Category Archives: Health Ins

Important Tax Information

Benefits, Faculty, For Faculty, For Staff, Health Ins, Human Resources, staff

As you prepare to file your 2016 income taxes, you may be asked about a form called Form 1095-C. The Affordable Care Act requires employers to furnish Form 1095-C to current and past employees who were covered in the employer sponsored medical plan for all or any portion of the tax year. In November of 2016, the IRS extended this year’s deadline for employers to furnish to employees the Form 1095-C from January 31st to March 2, 2017.

Please be aware that the extension to employers should not impact or delay a tax filer’s ability to file their income taxes as usual. Individual income tax-filers are not required to submit Form 1095-C when they file their taxes this year.  When the form does arrive (around March 2nd), be sure to keep the form with your personal tax records as documentation.

You may need to know the answers to a few basic questions when preparing your return:

  • Does Middlebury’s plan meet the minimum essential coverage criteria as mandated by the Affordable Care Act?   Yes it does.
  • Were you covered for all 12 months of the year? Each employee should know the answer to this.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the Benefits Department in Human Resources at 802-443-3372.

Here are several links to the IRS website where more information on this topic can be found:

https://www.irs.gov/Affordable-Care-Act/Individuals-and-Families/Individual-Shared-Responsibility-Provision

https://www.irs.gov/Tax-Professionals/ACA-Information-Center-for-Tax-Professionals

Open Enrollment

Benefits, Faculty, Flex, For Faculty, For Staff, Health Ins, HR, staff

Open Enrollment for Middlebury’s 2016 Health & Welfare Benefit Plan is being held from November 1 – 14, 2015.  All benefits-eligible employees are required to complete the open enrollment process within this time period even if they do not intend to make benefit changes for 2016.

Open enrollment is your opportunity to:

• Continue your current medical, dental, or vision elections into the new year OR add coverage for yourself and/or dependents OR terminate your own or your dependents’ coverage.
• Continue your current voluntary life and/or accidental death and dismemberment coverage for the new year OR increase OR decrease the amount of existing coverage in these plans.
• Enroll in the health care and/or the dependent care flexible spending account(s) for next year. If you do not make an FSA election, you will not be contributing for 2016 even if you participated in 2015.  For Q&A’s on the Health Care FSA rollover click here.

Open Enrollment must be completed, using Banner Web, between November 1 – 14, 2015.  Benefits eligible employees will be able to access the open enrollment module from any computer with internet access.

Getting Started
1. Access the Open Enrollment System:

• Click this link: http://go.middlebury.edu/bannerweb OR
• On the bottom right-hand corner of the Middlebury homepage http://www.middlebury.edu/  click “Quick Links” and then “Banner Web”

2. Enter your Banner Web User ID (your Midd ID number) and your PIN and click “Login”.
3. Click “Employee”, then “Benefits and Deductions”, and then “Open Enrollment”.

2016 Premium Rate Chart

Benefit Refresher Meetings

Benefits, Faculty, Flex, For Faculty, For Staff, Health Ins, HR, staff

3 Sessions remaining for this round of benefit refresher meetings.  More Benefit Refresher meetings will be scheduled in 2016 to review other benefit topics.

Do you have questions about your Middlebury College employee benefits?  Has it been a while since your Benefit Orientation? Unsure if Flexible Spending is right for you? Come join your Faculty and Staff colleagues at a Benefits Refresher Open Meeting where we will review highlights of the Medical, Dental & Vision plans, Flexible Spending Accounts and Voluntary Life and AD&D.  We will also leave time for your questions.

Refresher courses will be held on:

  • Monday, November 9th, 1:30-2:30, on-line*
  • Tuesday, November 10th, 4:00-5:00, on-line*  – New session added
  • Wednesday, November 11th, 3:00-4:00, Crest Room, Middlebury Campus

Please register for the course by clicking here so we know how many snacks to bring.  We’re looking forward to seeing you there.

* On-line refresher meetings will be conducted using Adobe Connect.  A link to the meeting will be sent out to enrollees on morning of the session.

Benefit Refresher Open Meetings

Benefits, Faculty, Flex, For Faculty, For Staff, Health Ins, staff

Do you have questions about your Middlebury College employee benefits?  Has it been a while since your Benefit Orientation? Unsure if Flexible Spending is right for you? Come join your Faculty and Staff colleagues at a Benefits Refresher Open Meeting where we will review highlights of the Medical, Dental & Vision plans, Flexible Spending Accounts and Voluntary Life and AD&D.  We will also leave time for your questions.

Refresher courses will be held on:

  • Wednesday, November 4th, 12:30-1:30, Crest Room
  • Friday, November 6th, 8:30-9:30, Crest Room
  • Monday, November 9th, 1:30-2:30, on-line*
  • Wednesday, November 11th, 3:00-4:00, Crest Room

Please register for the course by clicking here so we know how many snacks to bring.  We’re looking forward to seeing you there.

* On-line refresher meeting will be conducted using Adobe Connect.  A link to the meeting will be sent out to enrollees on Monday (11/9) morning.

Save the Date – Open Enrollment November 1st-14th

Benefits, Faculty, Flex, For Faculty, For Staff, Health Ins, HR, staff

Benefits Open Enrollment is being conducted electronically again this year.  You will be receiving an e-mail (ooa Oct 30th) detailing our 2016 benefits as well as step-by-step instructions on how to enroll using BannerWeb.  Human Resources will gladly help you through the process; if you have questions please call x2320.

All benefits eligible Faculty and Staff are required to complete Open Enrollment between November 1st & 14th.

Flexible Spending Accounts – it’s not too early to start calculating your 2016 annual election.  Per federal law, this year’s annual limit is $2,550 (plus you may roll up to $500 of unused 2015 Health Care FSA funds into your 2016 account).  If you will have large medical expenses next year (orthodontist work, laser eye surgery, etc.) you should make sure you know how much your out of pocket cost will be for these services before Open Enrollment starts.

For additional information on Flexible Spending Accounts, including a Planning Worksheet visit the Flex Spending webpage.

For Questions and Answers regarding the Health Care FSA rollover click here

Flu Vaccines

Benefits, For Faculty, For Staff, Health Ins, HR, Wellness

The following applies to all members of the Middlebury College Health Plan, employees and dependents alike.

We are pleased to announce that our prescription plan has elected to cover flu vaccines at a $0 copay for employees enrolled in Middlebury College’s health insurance plan.  To take advantage of this $0 copay program, employees can choose from any of the following options:

  1. Visit any of the Magellan Rx participating pharmacies and present your CBA Blue ID Card to receive the vaccine for a $0 co-pay.
  2. If you choose to visit a non-participating pharmacy, you can still receive the vaccine. You will be required to pay full cost at the time of administration; however, request an itemized receipt to submit the claim directly to CBA Blue for 100% reimbursement from the medical plan.
  3. Visit a Blue Cross/Blue Shield doctor. The doctor’s office will submit the claim directly to CBA Blue, and the claim will be paid 100% from the medical plan.
  4. If you choose to visit an out-of-network doctor, you can still receive the vaccine. You will be required to pay full cost at the time of administration; however, request an itemized receipt to submit the claim directly to CBA Blue for 100% reimbursement from the medical plan.

Due to the convenience and increased cost-effectiveness of the Magellan Rx plan, Middlebury College will not be hosting an on-site clinic for employees this year.  We encourage you to take advantage of the $0 copay program today.

Please feel free to contact Lisa Hoff, Benefits Specialist, at lmhoff@middlebury.edu or x3372 with any questions.

Benefits Information

Benefits, For Faculty, For Staff, Health Ins, HR

Middlebury College’s Health Plan has a “Coordination of Benefits” provision that requires CBA Blue to maintain information on file regarding other insurance coverage you or your dependents may have.  Annually CBA Blue sends out a Coordination of Benefits form that all enrolled employees must complete to ensure proper processing of your health insurance claims.  You should receive the form from CBA Blue within the next few days.  Please be sure to complete it and return it to them as instructed.  This form is required for all enrolled employees (even if you and your dependents do not have other insurance).  This information is necessary for proper processing of your claims in a timely manner.  Failure to provide accurate information on other coverage may result in serious financial consequences.

Important Benefits Reminders

Benefits, Faculty, Flex, For Faculty, For Staff, Health Ins, HR, staff

Trouble-free employee benefit plan administration requires a strong partnership between employees and Human Resources. The Human Resources Department works diligently each year-end to accurately process the thousands of required or requested benefit record changes and then to check and double-check our work. However, in the end, we also must rely on you, the employee, to do your part in managing your benefits by confirming that you are enrolled in the benefits you intended to elect. Please carefully review your first paycheck and let us know if you have questions or if anything seems amiss.

Medical/Dental Insurance

  • All medical plan participants were mailed new ID cards in December. These new ID cards have information regarding our new pharmacy benefit manager, MagellanRx, including their group and plan number, as well as their customer service phone number. Please confirm that you have received your new ID card. If you did not receive your new ID cards or if you need additional cards (for example, for a child away at college) call CBA Blue customer service (1-888-222-9206).
  •  If you have been utilizing NEMOP for mail-order prescriptions and have not yet made arrangements to transfer your account to MagellanRx please do so by calling Magellan at 1-800-424-0472 to set up an account.
  •  If you made a change to who is covered under your medical or dental plan, your new ID cards should reflect those changes.  If your new ID cards do not list the correct family members please contact Lisa Hoff at x3372.
  •  As was announced in October, the employee portion of the medical & dental premiums did not increase for 2015.       However, any employee who made coverage level (single/2 person/family) changes should see a premium change in the first paycheck of 2015.

Vision Insurance

  • As a reminder our vision plan is with Vision Service Plan (VSP).  No ID card is required (just tell your VSP provider the last 4 digits of your SSN and date of birth). A summary of the plan and other helpful information is available on-line at http://www.middlebury.edu/offices/business/hr/staffandfaculty/benefits/vision.  The premium for the Vision Plan did not increase for 2015.

Voluntary Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance

  • Premiums changes related to a change in coverage amount or age-band changes (5 year increments) should be reflected in the first paycheck in 2015. If you made changes or you hit a new age band in 2015, please confirm that your premium changed.
  • Requests for new life coverage or for increases in life coverage over the guarantee issue amount are not effective until approved by Mutual of Omaha. An Evidence of Insurability form must be submitted by you to Mutual of Omaha if you have requested this type of change. Mutual of Omaha will notify you directly of approval or denial. Any premium changes will be made as of the effective date of the approved coverage.

Flexible Spending Accounts

  • 2015 elections for the Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts should be reflected in the first paycheck of 2015. Please review your pay stub and confirm that your contribution is correct (divide your total annual election by 26 to calculate your per pay-period election.)
  • If you are a new Flexible Spending Account plan participant (you were not enrolled in a FSA last year) then FSA Benefits Cards were mailed to your home address in mid-December.  If you had a FSA last year you will not be issued a new card as they are valid for 3 years.  If your card is three years old, it will be good through January 31st and a new card will be issued by mid-January.  The Benefits Card can be used to access funds in your Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account.    Important information about the FSA Benefits Card is available at http://www.middlebury.edu/offices/business/hr/staffandfaculty/benefits/flex.
  • You have until March 15, 2015 to file claims against your 2014 flexible spending accounts for expenses incurred in 2014. The FSA Claim form and other helpful information on Flexible Spending Accounts can be found at http://www.middlebury.edu/offices/business/hr/staffandfaculty/benefits/flex. Please visit CBA Blue’s website at http://select.cbabluevt.com/middlebury/ to review your account information.

Retirement

  • If you submitted forms prior to the holiday break requesting changes to your Voluntary Retirement Plan or to enroll in the 457b Salary Deferral Supplemental Retirement Plan, your new elections should have been reflected in your first paycheck of 2015. If you requested changes please confirm that your elections are as expected.

If you have made a change to who is covered on your medical or dental plan and you have not received your new ID card(s), or if a benefit deduction doesn’t look right to you, or if you have any other questions or concerns about your benefits, please contact Human Resources as soon as possible. Thanks for doing your part to keep our benefit plans running smoothly!

Your Benefits Team,

~Lisa Hoff, Benefits Specialist (Health/Dental/Vision/Flex Spending) x3372

~Franklin Daniel, Benefits Specialist (Retirement Plans & Retiree Medical/Dental) x5755

~Cheryl Mullins, Benefits & Compensation Manager x5542

Important Benefits Information

Benefits, EFAP, Faculty, For Faculty, For Staff, Health Ins, HR, staff

Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP)

For many years our EFAP benefit has been administered by The Wellness Corporation.  Recently, The Wellness Corporation was purchased by E4 Health, a leading provider, under the brand name Lifescope, of holistic life services and wellness solutions for organizations nationwide. The merger of The Wellness Corporation and E4 Health – two experienced and professional organizations – will mean expanded service offerings for our faculty and staff plus continuation of the high quality services and capabilities that we have been accustomed to through our long-standing relationship with The Wellness Corp.  Please take a moment to review the two brief documents attached, which give an overview of our new Lifescope resources as well as updated phone and web contact information.  Please note  –  if you are currently accessing EFAP counseling or other benefits arranged through The Wellness Corporation you will not need to do anything different to continue to see your current provider; this change will be seamless to you.

http://www.middlebury.edu/offices/business/hr/staffandfaculty/benefits/EFAP

Summary Plan Description (SPD)

SPDs are designed as brief, handy, easily understandable explanations of important benefit plan provisions.  Below please find a link to the 2014 version of the Middlebury College Health & Welfare Benefits Plan SPD which provides current information on our: medical, dental, vision, life, voluntary life, short-term disability, long-term disability, flexible spending accounts, and employee and family assistance program benefits.  All employees are eligible for the employee and family assistance program (EFAP); those employees classified as “benefits-eligible” are eligible for the full range of health and welfare benefit offerings.  You can also find this SPD by visiting the Benefits page on the Human Resources website.  If you would prefer to receive a paper copy of the 2014 SPD, please let me know, or stop by the Human Resources Office, and a paper copy will be provided to you.

http://www.middlebury.edu/media/view/470998/original/active_spd.pdf

Please do not hesitate to contact the benefits team with questions about the change to our EFAP provider or the 2014 Health & Welfare SPD.