The following information is from the UUA Office of Church Staff Finances and Peter Henrickson, PNWD Compensation Consultant.
For the first time in two years, the UUA Office of Church Staff Finances is offering a dental insurance Open Enrollment opportunity to eligible employees of UUA-related employers, including member congregations. Click here for the summary flyer.
Eligible employees (working a minimum of 750 hours/year) who did not already elect this coverage may enroll via this Open Enrollment by Friday, December 14, 2012. The effective date of coverage is January 1, 2013.
This information is also being sent to every UUA member congregation via hard copy, in the Dental Open Enrollment mailer – a large white envelope from the UUA.
All the information is also posted on the website: UUA Dental Plan — you don’t need to wait for the U.S. mail to deliver your copy. (NOTE: If you use the Internet Explorer browser to access these pages, you may need to clear your cache in order to see the updated information posted throughout the web site.)
Here are some highlights of the plan, along with some Frequently Asked Questions – and their answers!
Are there any new benefits for 2013? Yes! And, employees who are already participating in the UUA dental plan are not required to re-enroll in order to receive the enhanced benefits.
Beginning January 1, benefits are increased as follows – see coverage details on the UUA website or in the MetLife Dental Benefit Highlights PDF (6 pages):
- We’ve added a third enrollment option, Employee + 1, which costs less than Family coverage. Remember, like all UUA insurance products, we fully cover domestic partners.
The three enrollment choices now are:
- Employee
- Employee + 1 dependent
- Family (Employee + 2 or more dependents)
- Your spouse/partner and/or children do not have to see the same dentist as you do.
- The maximum annual benefit, per person, is increased from $1,500 to $1,750 – an increase of 16.7%!
- Implants are now covered as a Type C benefit
- Preventive services are covered every six months with no deductible or charge if your dentist is an in-network provider; and
- Individuals who retire on or after January 1, 2013 will be able to retain their dental insurance which, until now, expired upon leaving UUA-related employment. (More on this in December.)
- MetLife dental coverage participants benefit from Met’s complimentary VisionAccess (PDF) which provides discounts on eyeglasses without additional enrollment or claim forms
What are the new UUA Dental Insurance monthly premiums? Beginning in 2013, monthly premiums are as follows:
- $49.75/month for Employee Only
- $99.50/month for Employee + 1 (either spouse/partner or a child)
- $120.75/month for Family (Employee + 2 or more dependents)
Employees who already carry Family coverage with the UUA plan, and who carry dental coverage for themselves plus one dependent, now fall within the new Employee + 1 category, and are not required to re-enroll. There will be an automatic billing adjustment to the new, lower monthly premium on the invoice for January 2013 coverage (mailed in mid-December).
Taking advantage of dental Open Enrollment? Or simply adding a dependent to your existing dental coverage?
Complete and return the final attachment (Dental OpenEnrollmt Cvr and Form) to our office by the deadline in order to take advantage of this Dental Open Enrollment Opportunity. To protect employees’ privacy, we cannot accept email enrollments. Your dental enrollment materials must be faxed or mailed by Friday, December 14, 2012.
I currently have Employee-Only coverage. Can I add my spouse/partner and/or child(ren) now?
Yes. Open enrollment is a time to make such changes; complete a new enrollment form by Friday, December 14.
If you have a qualifying event during the calendar year, simply notify the UUA Office of Church Staff Finance as soon as possible, and no later than 30 days from the qualifying event (marriage, adoption, etc.) and we will help you to update your enrollment accordingly.
What other UUA insurance plans have Open Enrollment in November?
- The UUA Health Plan offers annual Open Enrollment during the month of November. A large white Open Enrollment envelope was mailed to all UUA member congregations in early November. UUA Health Plan information can also be found online: UUA Health Plan. The application deadline for the Health Plan is Friday, November 30, 2012 and the effective date of coverage is January 1, 2013.
If you have questions, please contact Patti Angelina, the UUA Insurance Plans Coordinator: insurance_plans@uua.org.