Open Enrollment

PEBP Health Insurance Open Enrollment

May 1 - May 31, 2008

Open Enrollment is your opportunity to make changes to your existing health care plan, i.e. switch from the PPO to/from an HMO, enroll and/or delete dependent coverage, or enroll in voluntary products. To learn more about Plan Year 2009, effective July 1, 2008, select the applicable link below:

 

Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ)

The questionnaire will be available from April 1st through May 31st, 2008 and is only available online at www.pebp.state.nv.us , click on the Health Assessment Questionnaire link. A limited amount of paper forms can be made available for those who do not have internet access. For a paper form please call 888-323-1461 option 3.   All primary participants and covered spouses must complete the questionnaire between April 1 and May 31, to receive the following incentives:

  • A 50% reduction in the deductible amount when enrolled in the PPO Plan
  • An increase to $2,000 for the in-network dental maximum when enrolled in either the PPO or HMO plan

Participants 75 years and older are exempt and will automatically receive the enhancements. For more information refer to the Health Benefits Summary booklet. 

Completing the HAQ

For complete and detailed instruction on accessing the HAQ, please refer to the instructions provided at the following link or contact BCN Benefits office for assistance.

Instructions for completing the Health Assessment Questionnaire

NSHE Flexible Spending Account (Section 125)

Open Enrollment May 1 - June 27, 2008

The Flexible Spending Plan Open Enrollment for NSHE-BCN is May 1, 2008 through June 27, 2008 and is administered by ASI. Employees wishing to continue participation in either of the flexible spending accounts must re-enroll every year during the open enrollment period.

HOW TO ENROLL

To make enrollment more convenient we are introducing online enrollment for the FSA through the NSHE Employee Self Service system.  All you will need to get started is your NSHE employee identification number and the corresponding PIN.

Step-by-step instructions for enrolling using the Online Enrollment System

If you are not comfortable with online enrollment we are still accepting paper enrollment forms, which can be found at the following website: http://www.unr.edu/vpaf/hr/benefits/open.html#FSA. When you complete the paper enrollment form you should submit it directly to ASI either via mail or fax at the address or fax number below:

ASI

PO Box 6044

Columbia MO 65205-6044

Fax TOLL-FREE TO: 1-866-381-9682

Please make sure you keep a copy of the enrollment form, fax confirmation or mailing information for your records.

Whichever method you choose for enrolling in the FSA, the cut-off date for accepting enrollment applications will be Friday, June 27, 2008.

What is a Flexible Spending Account?

WHAT IS A FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNT (FSA)?

A Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is a tax-free account that allows you to save money to pay for your out-of-pocket health care expenses, including prescription drug costs, medical, dental, vision and hearing expenses and/or your child or dependent care expenses, including day care, baby sitting, in-home care for older dependents and before & after school care expenses.

When you enroll in an FSA, you decide how much to contribute to either account for the entire plan year (July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2008).  For the Health Care FSA you can set aside up to $6,000 per plan year.  For the Dependent Care FSA the annual maximum is $5,000 ($2,500 in the case of a married individually filing a separate tax return for the plan year) per household.  The money deducted from your paycheck pre-tax (before Federal income taxes are deducted) in equal amounts, over the course of the plan year.  After you incur expenses that qualify for reimbursement, you request tax-free withdrawals from your FSA to reimburse yourself.  Any contribution amounts that you don’t use by the end of the 2008 Plan Year are forfeited to the NSHE plan as required by IRS regulations.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST ME?

There is a $3.50 fee to participate in the FSA Health Care and/or Dependent Care.  Additionally, once you have finalized your enrollment in the plan you can request a debit card to access your Health Care FSA funds, there is an additional $1.50 per month fee for this service.  The Debit Card is Optional. 

For more information on the NSHE Flexible Spending Account and a worksheet to help you calculate your annual expenses please refer to the Guide to the Flexible Spending Account. 

Alternatively attend a PEBP Open Enrollment meeting where ASI will be providing more information on the program.

PEBP Open Enrollment Meeting Schedule.

What is Open Enrollment?

Employees may make changes to certain Benefit Plans offered by the State of Nevada and NSHE.

Health Insurance

The Open Enrollment Period for is the period of time designated by the Public Employees' Benefits Program (PEBP) during which eligible Active Employees and Retirees may make the elections specified below (enrollment forms may be obtained from PEBP or your Human Resources office).

  • You may elect to enroll yourself and your eligible dependents in one of the health plans offered byt PEBP; or
  • You may add or drop eligible dependents to your medical coverage; or
  • You may change medical plan options.

Note: no dependent may be covered unless you are covered. Also, you and all your covered eligible dependents must be enrolled for the same medical plan option.

All relevant parts of the enrollment form must be completed and the form must be submitted to the BCN Benfits office before the end of the Open Enrollment period. Retirees must notify PEBP if and when they are eligible for Medicare. RPA retirees also need to notify the BCN Benefits office of Medicare eligibility or any other changes that may affect the retiree health insurance premium.

Open enrollment generally occurs in May of each year for an effective date of July 1 of that calendar year.

Flexible Spending Accounts (Section 125)

There will be an open enrollment period in the spring, generally in May. During this open enrollment, employees may enroll in the Section 125 plan for the next fiscal year, which commences July 1. Employees wishing to continue participation in either of the reimbursement accounts must re-enroll every year during the open enrollment period. There is no allowance for late enrollment.

When payroll deductions are taken on a before-tax basis, your taxable earnings are reduced by the amount of these deductions for the purpose of computing your taxes. Because of this tax advantage, federal law restricts employees from making changes in their benefit elections except during the open enrollment period, to be effective the following July 1.

THIS MEANS YOU CANNOT ADD, DROP OR CHANGE YOUR BENEFIT ELECTIONS AT ANY OTHER TIME EXCEPT IN CASES OF:

  1. Change in family status such as marriage, birth, divorce, or death.
  2. Inadvertent loss of coverage due to loss of employment, age, etc.