2013 Open Enrollment - 2110 Staff Members

During the Open Enrollment period, Barnard College offers employees the opportunity to make certain changes to their health care coverage and Flexible Spending Accounts.

GHI Health Care

During this Open Enrollment period, employees may add eligible dependents to their existing health care plan.  This is the only time during the year that employees may add eligible dependents, other than within 31 days following a proven life status change.  Dependents may be dropped from coverage at any time.

Dependent Children Coverage

For your information, the following applies to your coverage with GHI:

• Dependent children are covered under GHI to the end of the MONTH in which they reach the age of 26.

Under certain circumstances children may be continued as dependents under the plan beyond age 26.  Children must reside in New York State, must be unmarried, under age 30, and must be ineligible for other coverage.  In such cases you must pay the full, taxable amount of this coverage.

Please provide Human Resources with information regarding the status of your dependent child(ren), (i.e., student or no longer eligible).

Waiver of Coverage

In accordance with the College’s agreement with Local 2110 incorporating recent agreement of October 16, 2012:

An employee who is eligible for health insurance coverage and waives such coverage will receive a monthly payment of $200 for single coverage (total yearly payment of $2,400.00) and $400 for families (total yearly payment of $4,800.00) in lieu of benefits.  In order to be eligible for this payment, annually the employee must submit satisfactory proof of coverage under another health insurance plan.  Employees who waive coverage may terminate the waiver and elect coverage if there is a change in the employee’s spouse’s employment status that results in the loss of coverage.  This waiver of coverage payment is not available to employees where both the employee and his/her spouse work for Barnard College.

• Health Insurance Waiver

The deadline for submitting enrollment changes, waivers and dependent information forms is December 7, 2012.  All changes will become effective January 1, 2013.

Please note:  You only need to complete forms for health care if you want a change in coverage.  Otherwise your health care coverage will remain as currently in effect.

Flexible Spending Accounts

The Barnard College Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account is a benefit program which can enable you to reduce taxes by paying for your unreimbursed dependent care expenses with pre-tax income.  In order to participate for the calendar year 2013, you must complete and return your election form by the deadline, December 7, 2012.

Annual Maximum:

Dependent Care Spending         $5,000

Once the plan year begins, you may change the amount of your flexible spending contributions only if there is a change in your family status – marriage, death, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, or a change in a spouse’s employment status.  This change must occur within 31 days of the qualifying event.  Otherwise, your election may not be changed during the year.

We have included an enrollment form in this mailing.  Please complete and return it to Human Resources, Room 6, Milbank Hall by December 7, 2012.   Forms are also available in Human Resources and on the website at www.barnard.edu/hr/forms. This deadline is crucial to the completion of the flexible spending process for the beginning of the year 2013.

Please feel free to call Human Resources if you have any questions at x42551.

(REV. 11/09/12)