HEALTH NOTES


ONTHE MARCH IN DC—PEFmember Richard Preall, his wife,Marybeth, and son,Christopher, couldn’t be inWashington to joinmarchers in support of the federal Patient Care andAffordable CareAct as its constitutionality was argued before the U.S.Supreme Court in late March, but their photo was there. With the Preall’s permission,PEF’s international affiliate, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), put a photo of the Prealls on posters for marchers to carry. The photo originally appeared with the March 2011 Communicator article aboutmembers who are covering their young adult children thanks to the law. A year later, the photo ofmarchers, at left here, appeared in the USAToday Photo Gallery.


End of school may end your child’s dental, vision coverage


By LORRAINE SIMPKINS If your child is age 19 to 24, and is


completing his or her studies in May or June, then he or she may lose eligibility for coverage as a dependent child under your dental and vision plans. You must notify your agency’s health


benefits administrator of your child’s change in student status, and you should request information about how to continue their dental and vision coverage. The federal Patient Protection and


Affordable Care Act requires insurers to offer children coverage as dependents on their parents’ health insurance plan up to age 26, but that only applies to medical care, not to dental or vision care. Under the GHI Preferred Dental Plan


and the NYS Vision Plan, your unmarried dependent children ages 19 to 24 are eligible for dental and vision coverage if they are full-time students. They continue to be eligible until the earliest of the following dates: • The end of the third month following


the month in which they complete a semester; • The end of the month in which


attendance at school ends, if the semester Page 16—The Communicator May 2012


is not completed and proof of the last day of attendance for the semester is provided, or the end of the third month following the month that the last semester was completed; • The starting date of the semester if


the semester is not completed and no proof of attendance is provided, or the end of the third month following the month that the last semester was completed, whichever is later; • The end of the third month following


the month in which they complete course requirements for graduation; or • The day they reach age 25. The federal Consolidated Omnibus


Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) requires most employers sponsoring group health plans to offer employees and their covered dependents the opportunity for temporary “continuation coverage” at group rates in certain instances where coverage under the employer-sponsored plan would otherwise end. The dental and vision care benefits


your dependent may continue are the same benefits you receive as an active employee. COBRA requires that your child have the opportunity to continue


coverage for up to 36 months. The cost of COBRA coverage is the full premium (both the employer and employee shares) plus a 2 percent administrative fee. The 2012 monthly COBRA rates for individual coverage are: $29.31 for the GHI Preferred Dental Plan and $3.06 for the NYS Vision Plan. Under COBRA, the employee or


dependent is responsible for informing the Employee Benefits Division (EBD) of the state Department of Civil Service within 60 days of when the dependent loses eligibility. If you do not notify EBD within that time, regardless of the reason, the dependent will not be entitled to COBRA continuation coverage. For more information about your


child’s eligibility or about COBRA continuation of coverage, contact your agency’s health benefits administrator.


PEF Information Line: 1-800-553-2445


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