 485-9841 FAX: (916) 322-3769 Email: BryanBruno@DPA.CA.GOV This memorandum contains important information regarding the 2001 Open Enrollment Period for Dental, FlexElect, and Consolidated Benefits (CoBen) Programs. Please ensure that employees are made aware of the open enrollment period and provided assistance and necessary forms should they wish to enroll or make any changes to their Dental, FlexElect, or CoBen Cash enrollment. In order to assist you in providing open enrollment information to your employees, a memorandum to all State employees is attached (Attachment I) which should be duplicated and provided to your employees. You may also duplicate Attachments II and III to provide additional information to your employees regarding the State- sponsored dental plans. State retirees/annuitants will receive dental open enrollment information in August 2001 from the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) at their residence. DENTAL, FLEXELECT, AND CONSOLIDATED BENEFITS (COBEN) PROGRAMS OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD The Open Enrollment Period for the Dental, FlexElect, and Consolidated Benefits (CoBen) Programs will be held from September 3, 2001 through October 15, 2001. All actions taken will become effective January 1, 2002. For dental, eligible employees may enroll, cancel/change plans, and add/delete dependents during this period. For FlexElect and CoBen, eligible employees may enroll or cancel/change their current enrollment choices. No action is necessary for employees who are currently enrolled and do not wish to make any changes in their FlexElect Cash Option, CoBen Cash Option, and/or dental enrollment. However, Permanent Intermittent (P.I.) employees must reenroll in the Cash Option during this open enrollment period if they wish to remain in the program. Additionally, all employees who wish to continue their enrollment in the FlexElect Reimbursement Account(s) must reenroll during this open enrollment period. DENTAL PROGRAM ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION DPA currently contracts with Delta Dental (Delta), DentiCare of California, Inc. (DentiCare), Private Medical Care, Inc. (PMI), SafeGuard Health Plans (SafeGuard), and SmileSaver to provide dental insurance for eligible: 1. excluded employees; 2. represented employees in Bargaining Units 1 through 21, with the exception of Units 5 and 6; and 3. retirees/annuitants. The California Association of Highway Patrolmen (CAHP) offers its own indemnity dental plan to BU 5 employees who are CAHP members through its Benefit Trust, but its members may elect to enroll in the State-sponsored prepaid plans. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) provides dental insurance to BU 6 members through its Benefit Trust. State-Sponsored Dental Plans 2002 Premiums and Program Information There will be no increase in the premium rates for the DeltaPremier and DeltaPreferred Option dental plans. The State will continue to contribute 100 percent of the prepaid dental premiums. However, the State is currently negotiating the dental premium rates with the State- sponsored prepaid dental plans. As of the date of this memo, the prepaid premium rates to be effective January 1, 2002, have not yet been finalized. Once the rate negotiations are complete, DPA will notify departments if any rate change should occur. DPA will also notify enrollees covered through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) Program. Departments should continue to use the rates reflected on Attachments IV & V for completion of enrollment forms during the open enrollment period. Represented employees in Units 5 and 6 should be advised to contact their union-sponsored Benefit Trust for information about 2002 dental premiums and benefits. SmileSaver has moved its company location; the new mailing address is listed on Attachment IV. SmileSaver COBRA enrollees should continue to use the address listed on Attachment V (CobraPro) when sending forms and premium payments. CobraPro is the company that SmileSaver has contracted with to administer its COBRA Program. Benefits Administration Manual (BAM) Section 500 contains a variety of information regarding the State Dental Program and processing instructions for open enrollment forms. It is important that this BAM Section, the information contained in this memorandum, and the attachments listed below are thoroughly reviewed: Attachment I - Memorandum to All State Employees Attachment II - Description of State-sponsored Dental Plans Attachment III - Dental Plans - Employee Cost Comparison Chart Attachment IV - 2002 Dental Plan Premium Rates Attachment V - 2002 COBRA Group Continuation Rates Evidence of Coverage (EOC) Booklets, Participating Dentist Lists, and Membership Cards The Personnel Office should maintain a small supply of EOC booklets and participating dentist lists for their employees (request from carriers). However, employees may also contact the dental carriers directly for a booklet and/or plan information. Membership cards (if appropriate) will be mailed to members by the carrier(s) after open enrollment. Employees in Units 5 and 6 should be advised to contact their Benefit Trust for information on claim forms, EOCs, participating dentist lists, or membership cards. Restriction on Enrollment in Delta Dental Plans Represented employees are restricted to a State-sponsored prepaid dental plan until they complete 24 months of State service; at the end of this 24-month period, employees who wish to enroll in the DeltaPremier or DeltaPreferred Option plan have 60 days to do so. This enrollment is available outside the open enrollment period. Those employees listed below are not under the Delta Dental Plans 24-month restriction: Employees in Bargaining Units 7, 8, 16, 18, and 19; Excluded employees; and Employees who were previously State employees for 24 consecutive months without a permanent break in service during the 24 months. CCPOA Fee-For-Service Dental Plan Restriction Bargaining Unit 6 (R06) employees who are restricted to the union-sponsored prepaid Western Dental Plan must complete 12 months in the prepaid plan before they are allowed to enroll in the union-sponsored indemnity Fee- For-Service Dental Plan. At the end of this 12-month period, employees have 60 days to enroll in the union- sponsored Fee-For-Service Dental Plan if they wish to do so. This enrollment is available outside the open enrollment period. CAHP Blue Cross Dental Plan Restriction Bargaining Unit 5 (R05) employees who are restricted to a State-sponsored prepaid dental plan must complete 24 months of State service before they are allowed to enroll in the indemnity Blue Cross Dental Plan. At the end of this 24-month period, employees have 60 days to enroll in their union-sponsored Blue Cross Dental Plan if they wish to do so. This enrollment is available outside the open enrollment period. FLEXELECT ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION BAM Section 700 (Rev. 9-2001) contains a variety of information regarding the State FlexElect Program and processing instructions for open enrollment forms. Departments can expect to receive a copy of the 2002 FlexElect Procedures Manual from DPA prior to September 3, 2001. An Open Enrollment Period notification will be mailed in August to the homes of all employees enrolled in the 2001 FlexElect Cash Option informing them that they will be automatically reenrolled for the 2002 Plan Year. Permanent Intermittent employees who are currently enrolled in the FlexElect Cash Option will receive a notification from DPA reminding them that they must reenroll in the FlexElect Cash Option during open enrollment if they want to remain in the program. Postcard reminders will also be sent to employees currently enrolled in a 2001 Plan Year FlexElect Reimbursement Account highlighting their enrollment requirements. As in the past, a list of employees in your department who are enrolled in a 2001 FlexElect Reimbursement Account will be sent to your Personnel Office. Where possible we will mail the listings to the appropriate field office. Additional FlexElect Program Information The 2002 Plan Year FlexElect brochures will be mailed in early August 2001 to departments that submitted an order form to DPA. In the 2002 "handbook," we refer to the FlexElect brochure as a handbook. In future plan years, the term "handbook" will replace "brochure" in all FlexElect materials when referring to this communication piece. DPA has instructed the State Controller's Office (SCO) to discontinue issuing both the FlexElect Program Confirmation and Cancellation Statements, effective with the 2002 FlexElect Plan Year. Previously, the two notices were sent during open enrollment to departments regarding employees' enrollment status in the FlexElect Program. The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requires that an Initial COBRA Notification be provided to all new enrollees in a Medical Reimbursement Account (MRA). To ensure departments are in compliance with this COBRA provision, we have provided an Initial COBRA Notification in the 2002 FlexElect Procedures Manual. Personnel Offices should provide this notice to employees who enroll in a MRA. CONSOLIDATED BENEFITS (COBEN) ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION All excluded employees and represented employees in Bargaining Units 7, 8, 16, 18, and 19 are in the Consolidated Benefits (CoBen) Program. The CoBen Benefit Allowance amounts effective January 1, 2002, are listed below. EMPLOYEE PARTY CODE EMPLOYEE COBEN ALLOWANCE Represented Excluded ONE PARTY $214 $215 Employee only TWO PARTY $411 $422 Employee plus one dependent THREE PARTY $542 $556 Employee plus two or more dependents Note: DPA is currently negotiating new union contracts, so all CoBen allowances are subject to change. If these allowance amounts change in the future, DPA will notify the departments. Additional CoBen Program Information An Open Enrollment notification will be mailed this month to the homes of all employees enrolled in the 2001 CoBen Cash Option informing them that they will be automatically re-enrolled for the 2002 Plan Year. Permanent Intermittent employees who are currently enrolled will receive a notification from DPA reminding them that they must reenroll in the CoBen Cash Option during open enrollment if they wish to remain in the program. A new CoBen Procedures Manual will be sent to departments in the near future. The CoBen brochures/handbooks will be mailed in early August 2001 to departments that submitted an order form to DPA. DOCUMENT COMPLETION The following information will help Personnel Offices completing open enrollment forms. PERMITTING EVENT DATE: Dental - 9/3/01 FlexElect/CoBen Cash Leave blank EFFECTIVE DATE: 1/1/02 (Dental, FlexElect, CoBen Cash) PERMITTING EVENT CODES: Dental 03 New Enrollment 15 Add/Delete Dependent(s) Use one form 28 Change of Plan 29 Change of Plan and Add/Delete Dependent(s) - Use one form FlexElect/CoBen Leave Permitting Event Code blank DEADLINES: 10/15/01 Last date for employees to sign and submit open enrollment documents to Personnel. 10/29/01 Last date for enrollment documents to be received in employing office (as shown on enrollment forms). 11/12/01 Last date for receipt by SCO of all open enrollment documents from Personnel Offices. 12/10/01 Last date for receipt by SCO of any open enrollment documents that were returned to departments for correction, to be reflected on the 1/1/02 paycheck. FlexElect Options/CoBen Cash: Employees who enroll in any FlexElect option or CoBen Cash during the open enrollment period and employees who are automatically reenrolled in the Cash Option will be allowed to cancel their enrollment or make changes through December 31, 2001. 1/10/02 Last date for receipt by SCO of FlexElect and CoBen Cash forms reflecting cancellation and changes. The effective date will be retroactive to January 1, 2002. PERSONNEL OFFICES Your assistance in the following areas will be appreciated and will help make this open enrollment period successful: (1) Duplicate and provide a copy of the attached open enrollment letter to all employees; (2) Make appropriate Dental, FlexElect, and CoBen Program material available or advise employees how to obtain such material; (3) Assist employees in completing enrollment/change documents; (4) Review and submit enrollment documents by the due dates reflected in this memo; (5) Send all completed Dental enrollment forms to SCO; and (6) Send all completed FlexElect and CoBen enrollment packages to SCO. CalPERS 2001 HEALTH OPEN ENROLLMENT Open enrollment is one of the busiest times of the year for CalPERS. This year, due to the loss of four HMO plans, service area withdrawals, and rising premium costs, CalPERS expects a substantial increase in open enrollment transactions. Therefore, to better serve you, CalPERS is staggering the Health open enrollment. Open Enrollment for all Retirees is August 15- September 28, 2001. Open Enrollment for State active employees and COBRA enrollees is September 3-October 15, 2001. Please make sure your employees are aware of these important dates and make their health plan decisions early to avoid disruptions. During this open enrollment, eligible employees and annuitants may enroll, add family members, and/or change health plans. The effective date of open enrollment transactions is January 1, 2002. Timely submission of open enrollment documents (HBD-12s) is extremely important. All open enrollment documents must be received by CalPERS Health Benefits by the close of business on Wednesday, October 24, 2001. CalPERS Automated Communications Exchange System (ACES). If you have access to the Internet, you should be able to use ACES, CalPERS' Automated Communications Exchange System. This allows you to process health enrollments and changes on-line. Using ACES Internet Forms, you can process new health enrollments, changes in health plans, additions and deletions of dependents, and other transactions normally performed by sending in an HBD-12 form. CalPERS encourages State departments to sign up for ACES Internet Forms. Training is provided by CalPERS. To sign up for ACES in time for this coming open enrollment, or get more information about the program, access CalPERS' web site at www.calpers.ca.gov/aces. Even if you are unable to get on ACES before open enrollment, you are encouraged to sign up. REACHING THE CALPERS HEALTH BENEFIT SERVICES DIVISION (NEW PHONE NUMBER EFFECTIVE AUGUST 15, 2001) Effective August 15, 2001, you can reach the CalPERS Health Benefit Services Division at 1-800-352-2238, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The busiest times of the month are the first five working days after benefit checks are issued and all Mondays. If you can wait to call outside of these times, you'll find it much easier to reach CalPERS staff. QUESTIONS FROM EMPLOYEES Employees should be directed to their departmental Personnel Office if they have questions regarding open enrollment for the Health, Dental, FlexElect, and CoBen Programs. Personnel Office staff requiring assistance or clarification of the information contained in this memo should call Bryan Bruno, Benefits Program Analyst, at (916) 445-9841 or CALNET 485-9841. Terri Westbrook, Chief Benefits Division cc: SCO, Butch Massoni/Bob Curry/Don Ward CALPERS, Doug Mckeever JRS/LRS, Rae Gamble STRS, Pat Sidhu CAHP BENEFIT TRUST, Kim Bamford CCPOA BENEFIT TRUST, Gerrit Buddingh Attachments will be distributed via mail.