Healthcoveragecancontinueafterlayoff
RAH STAYMAN Thestatemustcontinuetopaythe COBRApremiumassistanceprogram.
PEFisfightinghardagainstthethreat employer’sshareforthatsametime.
ofstatelayoffs,butitwantstoreassure Dentalandvisionbenefitsarenot WhataboutHCSA?
o
t
e
s
By DEBO
anymemberswhomaybeworriedabout includedunderpreferred-listcoverage. IfyouareenrolledintheHealthCare
losingtheirjobsthattheystillcould However,youmaychoosetocontinue SpendingAccount(HCSAccount)and
N
maintaintheirhealthbenefitsforquitea themunderCOBRA,(thefederal thinkyoumaybelaid-offthisyear,check
while. continuationofcoveragelaw).Thenew onyourunspentbalance.Youmaywant
That’sbecauseprovisionsofthestate federal“stimulus”bill–theAmerican tostartusingitupmorequickly.
t
h
CivilServiceLaw(CSL)andfederal RecoveryandReinvestmentActof2009 Ordinarily,youloseanymoneyleftin
stimulusfundingcreateahealthcare (ARRA)–providesfundstohelpyoupay yourHCSAccountwhenyouleave
safetynetforlaid-offworkers. COBRApremiumstocontinueyour employment.
e
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Ifyou’relaid-offbythestateandyour dentalandvisionbenefitsandyour Ifyouarelaid-off,yourHCSAeligibility
nameisplacedonastateDepartmentof covereddependentsifyouare periodendsbasedonthedateofyourlast
H
CivilService(DCS)“preferredlist”forre- involuntarilylaid-offbetweenSeptember payrolldeduction,ratherthanyourlast
employment,youmaycontinuehealth 1,2008,andDecember31,2009. dayofemployment.
insurancecoverageforyouandyour Ifyouremploymentendsandyou
covereddependentsunderpreferred-list Otheroptions receivechecksforvacationaccrualsand
provisions. Ifyou’renoteligibleforpreferred-list theseparationlump-sumpaymentinthe
Ifyouarenoteligibletogoona coverageoritrunsout,youmaybe payperiodsimmediatelyfollowingyour
preferredlistforre-employment,youstill eligibletocontinuehealthcoverageasa lastregularpaycheck,youreligibilityto
maycontinueyourhealthinsurance retireevestee,underCOBRA,orundera bereimbursedfromyourHCSAccountis
coverageunderpreferred-listprovisionsif: direct-payconversioncontract. extendedthroughthedateofthelast
•Youareinthenoncompetitiveclass Formorespecificinformation deductiontaken.
withtenureunderCSLSection75;or regardingcontinuingcoverageafterlayoff, IfyourHCSAreimbursementsexceed
•Yourappointmentwaspermanent. askyouragencyhealthbenefits yourcontributionsatthetime,youare
However,youarenoteligibleifyour administratorfortheflyercalled,“For notrequiredtorefundtheoverpayment.
appointmentwasaprovisionalor EmployeesofNewYorkStateAgencies However,ifyoustillhaveanymoneyleft
temporaryappointment. AffectedbyLayoff: HealthInsurance inHCSAwhenyoureligibilityends,you
CoverageandRelatedBenefits.”Thisflyer willlosethatmoney.
Howitworks isalsopostedonthePEFWebsiteunder YoucanuseCOBRAspecificallyto
Thepreferred-listprovisionsallowyou “ContractResourceCenter.” extendyourHCSAeligibilityforuptothe
tocontinuepayingonlyyouremployee’s remainderoftheplanyear.SinceCOBRA
shareofyourhealthinsurancepremium, ReducedCOBRApremiums isbilledonamonthlybasis,eachCOBRA
includingprescriptiondrugcoverage,for Extendinghealthcoverageunder premiumpaymentyoumakeextends
uptooneyear. COBRAcanbeveryexpensivebecause yourHCSAeligibilityperiodbyone
youwouldusuallybestuckwithpaying month.
thefullpremium. COBRApremiumsforHCSAarebased
Notthistime. onthefollowingformula:
Ifyouareinvoluntarilylaid- •Subtracttheamountyoualready
offbetweenlastSeptember1 havedepositedfromyourannual
andtheendofthisyear,the commitment;
ARRAprovideshelppayingyour •Dividetheremainderbythenumber
COBRApremiums.Thisapplies ofmonthsleftintheplanyeartogetyour
toyourmedicalandprescription basicmonthlypremium;then
drugcoverageifyou’renot •Adda2percentCOBRAfeetoeach
eligibleforthepreferred-list monthlypremium.
coverage.Andevenifyouare Forexample,assumeyouhave
getting preferred-listmedicaland committedtodeposit$1,000toyour
Rxbenefits,theARRAcanreduce HCSAccountin2009,andyourtotal
yourcostforextendingdental depositsequal$500whenyouarelaid-off
andvisionbenefitsunder attheendofJune.
COBRA. TocontinueyourHCSAccountforthe
TheARRAreducesyourshareof remainderoftheyearunderCOBRAyou
theCOBRApremiumstojust35percent. woulddeposittheremaining$500in
Youremployermustpaytheremaining65 monthlyamountsof$83.33plusthe2
percentandcanbereimbursedforit percentCOBRAfeeof$1.67,foratotal
throughafederaltaxcredit. monthlycostof$85.
Ifyouarenoteligibleforpreferred-list TheARRAdoesnotreducethecostof
coverageandyoulosecoveragebetween extendingHCSAccounts.
April18andDecember31ofthisyear, Formoreinformationaboutthis,call
youwillreceiveaCOBRAnoticethat 1-800-358-7202orgoonlineto
Page10—TheCommunicatorJune2009
includesinformationabouttheARRA fsa@goe
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nLine:1-800-553-2445
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