Postdoctoral Benefit Program Portal

ELECTING COBRA AND CONTINUING YOUR MEDICAL, DENTAL AND/OR VISION COVERAGE

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), offers coverage when you experience a qualifying event, such as termination of employment, and you lose your insurance coverage. When your postdoc appointment terminates and you leave the university, you may continue your insurance coverage for any of the medical or dental plans in which you and your family members are enrolled by electing COBRA Continuation Coverage. When you elect COBRA coverage, you will pay for each plan in which you and your family members choose to be enrolled. Please keep in mind that even if your appointment were to terminate at any time during the month, your coverage continues until the end of the month and your COBRA elected coverage would begin on the first of the month following your termination.

ELECTING AND PAYING FOR COBRA CONTINUATION COVERAGE

Once Gallagher Benefit Services (GBS) receives your termination record from the university, your information will be sent to our COBRA administrator, Flexible Benefits Services (FLEX). FLEX will send you a COBRA Election Notice and a packet which displays the plans that are available to you. That notice is sent to your last known address communicated to us by the university. To elect your coverage, you will need to complete the COBRA Election Notice that was included in the packet and send it to FLEX within the timeframe noted on the COBRA Election Notice. If you decide to elect COBRA for you and any of your enrolled dependents, you will be responsible for paying the monthly premiums directly to FLEX. FLEX sends your premiums to the insurance carrier(s).

COBRA Rates

Elect COBRA continuation coverage

• To elect continuation coverage, you must complete the election form within 60 days of the date of the offer letter or your last day of coverage, whichever is later.
• Each qualified beneficiary has a separate right to elect continuation coverage. For example, the employee's spouse or child(ren) may elect continuation coverage even if the employee does not.

Failure to continue your group health coverage will affect your future rights under federal law.

• You can lose the right to avoid preexisting condition exclusions by other group health plans if you have a gap in health coverage of 63 days or more.
• You will lose the guaranteed right to purchase individual health coverage without a preexisting condition exclusion if you do not elect continuation coverage for the maximum time available to you.
• You have the right to request special enrollment in another group health plan for which you are eligible within 30 days after the end of continuation coverage.

Maximum coverage period

The maximum coverage period is based on the qualifying event causing a loss of eligibility.

• End of employment or reduction in hours allows coverage continuation for up to 18 months.
• Employee's death, divorce or legal separation, or the employee's becoming entitled to Medicare benefits allows coverage continuation for up to a total of 36 months.
• A dependent child ceasing to be a dependent under the terms of the plan may be eligible for coverage continuation for up to 36 months.

COBRA termination

Continuation coverage will be terminated before the end of the maximum period if:

• Any required premium is not paid in full on time
• A qualified beneficiary first becomes covered, after electing continuation coverage, under another group health plan that does not impose any preexisting condition exclusion for a preexisting condition of the qualified beneficiary
• The employer ceases to provide any group health plan for its employees
• For any reason the Plan would terminate coverage of an active employee or beneficiary not receiving continuation coverage (such as fraud)

Continuation extension

• If you elect continuation coverage, an extension of the maximum period of coverage may be available if a qualified beneficiary is disabled or a second qualifying event occurs.
• Notify the Flexible Benefit Services at service@myflexaccount.com of a disability or a second qualifying event in order to extend the period of continuation coverage.
• Failure to provide notice of a disability or second qualifying event may affect the right to extend the period of continuation coverage.

Disability

• An 11-month extension of coverage may be available if any of the qualified beneficiaries is determined under the Social Security Act (SSA) to be disabled.
• The disability has to have started at some time on or before the 60th day of COBRA continuation coverage and must last at least until the end of the 18-month period of continuation coverage.
• Each qualified beneficiary who has elected continuation coverage will be entitled to the 11-month disability extension if one of them qualifies.
• If the qualified beneficiary is determined to no longer be disabled under the SSA, you must notify the Plan of that fact within 30 days after that determination.

Second qualifying event

• Second qualifying events may include the death of a covered employee, divorce or legal separation from the covered employee, the covered employee's becoming entitled to Medicare benefits (under Part A, Part B, or both), or a dependent child's ceasing to be eligible for coverage as a dependent under the Plan.
• Events can be a second qualifying event only if they would have caused the qualified beneficiary to lose coverage under the Plan if the first qualifying event had not occurred.
• An 18-month extension of coverage will be available to spouses and dependent children who elect continuation coverage if a second qualifying event occurs during the first 18 months of continuation coverage.
• The maximum amount of continuation coverage available when a second qualifying event occurs is 36 months.
• If you want to extend your continuation coverage notify the Plan within 60 days after a second qualifying event occurs.

COBRA payments

• Continuation coverage costs 102 percent of the cost to the group health plan (including both employer and employee contributions) for coverage of a similarly situated plan participant or beneficiary who is not receiving continuation coverage.

LIFE INSURANCE PORTABILITY

Life insurance "portability" allows eligible employees to maintain their group term life insurance coverage after their employment ends. This means they can "port" their coverage by taking it with them and paying the premiums themselves, rather than relying on their employer's plan. You also have the option to "convert" all or a portion of your Group Term Life Insurance to an Individual Whole Life policy. Please see the Standard's "Options for Your Life Insurance: Comparing Portability and Conversion" document for more information.

Please contact the Standard's Continued Benefits Team directly at (800) 378-4668 or email CBT@standard.com to receive a portability application and to ask questions.