Planning & Communications for Administrators
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The Episcopal Church Medical Trust
19 East 34th Street New York, NY 10016 www.cpg.org
2017 Open Enrollment Planning & Communications for Administrators
Introduction Employers play an important role in ensuring a smooth Open Enrollment process for both their employees as well as local benefits administrators.
When employees have a choice of plan designs, knowing their options and costs in advance gives them time to research and select the plan that best suits their needs for the coming year. And when local benefits administrators in parishes and institutions know the plan offering and rates for the year, it gives them time to prepare budgets and communications for the coming year.
Because of the great variety of plan designs and benefits funding arrangements throughout the Church, The Episcopal Church Medical Trust (Medical Trust) is not able to communicate organization-specific information to each member prior to Open Enrollment. The information is available on MLPS when members go online, but many feel rushed to make a decision with little time for researching and considering their options.
To support your administrative and communications needs, we have prepared these Open Enrollment documents:
Open Enrollment Timeline for Administrators The enclosed month-by-month timeline can help you plan each step involved in Open Enrollment, beginning with renewal review and plan selections from September 9 - October 17, through the start of the new plan year on January 1. We have included action items and other key information to make it a helpful reference.
Letter Templates We developed the following templates to facilitate your Open Enrollment communications with benefits personnel and employees. The templates can be customized with your 2017 health plan selections, rates and other important information.
Template #1 – Memo to Rectors, Parish Administrators or Other Benefits Personnel Template #2 – Letter to Employees (Members and Non-Participating Employees)
How to use the letter templates: Customizable areas appear in red type. Enter the specific information for your organization. Delete any sections in red that do not apply. Explanatory notes appear in blue type. Before mailing, double-check all rate information, delete all explanatory notes and change all remaining text to black type.
Please do not hesitate to provide us with any suggestions you may have to improve these materials and make them a more useful resource. You may contact us at (855) 215-5990, Monday to Friday, 8:30AM – 8:00PM ET (excluding holidays). Or, email us at [email protected]. Template #1 – Memo to Rectors, Parish Administrators or Other Benefits Personnel
TO:
FROM:
RE: 2017 Health Benefits Overview
DATE:
This memo contains important information about our 2017 health benefits offerings and Open Enrollment process. Please share this information with your employees.
Note: You may want to include Template #2 as an attachment for parishes to customize for their own employee communications, if you will not be sending this to all staff.
Our online Open Enrollment for 2017 will run from
Medical Plans We are offering the following medical plans to our employees through The Episcopal Church Medical Trust (Medical Trust):
Note: For each of the following medical and dental plan tables, please populate the table version that reflects the tier basis offered by your group, and delete the others. As an added safety measure, please double-check any rate and plan information keyed in manually.
Single Employee + Employee + Family Medical Plan / Monthly Rates Spouse Child/ren
Plan Name #1 $ $ $ $
Plan Name #2 $ $ $ $
Medical Plan / Monthly Rates Single Employee + 1 Family
Plan Name #1 $ $ $
Plan Name #2 $ $ $
Medical Plan / Monthly Rates Single Family
Plan Name #1 $ $
Plan Name #2 $ $
Dental Plans We are offering the following Cigna dental plans through the Medical Trust:
Note: If your dental coverage is not through the Medical Trust, you may want to provide information here about how you handle dental open enrollment.
Employee + Employee + Dental Plan / Monthly Rates Single Spouse Child/ren Family
Preventive Dental $ $ $ $ Basic Dental $ $ $ $
Dental & Orthodontia $ $ $ $
Dental Plan / Monthly Rates Single Employee + 1 Family
Preventive Dental $ $ $
Basic Dental $ $ $
Dental & Orthodontia $ $ $
Dental Plan / Monthly Rates Single Family
Preventive Dental $ $
Basic Dental $ $
Dental & Orthodontia $ $
What You Need to Know About Open Enrollment During the Medical Trust’s Open Enrollment period: Current plan members may change their plan selections for the following year Eligible non-participating employees have the option to join a plan Eligible non-participating dependents may be added to a member’s plan and participating dependents may be removed from a member’s plan without the need to demonstrate a qualifying event
Currently Enrolled Employees Please inform your currently enrolled employees (plan members) that they will receive a letter from the Medical Trust approximately one week before their Open Enrollment period. This letter will provide them with information on when and how to access the Open Enrollment website, and links to important benefits information and plan resources. In your communications, encourage your employees to begin reviewing their options and to research plans early.
IMPORTANT REMINDER: Members will access the enrollment web page with the same credentials (user name and password) they created to access their benefits information on MyCPG Accounts. It is important for all participating employees to create an account on MyCPG Accounts prior to Open Enrollment, if they have not already done so. For assistance, employees may contact the Client Services Team at (800) 480-9967, Monday to Friday, 8:30AM – 8:00 PMET (excluding holidays), or email [email protected].
Non-participating Employees Existing employees who qualify for health coverage but are not participating in one of the Medical Trust plans are eligible to enroll themselves and/or their dependents during Open Enrollment for the 2017 plan year. As we do not mail materials to these potential members, please send a communication to these employees informing them of this option as well as the plans and rates available to them and all applicable legal notices and Summaries of Benefits and Coverage. The Summaries of Benefits and Coverage are available at www.cpg.org/mtdocs. Blank enrollment forms are available on www.cpg.org. OR You may use the attached enrollment form for new member enrollments and return them to me before
2017 Plan Offering Insert red text for the group to choose accordingly for their situation:
New Plans Please note that we are offering new plans from the Medical Trust for the 2017 plan year:
Plans No Longer Offered Please note that the
No Changes to Current Plan Selections Please note that there are no changes to our current plan options for the coming year. However, members should still be encouraged to go online during Open Enrollment to check their information (name, address, dependents, etc.) and make changes if necessary.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with Cigna Behavioral Health In addition to the health plans, we offer a stand-alone EAP that you and your related entities may elect to offer to their employees who opt out of medical benefits coverage. (The EAP is already included as part of each medical plan offering.)
Note: On a stand-alone basis, the employer must pay for the EAP-only coverage. Requiring employees to contribute to the EAP-only coverage would violate the Affordable Care Act and the employer could be subject to significant penalties. Eligibility for the stand-alone EAP program is limited to qualified non- members (e.g. an employee who opts out of medical coverage because they are on a spousal plan). Because these employees will not have the ability to select the EAP on a stand-alone basis during Open Enrollment, enrollments must be completed by the group administrator with MLPS access.
Include as appropriate:
Informational Meetings You are invited to join us for informational presentations on the following date(s):
We will also host an online presentation and conference call:
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Please note that this document is provided for informational purposes only and should not be viewed as an offer of coverage, legal, medical, tax or other advice. Please consult with your own professional advisor for further guidance. In the event of a conflict between this document and the official plan documents, the official plan documents will govern. The Church Pension Fund and its affiliates retain the right to amend, terminate or modify the terms of any benefit plans described in this document at any time, for any reason and unless required by law, without notice. Template #2 – Letter to Employees (Members and Non-Participating Employees)
Dear
This letter contains important information about your health benefits for 2017. Please read it carefully and contact me with any questions.
Our online Open Enrollment for your 2017 health benefits will run from
Medical Plans We are offering the following medical plans to our employees through The Episcopal Church Medical Trust (Medical Trust):
Note: For each of the following Medical and Dental plan tables, please populate the table version that reflects the tier basis offered by your group, and delete the others.
Single Employee + Employee + Family Medical Plan / Monthly Rates Spouse Child/ren
Plan Name #1 $ $ $ $
Plan Name #2 $ $ $ $
Medical Plan / Monthly Rates Single Employee + 1 Family
Plan Name #1 $ $ $
Plan Name #2 $ $ $
Medical Plan / Monthly Rates Single Family
Plan Name #1 $ $
Plan Name #2 $ $
Dental Plans The following Cigna dental plans are also offered through the Medical Trust:
Note: If your dental coverage is not through the Medical Trust, you may want to provide information here about how you handle dental open enrollment.
Employee + Employee + Dental Plan / Monthly Rates Single Spouse Child/ren Family
Preventive Dental $ $ $ $
Basic Dental $ $ $ $
Dental & Orthodontia $ $ $ $ Dental Plan / Monthly Rates Single Employee + 1 Family
Preventive Dental $ $ $
Basic Dental $ $ $
Dental & Orthodontia $ $ $
Dental Plan / Monthly Rates Single Family
Preventive Dental $ $
Basic Dental $ $
Dental & Orthodontia $ $
Plan Documents 2017 Summaries of Benefits and Coverage and 2016 Plan Document Handbooks have more information about the available plans and may be found on the Church Pension Group website at www.cpg.org/mtdocs. You can use the “Mail It To Me” option to receive a free paper copy of the Summaries of Benefits and Coverage. (Plan Document Handbooks will be updated on the website in January 2017.)
Insert red text for the group to choose accordingly for their situation:
No Changes to Current Plan Selections Please note that we have not made any changes to our current plan options for the coming year. However, we strongly encourage you to go online during Open Enrollment and check your information (name, address, dependents, etc.) to ensure accuracy, or to make changes if necessary.
OR
Please note that for 2017, our plan offering with the Medical Trust has been changed:
Plans Going Away Please note that the
New Plans Offered Please note that we are offering new plans from the Medical Trust for the 2017 plan year –
Current Members You will receive a letter from the Medical Trust approximately one week before Open Enrollment begins. This letter will have information regarding when and how to access the Open Enrollment website. Even if you do not want to make changes to your health plan, it is important for you to log in to the Medical Trust Open Enrollment website to check that your personal information – such as Social Security numbers – is correct for yourself and your dependents. You can submit any corrections through the online system and/or by notifying me. IMPORTANT NOTE: For 2017, you will use the same user name and password you created to access your benefits information on MyCPG Accounts to access the enrollment web page. If you have not already created an account on MyCPG Accounts, please do so before Open Enrollment begins. (Note: You will need your Client ID number to create an account.) For assistance, contact the Client Services Team at (800) 480-9967, Monday to Friday, 8:30AM – 8:00PM ET (excluding holidays). Or, email [email protected].
Begin reviewing your options now if you are considering a plan change or considering enrolling in a Medical Trust plan. Research your options prior to the Open Enrollment period to allow yourself time to make your decision. This is also the time of year when you may add eligible dependents to your plan or remove eligible dependents from your plan without the need to demonstrate a qualifying event.
Not a Member and Want to Enroll? If you are not currently participating in a Medical Trust plan and would like to enroll, please review the plan options in this letter, and go online to www.cpg.org, select Active Clergy or Lay, then Health to explore the plans and benefits. You will not receive a letter from the Medical Trust, so please contact me to request an enrollment form and a copy of the Summaries of Benefits and Coverage and other important notices or to ask any questions.
Note: You may want to add information on your organization’s funding policy for members and dependents.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with Cigna Behavioral Health In addition to the health plans, your employer also offers a stand-alone EAP for qualified employees who have spousal or other qualified coverage that is not through the Medical Trust. (The EAP is already included as part of each medical plan offering.) This outstanding program covers your entire household, and is paid for by your employer.
Include as appropriate:
Informational Meetings You are invited to join CPG for informational presentations on the following date(s):
CPG will also host an online presentation and conference call:
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Group Administrator Name Phone / Email
Please note that this document is provided for informational purposes only and should not be viewed as an offer of coverage, legal, medical, tax or other advice. Please consult with your own professional advisor for further guidance. In the event of a conflict between this document and the official plan documents, the official plan documents will govern. The Church Pension Fund and its affiliates retain the right to amend, terminate or modify the terms of any benefit plans described in this document at any time, for any reason and unless required by law, without notice.