State of California

M E M O R A N D U M

REFERENCE CODE:
PML 96-015


DATE:
April 19, 1996


TO:
Personnel Officers
Personnel Transactions Supervisors
Personnel Transactions Staff


FROM:
Department of Personnel Administration
Benefits Division


SUBJECT:
Important Dental Program Changes 


CONTACT:
William Page, Dental Program Coordinator
(916) 324-0525 or CALNET 454-0525
Office Vision:  DPA (WHPAGE)
INTERNET:  WHPAGE@SMTP.DPA.CA.GOV

The purpose of this memo is to provide Departments with important
information on administrative changes in the State's Dental
Program.  These changes will be incorporated in the revised
Dental Program Procedures Manual which will be part of the next
revision of the Benefits Administration Manual (BAM).  It is
anticipated that the BAM revision will be sent to Departments in
mid-May.

New Standard Effective Date Rule

Effective May 1, 1996 a major change is being made to the
Standard Effective Date Rule which is applied to permissive
dental enrollment transactions.  This new rule will ensure that
all forms submitted timely by the employee will always maintain
the original effective date entered by the Personnel Office. 
Accordingly, any Dental Plan Enrollment Authorization (STD. 692)
form that is submitted to the State Controller's Office (SCO) and
must be returned to the employing office due to incomplete or
incorrect information will maintain the original effective date.

Personnel Office staff need to be aware, however, that document
processing problems will result in a delay in eligibility
information being sent to the dental carriers.  Employees should
be advised accordingly.  There will be no change to the current
Mandatory Effective Date Rule.  The new Standard Effective Date
Rule is provided below along with appropriate examples:


Standard Effective Date Rule

First day of the 2nd month after the STD. 692 is completed     
and received by the employing department.

Example (1)  Employee hired 6/1 and submits STD. 692 on 6/10. 
The effective date would be 8/1.

Example (2)  Spouse moves out of household 3/25 and employee
submits STD. 692 on 4/2.  The effective date would be 6/1.

This new rule change will be effective on May 1, 1996.  This
means that any STD. 692 received from the employee in the
Personnel Office on or after May 1, 1996 should reflect the new
Standard Effective Date Rule.

Revised Permitting Event Code Chart

The Dental Program Permitting Event Codes/Date Chart has also
been revised to incorporate the new Standard Effective Date Rule. 
A copy of the revised chart is attached and will be included in
the BAM revision being released mid-May.


Affidavit of Eligibility

The Affidavit of Eligibility form (DPA 025) is a new Department
of Personnel Administration (DPA) certification form.  Employees
will be required to provide this certificate when enrolling  an
economically dependent child(ren) on their dental coverage when
the child(ren) is not a natural child, an adopted child, or a
stepchild.  However, the DPA 025 will only be required if a
California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)Affidavit
of Eligibility is not being completed for enrollment of the child
in the health benefit.  A copy of the DPA 025 is attached, and
additional copies may be duplicated as needed.  The Personnel
Office should maintain this form in the employee's personnel file
with the agency copy of the STD. 692.  

Department's Role

Personnel offices are being asked to inform all employees about
these dental program changes which will affect new enrollments or
change requests.  Employees should be directed to contact their
Departmental Personnel Offices if they have any questions
regarding dental program changes.  

Personnel Office staff requiring assistance or clarification on
the information contained in this memo should call William Page,
Dental Program Coordinator, at (916) 324-0525 or CalNet 454-0525.




Patricia Pavone, Chief
Benefits Division


ATTACHMENTS WILL BE MAILED WITH HARD COPY OF PML.

cc:  SCO, Del Delgado/Linda Edwards/Laverne Krebs
PERS, Mark Quillici
STRS
DEPARTMENT OF THE MILITARY
FAIRS AND EXPOSITIONS
LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES
CAHP DENTAL TRUST
CCPOA DENTAL TRUST