2012 Annual Enrollment
The State Health Plan will conduct Annual Enrollment March 19-30, 2012.
Employees do NOT need to do anything during Annual Enrollment if they are satisfied with the plan in which they are currently enrolled. If they take no action, they will remain on their current plan, along with any covered dependents.
Employees received Annual Enrollment materials at the end of February. Four different versions were sent to the audiences below. Click on the links below to view each mailer.
Employees that make a change during Annual Enrollment can expect to receive a new ID card in June. If they have additional questions regarding Annual Enrollment or their benefits they can call Customer Service at 888-234-2416. Customer Service hours for BCBSNC and eBenefitsNow will be extended from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during Annual Enrollment.
Employees will ONLY be able to make changes for the upcoming benefit year during the annual enrollment period.
During Annual Enrollment, employees can:
- Enroll in the State Health Plan
- Switch between plans
- Add or remove dependents without a qualifying life event
Please remind employees that when adding dependents* to their benefit plan, they may be asked to provide documentation of their dependent's eligibility under the State Health Plan. An eligible dependent of a covered employee includes:
- Legal spouse;
- Children up to age 26, including natural, legally adopted, foster children, children for which the employee has legal guardianship and stepchildren of the employee;
- Children who are physically or mentally incapacitated, to the extent that they are incapable of earning a living, and such handicap developed or began to develop before the dependent's 26th birthday while they were enrolled on the Plan.
*Dependent children must not be eligible for their own or their spouse's employer sponsored health coverage.
Any plan changes made during Annual Enrollment will become effective July 1, 2012. Once employees choose their benefit plan, they may not elect to switch plans until the next Annual Enrollment period. The coverage type they select (for example, employee only) will remain in effect until the next benefit plan year, unless they experience a qualifying life event. Qualifying life events include changes such as marriage, birth, death and retirement. For a complete list of qualifying events, please refer to the benefits booklet.
Premium Rate Increase
Effective July 1, 2012, there has been a 5.3% premium rate increase. There has been no change to copays, deductibles and coinsurance maximums. For detailed rate information, click here.
Pharmacy Benefit Change
The Plan's Board of Trustees approved a cap on the maximum amount members must pay to cover the difference between brand and generic medications when a generic equivalent is available. For brand name drugs with a generic equivalent, if the brand name drug is chosen, members must pay the generic copayment plus the difference between the Plan's cost of the brand name drug and the Plan's cost of the generic drug not to exceed $100 per a 30-day supply of the brand medication.
If retired employees contact you regarding Annual Enrollment, tell them that they have two options to change their coverage, either online or telephonically. For more information click here.
Enrollment Instructions
eBenefitsNow Online Enrollment Instructions
This document contains instructions for agencies who enroll through the eBenefitsNow system.
HR InTouch Website Addresses
This document contains a listing of the HR InTouch website addresses along with links for agencies that are live on eBenefitsNow.
BEACON Online Enrollment Instructions
This document contains instructions for agencies who enroll through Employee Self Service (ESS) available on the BEACON website.
Retiree Online Enrollment Instructions
This document contains step-by-step instructions with screen shots for retirees who enroll through ORBIT and the eBenefitsNow system.
Rates
July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013
Plan Comparison
September 1, 2011 - June 30, 2013
Poster/Flier
Poster/Flier
