State of California M E M O R A N D U M REFERENCE CODE: 99-054 DATE: October 20, 1999 TO: Personnel Officers Personnel Transactions Supervisors Personnel Transactions Staff FROM: Department of Personnel Administration Benefits Division SUBJECT: BENEFIT ELIGIBILITY CHANGES CONTACT: William Page, Benefits Program Analyst (916) 445-9801, CALNET 485-9801 FAX: (916) 322-3769 OFFICE VISION: DPA(WILLIAMPAGE) INTERNET: WILLIAMPAGE@DPA.CA.GOV The purpose of this memo is to provide information to departments regarding a variety of benefit eligibility changes for State employees that have resulted from Collective Bargaining. These changes include: 1) Implementation of Consolidated Benefits (CoBen) for employees in Bargaining Unit 7, 2) Deletion of the Delta Dental Plan 24 month restriction for Bargaining Units 7, 8, 16, 18, 19, and prior State employees, 3) Changes in the dental and vision eligibility criteria for employees, and 4) Changes in the health, dental, and vision eligibility criteria for dependent children of Bargaining Units 8, 16, and 19 employees. IMPLEMENTATION OF COBEN FOR BARGAINING UNIT 7 EMPLOYEES Currently, BU 8, BU 16, BU 18, BU 19, and Excluded employees are enrolled in CoBen. BU 7 employees will also be enrolled in CoBen effective January 1, 2000 (December 1999 pay period). The Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) sent a letter to all BU 7 employees, dated October 6, 1999, which explained the implementation of CoBen. A copy of this letter is attached for your information. DELETION OF THE DELTA DENTAL 24 MONTH RESTRICTION FOR BU 7, BU 8, BU 16, BU 18, AND BU 19 EMPLOYEES Effective immediately, all eligible BU 8, BU 16, BU 18, and BU 19 employees will not be included under the Delta Dental Plan 24 month restriction. All newly hired employees in these bargaining units, in addition to those employees who are currently serving the 24 month restriction in these units will be allowed to enroll or change to Delta Dental with a current effective date. FOR ELIGIBLE BU 7 EMPLOYEES ONLY In conjunction with enrollment into CoBen, effective January 1, 2000, all eligible BU 7 employees will not be included under the Delta Dental Plan 24 month restriction. All newly hired employees, including those employees who are currently serving the 24 month restriction in this unit will be allowed to enroll or change to Delta Dental effective January 1, 2000. DELETION OF THE DELTA DENTAL 24 MONTH RESTRICTION FOR PRIOR STATE EMPLOYEES Effective immediately, all eligible newly hired or current employees who were previously a State employee for 24 consecutive months without a permanent break in service will be allowed to enroll or change to Delta Dental with a current effective date. Important Note: For employees participating in FlexElect or CoBen, the choice made by these employees for dental insurance (enroll in a State-sponsored plan or elect cash in lieu of their dental benefit) will continue to be a three-year commitment. The only exceptions to this three- year commitment are: 1) if the employee was receiving cash and lost his/her other dental coverage; 2) the employee cancelled both health and dental CoBen Cash during open enrollment; or 3) due to a valid change in status event the employee cancelled both health and dental CoBen Cash. DOCUMENT COMPLETION In the event an eligible BU 7, BU 8, BU 16, BU 18, BU 19 or prior State employee wants to enroll in or change their dental coverage from a prepaid dental plan to Delta Dental based on the deletion of the 24 month restriction, a STD. 692 will need to be completed and submitted to the State Controller's Office (SCO) for processing. The STD. 692 should be completed with the following information: STD 692 Permitting Event Date: 10/1/99 Effective Date: First day of the month following the date received in employing office (as shown on STD. 692) For: BU 8, BU 16, BU 18, BU 19, and prior State employees 1/1/00 BU 7 (only) Permitting Event Code: 08 Enroll or Change of Plan Remarks Section: Terminate 24 month Restriction CUT-OFF DATES FOR SUBMISSION/SIGNATURES ON THE STD. 692: 12/31/99 Last date for documents to be signed and submitted to Personnel by employees. 1/14/00 Last date for documents to be received in employing office. (as shown on STD. 692) 1/24/00 - Last date for receipt by SCO of all documents. 2/11/00 - Last date for receipt by SCO of any documents that were returned to departments for correction. CHANGE IN THE EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Effective immediately, the eligibility criteria for dental and vision will be the same as the current eligibility criteria for health benefits. Therefore, all State employees must meet one of the following criteria in order to be eligible for, dental, and vision benefits: a permanent employee appointed half-time or more; or an employee who is a limited-term or temporary authorization appointee who continues coverage based on prior continuous permanent status; or a limited-term employee who is half-time or more with an appointment of six months or more; or an employee appointed half-time or more to a temporary appointment in lieu of a permanent appointment; or a permanent intermittent employee who works a minimum of 480 hours in a six-month control period; or BU 7 and BU 8 - Seasonal Employees. All other limited-term, nonstatus employees as defined by DPA and temporary authorization employees are not eligible. Limited-term employees are the individuals primarily impacted by the change in the eligibility criteria for employees. ENROLLING AN ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE INTO DENTAL BASED ON THE NEW EMPLOYEE CRITERIA In the event an eligible employee wants to enroll in dental based on the new eligibility criteria, a STD. 692 will need to be completed. The STD.692 should be completed with the following information: STD 692 Permitting Event Date: 10/1/99 Effective Date: First day of the month following the date received in employing office. (as shown on STD. 692) Permitting Event Code: 16 Remarks Section: Newly Eligible Based on MOU CUT-OFF DATES FOR SUBMISSION/SIGNATURES ON THE STD. 692: 12/31/99 Last date for documents to be signed and submitted to Personnel by employees. 1/14/00 - Last date for documents to be received in employing office. (as shown on STD. 692) 1/24/00 - Last date for receipt by SCO of all documents. 2/11/00 - Last date for receipt by SCO of any documents that were returned to departments for correction. AUTOMATIC ENROLLMENT OF ELIGIBLE LIMITED-TERM EMPLOYEES IN VISION Effective December 1, 1999 (November pay period), SCO will automatically enroll all eligible limited-term employees into the vision benefit. CHANGE IN THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN OF BU 8, BU 16, and BU 19 EMPLOYEES Effective immediately, for employees in BU 8, BU 16, and BU 19, the maximum age limit for dependent children eligible for health, dental, and vision coverage has been raised from age 19 to age 23. This means that a dependent child attaining age 19 will not be required to meet certain educational conditions or obtain disability certification to continue benefit coverage beyond age 19. For all employees, the State will not continue health, dental and vision coverage for dependent children after attaining age 23, unless the dependent child has been certified with a physical or mental disability and is dependent on the employee for support and care, and the dependent child was enrolled as disabled at the time of the employee's initial enrollment or became disabled while enrolled as an eligible family member prior to attaining age 23. ENROLLING A DEPENDENT CHILD BASED ON THE NEW DEPENDENT CRITERIA In the event a BU 8, BU, 16, or BU 19 employee wants to enroll an eligible dependent child based on the new eligibility criteria for dependent children, an HBD-12 and/or STD. 692 will need to be completed. Documents should be completed with the following information: HBD-12 Permitting Event Date: 10/1/99 Effective Date: First day of the month following the date received in employing office. (as shown on HBD-12) Reason Code: 212 Remarks Section: Dependent Addition Based on MOU STD 692 Permitting Event Date: 10/1/99 Effective Date: First day of the month following the date received in employing office. (as shown on STD. 692) Permitting Event Code: 16 Remarks Section: Dependent Addition Based on MOU CUT-OFF DATES FOR SUBMISSION/SIGNATURES ON THE HBD-12 and STD. 692: 12/31/99 Last date for documents to be signed and submitted to Personnel by employees. 1/14/00 - Last date for documents to be received in employing office. (as shown on HBD-12 and/or STD. 692) 1/24/00 - Last date for receipt by SCO of all documents. 2/11/00 - Last date for receipt by SCO of any documents that were returned to departments for correction. CLOSING We are requesting all Personnel Offices to notify impacted employees of the above changes. Employees should be advised to direct questions to their respective Personnel Office. While it is our hope that the information provided will answer most of the questions raised, we are aware that the information represents major changes to the current employee and dependent eligibility criteria. Should you have any questions regarding this information, the Benefits Division Staff are here to assist you. You may contact William Page, Benefits Program Analyst at (916) 445-9801 or CALNET 485-9801 if you have any questions. Kathie Vaughn, Chief Benefits Division cc:SCO, Butch Massoni/Bob Curry/Don Ward CALPERS, Pam Moore JRS, Rae Gamble STRS, Pat Sidhu CAHP BENEFIT TRUST, Terri Westbrook CCPOA BENEFIT TRUST, Gerrit Buddingh Attachments will be distributed via mail.