Letter from the Benefits Office
TO: HCPSS Employees Eligible for Benefits
FROM: Benefits Office
RE: Annual Open Enrollment for Group Benefit
Plans—Plan Year 2015
October 13, 2014—November 7, 2014
It’s open enrollment time! The Annual Open Enrollment
Period is October 13—November 7, 2014. During this time,
we recommend that you review your personal information,
the benefits being offered by Howard County Public
School System (HCPSS), and the plans you are enrolled in,
to determine if you would like to make any changes. The
Benefits Enrollment Guide highlights the array of benefits
available to employees.
HCPSS is pleased to announce that we will continue
to offer the same comprehensive benefits programs
in Plan Year 2015, including: two health maintenance
organization plans (HMOs) with Open Access Select Aetna
and CareFirst Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Maryland
HMO, one preferred provider organization plan (PPO) with
Aetna PPO, a prescription drug program with Express
Scripts, a dental PPO plan with Delta Dental PPO, a dental
maintenance organization (DMO) plan with CIGNA DHMO,
and a vision plan with Vision Service Plan (VSP). In
addition, all of the current voluntary benefit offerings will
continue for Plan year 2015. BenefitFocus will continue
as the online Benefits Administrator for all HCPSS
benefit offerings.
If you do not wish to make any changes, your
current benefit elections will continue for Plan
Year 2015, with the exception of the Medical and/
or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts
(FSA). Your current FSA deduction(s) will not carry
over to Plan Year 2015. You will have to make a
new election for Plan Year 2015. To make changes
to your current benefit elections, to update your
personal information, and/or to enroll in Medical
and/or Dependent Care FSA(s) for Plan Year 2015,
please go online to https://hcpss.hrintouch.com.
Important Changes
Civil Marriage Protection Act
With the passage of the Civil Marriage Protection
Act, Same-Sex marriages became legal in the state of
Maryland. The Act now provides same-sex couples the
same benefits, protections, and obligations as oppositesex couples under Maryland law. Accordingly, effective
January 1, 2015, unmarried Same-Sex Domestic Partners
are no longer considered eligible Dependents, unless
grandfathered.
Express Scripts Home Delivery Program
Automatic enrollment in the Express Scripts Home
Delivery (Mail Order) Program for certain maintenance
medications has been eliminated. Mail order services
are still available to members with prescriptions for
maintenance medications, however, enrollment in the mail
order program is voluntary. If you are currently enrolled
in the Home Delivery Program, you have the option
to continue in the program or opt out. For additional
information regarding the Home Delivery mail order
program, please refer to the section on “Prescription Drug
Coverage” in this Benefits Enrollment Guide.
Benefit Offering Enhancements
We are pleased to inform you of the following
enhancements to our Benefit offerings:
CIGNA Dental Care HMO enhancements
■■ Restorative Fillings—Copayments for covered
procedures range from $23–$140
■■ Periodontics—Copayments for covered
procedures range from $75–$640
■■ Emergency Care—$65 ($77 after regularly
scheduled hours)
VSP (Vision Service Plan) enhancement/change
Hearing Aid Discounts through TruHearing - Members
can save up to $2,600 per pair of hearing aids. To take
advantage of this offer, VSP members must sign up for
this benefit at vsp.truhearing.com.
VSP has teamed up with Bausch + Lomb to offer VSP
members exclusive rebates on Bausch +Lomb contact
lenses. VSP no longer offers rebates through ACUVUE.
2 • Howard County Public School System—Benefits Enrollment Guide for Active Employees
Letter from the Benefits Office
Insurance Cards
Supplemental Life Insurance (MetLife)
enhancement
During this open enrollment period, you will have the
opportunity to enroll in a wide range of Supplemental Life
and Dependent Life coverage options, by answering just a
few medical questions. Please look for more information
on this special benefit opportunity to be mailed to you
directly by MetLife.
Premiums/Board Contributions
We are pleased to inform you that there will be no
increase in your medical, dental, vision, short-term
disability, long-term disability, whole life, supplemental
life and cancer/critical illness premiums for 2015. A
benchmark analysis of other area public school districts
shows that premium rates are increasing on average
of approximately 4%. Even with no rate increase for
2015, HCPSS is able to continue to offer the same
comprehensive benefits programs with no changes to the
plan designs. HCPSS is proud to maintain the benefits
programs at the current levels and current costs.
The Board will continue to pay 87% of the monthly
health premium for benefits eligible employees with a
hire date on prior to 06/30/2011. All benefits eligible
employees with a hire date on or after 07/01/2011, will
receive a Board contribution of 85% towards their monthly
health premium.
Dependent Eligibility Audit
Employees, who add new dependent to their health
benefits plans during the open enrollment period
and throughout the benefits calendar year as a result
of a qualifying event, will be required to provide
verification of their newly enrolled dependent(s). The
verification of eligible dependent(s) will be conducted
by Bolton Partners, Inc., an independent third party that
specializes in dependent verification. You will receive an
information packet with instructions on how to submit
verification materials.
Insurance cards will be issued only if you are new to a
plan or if you changed your coverage level. Pease note
that there is no vision insurance card for the Vision
Service Plan (VSP).
Learn More About Your Benefit
Offerings
You can learn more about the HCPSS benefit
offerings by visiting our on-line enrollment
system https://hcpss.hrintouch.com and/
or www.hcpss.org/employees/benefits.
Grandfathered Status Under the
Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act
HCPSS health plans are “grandfathered health plans”
under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the
Affordable Care Act). As permitted by the Affordable Care
Act, a grandfathered health plan can preserve certain
basic health coverage that was already in effect when
that law was enacted. Being a grandfathered health plan
means that your plans may not include certain consumer
protections of the Affordable Care Act that apply to other
plans, for example, the requirement for the provision
of preventive health services without any cost sharing.
However, grandfathered health plans must comply with
certain other consumer protections in the Affordable
Care Act, for example, the elimination of lifetime limits
on benefits.
Questions regarding which protections apply and which
protections do not apply to a grandfathered health
plan and what might cause a plan to change from
grandfathered health plan status can be reviewed at
the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor at www.dol.gov/ebsa/healthreform.
This website has a table summarizing which protections
do and do not apply to grandfathered health plans.
Howard County Public School System—Benefits Enrollment Guide for Active Employees • 3
Letter from the Benefits Office
Benefits Open House Events
To learn more about the health, dental, vision, flexible
spending accounts (medical and dependent care),
disability, voluntary benefits, 403(b) tax sheltered annuity
programs, and 457(b) deferred compensation program,
please attend one of the Benefits Open House Events on
the dates listed below.
Date
Time
Location
Wednesday,
October 15, 2014
10:30am – 5:00pm Central Office,
Board Rooms A & B
Monday,
October 20, 2014
10:30am – 5:00pm Central Office,
Board Rooms A & B
Tuesday,
October 28, 2014
10:30am – 5:00pm Central Office,
Board Rooms A & B
Representatives from all of our plan providers will be
present at the Benefits Open House Events to provide
information and answer questions. In addition, the
Benefits Office staff will be onsite to answer questions
and to assist with enrollment.
The effective date for all coverage(s) is January 1, 2015.
The first deduction will begin January 2, 2015.
Please review the Benefits Enrollment Guide carefully,
and if you have any questions contact HCPSS Benefits
Support Center toll-free at (855) 859-0971, Monday–Friday
8:00am to 8:00pm EST.
4 • Howard County Public School System—Benefits Enrollment Guide for Active Employees
Important Things to Remember
■■ Open Enrollment Period is October 13—
example; from 25% to 40%, you will have to
complete a Medical History Statement and mail
it to The Standard by November 30, 2014.
November 7, 2014.
■■ Review the Benefits Enrollment Guide for
Important information/changes.
■■ The deduction for short term and/or long term
■■ If you are not making any changes to your current
benefit elections, with the exception of Flexible
Spending Accounts FSAs (Medical and Dependent
care), they will continue for Plan Year 2015.
■■ All employees electing FSAs (Medical and/
or Dependent care) must go online to
https://hcpss.hrintouch.com to enroll for Plan
Year 2015. Your FSA elections will not carry over
for 2015. The maximum FSA medical election
for Plan Year 2015 is $2,500. The maximum FSA
dependent care election for Plan Year 2015 is
$5,000 per household.
■■ All employees must visit the hrintouch website
at https://hcpss.hrintouch.com to review/
update personal information and to elect/
change/cancel benefits.
■■ You MUST select a PCP for the CareFirst
disability coverage will begin the first of the
month following notification of approval from
The Standard.
■■ If you want to add, change or cancel your
supplemental life coverage you must make
these changes during open enrollment online at
https://hcpss.hrintouch.com.
See the MetLife section of the Enrollment Guide
for details on coverage limits and Evidence of
Insurability requirements.
■■ To enroll in Whole Life Insurance with Long
Term Care Rider contact The Farmington Co. at
(800) 621-0067.
■■ All medical, dental, vision, flexible spending
accounts, disability, and voluntary benefits
deductions are based on 20 pays.
■■ Dependent eligibility verifications will be
BlueChoice HMO Open Access
■■ Enter your life Insurance Beneficiary
designations on Benefitfocus.
■■ If you are an existing employee and you wish to
enroll in Short Term Disability coverage offered
through The Standard during open enrollment,
you will be required to mail a completed Medical
History Statement to The Standard by November
30, 2014. New hires will not be subject to the
Medical History Statement if they enroll within
the first 30 days of HCPSS employment. If you
are decreasing your current waiting period for
short-term disability coverage for example; from
14 days to 7 days, you will have to complete a
Medical History Statement and mail it to The
Standard by November 30, 2014.
■■ If you are an existing employee and you wish to
enroll in Long Term Disability coverage offered
through The Standard during open enrollment,
you will be required to mail a completed
Medical History Statement to The Standard
by November 30, 2014. New hires will not be
subject to the Medical History Statement if
they enroll within the first 30 days of HCPSS
employment. If you are increasing your your
benefit for long-term disability coverage for
required for any new dependents added to
your benefits during open enrollment. You will
receive a package with instructions for providing
documentation, from Bolton Partners, Inc.
■■ All benefits elections take effect on January 1, 2015.
■■ To learn more about the benefits offered
by HCPSS for health, dental, vision, flexible
spending accounts, disability, voluntary
benefits, 403(b) tax sheltered annuity programs,
and the 457(b) deferred compensation program,
please plan to attend one of our planned
Benefits Open House Events, held at the Central
Office Board Rooms A & B on the following
dates and times.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
10:30am – 5:00pm
Monday, October 20, 2014
10:30am – 5:00pm
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
10:30am – 5:00pm
arrier representatives will be present to provide
C
information and to answer any questions. In
addition, the Benefits Office staff will be onsite to
answer questions or to assist with enrollment.
■■ Payroll deductions begin January 2, 2015.
Howard County Public School System—Benefits Enrollment Guide for Active Employees • 5