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Employee Benefits Division P.O. Box 15610 Little Rock, AR 72231-5610 877.815.1017 or 501.682.9656 “Press 1” Email: [email protected]
October 2017
Issue 42
Open Enrollment for 2018
Open Enrollment Links
DataPath HSA
Spouse Becoming Medicare
Eligible
Wellness Discount Deadline
Open enrollment for 2018 is currently underway, and runs through October 31. During open enrollment, employees can elect to make the following changes to their plan without the need of a qualifying event:
Enroll onto the plan
Enroll a spouse/dependents
Cancel coverage
Drop a spouse/dependent from coverage
Change plan level (Premium, Classic or Basic)
Non-Medicare retirees can change their plan level (Premium, Classic or Basic)
Any changes elected during open enrollment will be effective 1/1/2018. Employees who do not want to make any changes to their plan do not need to submit any forms to EBD. Coverage will continue as is for 2018.
Documentation including enrollment forms and any required supporting documentation for open enrollment must be submitted no later than October 31, 2017. EBD will accept the last enrollment form submitted in October as your final election choice for 2018. Members can elect changes using paper forms, or elections can be made using the ARBenefits Member Portal at www.ARBenefits.org The Portal will allow you to make changes to your plan, and upload any supporting documentation. Using the portal will also give you instant confirmation that your enrollment application has been received by EBD. If you have any questions about open enrollment or benefits, you can contact Member Services at 1-877-815-1017x1 or at [email protected].
Helpful Links for Open Enrollment
Required Documentation
Adding a spouse:
Copy of Marriage License
Copy of ARBenefits Spousal
Affidavit. To access a copy of the
Spousal Affidavit, click here.
Adding a Dependent Child:
Newborns – Birth Certificate/
Birth Announcement naming
child’s parents and date of birth
Child – Birth Certificate, Court-
approved adoption papers (with
signature & seal)
Step-child – Marriage license to
the step-child’s parent and birth
certificate
Legal Guardianship – Court-
approved guardianship papers
(with signature & seal)
Documents and forms are available at
www.ARBenefits.org. If you are viewing this E-
Newsletter in your email inbox, please click the blue
link at the top of the E-Newsletter email to open the
web version. That will allow you access to the links in
the E-Newsletter.
ASE Open Enrollment Guide
PSE Open Enrollment Guide
ARBenefits Enrollment Form
Spousal Affidavit
Guide to Online Enrollment
Employee Benefits Division P.O. Box 15610 Little Rock, AR 72231-5610 877.815.1017 or 501.682.9656 “Press 1” Email: [email protected]
DataPath Health Savings Account
ARBenefits complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age,
disability, or sex. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available to you. Call 1-877-815-1017x1.
Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-877-815-1017x1
If you are enrolled in an eligible ARBenefits health plan (Classic or Basic), there’s never been a better time to sign up for a
Health Savings Account (HSA). Why?
Any funds that you choose to set aside from your paycheck for your HSA are deducted pre-tax (before payroll taxes are calculated). The
average employee saves about 30% in taxes on the money he or she sets aside. It’s almost like giving yourself a raise.
You can change how much you are putting into your HSA at any time by contacting your agency or school district Health Insurance
Representative. You are not locked in to a set amount for the whole year if you need or want to change it.
Withdrawals from your HSA to cover eligible medical expenses are tax-free. Any money that remains in your account earns tax-free
interest and rolls over from year to year; you never lose it.
As your HSA balance grows, you have the option of investing your savings. Investment gains are also tax-free.
If you leave employment with your agency or school district, the HSA account (and all money in it) goes with you.
Eligible State Employees (ASE) with an open and active HSA with DataPath, will receive a monthly State contribution to their account.
Members with individual coverage will receive $25 per month, while members on any other tier (Employee + Spouse, Employee + Children
or Family) will receive $50 per month. State employees must count the State contribution towards their maximum annual contribution
limit. Please take this into account when you set your deduction amount.
For more facts about HSAs, click here. You can also visit www.datapathadmin.com and go to the Capt. Contributor tab. Contact your agency or school district Health Insurance Representative, or EBD for more information on how to enroll in an HSA. HSA accounts
can be established at any time of the year.
Qualifying Event and Medicare
Active employees who cover a retired state or
public school employee as a spouse who is
gaining Medicare coverage, have a qualifying
event to drop the spouse if the spouse enrolls
in Medicare.
However, gaining Medicare coverage is not a
qualifying event that allows the retired spouse
to enroll into their own ARBenefits Medicare
Primary Retiree plan at that time.
If the spouse is eligible to join the ARBenefits
retiree plan on their own, they have two
options. One, they can to wait until the
employee loses their active employee
coverage before enrolling into their own
retiree plan. Or, the active employee has a
one-time option to drop their spouse during
open enrollment that does allow the spouse
to enroll into their own retiree plan.
If the employee wants to drop their spouse
during open enrollment so the spouse can go
into their own retiree plan, they can submit
the following at the same time during open
enrollment:
The Employee needs to submit an
enrollment form dropping the spouse.
The spouse needs to submit a Retiree
Election form to enroll.
The spouse needs to provide a copy of
their Medicare card showing Parts A & B
coverage.
If an employee wants to drop their spouse
who is gaining Medicare as a qualifying event,
they have 60 days from the date their spouse
gains Medicare coverage to submit
documentation to EBD. The employee will
need to submit a Change form electing to
drop their spouse along with a copy of their
spouse’s Medicare card showing Parts A & B
coverage.
Employee Benefits Division P.O. Box 15610 Little Rock, AR 72231-5610 877.815.1017 or 501.682.9656 “Press 1” Email: [email protected]
2018 Wellness Discount Deadline is October 31, 2017
